Seniority is Everything

This article was provided to us courtesy of the Mesa flight program at San Juan College and written by former instructor David Walsh who currently flies for United Airlines.

For an airline pilot, seniority is everything. Seniority dictates what equipment you fly, from what domicile and in what seat. Seniority determines when you fly, whether or not you're going to get weekends off, or if you are going to be home for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or your kids' birthdays.

The pilot seniority list at an airline is made up of all the pilots on the property listed in order by their date of hire. The pilot who has been at the airline the longest is #1, and the most junior pilot in the new hire class is at the bottom of the list.

How does it work? Usually you are assigned a seniority number on the first day of ground school. As new hires, of course, you and your class are at the bottom of the pilot seniority list until the next class starts and more pilots move onto the list below you. To determine your seniority number within your class, different airlines determine that in different ways. Some airlines will go by age. The oldest in the class becomes the most senior, and the youngest is the most junior. Some airlines use the last four digits of your social security number, with the lowest number being the most senior and the highest number being the most junior. The idea behind the initial assignment of the seniority number is to be random and fair, and based on a historical practice.

Once you begin your new-hire ground school, depending on the airline, you may have an opportunity to exercise your new seniority. Usually, by the time you are in ground school, the company knows to what fleet, and to what domicile they need to send the new pilots. The company may elect to assign you to your initial fleet and domicile based on your previous experience. Most airlines, however, will allow the class to choose or ‘bid" for their equipment and domicile.

Here's an example. Let's assume you are in new-hire ground school at Mesa Airlines. There are 20 of you in the class, and it has been determined that you are number 11. On the board you see the following openings for fleets and domiciles.

CRJ Dash 8

ORD 5 DEN 5

PHX 5 PHX 5

So there are ten jet seats available. Five are in Chicago (ORD), and five are in Phoenix (PHX). There are ten turboprop (Dash 8) seats available. Five are in Denver (DEN), and five are in Phoenix. You live in Phoenix, and on that board you see the possibility of your lifetime dream of being a jet First Officer in your home town about to come true. But there's a problem. You are number 11, but there are only 10 jet seats available and only 5 of them are in PHX. If everyone above you bids for the jets, you'll be shut-out.

Now it's time to bid. By bidding, I'm not talking about throwing money out. Your bid is your wish list of fleet and domicile (and in the future, seat) in the order in which you would like to be awarded.

Looking at the board you decide that flying the jet is the most important thing to you. You would love to fly the jet out of PHX, but if you don't get that, you would be happy to commute to ORD, and fly the jet out of Chicago. Besides, you may be able to lateral back to PHX sometime in the future. Because you are number 11, and there are only 10 jet seats available, you realize there is a very good chance that you might not get the jet. In that event, you decide that flying the Dash 8 out of PHX would be a good third choice. Now your bid looks like this:

1. CRJ PHX (This is your first choice. Jet first officer in Phoenix.)
2. CRJ ORD (This is your second choice. Jet first officer in Chicago.)
3. Dash 8 PHX (This is your third choice. Turboprop first officer in Phoenix.)

4. Dash 8 ORD (You actually don't have to bid this, because with your seniority you would receive one of your top three choices. But, this would be your last choice.)

It's time to award the bids and the instructor starts by asking the most senior student what he wants. Being number 1, the most senior student will get whatever he wants. In fact, the top 5 students will get whatever they want, since there are 5 slots available for each of the fleet/domicile combinations.

As the instructor continues down the seniority list, the top 5 pilots in your class have bid for CRJ PHX. Oh, well. There's still a chance to get the jet, but you will be flying it out of Chicago. The next four pilots choose the jet in Chicago. There's just one jet slot left. If the pilot above you bids the jet, you're out of luck. If the pilot chooses a Dash 8 slot, you've got your jet.

The pilot bids.........and chooses the CRJ. Your dream of driving a jet has just been put on hold.

You go with your third choice, and are awarded the Dash 8 in PHX. Not bad. Not what you wanted, but not bad none the less. There are some positives associated with your award. Since you live in Phoenix, you will be flying out of your hometown, so you won't have to commute to start your trips. Also, the Dash 8 is a great airplane to fly, and at Mesa Airlines, it flies into some spectacular and challenging airports. So your first experience as an airline pilot should be enjoyable and rewarding.

You've just experienced your first encounter with pilot seniority and bidding. You weren't the most senior, so you didn't get your first choice. If you want to look on the bright side, you didn't get your last choice either.

Throughout the rest of your career, you will have the opportunity to exercise your seniority and bidding rights in a multitude of situations including monthly scheduling, vacation and eventually upgrade.