Making the jump to UAL
09-17-2023 | 11:29 AM
#12
Thread Starter
On Reserve
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
How old are you? Do you live near IAD? What are your career aspirations (make big $, fly lots, fly little, big airplanes, CA upgrade soonest, other)?
If you're going to make the jump, the right time would have been 2 years ago. But the next best time is ASAP. UAL is hiring over 50 new pilots a week, and that is forecast to continue for "quite a while." We are just over 16k pilots right now, company stated goal is 28k pilots by the end of the decade...many view that as a naïvely optimistic goal, but 20-22k pilots is definitely possible given the sheer # of aircraft orders on the books.
If you live near IAD, it looks like UAL is poised for decent growth there over the next decade. Plus it has all the aircraft types, so it's a good base if you want int'l flying. Right now you can get IAD within 1-4 months after hire.
If you're going to make the jump, the right time would have been 2 years ago. But the next best time is ASAP. UAL is hiring over 50 new pilots a week, and that is forecast to continue for "quite a while." We are just over 16k pilots right now, company stated goal is 28k pilots by the end of the decade...many view that as a naïvely optimistic goal, but 20-22k pilots is definitely possible given the sheer # of aircraft orders on the books.
If you live near IAD, it looks like UAL is poised for decent growth there over the next decade. Plus it has all the aircraft types, so it's a good base if you want int'l flying. Right now you can get IAD within 1-4 months after hire.
You said Dulles was probably doable after 1-4 months, is there an advantage to holding IAD based on a certain fleet type?
09-17-2023 | 11:39 AM
#13
Thread Starter
On Reserve
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Do you still have the opportunity to keep a relatively nominal schedule during holidays? I'll give my department credit that we're home for the holidays, minus the 4th of July.
About how much of your schedule is spend doing reserve at home v the airport?
09-17-2023 | 12:01 PM
#14
Line Holder
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,725
Likes: 0
From: UAL retired
With 27 years to go I'll be one of those extreme types Hummingbear warned you about. (Plus it's more like 29 years because based on what I understand the change to age 67 for retirements is a done deal and is a question of when not if.)
Assuming you got hired in the next year or two and age 67 happens and the new contract passes, you will have 27 years of UAL putting 18% into your 401k. I don't know how much you make now, but I'm willing to bet this alone FAR outweighs anything retirement wise you might have today. Beyond the retirement money there is also the simple fact that you can have the exact same life style you now enjoy living in Virginia if that is what you wish within a few short years. There is uncertainty in the timing of that move and true it could be 1 year or 5 depending on economics and politics, but I would argue there is a 100% certainty you would get there eventually.
There is a website open to the public, UPA23.com, that outlines what the new contract has to offer. Take a close look and compare that to a future staying where you are. My guess is, there will be no comparison.
EDIT: To answer your question as regards fleet types, the choice of fleets can dramatically alter both how much you work and what that work looks like. One position might give you weekends and holidays off put send you to tiny midwestern airports and another position might cost you a holiday trip or two but you'd be laying over in Japan or Germany. Nice thing about Dulles is you'd have a choice of virtually every type of flying United has to offer.
09-18-2023 | 05:55 AM
#15
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 2,923
Likes: 95
With 27 years to go I'll be one of those extreme types Hummingbear warned you about. (Plus it's more like 29 years because based on what I understand the change to age 67 for retirements is a done deal and is a question of when not if.)
Assuming you got hired in the next year or two and age 67 happens and the new contract passes, you will have 27 years of UAL putting 18% into your 401k. I don't know how much you make now, but I'm willing to bet this alone FAR outweighs anything retirement wise you might have today. Beyond the retirement money there is also the simple fact that you can have the exact same life style you now enjoy living in Virginia if that is what you wish within a few short years. There is uncertainty in the timing of that move and true it could be 1 year or 5 depending on economics and politics, but I would argue there is a 100% certainty you would get there eventually.
