August hire? No brainer, go to AA, you can’t compare 700 under you to what you’ll have at AA, no way to know. DFW is rapidly becoming a JR base for NB CA’s. FO’s hold it within months. I had the opposite choice to make, but at the 1.5 year mark living in a UAL hub. I wasn’t for sure going to not move like you are. I chose to stay at AA, I’m fine with it, but with hindsight would have made a different decision. Honestly anything under 1 year, I would have bailed in a heart beat. Your situation, yeah AA. You live near our Mega base, and can easily sit SC reserve from home. I flew exactly zero hours last month on SC, though I did use some sick time.

 

You’ll be able to hold DFW by the time you get done with training. You’ll likely never actually commute to LGA/LAX.

I’m not too familiar with UAL pass travel. My family has used AA pass travel with a lot of success. I wish we at mainline had a priority over our wholly owned regionals, but I doubt that changes. You can book the jumpseat at 8pm central time 8 days prior to travel, and it’s 99% yours (fed, etc aside). First Come First Served. Don’t have to worry about some geriatric taking the jumpseat at the last minute… my UAL buddies would happily take AA’s jumpseat system.

In general, it seems AA’s reserve is better, if only for lack of that airport standby and global reserve BS.

Re: future contract, the union just sent out some negotiating updates and it sounds like the stuff AA lags in- scheduling, reassignments, recovery obligation, premium, hotels, deadheads, LTD, etc- will be at a minimum brought up to industry standard, and perhaps industry leading. The company is in panic mode over a CKA shortage and APA finally appears to want to utilize its leverage, and AA has agreed to fix the egregious stuff. We will see.

UAL has more widebodies, if that motivates you. It doesn’t have any widebodies out of DFW, though.

AA’s retirements are staggering, and you’re very much still at the front of the wave. UAL’s retirements aren’t as good, but are still amazing.

Once AA catches up on work rules, the biggest drawback will continue to be incompetent management. There’s no sugar coating it- AA management sucks. Then again, every airline is a management change away from success or train wreck. UAL was a dumpster fire under Smisek. Munoz comes in and changed the entire course of the company. Parker, Isom, et al can’t run this ship into the ground forever…. can they?

If you had 2+ years at UAL, I’d say stay… and move to a UAL domicile. Since you’re under that, go to AA… or FedEx.

 

I wouldn’t walk but run to AA if I were you. Live near DFW and don’t plan to move? I think you know the answer. You’ll know if you made the right decision while you’re in basic indoc/initial training and you’re driving home on the weekends (Or every night if you’re really ambitious).

 

When they don’t even wait for you to say “positive rate” **chef’s kiss**

 

Unless you call sick for every trip, I'd say the chance of not flying on SC for the full month in DFW on a narrow body is pretty much zero. Since every other base flys through DFW, we cover broken trips from other baes all the time. I cant speak for the fo's, but as a ca on short call, it's very rare for me to have more than two, or three days a month I don't fly. I've timed out more than a few times, and usual SC month is around 70 hours.

I believe the other narrow body bases are probably about the same, but we average 30% reserve coverage, both ca's and fo's.

On the line holder side, for December in DFW (737) 41% of our pairings were 4 day trips, and just over 5% were 5 day's.

I didn't look at January yet, but my fo says it looks about the same.

 

This.

If there's any constant to airline advice over time and space, it is drive to base. Even if you had perfect knowledge of life at AA and UAL today, who knows what it will be in 5 years. But AA isn't leaving DFW and neither are you. Go to American.

 

Hmm. There is no flaps 2 on the 777

 

BB is lying on “the line” then!!!!!

I assume it was 737.

 

which thread title?

 

Not sure. Check his post history.