Thanks for the replies. Exactly the info I was looking for.

Resurrecting this thread:

- we are interested in Guam as a new hire. My understanding is as follows:
- All 73 flying, starting second year pay, COLA payments, min of 2 years and United will move you and your family out there. Does all that check?
- If I request it, I can probably get it…
- what is the flying schedule like for the new guy? Is it reserve or holding a line?
- where does United typically fly out of Guam and what are the schedules? What would I expect as a new hire?

pay/benefits sound correct… don’t forget the $3000/mo stipend. You’ll be on RSV probably the full 2 years. Good news is a special reserve rule exist allowing pilots to do their reserve requirement for the month in a single string. Other than the island hopper to HNL most trips are out/backs with some overnights here/there. If you like water sports and a laid back town it will be a vacation. If you have school age kids or family needs recurring medical treatment it might not be so good. Cost of living and taxes are high.

See my answers above & DM me if you want more specifics. COVID had a major impact on the base & Asia is being much slower than the West with their reopenings. It’s hard to know when things will return to normal here. They are replacing some of the pilots who have left recently, which is an indication that the airline at least doesn’t want to whittle it too far down, but like I said, much of the base is still on RSV, so we’re not seeing the kind of recovery the rest of the system is yet.

We pay federal income tax, but no local income tax or sales tax. Cost of living is variable. Some things are marked up a lot (gas is well over $4), others are pretty close to mainland costs. School costs are a big consideration. Lots of home schoolers, some pay for private school. Different lifestyle for sure. Works better for some than others.

I’m retiring, so I’ll have access to the base commissary and BX, and that will offset part of the cost of living… and we already homeschool. I’d like to avoid doing nothing but overnight flights - it’s the reason I am not going cargo.

The 6/1 snapshot of the latest vacancy bid shows 6 openings all of which are currently unfilled. Bid closes tomorrow I believe.

That will be really tricky as a junior guy.

(For reference, we currently have around half the base on leave or RSV. It’s hard to know exactly what normal will be or when it will come back, but I can speak to how things were up to 2020.) Day/night flying was probably the most common delineation between senior/junior trips. For utilization, the airline tries to keep the planes flying around the clock, so you’ll usually see around half the flying happening at night, with seniority following those trips pretty closely. The best way to avoid a lot of night flying as a junior guy is to bid RSV- which is usually pretty quiet on the FO side. You’ll fly less, but still more frequently at night. For this reason, there were often times when the most junior GUM pilots couldn’t hold RSV, getting instead a forced line of the least desired night trips. Some night trips are augmented so you get a rest segment, although the seat is just a lie back 1st class 737 seat, which some guys have a very tough time sleeping in.

Ultimately it’s an individual thing. Some guys find a rhythm with it & don’t mind the night trips, others really struggle to make it work. I’ve known a couple who left the base for that very reason. If it works for you the lifestyle is unlike anything you're likely to have experienced with the airlines, but night flying is a trade off of being junior on GUM.

https://www.sakuradiningguam.com/
667 North Marine Dr, Suite 103
Tamuning, Guam 96913 (Across GTA Upper Tumon)

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Tacos Sineloa 1010 Pale San Vitores Rd, Suite 102, La Isla Plaza, Tumon, 96913, Guam

having base access will definitely improve your QoL… as well as access to the naval hospital if you need more specialized care. If you guys are looking for a couple year adventure and traveling on your days off around that part of the world it will be worthwhile. You might want to check, but I think retired military can get into base housing which will give more options… a friend of mine was the CO and said they were looking at that option a few years ago. With the new Marine units moving in that might have changed.