Originally Posted by
fezzington
For pilots, I think most are qualified on more than one a/c type, and simply choose what plane they'll fly when bidding each month -- but I don't know that for a fact.
At a part 121 airline such as United, pilots can only be qualified on one aircraft at a time. The only exception is the 757/767 and A319/A320/A321, as these aircraft share a common flight deck and type-rating. As their seniority grows, they can certainly bid to move to a different aircraft, but every time they do this, they have to get re-trained on that particular aircraft type. This training takes many weeks. On average, pilots at major airlines will fly the same type for 8+ years. Some fly the same type their entire career. All depends on their personal preferences, but most importantly their seniority. 747 tends to go very senior at United.