Originally Posted by
Tolpin
I live in Northern Virginia. 25 Minutes from both DCA & IAD. BWI is 1.5 hours away and Philly a little more than 2 hours. I think I'm in a sweet spot for the regionals. I count at least 6 that are based out of either IAD or DCA. I'm looking at all those based close to home.
However when I look at the Majors, it's not the same case. United is out of IAD and AA out of DCA. What are the odds of getting based near where you live? I assume pretty small. My family and I are not attached to Northern Virginia living. We are willing to move for a job with a major, but a regional not being our final stop that would take a little more convincing ($$).
Determining the odds of getting a certain base out of training is a crapshoot really. I can speak to UAL (recently) and that most are going to EWR and SFO with occasional DC slots (DC encompasses IAD, DCA & BWI). It's all 737/320 slots currently and supposedly 75's will open up again next year sometime. One class recently was all SFO and another was all EWR. What slots will be available for your class when you show up? Who knows.
With that in mind, apply everywhere and interview everywhere you get a chance. If you get multiple offers (not unheard of currently), then start looking at the basing and see what the junior guys are getting, commutability, etc. Compare class start dates. Until you have more than one choice, it's an easy choice with one offer.
Vacancy bids seem to occur every couple of months. It offers you a chance to move bases and/or aircraft. You can't bid laterally (i.e. 737 to 320), but you can bid up to 75/76t, etc. There have been two since August and I haven't followed them, so I am not sure how many new guys are using them. I do know two of my classmates bid from SFO to LAX and got it, both were on the 737. edit: You can't bid laterally w/i 24 mos of current seat assignment. You also can't bid down (75 to 320/737) w/i 24 mos of current seat assignment.
If you have to commute initially, take a good look at your options when picking the base. You want to be able to one-leg it if possible and distance isn't necessarily the deciding factor when flying. Number of flights, chances for an open seat/jump seat, etc. is what matters. If the flight is full, what are the chances a senior dude will trump you for the jump seat (i.e. DEN-SFO w/UAL)? Is it the middle of the summer, a full flight and they need to unload pax and/or luggage from the DHC-8?
I think you are pretty well positioned if you get on with UAL. Even if you don't get DC off the new hire bid, you can always put in a standing bid for it and you are living next to a UAL hub with two airports to find flights for your commute while you are awaiting a base transfer.