QOL for ACMI pilots
 

Hi everyone, Delete this if not suitable for this thread.
I am a second-year ACMI FO flying 777, home-based, and have never been on reserve or commuted. ($133/hr is current pay)
I got a class date in march for UA and prefer to bid for 756/787/777 and commute out

I was so excited for the past few days until I started making plans/started getting ready on how to commute and amount of days off I will be getting as a new hire at UA.

I would like to know from all those who have been in such situations,

1) How many days off do you get at UA with a line on average?
2) Will I get to see the money during the first or second year? I am currently at 133/hr and averaging 14 days off with 10k take home.
3) How soon can anyone get a line on IAH 756? or suggestions for any fleet to get a quick line?

I don't know many people who can help me, these questions may sound stupid but it would be nice if someone can shed some light on this.

I flew long haul ACMI before taking this job. That was a long time ago and granted a lot has changed since then, but this is hands down a better job than the life flying ACMI. I’m on the 737, but I’ve flown recently with a couple of people from Atlas and Kalitta, and both were very pleased that they came over. New hires getting widebody slots as new hires is an anomaly that may or may not change depending on what is in our next contract. Time on reserve, especially on the wide bodies could change as well. I’ve been off of the 777 for a while here, but I’ll give it a whirl to answer your questions.

1. NB line holder gets about 15 days off, WB about 18 (lines are different now too because of China and Russian airspace issues forcing more domestic utilization of the planes.)

2. We should be getting a new contract in the not too distant future and rates will match the Delta TA at a minimum. 2nd year NB pay would be about $30-35/hour more than you make now with a better guarantee and no 17 day trips. As a junior line holder you’d average over 80 hours per month as opposed to the hit or miss line values in the ACMI world.

3. There are sometimes 756 new hire slots, and lately the junior in the class are being forced to the WB and most of those slots in SFO. The quickest path to a line will probably be on the 737 with the 320 being very close. Currently on the 737/320 you should be a solid line holder before you’re off of probation. You can bid up a pay band any time that you want, but there are training freezes for lateral or downward moves.

Look at some of the older guys that you’re flying with. A career of long haul ACMI will beat the hell out of you. My advice would be to come here, bid either the 320 or 737 given a choice and never look back. You will make far more money and you have options here that you wouldn’t at your current employer. United has lots of big airplanes that aren’t going anywhere. If long haul is what you want, bid it as a line holder on the equipment, base, and seniority of your choosing some time in the future.

Can’t answer all of your questions. I came from the left seat of an ACMI. If you’re a second year FO it’s a no brainer. The money won’t be an issue. I reside well below the G line but by accepting any line I can get I have 16 days off a month on a NB fleet. Pretty much all day time flying. I can actually come home and function as a normal member of society instead of being a zombie half the time and then waking up at 3 AM. I’d suggest you just do it. Get on the most junior equipment you can for now and then bid what you want as soon as you can hold a line on it. I feel like I may actually live past 65 now……

1) Reserve you get 12 (30 day month) or 13 (31) days off. Line is variable but you'll at least average 14, probably better
2) With the new contract and (I'm assuming) better retirement match first year pay will be not $133/hr but it gets close.
3) currently about a year to hold a line in IAH 756. If you want to hold a line ASAP, bid narrowbody - everything pays the same first year anyway. You can move up to 76/77/78 anytime you wish afterwards.

From the sounds of it, you are coming from 5y (my previous shop). I made the jump last year (was on the 747)

1) I have seen line holders get 14 to 15 days off per month on the NB fleet. I've seen guys get 15 to 19 days off per month for line holders on the WB fleet. Reserve is 12 days (30 day bid period) 13 days (31 day bid period) off.
2) You are taking a pay cut coming to year 1 pay, but you will start seeing it again in year 2 and onwards.
3) If you want IAH, bid NB that way you can get IAH and hold a line quicker. It doesn't hasn't taken long to hold IAH 756 but I do not know how long that will hold. I was able to hold it after 6 months on property, but I pulled my bid due to not having great commute options.

If I was you, make the jump now. I was a year 2 when I made the jump. The reason why I made was that in the long run, 5y wasn't going to catch up to the current contract cycle. Especially now that we are entering into a new cycle when we get a new contract. I was going to see better QOL in the long run at a place where seniority means something (more days off bidding, easier to trip trade), better retirement, the flying lends to better health long term (5y was running me pretty hard).

If you prefer the 777/787 as a top choice be prepared to embrace reserve for a good long time. Yes junior pilot are holding lines for now but I don’t expect that trend to continue, especially if a new contract is worth a damn and gets some movement back into the junior WB seats of people that are senior to you. I would highly encourage you to take the 737 or 320 if available to you because you can always bid up. Take some time, learn the lay of the land on the WB from an NB position and when you’re ready to bid it then do so.

EWR and SFO 777 line-holders are less than 10 months on property. A lot less, in some cases.

I would expect a big shift in that whenever a large part of the domestic flying shifts back to Asia, it could take a while but it will happen eventually.

people say that, but unless they increase the category dramatically that cannot mathematically work.

Now, this exercise assumes a few things:
1. No one ahead or behind is leaving.
2. when the category increases, only people senior will come in.
3. G line is at 80%
4. FO in question is a 75% 777 FO in a base with 400 FOs.

Let's say I'm a 7 month newhire at 75% in category with 400 FOs. Now let's assume the G line is at 80%. The category would have to increase to 500 in order for me to still have the same 100 behind me. So the base would have to have 100 vacancies, ALL filled by guys senior to me in order to push me back to the G line.


There are summer 2022 hires bidding 75% EWR 777 FO

Do you value the prestige of a legacy airline over back to back four day benders in Asian red light districts? This is a question only you can answer.