Final Award · 841 Total Awards
All award counts and seniority cutoffs in this analysis include withheld (WTH) awards. A withheld pilot was awarded the position but may wait up to a year to begin training. Withhold releases (REL) from prior vacancies are not included in totals or charts.
The September 2026 vacancy awarded 841 pilots across 51 destination categories — the smallest quarterly vacancy in five quarters, down 37% from June's 1,338. Withholds surged to 205, making up 24% of all awards — the highest proportion we've tracked. MIA dominated the Widebody Captain story: 43 pilots were awarded MIA 777 Captain (30 of which were withheld). On the bright side, most Narrowbody Captain categories went more junior this quarter — 13 of 19 categories reached deeper into the seniority list, with the most junior Narrowbody Captain awards now reaching into the mid-2023 hire classes (DOH dates as recent as September 2023).
223 First Officers picked up Captain seats (3 more than on the Preliminary award). The most junior Narrowbody Captain award went to #13,913 at LAX 737. The most junior Widebody First Officer award went to #13,241 at LGA 777. The most junior Widebody Captain award went to #3,770 at MIA 777. 129 Narrowbody pilots moved to Widebody equipment, and 25 Widebody First Officers upgraded to Narrowbody Captain — giving up the right seat on a Widebody to put the Captain hat on. Full category breakdowns, seniority trends, and upgrade details below.
The cards below show net movement by category (awards in minus bids out).
The gains column is dominated by Widebody Captain and First Officer seats — 7 of the top 10 are Widebody categories. This is to be expected with 2026's high number of retirements in the Widebody ranks. The losses are almost entirely Narrowbody First Officer positions, with PHL 787 First Officer being the lone Widebody exception — the familiar pattern of junior First Officers moving up and out to Captain seats, Widebody equipment, or preferred Narrowbody bases. PHL 787 First Officer had zero awards in this quarter after 29 in June — but 14 of the 23 pilots who left PHL 787 First Officer were withheld to LGA 787 First Officer, and 3 more to MIA 787 First Officer. They bid for Widebody FO elsewhere and got it. The remaining 6 took upgrades to Narrowbody Captain.
These 223 upgrades count First Officers who moved to the left seat (FO → CA), across all equipment at each base. LGA awarded 48 upgrades — 35 of those went to pilots transferring in from other bases, making LGA the top cross-base upgrade destination. MIA awarded 41 upgrades, mostly to its own First Officers (30 in-base). DFW awarded 41, with 38 of those going to DFW First Officers already in base. The most senior pilot to upgrade held seniority #635, going from DFW 777 First Officer to DFW 777 Captain. The most junior was #13,913, upgrading from LAX 737 First Officer to LAX 737 Captain.
| Base | Total | In-Base | Cross-Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| LGA | 48 | 13 | 35 |
| MIA | 41 | 30 | 11 |
| DFW | 41 | 38 | 3 |
| ORD | 22 | 11 | 11 |
| PHX | 18 | 11 | 7 |
| DCA | 15 | 7 | 8 |
| LAX | 13 | 9 | 4 |
| CLT | 11 | 9 | 2 |
| PHL | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| BOS | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Equipment | Upgrades | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| 737 | 104 | 47% |
| 320 | 86 | 39% |
| 777 | 16 | 7% |
| 787 | 17 | 8% |
How deep did each category reach in the seniority list? The tables below track the most junior pilot awarded into each Widebody Captain, Narrowbody Captain, and Widebody First Officer category with QoQ deltas (vs. June ’26).
