Send a PDR. Don’t time a decision of that magnitude based on info from these forums

Hey everyone!
Excited to join the team next June.
I’ll be commuting from ANC for the mean time… any tips on better acft/ base I should aim for?
I was thinking DEN would be the easiest since is the only base with a daily nonstop year round.

DEN 737 for sure. You'll be on the jumpseat to/from ANC a lot (the flight is almost always full it seems) but at least you'll have priority.

and don’t let any agents give you any “we’re weight restricted” bs either. United pilots are never weight restricted from the cockpit jumpseat on our own metal.

No one knows the exact timing of future vacancy bids, but you have 6 months after the base opens. Read below for verbiage from the last vacancy bid:
Per 8-D-1-e and 8-D-2-c, Pilots who have an 8-D-1 Equipment Training Freeze or 8-D-2 Bidding Freeze will not be restricted from bidding into MCO or LAS. MCO and LAS will be considered new bases (and as such, contain “new” categories) for six months past the initial opening effective date.

And MCO and LAS open May 1, for anyone who didn’t know.

I flew ACMI before United. TONS of flights on freighters from ANC to LAX. I had regular jump seaters.

It may take awhile to get regular ANC trips out of DEN (at least in summer) but when you can, each trip will have an extra 25-33 hours you’ll be at home.

‘This right here, lots of flights down to LAX on freighters and usually with plenty of jumpseats open, but the schedule aren’t always reliable. We do run DEN-ANC daily year round. During the winter time, there are plenty of plenty of open seats.. Summer time flight options increases, but with full loads….

Thanks everyone!

But on this topic, is there a ballpark of how senior you need to be to hold the ANC layovers?