I'd like to apologize for what appears to be a very rude comment from above. I've been in SFO for 30yrs and I have a few buddies in Denver. If you want my opinion, Denver is a bit of career suicide - at least it's been for my buddies out there.
Some of the people on these boards can be rude at times but don't let reflect on the rest of the Airline. Like many airlines, United has had it's up's and down but the flying experience system wide can't be beat anywhere. The pilot group is outstanding.

Thanks guys. The SWA guys I’ve been talking to see upgrade times going down. I guess it’s a moving target there too. Sounds like ATL is their DEN. A lot of that Air Tran bubble permanently resides in ATL and isn’t going anywhere.

Do guys bypass upgrade at United? Sounds foolish to me, but what do I know.

Countless guys bypass upgrades. I’ll be one of them when my seniority can hold bottom of the list captain in the most junior base and seat.

Most of the bypass guys seem to be FO’s on the widebody. Some senior enough to be line holding captains on their respective fleet. That goes to show just how good QOL can be as a senior widebody FO. But that works for some.

I’d take the first class and never look back. Way too difficult to predict how Denver will look for UAL or SWA in the next 5-10 years. Good luck!

Depends on priorities.

(Let me guess: you have not worked at a seniority based organization previosuly?)

Keep in mind that UAL is not like SWA (or DAL) with our large wide body fleet. FO pay on those airplanes is very close to narrowbody CA pay, especially if you add international overrides so there is enormous overlap in the seniority ranges. Some folks want to be in the left seat at the first opportunity, others would rather work several fewer days every month for the same $$$. The nice thing about UAL is folks can not only choose pay vs quality-of-life, but change their minds several times over the course of a career.

No offense, but if that is the sole criteria (not QOL, diversity of flying, contract, R&I, etc.) you are using to choose between the two......I think you already have your answer. No way I could do 25 years straight on the guppy, but I know there are folks who love it.....and good for them! That's the beauty of UAL, DAL or AA......different strokes for different folks. FWIW....live in DEN,been based here for 16 of my 20 and currently commuting west to SFO doing the Int'l thing......and won't be able to hold CA here for a looooong time.

Thousands of UA FO's can hold captain. That's not an exaggeration. Many can hold wide body captain. Thats good and bad. CA can go jr in EWR and SFO as a result. Denver however is generally exceedingly senior. At the moment there are no wide bodies in DEN and I doubt there will be soon. That will keep the CA seat sr there for a long time. JR FO is DEN isn't all that senior but I just checked and this dude is the junior Guppy CA;

https://i.imgur.com/id89mJ3.jpg

By the time you can hold DEN caption on the 737 you could probably hold a line on the 757 in SFO or EWR. Plan accordingly. If your primary career goal is DEN CA, UA might not be the best choice. Good luck.

Remy Boy out....

First off, what 42 yr old listens to so much Fetty Wap he names himself that on APC?:D

Secondly, there really isn’t a comparison between a career of 23yrs in a 737, or the variety of airplanes a real legacy offers. I’m just saying, is this trip to the majors for quality of life, checking the I’m a Capt ego square, or just the dollars? These questions come up so many times by noobs who are in the application/interview process. Too bad there isn’t a course out there that breaks it down because your career will be so different depending on where you go, and what matters most is getting what it is you want to achieve. Having made the jump a few years ago, and admittedly being a noob then, I’ve come to realize what I thought mattered a lot really matters little and vice verse. QoL, while always paid lip service too, really is the centerpiece here imo, but is often neglected in pilot’s decision making. How to maximize your QoL will likely vary at different times in your life so I tell dudes to go where there are options. A couple years difference in your Capt upgrade timeline is meaningless.

Here’s my priorities:

Not commuting
Making money
Type of flying I do (ive flown around the world multiple times and give 0.0 units of **** about airplane or type of flying as long as I get paid)

Love the fact that any of you know FettyWap! 1738!

Anything can change. One more international destination and DEN will see a 787 base. Word on the street is Lufthansa isn’t doing great to Frankfurt out of Denver.

Or the next management team might decide not to compete in Denver and let SWA and frontier take more markets away and reduce what we have to lots more RJ flying.

Time will tell!

I was in the same boat as you, with offers from both SWA and UAL. United had always been my top choice. In the end, with not wanting to commute, and the ability to immediately go to DEN I went with SWA. Currently new hires are being told to expect a 6-8 year upgrade to Capt in DEN. That is almost completely dependent on growth though since the retirements aren’t there.