Base Pros and Cons
 

Is there a location to address the pros and cons of the different bases around the country?

Once you select a base...can you switch it later even as a reserve pilot.

I imagine it's a long shot...but I'd like to sit reserve in DEN or SFO until we move next summer...then possibly change to EWR for the long term.

Thanks and ridicule is welcomed

SFO will not be a problem. DEN will be a huge issue as a new hire. EWR anytime it is the JR base of UAL.

Thanks Airhoss. Is there an issue switching bases after 4-5 months?

You can move between bases unlimited times if in the same equipment and position, which for most new hires is usually the case, if there is an opening.

Thank you all.

SFO does have SJC departures and reserves have to cover both airports. I don't think we have any service to OAK. SFO has the nicest office staff (in my opinion).

Most likely you will hold EWR or SFO as a new hire or at least a few months after being hired with a vacancy bid. Both are very junior on the 73 and 320. We have been holding vacancy bids almost monthly.

SFO DOES have the nicest FOSR's .. I was based there for 18 years and definitely miss the friendly atmosphere in Flight Ops.

SFO has better food in the airport.
SFO also is not EWR, so that's a plus:D.

You will hold larger aircraft and left seat much sooner in EWR. The surrounding area is an absolute dump though. I chose EWR for the career advancement and quick seniority, but had to move a little over an hour away to find a place I wanted to live.

I'm currently living in Manhattan. 45 minutes gets me from my front door in the East Village to the airport. I'm living with roommates though, so that makes it very affordable. Not owning a car or dealing with all the expenses of a house makes city living actually pretty cheap comparatively.

FIFY.

Don't forget cost of living within 200 miles. You'll need that advancement just to pay the taxes and tolls to live there.

Live in New Jersey. The weekly unemployment benefit is very high. It will come in handy some day. ��

You'll have paid for it many times over by then too.

How quick to get ORD in a 737 vs. 320?

A little over a year for 737 ORD. That'll change I'm sure. I believe the 320 is more junior.

Eastern PA is quite nice, affordable, low taxes, and only an hour away from EWR. In SFO, you can live 20 miles away and still have an hour drive during rush hour traffic .. There have been times when it took over 30 minutes just to get across the San Mateo Bridge.

I'm in eastern PA. Over all I like it. I'm 1 hour 20 drive to the employee lot. Taxes are still high where I'm at, but not NJ levels. There is rarely much traffic on 78 knock on wood. The most my drive has taken with traffic was 1h 45m, but it's not common.

Eastern Bucks county PA is only about 55min to the employee lot. But don't kid yourself, PA is only slightly cheaper than NJ. The state tax on the surface is cheaper, but each county and community within each county all levy their own additional income taxes. I've done the math on it living there and it worked out after all was said and done I took home between 30-37% of my pay after all taxes/cost of living for a given year.

If you're going to get F'd like that, at least go somewhere nice like LAX or SFO. The cost of living is just the ultimate kick in the junk on top of the misery of living in NJ. Which is a shame too because the EWR base/people/flying are fantastic.

You're correct that, in Pennsylvania, each county has varying rates of taxation (income, property tax, etc). You have to factor county taxation in to the price of the home. That said, housing costs are about 1/2 here in PA as compared to California, and state income tax is about 1/3. I left California last year for PA and saw my net taxation go down by $1000 a month and purchased a house for about half what a similar house in California would have cost. The cost of gasoline is cheaper by about $1.00 per gallon as well. The real shocker is the cost of electricity .. it's about 1/3 the rate here in PA as compared to California. All total, I've had a net increase of about $2500/month in spendable income since making the move from the Left Coast. I spent 40 of my 50 years living in California and I will NEVER move back there.

To each his own I guess .. California needs wage earners to keep the CalPers pension fund solvent ;).

How much snow did you shovel in California?

[QUOTE=Grumble;1983092]Eastern Bucks county PA is only about 55min to the employee lot. But don't kid yourself, PA is only slightly cheaper than NJ. The state tax on the surface is cheaper, but each county and community within each county all levy their own additional income taxes. I've done the math on it living there and it worked out after all was said and done I took home between 30-37% of my pay after all taxes/cost of living for a given year.

