Re: Bumped to Capt\'n
It really depends. Some prefer to stay as First Officers on large aircraft flying internationally for awhile, while others bid Captain on smaller aircraft as soon as possible, even if it means sitting reserve. Just because you can be a Captain doesn't mean you'll choose to because you might have crappy schedules because you can't always bid what you want as a result of being junior.
In other words, because of the fact that many people don't bid captain just because they can means that the whole top half of the seniority list isn't just captains, so in some instances, relatively junior people can be a Captain.
For example, MDPilot recently got recalled from furlough. His first choice bid was first officer on the 767; he thought that he might as well try. Guess what? He got awarded his bid. This wasn't an example of someone becoming a Captain, but still, it illustrates what I'm trying to say.
