Smooth at FL450

Then mix n match pairings and reserve blocks where you're low on the reserve callout list. My best month was built on a foundation of reserve, 170 tfp (147 hours) while only actually visiting an airport 5 days. No restrictions on what type of work we pick up. Sit at home unused for a 3 day rap? Add another 2-day rap behind it or pick up a pairing. And also ways bid into the chaos. Work smarter, not harder.

big difference between actually working 18 days and getting paid for 18 days...I agree, actually working 18 days sounds awful.

PK387

As a UAL guy, I wish we had the ability to mix lineholding and reserve within a given month. Doubt we'll ever see it though... generally little appetite here to expend effort or negotiating capital on reserve stuff.

ThumbsUp

A couple hundred thousand in earnings over the course of a career is millions of dollars in the bank at the end.

For someone who lives in Denver, I’m not even sure why this is a discussion.

JTwift

people should realize that United is extremely seniority based in everything we do. Delta has the green slip thing where once you get a premium trip, the next one goes to the next senior person until everyone has a chance (if I understand correctly). At United, the same three people at the top of the seniority list can gobble up any premium that may happen to pop up (the company figured out how to drastically reduce premium pay at the end of Summer 2022).

every airline has its pluses and minuses. You just need to figure out what works for your situation.

RJSAviator76

The OP should read this, and then re-read this. Then re-re-re-read it again. Understand it. Comprehend it. And then start all over again. Notice how all those "friendly advices" disappear when feces hits the blades.




130 TFP for 18 days of work are rookie numbers.

In any case, the OP ought to go to pilotpaycompare.com and run multiple scenarios with upgrade times, WB upgrade, NB career at UAL, look at the realistic numbers you'll be able to get at UAL. At Southwest, you can throttle your numbers up... just as a point in reference, if you're a reserve pilot at Southwest, you'll consistently be between 105-115 TFP for the month with some months go as high as 140 TFP+ as a reserve pilot not picking up. We only see "guarantee" if we never show up. You get called out on reserve, you get rigs or better for that trip... any reroutes pay you at least 50% on top and in new contract do not get absorbed by rigs. A recent example... I was assigned and acknowledged a 3-day trip on reserve. When I showed up to work, they gave me an entirely different 3-day trip. Even for a reserve pilot, that entire trip now paid 50% more.

95 TFP per month at Southwest is for line holders who work 12-13 days total and have 18-19 days off. If you have 14 days off per month like many UAL line holders, you'll be crediting around 110-120 TFP, and that's assuming you're not flying premium - premium will be more. Reserves will always credit quite a bit more because of how our reserve is structured.

Then add up your QOL. No, it's not exactly UAL by a mile, especially the total career compensation, but it boils down to one's preferences. I wanted UAL because I was enamored by fleet choices and the fact that I live in a UAL base which is also a Southwest base. But at Southwest, I've been able to max out my retirement that much sooner than I would have at UAL which gave me substantially more. Conversely, back then, UAL didn't have these super short upgrade times, so that may actually be in UAL's favor, but at what cost? 17-18 days a month on the hook for reserve? Different strokes... If I were starting out now, and I had 20 years left, it'd be Southwest by a mile. If I had 30 years left, it'd be kind of a toss-up - lots of factors to factor in. At 40 years left, I'd most likely choose UAL. The reason? Look at the numbers hired at various airlines.... https://www.fapa.aero/pilot-hiring-history then think about your progression towards that WB if that's your thing... choices are great, you have more of them the younger you are. To me, money is also very important, and so is the QOL and basic line construction. Neck to neck flying only their line, UAL NB pilot works 2-3 days per month more than a Southwest pilot. Over the course of a year, that's roughly a month longer.... if you're not a 25 year old spring chicken, and you fly NB's, what does that equate to over a prolonged time frame? Conversely, make both of us have 14 days off and chances are I'll consistently outearn my United buddies. Different values and priorities in our groups' contracts...

Now.... Southwest is marred in MAX issues. We put our eggs in the MAX basket and our management appears paralyzed on the issue. Whether that's the case indeed, I don't know. I hope it's not. We are converting a number of MAX 7 orders to MAX 8, but how long will that go on? Conversely, United has a varied fleet and I don't think they'd have a problem converting MAX 10 to A321neo's or something like that. This is a big plus for United. Kirby might be the wokest idiot on the planet, but could be the best airline CEO with the best vision. Our CEO could be the biggest doofus there is - he certainly strikes me as one. But he may not have the vision Kirby has and that's another plus for United. On the other hand, some of the most grandiose plans can come crashing pretty spectacularly. Also, virtually all airlines are one bad CEO and one bad BOD or CEO decision away from the world of hurt and possibly liquidation, and this is not even looking at the world events. I also don't subscribe to the "Too Big to Fail" theory when it comes to major airlines, but that's me. COVID was an anomaly in that everything was government mandated.

The point being... anyone starting out should balance everything and make the best decision using facts that are known. Future is a gamble and unknown. I would absolutely ignore anyone trying to definitively sway one way or another because they don't have skin in the game - you do. Now go back and re-read that first post by Squawkbox.

jrydel

Fair. But my numbers were also based on min credit. At WN even the laziest guys average more than min guarantee. And anyone who puts on even a tiny bit of effort can earn significantly more than min guarantee. I obviously haven’t worked at UA, but my friends that are there seem to consistently be much closer to min credit.

Trust me, it isn’t a cut and dry decision to stay. Just providing my perspective on the pros of Southwest

jrydel

Yeah, I underestimated the TFP. I don’t like to over exaggerate on here. Was trying to give a conservative comparison. I’m doing 135 this month working 11 days and with a vacation week. I know how good it is at Southwest. But I agree on the MAX issues. The carrot that keeps me interested in UA is TK.

Moonbeam

Dang! Sounds like flying for United is the land of milk and honey. I wonder if the working at United for the next couple decades will be anything like the last couple of decades?

ThumbsUp

The only guys getting min credit are more senior people. Max credit goes junior.

I’m only commenting on the perspective of someone living in Denver. It’s a slam dunk in United’s favor if you live there.

flyguy81

I live in Denver....turned down UAL. You go with what you know at the time you know it....UAL was a different airline in 2015. I'm 43 and UAL's hired something like 6k people since 2021. As a WN CA, I'd be a complete dumbass to leave.

If you're 25 with little to no seniority, might make sense to bail for UAL. You can't toss out generalized statements like that without knowing the OP's wants/needs/age/etc....If they don't want to sit in a sim weekly, TK is out. If they want QOL over pay, then new hire upgrade to the 737 is out. If they want to maximize their pay at work to get the most days off at home, maybe UAL is out. If they don't want anything to do with flying planes every week but want to get paid, maybe SWA is out in favor of LCR at UAL.