Originally Posted by
That Guy 74
As a recent new hire (October 2019), and having just transitioned from the 737 to the 756 fleet, I may be in a unique position to answer your question.
First, let me start off by saying that I kept telling myself...and the instructors...as I went through the 756 course this past June/July that I was SO GLAD I went to the 737 first. Why? The 756 may be a single type rating, but it's like learning 6 different airplanes. You are expected to know the 757-200, 757-300, 767-300, and 767-400...and on top of that, there are different engine types and options even on the same variant. Try learning all of that PLUS learning the United way of doing things - new hires do it, but honestly, I am glad *I* didn't have to, and I had military & civilian experience and 6 type ratings before going to United! My hat's off to those poor new hires who have to learn the 756 right out of the gate...it isn't easy.
You'll have better QOL initially on the 737 fleet because it is growing so fast - I don't know how long until you'll be off reserve, but it will be a lot shorter than the 756 fleet. My recommendation would be to bid the 737 in BI, hang out on it and get off probation, then see where you stand on the 756.
As far as days off on reserve, you get a minimum of 12 or 13 depending on the overall length of that particular bid month. The problem with Global reserve vs. regular reserve is you only get 6 HDO (Holy Days Off) that can't be flown into. An RDO (Regular Day Off) can be flown into if it follows a global trip; say something happens and you're in Munich on the 15th and you have an RDO on the 16th. You planned to be home for your kid's birthday on the 16th. Well, they moved your trip to cover the delayed departure and now you're flying home on the 16th. Having said that, I've never been rolled over into a day off....I HAVE been rolled over into the first day of vacation, which was restored at the end of my vacation block. Good thing I didn't have tickets for a cruise or something.
Your QOL on reserve is going to depend on whether you live in base or not, and whether you want to work or not. On the 737 as a new guy, I was actually only on reserve my first month off OE and was a line holder thereafter...for a whopping 3 months until COVID hit. When I went back to the 73 in January of this year, I was on reserve and I only live an hour from base...so I decided to try and work as much as possible. You can bid for open time trips the day prior and have a bit more control over what you fly vs. waiting to get called and getting stuck with a crappy trip. Conversely, if you don't want to work, you can monitor where you are on the SILO list and play it so that you don't volunteer for anything...and if you get near the top, you can always try to bid for something for the next day in open time and go to Cancun instead of Cincinnati. You can also convert your days off on reserve to VDOs, which allows you to pick up advertised premium pay trips at 50% or get called by scheduling to cover something that pops up for 50% additional pay. Say you are off today, but on reserve the following two days...you convert your day off into a VDO around 0900 that morning. At 2000, crew scheduling calls and asks how quickly you can get to the airport. You tell them you can be there in an hour if they pick up short term parking for you (the employee lot is going to add 15-20 minutes getting to the gate minimum). They offer you a trip down to MCO tonight because the first crew timed out, with a deadhead back in the morning. So you only fly 2:30 that evening, minimum pay is 5 hours a day, you are not coming home until the next day, that's 10 hours, plus 50% makes 15 hours of pay for one leg and a day and a half's worth of work. Not a bad deal!
The EWR 73 fleet has some of the best 73 flying in the company. Lots of Caribbean, resort destinations, some trans-cons. One of the worst I flew was a Liberia, Costa Rica, to San Francisco leg - nearly 7 hours in the 73 cockpit. Still beats a King Air or an RJ of ANY type!
On the 756 fleet, reserve is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get. I've been flown to IAD out of EWR to cover a IAD 756 trip to London. I've had to do the dreaded drive to JFK (turns my normally docile 1 hour commute into a 2.5 (MINIMUM!) hour death race - make sure your have the Waze app!) to do a JFK-LAX-HNL-LAX-JFK 4-day trip. I've gotten VDO calls outs, been put on short call...and used...for a EWR-SFO trip. There are currently quite a few trips every day in open time on the fleet, so if you are on reserve and want to work, you should be able to. We are short pilots, so if you want to sit, this is not the fleet to try that on.
As far as how long to hold a line - quicker on the 737, longer on the 756. I am NOT a line holder on the 756 after two years on the property and probably won't be for a WHILE....last I checked, there were at least 50 numbers above me to the lowest line holder. I don't mind, though, because I like the flying, love the equipment, and live in base. If you want minimum time on reserve, the 73 fleet is the way to go - it's going to be growing leaps and bounds. The 756 fleet is pretty much staying where it's at, maybe even shrinking as time goes on. We'll have to wait and see.
Bottom line, reserve here is NO WAY even close to reserve at the regionals. You have a bit more control over what you want to do and when you want to do it. Even on reserve, I credited 94 hours last month (like I said, I want to fly!) just by converting days off to VDO, picking up two or three that ran into days off, then turning the restored days off into VDOs...wash, rinse, repeat.
Hopefully that gives you some insight. More importantly, congratulations and welcome aboard! BEST JOB EVER!