UAL vs AA
 

Same thread as a previous poster, looking for info on this thread between the two, good bad ugly and everything in between. And I understand any job where you don't commute is not the best, but going in assumption is that I will commute 1 leg to either company. TIA.

Access to wide body jobs. Better (aka more lucrative) contract.

If you are going to commute one leg either way, there is nothing AAL offers better than United.

Friends at AA sound a little disgruntled with the company right now, e.g. unhappy with leadership, unhappy with where the brand is going, etc. you don’t hear those kinds of complaints from Delta or SWA guys. Friends at United are very enthusiastic about Oscar and how he cares for the people but are concerned about Kirby and what he’d do to the company and contracts if given the chance.

There’s still a lot of animosity amongst the old heads at United with stuff that went down 5, 10, 20 years ago. The continental merger, the “lost generation”, the summer of love, double furloughs, etc.

Personally I was put off from American’s hiring fairs and the ****-show impression it left. I think United has the most upside going forward, especially as some of that negative history actually becomes history through retirements. Plus with the hiring UAL is doing right now it’s a great time to be a new hire.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would look at retirements and calculate your relative seniority vs. your age at each airline.

Where do you want to live? Go to the one that allows you to drive to work.

From there if it requires commuting (you mentioned one leg), go to the one with the fastest seniority movement at the easiest commute.

After that, AA has always lagged the other airlines in pay and work rules.

More than five years out, what’s going on today bears zero resemblance to what will be will be going on when it’s time for you to retire.

Take a close look at the financials for all the airlines you are considering.

AA has more retirements happening sooner. Someone hired today should be able to get into group 4 FO or group 2 captain in about 5 years. United has a better contract. Both are great companies to work for, so there's no wrong answer here. If you insist on commuting I would heavily favor the one with the easier commute. I would also consider which one has a base you may be willing to move to if you decide commuting isn't for you. I think United has hired more pilots and more younger pilots than AA has, so your overall seniority progression may be better at AA. AA allows you to reserve the jumpseat 8 days out. When I commuted, this was a huge deal.

There are few certainties in this industry. Right now, we (AA) have a very weak balance sheet, but things change. Unless age 65 changes, nobody can match our retirements. I'd go to United right now, but I'd love for apa and Parker to prove me wrong.

The flip side of all those retirements is that it may not help the balance sheet, they're going to have to pay for a LOT of training events in the near future, vastly aggravated by the large number of types on property...

The -80, 190, 75/76 are all on the books to be retired in the next few years. That leaves 5 type ratings on campus, 73/78/77/320/330, that’s really not bad for the biggest airline on the planet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk