Upgrade Strategies

In just two short years at the airline I work for, I was eligible to upgrade to captain in the Boeing 737. That's an absurdly quick upgrade time for a major airline in which the norm is for pilots to spend many years--possibly decades--yanking the gear from the right seat. Did I take the upgrade? No way.

Don't get me wrong; being the captain is a great thing. You set the tone for the entire crew. You run your ship your way within the limits of the company's rules. You make all the critical decisions based on input from your crewmembers. Oh, and you also make significantly more money. But, as with any change in equipment or seat in the airline business, seniority starts over again. You start at the bottom of the seniority list of captains, meaning quality of life takes a big hit. Instead of enjoying my weekends with my family and friends, I'd be working many more days a month and working on weekends. I'd be a reserve pilot at the disposal of the company's scheduling department. Sure, the money would be nice, but I want to witness my child growing up, thank you.

Years ago, however, as a new pilot at a regional airline, I had an even quicker upgrade opportunity--six months! Did I take it then? You bet. Back then, I was trying to get to a major airline, and my ticket out was left-seat time in command of a Part 121 airliner and crew. I endured being on reserve for the better part of four years. But I racked up more than 2,000 hours of turbine pilot-in-command time in a 29-seat turboprop and, later, in a regional jet. That time was an invaluable r�sum� booster.

My regional airline was based near my home, and that was a critical consideration when I took the upgrade. On reserve, if I wasn't working, I was at home. Reserve pilots who were commuters sat in shared "crash pad" apartments waiting by the phone. Quality of life as a commuter on reserve is about as bad as life can get for an airline pilot. These days, at the major airline I work for, I'm a commuter, and that is reason numero uno why I won't take the upgrade to captain. If I lived locally it might be a different story.

Another simple reason not to take an upgrade is your readiness to take the plunge. Are you comfortable bearing the responsibility of an airplane full of passengers? It's serious business and isn't for the inexperienced.

At the regional airline, I wanted to go through a winter before upgrading to familiarize myself with the ominous deicing procedures set by Part 121 regulations. It was mostly all new to me since nearly all of my flying to that point had been under the less-stringent Part 91 regs. The upgrade training was very challenging, but I came out with a type rating, a fourth stripe, and a new view from the left seat of a Jetstream 41. After spending some four years as a captain, I remember hoping I'd never have to work from the right seat again. Life was good.

But life must move on, and my goal of getting to a major airline assured me of returning to the right seat. Despite my previous wishes not to give up the left seat, however, I'm simply not comfortable taking an upgrade now. I'm confident that I'd do fine as a captain in the 737, which my company uses mostly in domestic service. But, since my airline also has a huge international route structure, there's a good chance that I could someday end up in the left seat of a Boeing 767 jetting out across the Atlantic--having never gathered the experience of first doing it from the right seat. I'm not comfortable entering the cockpit that day to face my first officer and say, "I've never done this."

So, my plan is to move to the right seat of the Boeing 777 first. This will get me plenty of international experience and make me intimately familiar with ocean and arctic crossings as well as extended twin-engine operational performance standards. While I enjoy my view from the right seat of the 777, my seniority at the airline will move up to the point that I can hold a decent schedule for my return to the left seat as a captain in the 737.

Pete Bedell is a Boeing 737 first officer for a major airline and contributor to AOPA Flight Training and AOPA Pilot magazines.