Take the hogan!

The reserve rules at united are pretty commuter friendly. Transcon commute and was able to fly in the day of and fly back on the last day of reserve. You can pick up a late shortcall period or a late show to avoid the night before commute. Once you pick the trip up you are off call until showtime for that trip.

It is a completely different world. Very civilized, great people, and extremely professional. My biggest problem with other airlines is who is going to be the newhire in 5 years? The fly by night cargo, lcc, and regional airline wont be able to staff anyone competent when good paying jobs are readily available. I dont want to be babysitting or wondering what ghosts are in this newhires closet when flying to south america as a new captain.

Newhires are also holding lines within a few months in the junior bases which you are a 1 hr flight from three. Getting the Hogan is winning the lottery that most would give their left nut for.

Unpaid leaves are often offered from September through May. You just have to take a minimum of 7 days. I've done quite a few of these (they go very junior in some bases/fleets). If you're okay with making less $$$, that's also an option to increase your quality of life, especially when you're junior.

I left that cargo operator in CVG for United. I sat reserve for only two months before holding a line in EWR. My quality of life has increased by orders of magnitude. I've had as many as 17 days off as a lineholder. In addition, my first year pay at UA beats my fifth year pay hauling yellow boxes. Between aggressive pick up as a reserve and trip trading as a lineholder, you should be able to get commuteable trips most of the time.

Two caveats: First, I live in Mass, not CVG, so I was not at home on my CVG overnights. And I now (mostly) drive to EWR. A drive, even a four hour drive, is not the same as commuting on an RJ. Second, depending on when you hit the line, you may well sit reserve for a much longer period than I did. But I would be surprised if it were as much as a year in EWR.

My two cents: Come to UAL. I worked for a large 747 cargo carrier before UAL. Roughly 2 weeks on, 2 off. Great schedule for me. I hemmed and hawed over UAL precisely because I didn't like commuting 3 or 4 times per month like I did at the regional. Now at UAL I can wrangle PBS to give me roughly the two week on, two week off schedule using 30 hour layover trips, 3+4 day trips back to back depending on show/quit, etc. I can't recall a month where I had fewer than 10 days off in a row. With a 17 day off line I've had up to 15 off in a row. That's just a normal line at 50% to 70% seniority on the SFO 320 FO. With PBS I have more control over which days off I get and where they're allocated. Reserve is tougher to schedule but you can still get an 8 day off block pretty reliably. Commuting to reserve totally sucks, as usual.

I left corporate a year ago to work for the airlines, first I went to a regional to help my application score better. For me it took a month to get hired by United after that (app in for 3 years). I have absolutely no regrets and so far it has been an incredible journey. The QOL is ridiculously better here, as a corporate guy you will be amazed at the control you have over your schedule compared to even the best corporate gigs. That alone was enough to seal the deal.....but wait there's more!

1. Financially it has been a great move when you realize the earning potential
2. A career here feels stable, whereas corporate jobs come and go. Even though a furlough is always possible you still have a number to come back to.
3. The retirement plan is better than any corporate job I've known.
4. The peace of mind of finishing a trip and not being concerned about extra corporate duties and being able to just focus on the family is a nice deal.
5. Many more benefits I could list.

I live in base so I can't speak to the commuter life, but a lot of people do it and are/seem happy.

Class dates are being scheduled up to 3 and a half months after being offered a position. You have time to make a final decision. Take the Hogan and then take time to make your decision.

1. Take the cargo job. Hello 767.
2. Take the Hogan
3. Apply at Fedex. Hello Indy and your new friend the 767.
4. If you get hired either place you have between a 2 and 4.5 hour commute by car to Indy or ORD. I did a 4 hour car commute for 2 years to get youngest out of HS. Started at UAL in my 50s. Aggressive pickup for both specific pairings and short call blocks, commuter policy, 10 am earliest show for day 1 of reserve, and drivability makes this doable. Initial award for UAL will be either SFO or EWR most likely.

Good luck

Very encouragable thread. Thanks! Good to see that Legacies are hiring non-regional and military pilots too and that commuters can actually have a decent QOL. Now, just to get the invite to UAL!