Originally Posted by
BusBoi
I'm a Spirit FO, mid 30s, living in the northeastern quadrant of NJ and based in AC. I'm also considering going to a legacy with United being my target. Not interested in Delta (can't stand their pilot culture) or American (I've heard lousy workrules, miserable pilots, incompetent management, and several years for upgrade). However, if I don't get hired by United (and I have zero interest flying cargo), do you think JetBlue would be a little bit of a step up or purely a pointless lateral move? They have a highly convenient Newark base, but JFK and LGA are doable as well (shorter mileage than AC but traffic and high bridge tolls. However I'm planning to move closer to NYC and could then use public transit to get to JFK/LGA). I really like JetBlue's product, they seem better run than spirit, their pay is better, they're flying to Europe, etc., and I understand upgrades are no worse than Spirit and very quick for the E190 in NY. What do you all think?
Not sure what JetBlue has as a EWR base but UA's is huge and is very junior. The Mar Base roster shows the following staffing for EWR. The NB FO numbers are a little high as pilots that are still in new hire training are shown as staffed at the awarded base even though they aren't there yet.
The EWR base at UA is bigger than some airlines are in total!
777 and 787 FO slots have gone unfilled in EWR and are currently being offered in the New Hire classes. 737 and 320 Cap positions have gone unfilled in EWR as well. Those can't be given to new hires. The junior 787/777 Captains in EWR are 1500 seniority numbers junior to the most junior 787 Captain in ORD. Those data points give you the picture of just how junior EWR is.
One of the main reasons for that juniority is folks not wanting to commute to reserve. You are are responsible for all three airports, though the lion share of the trips are out of EWR. Reserve here at UA is not good, but most of the issues with it are really bad for commuters and not such a problem for local folks.
So, if you are staying put in NJ, then I would just set your sights on UA, stay where you are building hours and know that the call is coming soon. New hire classes of 65 per week here and at the other big carriers mean everybody is going to be getting called much quicker than most of us ever imagined possible.