To all new hires who are commuting from the Western US, like DEN, SEA, SFO, LAX, BOI. How has it been and what are your prospects like for getting back West? Outsider here trying to get an idea on QOL. Thanks.

 

I can't directly answer your question except to say that it will be hard. Just based on flt time alone. Nevermind the stress of full flts. My wife is a DL FA and when she started she was commuting to NYC from LAS. Had we not moved she would have quit. New hire trips are rarely commutable. You'll be taking a 5+ hr flt home for a day or two then another 5 hr flt back, to make your reserve sit time, on your days-off. Now throw in you'll need a legal backup flt with seats. Its not going to be easy.

 

Hope you like the jumpseat. I would not be going out on a limb by suggesting that its going to suck miasma.

 

320 EWR based & currently live in PHX. Covering LGA too will blow goats. Hoping to lateral somewhere closer (IAH) by the end of summer, but it will suck for awhile for all the aforementioned reasons.

All the flights to DEN for training were booked solid, and I flew on UAL, SWA & Frontier.

 

QOL blows commuting from left to right. You get 12 days a month off by contract, plan on burning 4 of those commuting. You basically have to leave the day prior to starting a reserve period, and depending on when you're released on the last day, you may not get back until your first day off. Find a cozy crash pad. PM me for more lessons learned if you like. Some days you have to get creative. I've done three legs on three airlines to get home.

As far as getting back east, anything is possible but there are a lot of people ahead of you trying to do the same, and now that CAL/UAL guys can cross metal, there is a lot of movement of CAL guys going west. I'm planning years to manage expectations.

 

You should join the Luke Mafia and go to SWA.

 

Sounds like left coast commute will be rough. Will a commute from IAH to EWR be just as painful? I'm anticipating a July class and intend to commute from, then bid, IAH whenever the opportunity presents itself. Will there be a significant delta between the time it takes to bid IAH for the 320 v. 76T? Thank you, or ya'll, since I'm fixin' to live in Texas.

 

One bid the 320. You have a greater chance of holding Iah/320/FO with in 12 months. Plus if Iah 76t opens you can bid it. You however cannot bid "down" in pay bands. Second look into ups and fedex. I use them as the back up. They open the Jumpseat to off line pilots 24 hrs prior. Once they book you it is similar to being positive space. You can only be bumped by emergency company travel by one of their employees. Lastly depending on what city you are actually going to commute from makes all the difference and if you are willing to be creative in your commuting options. I.E. Commute to Phl then get on the train to Ewr, or go to JFK and spend 2.5-3 hrs getting to Ewr. I find reserve here at UAL about as good as it gets but then again I am on the 737 so we get long call all but one day a week. ( I live two hours from Dfw then get on my flight).

Good luck

 

I'll take all the LGAs I can get! I already have a cp near LGA. I'll be trying to stiff arm EWR whenever possible. But at the rate the pool is draining, that won't happen until next winter.

 

Signed up for the K&S 737 type rating the day after SWA opened their window last fall. Got the call for a UAL interview three days later. Turned off the type rating & have no regrets.