UA vs AA living in DC
 

Hi folks,
Got my CJOs from both and on the verge of deciding now which would give me the better quality of life.
Just turned 52, no kids, just me and my wife.
Retirement numbers seem to favor American in the long term, but UA has many more wide-body planes coming online soon.
United has much younger pilot community, so not sure how my advanced age would fit into that group. At AA I would still feel on the young side I guess.
I really want to optimize my time at work and maximize my days off.
I don't mind which aircraft I am going to fly, but long term the bus is easier on the body, just more comfortable work environment.
Not really keen on jumping on the WB fleet any time soon, been doing that for the last couple of years and want to be in bed at night, not the bunk.
I want to stay in DC, not planning to move anywhere before I retire.
What do you think?

American is not really good at optimizing your time OFF, they are great at optimizing your time ON. Have no clue how UA but getting a full line and 18 days off is not a thing here.

You’re worried about your age and cultural fit?? Youre gonna have to sling gear for someone much younger than you wherever you go. AA, for now, is super old. DCA is a small base, but not going anywhere. As long as you don’t commute, you can make a lot of money doing the IMAX game AND have a semblance of QOL

I'd say go to AA if you're on the fence and not keen on the WBs. If you really wanted to fly WB I'd recommend UAL but if not I'd come to AA. Not based in DCA so I can't give you the down low on that base per say but it's not going anywhere and like you said senority for now nods towards AA. Either way if you live in base you'll have a great QOL at either carrier. Not a bad problem to have !

In DCA, getting a line with 16 days off, 80+ hours credit, and partial commutability (DCA loves AM starts) is easily a thing.

“Dc” is iad for united and dca for AA if that helps

we have plenty of IAD trips at AA for the DCA folk
BWI too

its probably 50/25/25 on the 73

And more like 90/5/5 on the bus.

17 off is pretty regularly achievable as well.

Thanks guys!
Sounds like a great gig.
Hope to get either PHL or DCA at indoc.
See you on the line!

the only reason to choose AA is if you prefer driving to DCA and just wanted to stay narrow body for your shorter career. Otherwise United would be the play for me.

I am in the same boat. Now that the dust has cleared and the contracts are ratified. Which airline is more solvent and better financially long term? Where can you upgrade faster? I came from flying WB’s for over 12 years. So I am not real concerned if I get back to that or not. I just need to get back in the left seat as quickly as possible. Any opinions will be appreciated.

One thing I would like to add about DCA and AA is that, if you ever get the wide body itch again, PHL is only about a 2.5 hour drive depending on where you live around DC. The 787 PHL is definitely doable sitting Long Call or even Short Call Reserve from DC.
That being said, I have been at American and based at DCA for over a year now, no regrets whatsoever.

Any particular reason/s why?

Thank you, how long can one expect to wait for the 787 FO in PHL in today's environment?

The junior FO on the latest bid was hired 3/2020. That's 3.5 years which includes the Covid pause in hiring but of course a lot can affect the timing, Age 67, the new 787 deliveries and where they go, the effect if any of the ending Northeast Alliance on JFK and PHL The new contract and if that has any influence on how pilots bid etc.

It's still pretty dynamic but a guess off the top of my head is about 2.5 years (it briefly got more senior) but WB in general has slowly been coming down as you'd expect.

Where would you rather drive to work every day, DCA or Dulles? That's how I'd make the decision honestly without knowing or diving into what United IAD trips/seniority progression is like... Traffic around here is enough to weigh in on the decision.

**With the caveat that if you can drive to Philly somewhat easily you've got the WB option as well.

DCA is next door from me, I'm in Alexandria, VA.
Thanks

AA is a no brainer then, unless you really want to drive to IAD a bunch. Bid reserve and chill.

Oh man. If you live in Alexandria you will love flying out of DCA. I'm 20 minutes away and take the Metro to work when I can. It cannot be beat.

If you’re looking at WB, then UAL in DC. Drive across town is much easier than the drive to Philly and a lot more options. Give or take 4 months depending on bid timing, You can hold 756 within 6 months and 787 in about 12 in DC and 777 in 15 months.

As others have mentioned, if I were you then I would already have my answer. Your QOL living that close to DCA will be unmatched.

IAD is a :40 drive. On w/b reserve you'll do that, on average, probably 3-4x a month. I wouldn't choose AA/DCA over UA/IAD to save the time *IF* you want to fly w/b's at some point. Having to drive 2.5 hrs to PHL would suck in comparison.

Outside of reserve, I know several AA WB pilots that jumpseat. Frequency to longer flight ratio is better than NB.

I am bias, you need to come to UAL if you are in DC. I wouldn’t take WB off as a consideration if you in live in base either at UAL… There’s a lot of opportunities on the WB at United to just chill at home without seeing much yearly use…

This year, I went from Feb to April to not flying, the summer month was busy flying my tail off, however, got to enjoy the layovers. As the summer flying winds down this month, there will not be much flying to be had.

On top of that, the drive to Dulles isn’t terrible. Sure having DCA next door is great, but 40 minutes with traffic. Not terrible…

Good luck to ya! Either direction you choose will be a good decision.

Thanks!

Which fleet are you on?

I am on the 756 here….

Interesting, good airframe to be on, so it seems.
I would like to maximize my daytime flying, been flying mostly at night in Asia and it just kills me in the long run.
Which UA fleet to start off at EWR or SFO before that 756 in IAD becomes available to bid? Does it even matter?

Thanks
Dan

United actually has a fair amount of flying out of DCA. I don’t think it goes super senior, I used to get it all the time on the 756 before we closed the base during Covid. The airbus and 737 still have significant operations at DCA (and BWI).