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Actually, it has to do with seniority.

The airlines have a very powerful pecking order based on seniority.

United has what is probably the most rigid and extreme union based seniority policies in the industry and many senior First Officers would rather have their existing position instead of becoming a very junior Captain.

>United has what is probably the most rigid and extreme union based seniority policies in the industry and many senior First Officers would rather have their existing position instead of becoming a very junior Captain.<

All airlines use the same type of seniority system, from the smallest commuter to the major airlines. The latest issues arise because, after the latest round of negotiations, senior first officer (copilot) pay is more than captain pay used to be. It’s a pretty penny. Captain pay is a pretty penny and a quarter.

Airline scheduling has a long history of abusing the rules and pushing pilots to the extreme. A senior first officer is much more insulated from that than a junior captain. It becomes an even bigger issue if the pilot has a wife who works and/or kids at home.

My mother, the school teacher, used to give me grief that she had to work 5 days a week and I only worked 3 or 4. I told her to pack a suitcase on Monday morning and stay at school until Friday afternoon and tell me about this comparison again. She gets it, but our family likes to rib each other.