No schedule flexibility seems like a huge limitation to QOL. Are theses issues the biggest priorities with the new contract.

 

You simply need to understand one thing about United. You will not be able to drop anything here. I never worked for any LCC but I hear great things about QOL.

You will not have that here at United. Max hours min days off. Think very very carefully about if you want to work here.

Will this improve with a new contract who knows. We are working under rules put in place with the merger.

 

Being a line holder in less than a year is impressive and shows how much movement we have right now, but I wouldn’t expect things to really improve until you have some seniority. This place is going to potentially be expanding as fast as staffing will allow and the junior pilots are going to be flying hard. Senior pilots can bid to fly less hours and better trips, but someone has to cover the flying, and stuff rolls downhill. When we eventually get our next contract I wouldn’t expect it to be the cherry picked best parts from other companies. It will have significant improvements, but I can’t imagine there ever being coverage to allow everyone to drop trips without coverage, bid lower time lines regardless of seniority, etc. Things will be better in the next contract for all, but there will always be a difference in QOL between being junior and senior.

 

Curious about your base and seat. I’m a g-line straddler (left seat) in a rapidly shrinking west coast base and when I get a line it’s 89.999999 hours, repeating of course. Working from memory on bid awards, I think you have to be north of 50% to get anything below about 80-85.

 

737 captain in a rapidly expanding Midwest base currently sitting just under 40%. 50% is a probably good rough number and where my bidding power improved. I’m not as picky as some when it comes to bidding and that contributes to not being upset with my award. I don’t care where I go as long as it is commutable on both ends and no red eyes. Even at 60-70% when I upgraded, I could avoid red eyes and about 75% of my trips were commutable on both ends.

 

Agreed, if you don’t have WB aspirations I would avoid coming here. The terrible QOL of NB flying feels like getting punched in the d1ck every day dealing with multi hub BS. I always pack for an extra 1-2 days because I often don’t make it home on the last day. Good luck getting your days off restored, there has to be min reserve coverage (there isn’t, ever). EWR is the 10th circle of hell, abandon hope all ye who enter.

 

Thanks, this has been a hell of an experiment. End of seat lock is coming probably before a new contract, probably not going to hang out after the lock is up hoping for enough in the new UPA. Off to the triple and 7 more days off a month.

 

Going to the 777 will be a game changer, especially out of SFO. The WB flying on the east coast has a bunch of low time Europe trips, but SFO is further away from everything except Hawaii. Productive and commutable 3 days are where it’s at, and you’ll find that WB flying here is a completely different airline. I left the right seat of the 777 when the pandemic was just spinning up. Great plane, and great trips, but I found that as I got older the fatigue was taking its toll. I’m just not wired for it. Being senior on the WB fleet in the right seat can also earn more money than being a NB captain without working more days. Once senior enough, you can bid exclusively the flying seat and then double dip when training buys your trip. The really senior can buddy bid with LCA’s and make a killing. A friend on the 787 does just that. He credits on average 120-130 hours per month while working fewer days than I do. I can’t gross the same without crediting 105+. Unless you can bid really heavy soft time trips and work every day, you’ll hit FAR limits before you get close to 100+ hrs a month since premium pay has dried up. My guess is the fatigue on the 777 will be less than the garbage trips you get as a junior captain. If I was in your shoes I’d have my bid in just waiting for it to hit.

 

How times have sadly changed.

 

What’s the ability to fly compressed schedules on WB fleets? Assuming long layover trips, what’s the shortest time off between trips PBS will allow?