IMO the thread wandering often helps. Guys can ponder the value of one flight vs two flight commuter requirement. 15 flights a day from you commuter city? Who cares. Four flights a day? It’s a huge benefit. You take the 1300 flight instead of the 0800 flight.

Living in base? You leave your house at 1500. Priceless value.
All nighter? Home mid morning, sleep to lunch. Wake up hungover and think ‘this is what the guys flying to Europe do every trip .” :-/

 

At AA we can drop trips for no credit. If there is enough coverage on a day you can just drop it otherwise you can try to drop to another pilot. The company can’t stop you from dropping to other pilots. I have good luck dropping Two day trips. Trying to drop a three day red eye trip worth 11 hours or so is hard. Very few want to pick up a red eye. Many try to drop all trips then fly when they want. There are ways to make huge bucks (over $400K/yr. narrow body Captain) if you figure the system out.

I’m pretty junior and was able to trade a red eye over Thanksgiving. My trip over Christmas is green (droppable) right now. It seems like there are so many reserves on the holidays that we line holders can drop those trips. I’m sure it depends on base and equipment.

You have a great decision to make. Good luck.

 

Anyone getting hired at UAL/AA/DAL/FDX today under the age of 40 is in for a stellar career. Contracts/benefits/seniority progression are all becoming very similar. If you can get on at the place that had a base where you live/want to live... then it's just gravy.

 

This surprises me, considering Delta doesn’t have Domestic crew meals or middle seat deadhead pay and American doesn’t have a minimum calendar day pay, meaning there are 3 day trips that pay 10 hours and 4 days that pay less than 20. Seems like you’d have to work quite a few more days to make the same money at AA. Does AA have Domestic crew meals (not that they’re anything to write home about). There must be other aspects of UAs contract that fall far behind the others. ALPA put something out at one point with overall contract values that I thought had DL/UA pretty much tied and AA right behind. But of course, that was total monetary value.

 

They do give you an extra breast for your suite and that counts for a lot.

 

The problem with AA's policy is it only works for the first commuter to reserve the jumpseat (is it time or seniority?). UAL's policy works no matter how many other pilots are commuting.

 

You’re right, AA’s jumpseat policy is first come first serve. If someone books ahead of you they have the primary and you’re the alternate. But you find that out 8 days ahead of time as opposed to the UA system where a senior pilot can bump you up to 15 mins before departure.

I know which method I prefer.

 

I’d find out which one has the first new hire class you can attend and jump on that... if a toss up id take UAL for reasons listed above...

Don’t commute unless you don’t have a choice or for only a short period... your options and QoL will be mo beta.

 

"APA Contract Experts"

Hahaha.

 

Based on time. Not sure how that's a drawback.