Those who have applied recently, how long was it till you heard anything back from united?

I applied last week, and I'm getting anxious! No call yet.

 

I've been on file with them since they had an addendum on airlineapps.com and have heard nothing.

 

Since it opened, nothing yet.

 

Please let me know if you guys get called. I'm really trying to gauge this and manage my expectations.

 

I don't mean to be a curmudgeon, but . . .

I applied to UAL in 1989. I got a letter inviting me to a March interview in December of 1995. I have few if any facts related to this topic, but considering that there are thousands of applications on file ahead of you and UAL is about to get the ISL award which will radically alter the bidding and recall situation, I would be shocked if you hear anything before next spring at best and that is assuming you have several thousand hours of RJ Captain time.

 

The Wright Flyer had 2 pilots fighting over one seat. There are now thousands fighting over a few hundred. You can gauge your time to get called better by how well your networking is. It is a lot harder to get hired at a Major than just putting in an application that meets the times.

 

This.

It's the law of large numbers. At the risk of doing math in public, if UAL has 5000 aps on file (wild guess) and needs to call 120-180 a month for interviews (with 1/3 to 1/2 getting hired) that's only 2% to 3% of applicants called per month and 1% hired.

Those called first in that small percentile are gonna have some combination of PIC time, instructor/check airman experience, education, respectable work history, and strong references. And most called at this point will have all of those---although there will be a small number that don't just to keep things fresh. At the beginning of a hiring wave UAL can be very selective. That will gradually change when every other airline is also in a strong hiring mode.

Yup. I've worked at three major airlines and every single job was the result of who I knew (and who they knew) and not what was on my application.

 

Well that's all very helpful. I appreciate the non-sugar coated replies. I don't have thousands of RJ capt time, but the majority of my time is TPIC and a little over 1000 Jet PIC. All corp flying. Some folks I've spoken to who got class dates earlier this summer were full of internal recs with slightly more time.

I know one UAL 74 capt who said he'd help out in anyway he could. I've asked him to help get me in touch with other UAL guys to build a network.

Any suggestions would be awesome, guys.

 

Completely understand. Networking is slow, but I'm trying to change that. Any and all advise is greatly appreciated.

 

To be totally honest, I would expect it to be awhile. The only fast track way I know of is to have a letter of recommendation of a Chief Pilot Level type. Rec's from us line pukes help, but almost everyone who applies has those. I have a friend who I've recommended who has 16,000 hours, most of it RJ Captain, and he still hasn't gotten a call. Wish you the best, and just keep plugging. It'll loosen up soon hopefully