| Position | # | Junior | DOH | Δ Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAX 777 CA INT | 7 | #1,134 | Oct 1991 | n/a |
| DFW 777 CA INT | 10 | #1,368 | Apr 1992 | 🔴 1,540 sr |
| LAX 787 CA INT | 3 | #1,942 | Aug 1998 | 🟢 18 jr |
| DFW 787 CA INT | 34 | #2,651 | Jun 1999 | 🟢 98 jr |
| MIA 787 CA INT | 13 | #2,732 | Feb 1999 | n/a |
| CLT 777 CA INT | 8 | #2,751 | Jul 1999 | 🔴 576 sr |
| LGA 787 CA INT | 8 | #2,850 | Aug 1999 | 🔴 1,066 sr |
| PHL 787 CA INT | 12 | #3,128 | Nov 1999 | 🔴 468 sr |
| LGA 777 CA INT | 13 | #3,477 | Mar 2000 | 🟢 90 jr |
| MIA 777 CA INT | 43 | #3,770 | Mar 1999 | 🟢 1,150 jr |
Widebody Captain saw a mixed picture. DFW 777 Captain tightened significantly — 10 awards (3 preference, 7 withheld) going as junior as #1,368, compared to 28 awards reaching #2,908 last quarter. MIA 777 Captain opened up with 43 awards (13 preference, 30 withheld) reaching #3,770 (vs. #2,620 in June). LAX 777 Captain was awarded for the first time in three quarters, with 7 awards going as junior as #1,134. ORD 787 Captain had zero awards this quarter after 12 pilots were awarded ORD 787 Captain at the lowest seniority of #2,796 in June.
| Position | # | Junior | DOH | Δ Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHL 320 CA INT | 8 | #10,136 | Mar 2020 | 🔴 2,990 sr |
| CLT 737 CA INT | 8 | #10,649 | Dec 2021 | 🔴 1,714 sr |
| ORD 320 CA INT | 9 | #10,795 | Jan 2022 | 🔴 2,700 sr |
| CLT 320 CA INT | 15 | #11,093 | Feb 2022 | 🟢 175 jr |
| DFW 320 CA INT | 23 | #11,854 | Jul 2022 | 🟢 112 jr |
| LAX 320 CA INT | 9 | #12,068 | Aug 2022 | 🔴 1,211 sr |
| MIA 320 CA INT | 18 | #12,122 | Sep 2022 | n/a |
| PHX 320 CA INT | 16 | #12,634 | Feb 2023 | 🔴 351 sr |
| DCA 320 CA INT | 11 | #12,788 | Mar 2023 | 🟢 1,305 jr |
| DFW 737 CA INT | 31 | #13,245 | May 2023 | 🟢 610 jr |
| BOS 737 CA INT | 14 | #13,332 | May 2023 | 🟢 7,914 jr |
| LGA 320 CA INT | 31 | #13,377 | May 2023 | 🟢 5,127 jr |
| MIA 737 CA INT | 33 | #13,546 | Jul 2023 | 🟢 50 jr |
| PHX 737 CA INT | 12 | #13,580 | Jul 2023 | 🟢 253 jr |
| LGA 320 CA DOM | 17 | #13,667 | Aug 2023 | 🟢 2,076 jr |
| DCA 737 CA INT | 10 | #13,674 | Aug 2023 | 🟢 1,491 jr |
| ORD 737 CA INT | 20 | #13,821 | Aug 2023 | 🟢 504 jr |
| LGA 737 CA INT | 19 | #13,837 | Aug 2023 | 🟢 1,404 jr |
| LAX 737 CA INT | 7 | #13,913 | Sep 2023 | 🟢 9,896 jr |
Most Narrowbody Captain categories went more junior this quarter — good news for First Officers looking to upgrade. LAX 737 Captain went as junior as #13,913 with 7 awards — compared to just #4,017 in June, though June had only 1 award in that category. BOS 737 Captain reached #13,332 with 14 awards (vs. #5,418 in June, which had only 2 awards), and LGA 320 Captain INT went to #13,377 with 30 awards (vs. #8,250 in June). The bottom of the Narrowbody Captain list now sits squarely in the mid-2023 hire classes, with DOH dates from May to September 2023.