If you're going to get F'd like that, at least go somewhere nice like LAX or SFO. The cost of living is just the ultimate kick in the junk on top of the misery of living in NJ. Which is a shame too because the EWR base/people/flying are fantastic

Misery. Yes. It's miserable here in NJ. In fact no body should come to EWR. Avoid this base at all costs. Go someplace nice like "LAX" as he said or the interior bases like IAH where you get better flying.

Because LA is just awesome...where everything is awesome when your part of the team.

Indeed nothing to see here in NJ.

There are these things called "snow blowers". There are pictures of them on Google and they sell them in stores.

Where is the best base to live close to the airport in a nice community?

IAD comes to mind.

Talk to us after winter!! :D;)

Edit: Looks like you've already been there a while. I guess it doesn't bother you after all! Now the question is, what part of California did you run away from?

Depends on how much you want to spend on housing and your definition of close. Are we talking 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, or two hours drive time? If we're talking 30 minute drive, Houston is probably your best choice as far as finding a nice community. There are some nice towns within 30 mins of EWR as well, but the cost of living will be higher. I don't know Chicago so can't comment on that. If you want to live within 30 minutes of SFO, plan on dropping over a million for your house .. take a look at Zillow; a 2 bed, 1 bath 680 sq ft home in Redwood City is listed at $680,000 (That's maybe 25 min drive south of SFO).

I know the long wait for DEN has been stated but what kind of time frame are we looking at? 5 years? 10 years? something in between? Of course the standard disclaimer of all things subject to change but a guess would be appreciated.

Base Pros and Cons
 

Took me 6 months in the bus. 320 is much more junior than the 737....for now.


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Change is constant here. I've been here a year and if I was a 37 guy, I would have gotten Denver in the last vacancy bid. There's a website that predicts when you can hold a certain seat, base, or jet and if everything remains constant I can hold Denver as a 320 FO in 2019. So, it depends on luck and timing, but best case 1 year to 5 years to get Denver.

Nobody really knows other than on retirements. Especially after the big 76T shakeup in Denver. The recent FO vacancy was a nice change of pace but not really indicative of any big news in Denver.
The good thing is the TK is staying there, and there will be openings (my assumption) as IAHTK winds down. So that is an option. Lots of senior guys in Denver which means they are closer to retirement. Anybody's guess on growth or more consolidation in Denver.

My best guess right now would be 5 years. That assumes we get all the 787 a350 737 used Airbus on order, no retirement age change, current economic state continues, and guys who live in Denver are willing to commute for the better widebody pay.

I would say don't listen to the slams on both sides of the SFO-EWR debate. There are east coast and west coast people. Personally I'd much prefer living within a couple hours of EWR but I can see both sides. It depends on your preferences. NYC is arguably the greatest city in the world. I'd live in Manhattan if I could afford it.

As far as the flying goes...in my 2.5 years here I've been 73 in both IAH and EWR. No comparison at all in the flying. EWR is far, far better.

When we left, we lived on some property up in the foothills of the Sierra (Gold Country) about an hour ESE of Sacramento, and a 2 hour drive to SFO (no traffic). I was based at SFO for about 18 years before leaving.

I have been here since 2007 got Denver as a new hire. Since coming off furlough in 2013 and since the SLI there has not be a vacancy awarded Jr. To me and I a can't hold Denver. Don't believe that web site it only looks at month bidding including TDY and not what seniority a vacancy bid was awarded.

Chairman

If you have only been here a year you would have missed DEN by ATLEAST 1000 numbers.

2.5 years and DEN bid has been in since day one to all fleets and I'm not even close.

The junior guy in DEN is 2013 hire on the 737 but he's a couple hundred numbers junior than the second guy from the bottom. The only reason he is in DEN is because he did a base swap with a guy to GUM. The last vacancy bid didn't even make it through the pre merger pilots.

And the 2013 hire was not awarded off of a vacancy bid was a GUM base trade.

Sounds like a nice part of the state. I always enjoyed Northern California.

Latest from Captain Charm School....No more bumps for a while. Gonna give the "out and back" scheduling a go and see how it plays out. Then possibly some more bumps, but not until Summer '16 (effective Fall '16). And with the recent IAH + DEN FO vacancies, perhaps it's true!

Um, been here 2.5 years and still can't hold DEN. Still about 750 numbers from the Bus and a thousand from the 73

Thx for the info. Good to hear there is some stabilization.