Hi, 49 year old corporate guy here with kids in middle school. Leaving corporate because the last minute pop up trips have become unbearable.

I just got an invite for.the Hogan. My app was in for 2 years. Can you guys shed some light on life as a commuter at United? I live near Dayton/Cincinnati and have a class date with a local 767 cargo operator. I can drive to work. 13/14 days off a month. Pay stinks first year but is about 85k starting year 2 and just goes up from there. That's enough for my family. Qol reins at that point.
I know the pay/benefits at United are top notch but I just need some insight into commuting to work and how often I will be home. I can't move from Dayton. I see the minimum days off are 12. The pessimist in me says I will lose 4 of those days commuting to Kord/kiad/kewr.

I only worked at a regional for 18 months and that was 16 years ago so please forgive my ignorance.

Thank you

 

Take the hogan! The QOL is far better at United, more choices. The commuter policy is outstanding and would make commuting as good as it can be. It is not at all like a commuter.

 

Take the test. 2nd and third-year pay at UA are significantly better than Brand X Cargo. While UA toyed with insolvency at one point, those days are over and there aren't many 2nd or 3rd tier cargo joints that can make that claim. They tend to come and go. Mostly go. We've got a lot of retirements coming and you could be in the right seat of something big in just a few years.

Commuting sucks no doubt about it. But, the 50 seat RJs are dying a natural death. Having more lift changes the outlook considerably. With luck, your community has already shed them. If not, hopefully, they will soon. That alone will ease the hassle. Good luck.

 

I'm glad that you are looking with eyes wide open, but that's probably a little too pessimistic.

That said, yes, you will have the worst schedule of the entire pilot group as a new hire.

The good news, however, is that if current trends continue you won't be on reserve long and even as a lower band line holder on a narrow body you'll be have more days off, fly some commutable trips, make more money, and have a pretty much all around better quality of life than at any cargo outfit (excluding UPS/FDX). And it only improves from there.

The real question you should ask yourself: are able to "power through" the first 6-18 months and is the long term reward on the other end worth it?

Good luck to you and nothing in all of this matters more than your family.

 

I can definitely get thru a couple of years of reserve. When I was at PSA years ago I had a line and it was so inefficient that I still worked 20 days a month. So line holders are scheduled less than 18 days a month? Thanks again

 

Lineholders work 12-18 days a month, probably 15 average unless you want more money.
The first year or so your family will probably have to suffer somewhat. You can also make the decision to buy some tickets the first year to spend some guaranteed time with your family. Sometimes these can actually be pretty cheap to buy.

 

I'll give you an idea of my experience. Ive been on property about 14 months. When I started I did one month in IAD and then was awarded Chicago, which was my base of choice. I commute from STL. I could have held a line after 4 months but bid reserve for a couple more months to try to get certain days off. As a reserve I tried to fly by using aggressive pickup, which basically allows you to pick up flying the day before you start your reserve days. For that reason I probably worked more than the average reserve guy, but I only had maybe a month or two where I only had min days at home. Granted a couple of those days each month I was at home on long call reserve and was able to make that work because of the commuting situation I had in STL. Now as a junior lineholder I'm getting between 14-17 days off. I do of course work almost every weekend but that's just part of being junior. Even though staffing for 737 FOs in ORD is a little tight, I've had pretty good luck with trip trading as a line holder and am able to improve my schedule... I would definitely take the hogan and see what happens.

 

In that case, take the cargo job AND take the Hogan.

There are no assurances that you will "pass" the Hogan nor the interview. You can always say 'no thanks' to UAL later if you decide the remain local, but if you want to come to UA you'll want the earliest class date in this hiring environment.

Considering the current interview dates (and associated class dates) this will give you a few months to ponder your options.

 

What he said!

I'm happy with my career at United so far and it should just keep getting better!

 

Continue the process because you don't have a choice until you are offered a job. United is a great place to work and lots of movement.