Summary of UAL pilot hiring & career advice
 

I was curious if anyone has any detailed information on the stats of pilots hired at UAL?

-Civilian vs Military
-hours
-where civilian are hired from (i.e. Skywest, envoy, PSA, part 91/135....etc.)

I'm thinking about making the jump from the 91/135 world into 121 regional in order to get the 121 training box checked. A huge pay cut for sure but could be worth it if I could get hired sooner with a legacy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as to whether it's necessary or which would be the best regional from which all the legacy carriers are hiring from.

2014 info. I know of some people who were hired out of the 91/135 world, but I have yet to see that info included anywhere.

Nice info graphic, thanks!

So it is 8% women or 9%? The number shows 9%, but there are only 8 of the 100 figures shown in red. Maybes its really 8.5% and we have to average the two. Or maybe one is transgender.

Awesome thanks! I'm guessing that the number of guys hired 91/135 is less than 1%. Not very good odds......also, why does UAL not hire From Endeavor?

It's a long story but they are blacklisted.

Just kidding. (Hint: PCL = Endeavor)

FWIW, if you are interested in Endeavor why not just apply there and progress directly to DAL?

DAL would be good, but I don't want to wait through the whole seniority list to get an interview with DAL. Do guys over there get interviews out of seniority?

Also, I think that the UAL culture might be a better fit for me. My plan for the regionals would be to get in and out as fast as possible. I would already be coming in with ample PIC jet and total time flying heavy business jets. So my hope would be that getting recent 121 experience would help my chances significantly at any of the Legacy carriers.

If you want to fly 121 mainline, bite the bullet and join the 121 world, no matter how crummy the first step.

Don't sell yourself short. Try Frontier, Spirit, JetBlue and Virgin along with the regionals. I know 91/135 guys that have been hired there.

There have been 91/135 pilots hired at United, Delta, American, Southwest, FedEx and UPS this year.

The key to differentiating yourself among a sea of qualified applications & resumes is...wait for it...NETWORKING.

Just like in the 91/135 world.

What is the tiny sliver on pie chart after Army?

USCG


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Been doing that, I have about 13 internal recommendations at UAL 7 at DAL....several recruiters have told me I have the time required but not having 121 experience is holding me back.

Little known fact by most people, but USCG pilots are Naval Aviators. Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard pilots all wear the same wings.

Ditto to the previous suggestion: if you need to launder your resume you might as well do so at JetBlue or Virgin instead of a regional.

My class at UAL had quite a few 91 and 135 people in it as well as a few from Endeavor....It was a pretty even split of 91, 135, 121 and Military. United does a great job of having various backgrounds in their classes.

Well THAT......AND being a Pats fan !! :)

6-7 Army pilots last year which is better than the zero at Delta last year. So at least there is a chance.

I don't know how anyone over the age of 25 takes a job at a regional, the payscales for new hires are just pathetic! This coming from someone that CFI'ed years ago and then flew freight in piston airplanes....I made more doing that back in 2000 than I would at a regional today. Wacky business.

How many transvestites?

Well, here's a reason: got hired in 2003 at 27 from the CFI world, did indeed make crap pay year one, BUT... Doubled that year two, then upgraded and spent the "lost decade" making 6 figures, my last year clocking $147,000.

Have since moved on to a major, but I'll just say: don't judge a book by its first chapter.

True dat! Or maybe just don't judge!!!

What's a "heavy" business jet?

Not judging you, I shouldn't have written that comment. I meant to just highlight how crappy the regional pay for new hires is.

Generally speaking, that phrase is typically refers to long-range, large-cabin business jets in the Challenger, Global, Gulfstream, Falcon 900, etc. families.

Not "heavy" in the ICAO >300k MTOW sense, but "heavy" given typical aircraft in that segment.

Thanks. Interesting to know.

Actually, it looks like if you add up the civilian pie chart, the total is 92%. So 91/135 could be the 8% that is not listed, or at least part of it.

I don't think the airline has any problem with direct entry from 91/135. It may be that not many of those guys apply because they like their current career, or that those 91/135 folks don't fit the "profile" - college degree, etc.

True, although that is 8% of 70% hired so more like 5% of total pilots hired are not on that chart. I bet if you got the actual numbers the total percentage of new hires coming from 91/135 would be around 2.5-2%. Delta is definitely less than 1% and the head of hiring even chuckled at the mention of corporate pilots at the WAI conference. So I am very seriously considering going to a non legacy 121 carrier in order to improve my application and increase my chances.

I was a pt 135 hire and didn't have any issues or have anybody tell me it was a bad thing. We had all types of backgrounds in my class as well. I made it through just fine. I'd say job fairs, volunteer work, and personality go a long way.


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wow, at what regional where you making $147,000?

If your numbers are correct, I wonder if the relatively low percentage of 91/135 pilots is reflective of the numbers that apply. I am under the impression most corporate guys are pretty happy and comfortable where they are.

I know quite a few that are applying, I'm sure most in a charter job like me are looking closely at the airlines. I just think that we are an unknown quantity when it comes to training and background.

Even guys in top jobs are applying to the airlines, having a schedule is a huge QOL issue and is what makes the airline career so attractive.

Hey Liberty,

Your ambition and eagerness is great, but I think you are overthinking this.

The majors don't know which flight departments are good and which are bad. They don't know if flying a citation X or GIV is more prestigious. They know total time, PIC time and additional duties AKA director of safety, chief pilot, etc. At the regionals or in the military they are more opportunities to put extra stuff on your resume. Even trivial "special projects" stuff counts.

I think that the 121 badge would help, but an additional title at your current job would be as beneficial, even if it's unpaid.

My $.02

My experience is many 121 hiring folks have zero idea what the difference in capability is between, say, a Citation XLS and a Falcon 2000EX.

The difference between the two..Oh about $600 per day for contract work. :D

Perhaps, but I know of a few other guys in my position that did the same move and were hired shortly after getting current 121 experience. I also am hearing that a lot of guys coming out of the military that were not getting calls finally received invites after flying for a regional. I'm don't feel like it's beneath me, just got to play the game if I want in. I always have the option of returning to corporate/charter at similar pay from where I left off but I have limited time to make a good career out of the airlines.

But you better make sure the hiring folks can find some info on your flight department on the interwebz or they may think twice about calling you. 😉

Of course, ALPA forgets about the [corporate/fractional/charter] 91/135 guys in their charts as ALPA thinks that the only civilian pilots are ex-ERAU, current Part 121 pukes.

My new hire [Continental] class in 2007 had quite a few 91/135 guys in it. Not sure why everyone thinks that 135 guys don't have college degrees :cool:

Who knows, but it's not an ALPA thing. The only time ALPA was involved in hiring was encouraging MEC's to help laid-off ALPA members with job interviews.

As far as the military/civilian/121/135/91 thing, it's always been airline specific. Usually the quality of the airline dictates the pool and the quality of the hires but when times get tough anything goes.

LOL. Like in 1985.

Yes, the 570 were likely some of the best hired at UAL. As it turns out many from that group will have long careers at United. With the FAA age changes, quiet a few will have 40+ years and dominating the top of the seniority list for some time. :D