Originally Posted by Cozmo

Sorry if there's a FAQ somewhere. I couldn't find it.

I have been a commercial pilot for about 15 years, and lately I've been greatly encouraged to check out the airlines. I have 5,000+ hours, 4,000+ multi turbine, and I have a pretty good job that I'm nervous to leave despite the numerous potential benefits that a good airline job would provide. My caveats (below) pretty severely restrict my options, and United is really my first choice of those.

My caveats:

- I don't want to move
- I can't afford a huge year 1 pay cut ($85/hr is doable, $40/hr is not)

My questions:

- How bad is life with a long distance commute? Are crash pads really that bad? A big commute essentially adds 2 unpaid days to your work hitch, right?


Commuting is tough especially to reserve. Long distance commuting is tougher. As a JR pilot, expect to add 1 day onto both ends of a trip and expect to shell out $$ for parking, hotels, etc.


- What determines what base you get initially? What factors influence that? Do I get any say at all? (EWR and SFO would be long trips for me, and if I understand correctly, that's where most new hires go.)


Class seniority and availability. Lately, new hires can expect SFO or EWR and 737, A320 or 757. You can bid for new bases as vacancies open.

- How long can I expect to be at one of those bases, assuming I don't get the one I want?

Depends. Anywhere from a couple weeks to 6 months seems to be the norm these days. Senior bases will take much longer. Don't expect ORD or DEN for a couple years.

- What is the pay for new hires during training, and how long is it?


$80ish X 90 hours per month and continuous per diem.


- How does flying on reserve work? How many days are you on call? How far away can you be?


All reserves are on Long call, meaning you have 12 hours to show to an assignment (with some caveats). The day before, you can be assigned (or pickup) a trip, a short call assignment (2.5 hour call out) or a 4 hr field standby.


- What determines what equipment you are assigned to? Excepting pay differences, is life in any one plane significantly better or worse than life in another?


Seniority. Some like the variety in the 737 flying but the plane and cockpit might not be as comfy as say the Airbus, which does mostly domestic and Mexico. 757 will be a lot of international. Depends what you want.

- I know what a 401k is, but what is A/B/C? Some kind of matching?


A fund - I believe no longer exists, B/C fund are company match up to 16% of your yearly earnings (to the IRS limit)

- I saw another thread recommending Emerald Coast for interview prep. Is it assumed that everyone does this at this point, and are you at a major disadvantage if you don't?

Cage Consulting and Emerald are very good. Of course you dont HAVE to do them, but if you don't and don't get the job, you will always ask yourself if you did everything possible to be successful. Consider them an investment. You are investing a few hundred dollars for the chance at a multi-million dollar career.

I know this was a lot, thanks for making it this far.