Being an Expat working for United
 

Gday folks,

As you can guess from my opening line (& my handle) I am an aussie & am seeking some info about United.

At this current stage I don't have an FAA licence but am giving serious consideration about getting one in the very near future. I don't have a green card but I'm still looking into it. This thread is purely for research purposes @ this time.

Is it possible for a pilot working for United to commute internationally ???

About 3 years ago I came across a United 747-400 Captain who resides full time in Sydney Australia but commutes to work in the USA (he was born & raised in the USA however he never mentioned his base). It's my understanding that there are provisions in the United contract but I've never seen the contract.

Is it possible to build a roster in such a way that a pilot can fly the hours required of them & return to there country of domicile ???, wherever it may be in the world.

Obviously a green card is required to work for United & that presents other problems such as time spent in USA versus outside of it for residency.
Again this question is purely for research purposes & things can change in the future.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

That UAL captain was likely quite senior to able to commute from so far away. Commuting is done on days off and it would consume a lot of days off to commute. They do not build a roster for commuters to go to or from where they live. You may be in luck though because, as the result of a recent merger, there is now a United base in Guam. A far easier commute I would think.

Imagine this scenario. I'm an American citizen with no ties to Australia but I'm interested in flying for Qantas. Citizenship issues aside, just assume one day I obtain it, can I eventually fly a Qantas 747 or A380 out of SYD while living in LAX and commuting?

What ever answer you give for that, basically just reverse it and it's probably all true.

Don't come to America. Ebolans have taken over.

Go fly for Virgin Blue, Tiger, Jetstar etc etc. you'll be much happier.

Why would you want to fly for United, yet still live in Australia? Why not target Virgin Blue, Tiger, Jet Star, Qantas and not face such a commute? If you're interested in working as an expat then there are plenty of expat gigs around - Emirates, Etihad, Cathay, any number of Asian contracts - all a lot closer to Australia.

FYI there are plenty of us Americans trying to get on to our legacy carriers. Before that gets taken the wrong way - I'm married to an Australian!

I guess he liked the haircuts.

Would you like to have your hair cut by women in lingerie as you drink beer? ? Ultimate News

Awesome replies, Keep 'em coming
 

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. As I said, just research at this time. Plenty of hoops need to be jumped through before anything happens. I should have mentioned in my initial post that my intention is to live in the USA, or Guam, as required. it would be nice to occasionally travel home for a break outside of annual leave periods.
Other posters have mentioned in other threads (talking about the Guam 737 operations & the like) that it would be possible to do the credit hours required then take the rest of the month off which seemed highly odd.

APC225: Yes, the captain I knew would be fairly senior. He stated that he joined UAL in 1993. If anyone working for UAL knows of any Captains who are or were on the 747-400 commute from Sydney Australia, can you let me know. I'd like to pass on a message to him. He mentioned that before aviation he was studying to be a dentist in Minnesota. Can't be 100% certain on that.

SHYGUY: In theory, with enough seniority, you could live in LA, commute to SYD then operate a QF 747 or A380 provided you had residency in Australia which is not an easy task.

PCLCREW: Yes, Virgin, Jetstar would make me much happier. Tiger is an absolute basket case & QF haven't recruited in the last 6 years. I don't meet the educational requirements for QF anyway. The wanted top subjects which I didn't do.

BUFORD: Yes there are many expat gigs around. Emirates, Etihad require heavy jet time which I don't have, I have no jet time. Cathay are only recruiting Hong Kong nationals & the Asian contracts require time on type which you guessed it, I don't have.

In Australia, college degrees aren't required for aviation jobs. Nobody seems to care about them. All they are interested in are whether you have the hours they want, the licence they want & the right sort of hours they're after (multi turbine RPT etc)

Most US legacies require a 4 year degree. I'm pretty sure the Aussie carrriers don't require a degree so in that regard you'd be worse off in the US. You may want to look at smaller expat gigs that aren't flying the heavy stuff. How old are you?

Buford
 

Hi Buford, yeah I've noticed that. United states on their recruitment site that while a 4yr degree is preferred they are also happy with a High School diploma.

I'm in my early 30's flying a Dash 8 in Papua New Guinea. None of the Aussie airlines require degrees, they are only interested in how much real world experience you have, not necessarily your educational background. They also haven't recruited for several years & as I mentioned in a previous response all of the expat jobs need time on type.

Realistically, United Airlines (assuming I got the licence & the residency paperwork squared away) would be the only airline I could apply to.