United Airlines

[hopalong]

Hi everyone,


I have been thinking about applying to the legacies. How is life at United? What base are you assigned to when you start? Any thoughts and comments are appreciated.

 

[densoo]

No hiring until the Fall. Seniority lists were merged in December 2012 and there's a lot of movement going on between aircraft. The training is so backed up they're throwing everything at pilots on the property first.

 

[xjhawk]

So you are just thinking about applying…… I and thousands of others have had Aps in since the first week they were open to Aps, been to job fairs etc and now they are not even interviewing. so…… good luck, keep thinking.

 

[pianoman]

Most new hires were getting EWR 737, A320, and 76T (ex-united 757/767). Lots of retirements coming up; if we get our s$&t together it could be a pretty great career.

 

[hopalong]

Thanks densoo and pianoman! What is life like at united as a new hire?

 

[densoo]

Thanks densoo and pianoman! What is life like at united as a new hire?

Just like the first year at any airline most people are glad to have new hires on the property as it means the company is healthy enough to be hiring. Reserve is no fun any where at any time and if you can avoid commuting to reserve all the better. When it comes down to enjoying day-to-day flying, my impression is that getting on the Airbus would be better than the Boeing. I've never been on the Airbus and always been on the Boeing (back to 707 days), but in terms of flying a plane, a plane's a plane, an FMC's an FMC, and they all have vertical and lateral magenta lines. After a long while creature comforts loom larger and the roomier, quieter, and no-yoke Airbus seems more attractive the older I get.

 

[pianoman]

Just like the first year at any airline most people are glad to have new hires on the property as it means the company is healthy enough to be hiring. Reserve is no fun any where at any time and if you can avoid commuting to reserve all the better. When it comes down to enjoying day-to-day flying, my impression is that getting on the Airbus would be better than the Boeing. I've never been on the Airbus and always been on the Boeing (back to 707 days), but in terms of flying a plane, a plane's a plane, an FMC's an FMC, and they all have vertical and lateral magenta lines. After a long while creature comforts loom larger and the roomier, quieter, and no-yoke Airbus seems more attractive the older I get.

True, I would try flying the bus in a heartbeat. Probably a better in-cockpit environment. But it depends on the base. I would rather be wherever the largest fleet is. In EWR, the 737 has much better trips and variety than the 320. This is probably different in other bases, but it's a consideration nonetheless.

 

[bafanguy]

No hiring until the Fall.

Densoo,

Does that mean they've also stopped interviewing to get new-hire classes lined up for the time when training capacity allows them (yes, they'd probably lose some people in the meantime) ?

Or has the entire process been halted ?

 

[densoo]

Densoo,

Does that mean they've also stopped interviewing to get new-hire classes lined up for the time when training capacity allows them (yes, they'd probably lose some people in the meantime) ?

Or has the entire process been halted ?

Hiring Update
March 2014
In 2013, United made conditional offers of employment to 543 new pilots. As of March 1, 2014, a little over 350 of these pilots began their Basic Indoctrination training at our Flight Training facilities in Denver or Houston. The balance of the pilots selected in 2013 remains in a pool awaiting a class date assignment and the present wait time for a class date is approximately six months. Normally, our desire is to place a new pilot in class no more than 30-60 days after receiving a conditional offer of employment. However, our throughput of new-hire pilots is constrained at the moment by a priority on using available training capacity to train new captains. We also are welcoming back an increased number of pilots who had bypassed furlough recall and are opting to exercise their right to return to United. This, in turn, reduces the number of new-hire pilots needed to staff the airline.

In spite of a reduction in the rate of new-hire pilot training, Basic Indoctrination classes are planned through late in the second quarter of 2014. These classes are filled first with recalled pilots who return from bypass status and pilots returning from leaves of absence and then with new-hires. All category assignments for new and recalled pilots since the beginning of the year have been to the 320, 76T, and 737 based in Newark.

Because of the number of pilots who remain in the pool of candidates with conditional job offers, we have not conducted interviews since the beginning of 2014 and will not likely resume interviewing until the fall of this year. In the meantime, we continue to participate in a limited number of career fairs to promote the United brand to prospective pilots. As is typical in the airline business, plans can change and we stand ready to adjust accordingly.

 

[bafanguy]

Thanks, Densoo. Appreciate the info.

 

[Turtle21]

True, I would try flying the bus in a heartbeat. Probably a better in-cockpit environment. But it depends on the base. I would rather be wherever the largest fleet is. In EWR, the 737 has much better trips and variety than the 320. This is probably different in other bases, but it's a consideration nonetheless.

Sorry, the AB is a pig compared to Boeing, if being compared as a plane.

But the AB is an awesome office environment to work in!!

 

[eaglesview]

Sorry, the AB is a pig compared to Boeing, if being compared as a plane.

But the AB is an awesome office environment to work in!!

Another opinion from someone that never flew it.

 

[densoo]

But the AB is an awesome office environment to work in!!

And that's where I work.

 

[Dan Roman]

Another opinion from someone that never flew it.

That's so true. People who bash the Airbus generally fall into two camps, those that have never flown it and somehow think that their opinion means anything or those that struggled with learning how it works and simply cannot get comfortable with learning something new. My take to the whiners that say 'IT's SO DIFFERENT!"...is , every airplane is different. Two of my favorites were the 727 and the DC-3. Two more different airplanes would be hard to find, but they both were a blast to fly. The Airbus is a great plane to spend a work day in.

 

[Dan Roman]

Btw, the comment that the Airbus is a pig compared to the Boeing is amazingly ignorant. We have 767's and A330's for our Transpac flying. The Airbus outperforms the 767's across the board. The most obvious being our ability to top weather that the 767's can't. The 767 simply is not in the same league as the 767, although the 767 are lot better than the 757, but even the 757 is way better than the 737 for transpac flying.

 

[bafanguy]

When UAL & CAL were combined, was the size and capacity of each airline's training department left intact or did one/both get "resized" as a result of the overall corporate changes ?

 

[Flopgut]

Btw, the comment that the Airbus is a pig compared to the Boeing is amazingly ignorant. We have 767's and A330's for our Transpac flying. The Airbus outperforms the 767's across the board. The most obvious being our ability to top weather that the 767's can't. The 767 simply is not in the same league as the 767, although the 767 are lot better than the 757, but even the 757 is way better than the 737 for transpac flying.

Thanks for making that nice and clear:/

 

[waveflyer]

I think we're all picking up what you're putting down.
But I'm proud of you for putting them down so early in a Hawaiian day

That said, I think united posters are talking about their narrowbody fleet which is mostly A32 & b73 fleets, not your widebodies

From what I've heard the a321 can be a pig, but more than a loaded up transcon 738 or 739?

Hard to imagine

I'd learn a new plane in a heartbeat for that flight deck
I'm not sure there is any arguing that the A32x is the best narrowbody work environment

 

[pianoman]

737-9 is a pig, but the newer ones with the 27,000# engines are a little better.

At the end of the day it's QOL for me or else I'd be flying the 757.

 

[fastback]

Another opinion from someone that never flew it.

Well, his profile clearly states that he's flown it.