Current QOL at UA
 

Sorry if this is repetitive, I didn't see a thread quite like this started yet. I see alot of posts on other pages/forums about LCC's with people comparing days off per month, days off between work blocks, etc. Clearly pay is the big topic around the industry right now but I'm curious as to if some can shed some light on the current QOL at UA. What is a typical schedule like as far as days off per month and days off between work blocks, any commuter protections, ability to pick up open time on off days, etc etc.

I’m in the same exact position. Currently commuting for an LCC and QOL is pretty good re: days off and ability to drop swap and trade. That said, I live in a UAL domicile and it’s impossible to ignore the opportunity that exists right now. My goal being QOL over pay, I’m wondering what the switch to UAL would look like in terms of timeframe to be able to control/rearrange trips and days off.

Commuter. 20 days off this month. 737. Lately I’ve had zero issues dropping trips and picking up more commutable trips. Might be because of the huge number of pilots we are hiring.

Depends of base, fleet and seniority.

If you live in base in one and commute at the others it’s is a no-brainer… I know NHs at UA who have 17 day off lines as a commuter on the bus and weekends off on reserve on the 73, others who front load one month and back load the other with flying to have a couple weeks off at a time because they all bid how they want. With such diversity of flying it seems there’s no one size fits all QOL combo, especially on the narrowbody fleets.

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Hate to be a Debbie downer here but:

Talking to friends at SWA and AA and DL, I would say we have one of the worst scheduling contracts of any of them.

1) It's not easy to drop trips, or trade, even if you are senior. Our work rules for trading doesn't have the flexibility of other companies. I have a buddy who's a newhire at AA that I talk to and he tells me he's got 2 weeks off without vacation(as a NB FO), I don't see that happening here.
2) Lines are close to 89 hr lines prior to the Sept pull back, so while you might get a reprieve here in Oct, Nov/Dec will be busy. Jan/Feb will draw down, then Mar will be busy, then Apr/May draw down then Jun-Sep will be busy.
Management is on record that they won't "draw down" the way I have described above. The draw downs are typical of our company and the UAL NEXT plan says we will be busy year round.
3) Reserve sux everywhere, especially if you commute. If you get 777/787 as a newhire you will be on reserve for 2 years, almost guaranteed, unless you decide to upgrade to NB CA at the end of year 1, then will be on reserve as a NB CA for another 2 years. If you live in base and don't like to fly, this might be awesome.
If you are commuting to reserve, you will spend a lot of time watching Netflix in your crashpad. With the pullback we just did in Sept, management pushed reserve percentages which are typically 80-100% in base to a much higher level

None of these are direct comparisons. You can never apply an apples-apples comparisons on work rules even though we try. I'd say that here at United, you will benefit from rapid growth and a quicker CA upgrade then our competition in this point in time. With the amount of growth we have right now, you will struggle for about a year for QOL, but will probably (assuming we grow as anticipated) gain so much seniority that you will gain any QOL back within a year or two. If the TA fails and we stop growth mode and stagnate, I expect that this is one of worst places for QOL as a junior guy.

Like at your airline everything gets better with seniority. Things are moving quickly and on the NB fleet, you will move up fairly quickly. Most new hires are lineholders within 3-6 months, not great lines but they have the opportunity to trade, drop, or pick up on days off. Schedules change with the season, and during the slow months, you will get lower credit lines that equate to 13-15 days off as a lineholder. Rsv is 12-13 days off depending on the length of the month. Commuter protections are as long as you give yourself 2 options, you are protected, and it doesn't have to be on UAL metal. PBS lets you waive min time off between work blocks and some commuters prefer to work back to back and limit commutes, otherwise I think it is min a day off between trips. Picking up trips will be a function of seniority, time off, and not exceeding contract limits for days worked and block hours. All I can say is I thought life was not too bad as a junior pilot, and with some seniority, it is pretty damm awesome.

Exactly what I was hoping to get out of this thread. Thanks for the info guys!

It’s definitely time to fix the pay scales to a two tiered system like UPS….
If you are a captain you get captain pay regardless of equipment. That will fix the infilled captain vacancy problem. The NB captain QOL will always be an issue compared to the Cushy WB captain QOL …. Need far less Pilot instructors and LCAs.
This will save tons of training events for upcoming retirements and ultimately lead to better profits and ultimately way better profit sharing.