I commuted from LAS to LAX for my probationary year on the 756. I didn’t have to worry too much about other airports, however a lot of people in my crash pad did. Overall, it didn’t seem to happen too much. But the company gives you some leeway when going to one of the other airports, plus they give you extra money essentially to take a cab or an Uber. As long as you are in base during a short call, you really shouldn’t be worried about it IMHO.

 

It does happen from time to time, but you get cross town pay to help defer the cost.


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Why one of the worst commutes?

 

SEA was a very senior base. The people that were based there didn’t move and now commute. They have boarding priority for standby and the jump seat. You will have to also compete with all the Alaska SFO/SEA commuters since they merged.

 

Well damn. That looks like my future right there. Thanks for the info.

 

Don’t worry, commuters never buy at the Tides

 

IAH 737 FO Lineholder(G-Line) is now Senior to SFO 737 CA(Awarded)

 

First post from a future UA pilot (hopefully).... I currently reside in Austria, with VIE being my home airport. I have two questions: would I get travel discounts as a UA pilot commuting from VIE, and how impractical would a junior 737 FO schedule be for someone living in Europe? Is it possible for a junior FO to have a schedule where I'd only fly for a chunk of one or two weeks at a time and then have one or two weeks off? Thanks, and I hope to join your ranks someday!

 

You will be able to travel space available (free in economy and with a small fee in the Polaris cabin) as well as in the jumpseat (if the flight is full). We also have a discount for purchased tickets as well.
As for the scheduling question, the best you will be able to do with the preferential bidding system we use is two big work blocks requiring two commutes (only 1 in a vacation month) a month. You can waive certain restrictions as a lineholder and compress your trips into two workable blocks of flying. It was stated earlier that the Guam base has the ability to compress even more than the lower 48 domiciles which is true. Guam based pilots can work a single work block a month with several weeks off in between. Might be worth considering. EWR 737 FO on reserve to start will be tough but doable with two work blocks of reserve days. Best of luck!

 

Possible but will severely impact your QOL. Initially you will be on reserve, which means 18 days a month. The most days off you will get in one chunk will be 4, unless you go to the 757, then you get a block of 6 days off. Once you have a line you will probably have a schedule of 4 on 3 off, with the trip either starting early or ending late. You can trade things around and try to get larger blocks of days off, but as with everything else, seniority helps this a lot. I commuted from Europe for awhile but was mid level seniority on a global fleet so was able to bunch all my flying together.

good luck