No, you can’t do that. It’s a first-in, first out system based on how many days of reserve you have remaining and your last assignment while on reserve. You can however, do aggressive pick up (APU) of trips, short calls and field standby based on your silo. You’ll get very familiar with all of that on reserve which you might not even do if you get a NB out of training.

 

If you like being home and are flexible, reserve in base is great. If you need to know where you’re going to be a week ahead of time and grasp at perceived control by following the “reserves available” and “open time” tabs incessently, you will become bitter (ask me how I know).

Junior line holders fly 4 days fri-mon, senior reserves often fly a bunch of two days mon-thurs (mon-fri every other week to make 18 days on). Reserve here can be great if you embrace that you are here to fill gaps in the operation. If you think a reserve should have the same control as a lineholder over WHAT they fly, not WHEN they fly, you will be very disappointed.

Our main downfall with reserve is that it’s 18 days a month, which means you end up having multiple five-plus day work blocks a month. I truly think that most people would have way less gripes if they had four four-day work blocks each month. Losing one or two days a month sounds trivial, but I think it makes a huge difference in the perceived quality of life. That’s not just one or two more days of work a month, it’s one or two less days at home as well. Kind of like a net loss of four days, if that makes sense. So long story short, if you set your expectations appropriately and live in base, it can be a great gig. If you try to commute to a bigger plane/upgrade and want to control your schedule, you’ll need to start a meditation practice now to cope with the frustration

 

Any B6 guys that have gone to UA. What were your main reasons and do you regret it?

 

Former B6 guy here. I've only been on property for a short time so I might not have the most insight but for me it was an easy decision primarily since I no longer have to commute (ORD based). There were also several other factors purely from a career progression standpoint that were too much to ignore as well. B6 is a relatively young pilot group, really minimal retirements in the next decade or so; UA is retiring almost 6000 pilots by 2032. They will probably need to hire at least 10,000 through that time period to not just replace retirements but to staff the "United Next" expansion plans which has the airline taking delivery of a plane practically every three days starting in 2023. Also there are currently 1 year upgrades on the NB side of things but that might change with TA2 if reserve rules are improved. Widebodies are also a thing if that's something you're interested in....and UA has substantially more than AAL and DAL. Not to mention the potential upcoming triple digit WB order that has been talked about lately https://simpleflying.com/united-airl...order-rumours/

I enjoyed my time at B6, but I've got over 30 years left in this business and it didn't make much sense to stay. Not sure what your situation is but you've got to do what's best for you. GL

 

If you'd be willing to elaborate, what all is it that turned out to be disappointing? I ask because I am just over a year into a ULCC and have an amazing QOL other than the fact that I have to commute and I currently live in a UAL domicile (a senior one). This is the most obvious reason why I flirt with making the jump but I have an excellent ability to rearrange my schedule as needed from month to month.

My November award was 20 days off (including Thanksgiving) with 20+ hour three day trips. I was able to trade/drop/swap into 18 days off with slightly higher credit and some highly preferred days off that weren't part of my original award very easily. How realistic is this at UAL and how long does it take to gain enough seniority to have similar QOL?

 

1. It is unlikely you will ever have an award at UAL with 20 days off, if ever. You currently have an amazing “QOL”? I don’t think I’ve ever met a UAL pilot that said their QOL was “amazing”.

2. The way our customers are treated I am often embarrassed.

3. The senior pilots are great resources and mentors, but it is obvious many have been beaten down so hard in their careers they wouldn’t know functional management if they saw it. Employees here tolerate a lot of dysfunction and waste.

4. I don’t think the pilot group has the constitution for a great contract.

5. The crews aren’t necessarily fun, the FAs seem to often be hostile and the “aggrieved party” (see #2). A good amount of the pilots seem to really enjoy their jobs and flying, the rest of the employee groups and management I’ve learned to use up energy to avoid as best I can.

United has a lot of positives and has a lot of “unrealized” opportunity, but the company can’t seem to get out of it’s own way at times. Don’t get me wrong, this is where I want to be — but it is more of a question of which airline stinks the least.

How many airlines have expanded quickly and chase profits that never exist? Hopefully history does not repeat itself.

There is a lot at UAL that needs to be improved for this to be a great experience for customers and employees. The new blood is a lot like the old blood, and not many people have the chutzpah willing to call out the nonsense when they see it — whether it be the pilot group, other employees or management — the new UAL is a lot like the old UAL.

The company seems to overtly have a grievance with the most common gender and race of the pilot group. The company seems to put identity politics in front of safety and treating all employees and customers with respect and compassion.

 

Their ads have no white male pilots. The latest 30 second “Good Leads the Way” has exactly .6 seconds (yes I timed it) where there are white males in the video. It is overtly focused on showing how many minorities and women United has on the property, despite still all new hire classes being 90% white males.

 

Oh, brother. Straight white guy & I’ve never felt like the company didn’t value me because of who I am. Promotional content highlights an image that helps sell tickets. If it’s important to you that there are lots of white people in the commercials, this is probably not the airline for you. Otherwise it won’t impact your life at all.

 

This is exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for, thank you! Overall you make excellent points from which I can make realistic comparisons to my current gig. Commuting aside, I am very happy with my current company. The pilot group is excellent and I would say that on average, 90% of all the work groups have a positive attitude and are generally easy/pleasant to work with. The relationship we have with the FA's is healthy and professional. Conflicts do occur, but I would say that they are the rarity rather than the norm. We have our frustrations and dysfunctions just like anywhere else but I can see myself retiring from this ULCC.

I'm glad you touched on the identity politics issue at UAL. While I can compartmentalize it and do my job, it has been a concern of mine with regard to making the jump. As long as everything runs smoothly, it's not an issue and I could care less about it once the flight deck door is closed. When things DON'T run smoothly (how often does that happen in this industry?), my concern is that UAL will throw me under the proverbial airbus without missing a beat. A top down management structure which is overtly hostile to a specific race & gender is cancerous to the entire organization and not a place I'd care to be.

 

The rumor is the next furlough is only going to be white guys, you better stay where you are.