I have one friend in UA on narrow body, they make less than us at SWA and have less days off. Can you credit 110/120 a month and aim for reasonable block hours? For example I ve flown 55 hours this months and credited 81 as of today @SWA, I can still pick up until the end of the month and make more. That s after 7 months here.

I got a CJO with UA, trying to figure out if the move is worth. UA QOL on narrow body and money does not look better than SWA from what I have read on UA CBA.

 

I won't tell you what to do, but QOL at UAL will not be comparable until you get to 50% or better at UAL(that's FO seniority in a certain base/category). You probably won't see better QOL than at SWA newhire till you are the top 20-30%.

That's how inefficient and poor our scheduling practices are here. Which also means we have such a high hurdle to leap over, we most likely won't see a contract for a long time.

I'd like to be wrong and say those things will be fixed with a new contract and a new contract will easily be signed within a few months.

If you have FOMO that you will never get to fly WB at SWA, or you really want to be a CA and live in a United hub, those would be the only reasons to bail SWA right now.

To be clear, guys can basically bid CA at almost all our hubs now at the one year point, however, you must realize, to hold a line in those places will likely take at least 5 years, so plan on reserve for the long haul. Like it's been said, there's a reason those CA spots are going unfilled. You will be at the beck and call of United crew scheduling and if you have kids age 1-18, you won't get much time on weekends to hang with them unless you have a vacation week, or call in sick.

This is the unsurmountable obstacle we are facing in our contract negotiations. At SWA, the QOL is already there for the most part, United hasn't had a QOL contract for over 20 years.

There's a reason you hesitate, your instinct is telling you to stay. If you plan on staying, you could always tell them due to some family issues, you'd like to push back your class for a few months (if we get a new UPA by then you can re-evaluate). Obviously, pulling the trigger now vs a few months could cost you 200-400 seniority numbers in the long run, so if you push things back, you will give something up.

I think things will get better here, but it's going to be a battle. My gut tells me we will get something soon, but there is no tangible evidence that's true.

 

I certainly wouldn't rely on forums where it is the job of everyone to essentially complain about something, but rather ask someone you know who is a couple years down the road at both companies. Anecdotally, my friends that were hired years ago at the same time at SWA (also commuters) make more more than me, but do so at the cost of less schedule control and more reassignments. So, I guess it depends on what matters to you in that regard and there's no telling how SWA's new CBA or ours will affect that. Best shot you have in this business is to be able to live where you work. If you live somewhere where we both have domiciles, WBFO and NB CA aren't far off for anyone here with WBFO being the better QoL. Good luck.

 

Our guts have been saying that for over a year now & I’ve stopped listening to mine. I’ve put myself on the receiving end of more “I told you so’s” than I care to count & I don’t think BL Swagger even has a name anymore. Whatever game Scott Kirby is playing, common sense & conventional wisdom are not the primary drivers.

 

These are just some utterly disheartening things to read with a class date and my current employer already informed. APC gives the impression that United is bottom of the barrel amongst all majors; no idea whether that's reality but it's certainly the picture being painted on this site. First fork in the road I've come to in my career where I'm unsure I'm making the right choice.

 

Thanks for your detailed answer! I appreciated it

 

It is difficult to make the choice because both options are incredible opportunities and you will have a rich career with either choice. Based on all the info you have now you honestly can’t go wrong with either direction. It is a good place to be!

 

Thanks. Upgrade in DEN on 737 go junior as well?

 

United is the bottom of the barrel for work rules. But guess what, a new contract could fix that. It’s probably 50/50. SK has a track record of wanting his work force to be “worker bee’s” so it’s going to be a hard fight for QOL between his greedy pockets and UAALPA.

 

Several things to keep in mind:

1. United is in the contract silly season and you'll hear lots of crazy from all sides.

2. This is APC. It’s for entertainment, and not necessarily grounded in reality on the line.

3. We will get a contract that is on par with or just slightly more costly than American and Delta.

4. APC will go on for endless pages saying that it isn’t enough.

At the end of the day, United will provide a great career, as will other airlines. Contract cycles, management teams, and expansion/contraction cycles come and go. Just pick a lane and enjoy the ride.