I have a friend hired Nov 2016 who finally was able to bid into IAH 737 on this last Vacancy - so should be activated there by this fall. Have another Jan 18 new hire friend who wants IAH 737, about 35-40 pilots now remain between him and the junior pilot awarded IAH last time around. Those 35-40 only includes guys who want to bid DEN or stay SFO (e.g. everyone else senior to him who wanted LAX/ORD/etc got it). So, if there is a decent sized Vacancy Bid this fall he will probably get to IAH after about 1 year on property. If things stagnate again it will obviously be longer, but the resumption of New Hire classes suggests movement will continue. YMMV.

 

Thank you everyone very much for all the replies and great insight! Coming to United for a IAH base is not even close to the only reason I'm planning United, it's just the main place I'd like to live of the option given. I just don't know anyone who works at United that's based in IAH so just a lot of unknowns as far as the overall feel of the base is, so I really appreciate it guys, thank you.

 

I commuted to IAH 737 for about a year on reserve. I did a lot of Bogota, Port of Spain red eyes in the summer and a lot of Edmonton, and Calgary in the winter. This was back in 2011 so things may have changed but IAH is a big base with some neat flying. I got qual’d to do Tegucigalpa as a reserve. I would shoot for the 737 but obviously I’m biased. I just think the flying is better. Has nothing to do with comfort. Clearly the a320 wins in that category. Hopefully this thread does not devolve. Lol. Houston definitely has a lower cost of living than most (all) of our bases. It’s just too hot and muggy for my blood.

 

PM me.

I really like IAH.

 

Do you suppose those two are related in any way?

 

It has more to do with the way taxes are generated and just being in the south.

 

Not really. Many of the Southern / Midwest / Western cities are less expensive to live in than those on the coasts. On the coasts housing is more crammed in and with limited space, costs rise. (I realize I am making an oversimplifed generalization.)

I have lived in MCI, STL, and currently DFW. (As well as briefly in IAH.). People moving from the coasts are amazed at how low real estate prices are and how spread out the metropolitan areas are. (In DFW I think nothing of driving 35 miles from my home up north to downtown Dallas. Except at rush hour I can drive it in 30 minutes.) These are correlated.

Specifically about IAH, my great uncle was an electrician forman who put in the first dial telephone system. That was before the war (One not Two). He told me Galveston was bigger than Houston at the time. He said Houston was 35,000 people. Today at 6 + million, it is amazing how much it has grown. Oil, air conditioning, and draining the swamps have transformed it. Pre Civil War there was an outbreak of Yellow Fever. Over one third of all Houston citizens died from it, in that single year.

 

Derek,

Good luck with your career path. If you do end up in Houston, I have a request. Wear your Alpa pin proudly on your tie, stay informed, vote, and attend a council meeting from time to time. We still have a certain group of f/o’s who are still butt hurt from their “perceived” injustice on the seniority list after the merger and refuse to wear their Alpa pins. We need to get everyone pulling on the same end of the rope during contract negotiations. Houston seems to be the only place with this culture problem. Don’t let these guys rub off on ya.

 

Last slick tie I flew with was ORD based and that was over a year ago. Apathy has no allegiance to a particular fleet, base, or legacy. All your post does is try to reinforce a dead stereotype. Great job trying to build unity by singling out a base with a false claim. Please repeat your unity 101 class.

98% of UAL Pilots will go to war for any other UAL pilot regardless of background, legacy, and base. The other 2% are scabs and/or people who can’t see past false labels.

So even though you bashed IAH Pilots based on a false stereotype, I am willing to stand with you when the time comes that you need the unity of 12,500+ pilots during contract negotiations or if the company comes after you as an individual.

 

Ironic saying culture problem coming from someone who calls themself, "Guppydriver95"! Let me guess, 95 LUAL hire?