I have heard anecdotally that the younger generation of applicants is more interested in time off (both at home and on overnights) and schedule flexibility than they are money. (Naturally they want to make as much as possible, but they prioritize time off and schedule flexibility). If that's true, it's a change that the company is ill prepared for. Our whole system is designed towards working more to make more. So an applicant that would be happier with an 85 hour cap, just flying guarantee, dropping trips, lengthy overnights, long call reserve... probably will choose to go elsewhere.

Once you're a line holder here you do get plenty of time off but it comes at a price - working hard when you're at work. That's not everybody's cup of tea.



I ran into a United newhire yesterday. She used to be a SWA FA and became a pilot, flew corporate for a few years and was hired by UA. She was based in LAX and lives in LAS. On long call reserve she stays at home in Vegas. When I met her she had been transitioned to short call reserve and she was headed to LAX. If they didn't use her by the end of the day, she automatically went back to long call and was planning to get on an airplane and come back home that same night! That is some world class flexibility that we just can't match.

And don't even get me started on their version of CrewHub that has a little hamburger icon. When she tapped it there was a menu with options for crewmeals they can pick from when flying. Yeah, I was jealous. These are the difference between a legacy airline with a mature contract, and essentially Jackpot Airlines (from the LA to Vegas TV show)