A few categories went more senior: PHL 320 Captain awarded 8 seats going as junior as #10,136 (vs. #13,126 in June), ORD 320 Captain awarded 9 going to #10,795 (vs. #13,495), and CLT 737 Captain awarded 8 going to #10,649 (vs. #12,363).
| Position | # | Junior | DOH | Δ Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW 777 FO INT | 2 | #3,956 | Aug 2000 | 🔴 5,396 sr |
| LGA 787 FO INT | 26 | #9,863 | Dec 2019 | 🔴 2,807 sr |
| DFW 787 FO INT | 14 | #10,954 | Jan 2022 | 🟢 33 jr |
| LAX 787 FO INT | 9 | #11,205 | Mar 2022 | 🟢 433 jr |
| MIA 787 FO INT | 8 | #12,081 | Aug 2022 | n/a |
| MIA 777 FO INT | 18 | #12,390 | Nov 2022 | 🟢 881 jr |
| LGA 777 FO INT | 19 | #13,241 | May 2023 | 🟢 1,303 jr |
DFW 777 First Officer had just 2 awards at #3,956 — and they went significantly more senior from #9,352 in June. LGA 787 First Officer had 26 awards but they also went more senior to #9,863 (vs. #12,670 in June). MIA 777 First Officer reached #12,390 with 18 awards, and LGA 777 First Officer reached #13,241 with 19 awards. ORD 787 First Officer and PHL 787 First Officer had zero awards this quarter after being active in June.
83 pilots were withheld from Widebody Captain seats — up from 73 in June. 30 pilots were withheld from MIA 777 Captain (the most of any single category across the entire vacancy), ranging from seniority #2,364 to #3,756. DFW 787 Captain had 14 withholds and MIA 787 Captain had 8.
| Bid Status | WTH Count | Most Junior |
|---|---|---|
| MIA 777 CA INT | 30 | #3,756 |
| DFW 787 CA INT | 14 | #2,264 |
| MIA 787 CA INT | 8 | #2,717 |
| DFW 777 CA INT | 7 | #1,300 |
| PHL 787 CA INT | 8 | #3,058 |
| CLT 777 CA INT | 6 | #2,745 |
| LGA 777 CA INT | 6 | #3,470 |
| LAX 777 CA INT | 2 | #987 |
| LGA 787 CA INT | 2 | #2,273 |
Same-type moves dominated: 335 pilots stayed on the 320 and 190 stayed on the 737. The largest cross-type transitions were 320 → 777 (41 pilots), 320 → 787 (34), 737 → 777 (28), and 737 → 787 (26). 129 total Narrowbody pilots moved to Widebody equipment. 25 Widebody First Officers moved to Narrowbody Captain seats.
| Transition | Pilots |
|---|---|
| 320 → 320 | 335 |
| 737 → 737 | 190 |
| 787 → 787 | 62 |
| 777 → 777 | 46 |
| 320 → 777 | 41 |
| 320 → 787 | 34 |
| 737 → 777 | 28 |
| 737 → 787 | 26 |
| 737 → 320 | 22 |
| 320 → 737 | 16 |
| 787 → 320 | 10 |
| 777 → 787 | 9 |
| 787 → 777 | 7 |
| 777 → 320 | 6 |
| 777 → 737 | 5 |
| 787 → 737 | 4 |
30 pilots were awarded LGA 320 Captain INT, going as junior as #13,377 (vs. #8,250 in June). That puts LGA 320 Captain INT right at the Narrowbody Captain median — normalizing from last bid's extremely senior cutoff. On the First Officer side, LGA 320 First Officer INT had just 4 awards going as junior as #16,388.
| Category | In | Out | Most Junior Awarded | PRE Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA 320 CA INT | 31 | 16 | #13,377 | 30 |
| LGA 320 FO INT | 4 | 14 | #16,388 | 4 |
Of the 30 pilots who left LGA 320 INT, the top destinations were MIA 320 Captain (4), LGA 320 First Officer (4), LGA 320 Captain (3), LGA 777 First Officer (3), and MIA 320 First Officer (3). LGA 320 Captain INT was the 5th most-awarded Captain category this quarter.
| Metric | Sep 2026 | Δ Jun ’26 | Δ Sep ’25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA Most Junior Awarded | #13,377 | 🟢 5,127 jr | n/a |
| FO Most Junior Awarded | #16,388 | 🔴 206 sr | n/a |
| CA PRE Awards | 30 | — | n/a |
| FO PRE Awards | 4 | — | n/a |
Congratulations to all awardees!
This analysis is for informational purposes only and reflects pilot movement via the final vacancy award. This data does not represent total base headcount changes, which also include new-hire placements and attrition not captured in vacancy data. For official vacancy questions, contact AA Workforce Planning or your APA representatives.