Guam Based Pilots
 

Is there anyone on here who fly's for United on Guam or know someone that does who may be willing to have his brain picked by me?
Thanks
Rob

I am based in Guam. What would you like to know?

I have a bunch of questions about family life. PM sent.
Thanks

Family guy in GUM. Negative movement out here right now, but never hurts to be informed. Feel free to PM or post ?s.

I am currently on Guam for a couple of months for military duty and on leave from United. I am considering moving out here in the future when/if vacancies open up. Looking for any info from the guys local out here on places to live, sailing, diving, activities and schools for the kids etc. I also need to get my medical renewed by the end of July. Any recommendations for an AME on island. Thanks

Is it possible to hold guam base right after training? If not, and probably it's considered a senior base, how long before someone can actually bid for it?

Thanks

Not currently, the base is shrinking right now. The last newhires that were assigned GUM was about 3 years ago.

A long time ago it was 1/3 lifers, 1/3 volunteers trying it out, and 1/3 new hires and non volunteers. When the pilot group more than doubled in size that bottom third designation disappeared.

It is 2nd year pay for new hires plus the $3k/mo COLA so it was a heck of a deal for some. I spent some days there on a typhoon evac from Okinawa. Love it or hate it, "there ain't no neutral ground" (Dylan).

Guam is NOT Hawaii.....

Can someone tell me what number is the most Junior pilot and the number of the pilot at 80% for 737/GUM base report?

Thanks

Elaborate.

For those guys based in Guam, is the commuter policy the same?

I have a friend considering the trip, but, they are also living in Japan and he is asking me about the feasibility of commuting to/from Guam.

Anyone willing to PM me an email so I can pass along to him...

Correct. I enjoyed some TAD there, and probably could have found stuff to do in the region for a year or so. I wouldn't have wanted a PCS, and most wives would appreciate that even less. But it's worth checking out on a temporary basis, especially if you like to dive (or are willing to learn).

There were unfilled GUM vacancies, so in a way the junior guy has yet to be hired.

Did a year (commuted) way back when and highly recommend it- some of the best diving anywhere.

Commute from JP is doable, but as with any commute, you lose time at home vs. just living in base. If he is currently commuting from JP to the US, I can’t imagine GUM would be any worse. GUM RSV rules allow you to “compress” all your off days into a single block. It is possible to do basically the same with a line based on your seniority & as long as you are willing to sacrifice trip quality for scheduling preferences. Some guys even use this to commute from the mainland US, although I wouldn’t personally put myself through that.

Since the last person to ask this question received PMs, I am curious on the pros/cons to being based in GUM. I'm not on property yet (but hopeful) I might be interested in basing my family there for a few years while everyone is still really young.

Looking for some updates on the United Guam base. Is Guam ever awarded to new hires? If not, how long would it take to be awarded Guam. How are the schedules and flying for a junior person there? Thanks

Guam is often available. Even if it's not listed you can request it on day one and you're chances are still good of landing it.

GUM is a really small base (around 60 crews) so movement here tends to be touch & go. Over the past few years we’ve seen multiple displacements as we’ve lost various flight segments, though that’s sort of tapered off and we’ve been seeing a few new hires coming in over the past year or so. I don’t really see growth in GUM’s future, but the combination of CA retirements & upgrade/widebody opportunities back home has provided a modest flow of vacancies in recent months. No guarantee of future vacancies by a long shot.

Benefits for a new hire are starting out on 2nd year pay, plus scheduling flexibility & proximity to some awesome travel destinations. Drawbacks include distance from the mainland, limited non-rev options for getting off the rock, and lots of all night flying- especially for junior guys.

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

More Guam questions
 

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.

Special Reserve Rules
 

Could someone from Guam please explain the Special Reserve Rules? Do they allow placement of all reserve days in a single row so you could have a week off at the beginning of the month and the end of each month essentially building a two week on and two week off schedule? Would that type of schedule be possible and/or easy for a junior guy to get each month?

It's called compressed reserve. All your days off (typically 12) compressed into a single block. During your reserve days, they will call you every week or so & release you into 30 hours of rest to maintain legality for future flying assignments. You can bid in such a way that if you are awarded reserve and you bid compressed, you are guaranteed a compressed reserve line, even if it doesn't fall on the off days you requested. Stacking your days off so that one month's end rolls into the other's beginning is not guaranteed- and harder to accomplish- especially for the bottom guys.

The catch: you are NOT guaranteed a reserve line. At times on Guam, the bottom few pilots end up with forced lines made up of the least liked night trips. Reserve is usually junior, but not always "down to the bottom" junior. In June, the bottom 2 guys got lines- I have no idea if that was intentional. In May, RSV went all the way to the bottom. Compressing is an awesome option for traveling on your days off if you live in base, but I'd be pretty cautious about bidding Guam as a commuter- especially if you're junior.

There is also a way to waive some legality limits and compress a flying line. 10-12 consecutive days off used to be pretty easy to hit, but just from sheer lack of trips under COVID I'd imagine that's harder to do now, especially if you're junior.

Solid choice.

Tacos Sineloa… my favorite place for grub

Thank you very much
 

thank you very much for the information! Very helpful

Looking to PM someone who is out there, or has been out there, with a family to pick your brain a little bit before my class date arrives late July/ early August!

Feel free.

Is there company sponsored housing? What are the shipping arrangements for moving our belongings? Are there size and weight limitations?

Is there company sponsored housing?
No. You do get $3K/month (taxable) to offset miscellaneous costs of living on a remote island, which some people consider a housing allowance but it's usable however you choose.

What are the shipping arrangements for moving our belongings?
Company paid move to the island if you stay for 18 months, including shipping of 2 vehicles. If you stay less than 18 months (for reasons other than displacement), you pay a pro-rated cost of your move based on however early you leave. If you stay an additional 18 months, you get a paid move back. If you do not move within 200 miles of your new pilot base, the paid move back only gets your things to a West Coast port- NOT your new base. (I.e., transfer to ORD & move to ORD, company ships your things to ORD. Transfer to ORD & move to BNA, company ships your things to California.)

You also get 3K lbs/year of free shipping on UAL to use however you want.

Are there size and weight limitations?
Yes, for the company move, but it's pretty high. (Around 25K lbs.) I don't know of anyone who wasn't able to move all their home goods within that tolerance, but I suppose there's someone out there.

2 of my favorites!!