There is a website open to the public, UPA23.com, that outlines what the new contract has to offer. Take a close look and compare that to a future staying where you are. My guess is, there will be no comparison.
EDIT: To answer your question as regards fleet types, the choice of fleets can dramatically alter both how much you work and what that work looks like. One position might give you weekends and holidays off put send you to tiny midwestern airports and another position might cost you a holiday trip or two but you'd be laying over in Japan or Germany. Nice thing about Dulles is you'd have a choice of virtually every type of flying United has to offer.
Assuming you got hired in the next year or two and age 67 happens and the new contract passes, you will have 27 years of UAL putting 18% into your 401k. I don't know how much you make now, but I'm willing to bet this alone FAR outweighs anything retirement wise you might have today. Beyond the retirement money there is also the simple fact that you can have the exact same life style you now enjoy living in Virginia if that is what you wish within a few short years. There is uncertainty in the timing of that move and true it could be 1 year or 5 depending on economics and politics, but I would argue there is a 100% certainty you would get there eventually.
There is a website open to the public, UPA23.com, that outlines what the new contract has to offer. Take a close look and compare that to a future staying where you are. My guess is, there will be no comparison.
EDIT: To answer your question as regards fleet types, the choice of fleets can dramatically alter both how much you work and what that work looks like. One position might give you weekends and holidays off put send you to tiny midwestern airports and another position might cost you a holiday trip or two but you'd be laying over in Japan or Germany. Nice thing about Dulles is you'd have a choice of virtually every type of flying United has to offer.
09-23-2023 | 03:42 AM
#17
Line Holder
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 1,631
Likes: 80
if you’re on a plane that has flights out of all of those bases, you could have trips from all of those bases.
that’s pretty much it. They’re all part of being based at IAD. Same goes for EWR/LGA, and other base pairings we have (LAX has other airports, and MCO will have TPA, should this contract pass).
that’s pretty much it. They’re all part of being based at IAD. Same goes for EWR/LGA, and other base pairings we have (LAX has other airports, and MCO will have TPA, should this contract pass).
Last edited by JTwift; 09-23-2023 at 04:15 AM.
09-23-2023 | 03:46 AM
#18
Line Holder
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,725
Likes: 0
From: UAL retired
Side note.
We get paid a set amount for flying out of a satellite airport (I think it's based on distance from the primary airport) and that amount is set to increase with the new contract. I don't know about other airports, but as an Airbus captain I loved the extra $96 per trip for flying out of LGA. 6 two day trips out of LGA and you were talking an extra $600 or so a month.
We get paid a set amount for flying out of a satellite airport (I think it's based on distance from the primary airport) and that amount is set to increase with the new contract. I don't know about other airports, but as an Airbus captain I loved the extra $96 per trip for flying out of LGA. 6 two day trips out of LGA and you were talking an extra $600 or so a month.
09-23-2023 | 03:59 AM
#19
Line Holder
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 927
Likes: 110
Reserve callout times are based on reporting to the primary airport with consideration for extra time to get to the others. LAX has BUR/SNA/ONT and TPA will join MCO in short order; you can imagine the significant difference getting between any of those.
09-23-2023 | 01:39 PM
#20
Line Holder
Joined: Aug 2023
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Yeah, 737 FO that bids reserve 90% of the time. I worked in June and July, but outside of that it's been a cakewalk, even in the shoulder season close to summer. Looking back, I blocked 4 hours on reserve in May, 7 in August, and I'm sitting at 4 so far this month. Total of 2 nights on the road during those 2.5 months. Dead of winter was even better, if you can believe it. I've been on property less than two years, so I can't say if this is sustainable long-term or some sort of staffing anomaly, but PBS says I've blocked about 230 hours over the past 365 days (with maybe 10-12 days of reserve dropped for mil leave in that time). I'm continually surprised more people don't do what I'm doing.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
EngineOut
Regional
153
05-10-2017 10:12 AM
