SF20007

Does anyone ever go from NB CA to WB FO if domestic flying gets tedious? Not sure if many people stomach that pay cut.

Red Forman

All the time.

FlyGuy2021

In this last award, there were more 320/737 Captains that went to WB FO than the other way around.

WB FO quality of life is really good. Even commuting to reserve for WB FO is a good deal.

AllYourBaseAreB

i know A LOT of them

ImSoSuss

Yes, they say they don't remember NB flying being this bad and bid right back to WB FO.

hercretired

more to the picture besides "pay." There are NB FO's making junior Capt salary, while enjoying the bidding and schedule ability of a senior FO.

with that said, you know the difference between a crack addict and a AA wide body FO ?

- you can get the crack addict off crack

PatrickAA

31 narrowbody CA's bid to widebody FO on this bid. I expect to see even more when the new garbage reserve system begins and they realize bidding NB reserve for QOL is over.

There were no noticeable improvements to QOL in this contract, and narrowbody QOL, trip trading ability, and sequence length/quality have significantly worsened over the past five years.

$300-350K+ yr to sit WB FO now with better QOL and less work isn't necessarily a pay cut from what they made in 2023 when WB FO rates are now higher than the prior contract CA rates.

Sliceback

All the time! Guys have upgraded to put their kids through college and then bid back. Or guys are mid pack/semi senior n/b CA's and they bid back to w/b FO for better seniority and 'retiring in place'. They're often some of the best guys to fly with - they're in chill mode, don't need to be Captain, and are enjoying the wind down of their careers.

Going from w/b CA to n/b CA is a bigger pay cut. Did it twice dealing with PADD (Pilot Attention Deficit Disorder) time to do something else... One time pay difference was a wash, the second time it was a significant pay cut. Two senior w/b CA's I knew gave up w/b's towards the end of their careers. Both were tired of the sleep cycle issues, which is why I bid off twice to take a two year breather before jumping back into the fire, and one guy's son got hired so they'd fly their trips together. The other guy flew easy day time turns to the Caribbean. Pay cut? If you make $7 million what's giving up $100-300K to get a change of pace? Do enough w/b flying, 20, 25, 30 years, and it can get old.

Sliceback

Any upgrade, or downgrade, is only a 2 year lock-in. Every two years you can look around and say "okay, what can I hold now and 2 years from now?" in various bid statuses. All it takes is bidding for it. I did 17 schools as my bidding power, and interests, changed.

FlyGuy2021

$7 million is even on the low end of things with these new rates. For a young guy, they will make $10 million or more in their career, and if they invest early and have a little luck with the markets, will retire with $5 million in their 401k.