Bid What You Want

The airline captain’s left seat beckons—but is it for you?

JEREMY KING

A few recent articles within the frequent-flyer blogosphere have bemoaned that airlines cannot convince enough of their first officers to upgrade to captains and the staffing challenges that presents. Despite a huge pay difference (often an extra $100 an hour), a lot of first officers are sitting tight in their current seats. With a few exceptions who tried up-or-out clauses where first officers had to upgrade upon reaching a certain seniority threshold, most airlines are powerless to force first officers to move up. The result is that instead of having to wait for several years before upgrading, some airlines have had junior pilots bid for the left seat—and have it awarded—while they were still in initial training or shortly thereafter. So why are some first officers so content to stay…

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Plane & Pilot (Digital) - 1 Issue, November/December 2023

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