United or American?

[parrothead]

Which airline do you think is the best to work for now? Which has the best long term potential?

Thanks!

 

[pilotyip]

First one to offer you a job and you will know at the end of your career if you made the right choice. I would leap at either one.

I look at my highly qualified squadron mates and the moves they made. Like leaving leaving DAL fro Pam Am in 1968,FedEx for Braniff I in 1978, it folded in 1982. We had another guy bail from GM Corp in 1979 for Braniff; he would have been at GM through the glory years. How about all the guys who bailed from SWA, UPS and FedEx for the major jobs at DAL, AAL, UAL etc in 2000. You just never know.

I reported aboard CVAN-65 USS Enterprise in 1975. At that time civilian flying jobs a scarce. I meet this guy who is getting out, going to work for company doing overnight mail, paid $400/mo for a F/O's job, he had to use his GI bill for training in the right seat of the DA-20. The company must have had a gov't contract I thought with a name like Federal Express. He stayed at FedEx, ran across him at a CO's conference in the late 80's he was like a double-digit seniority number.

 

[SIG600]

Long term, 50/50 on both. From a today stand point, United. Better contract, work rules and money.

 

[Carl_Spackler]

Where do you live, or want to live?

 

[DCAA320]

Whichever one that allows you not to commute. So many retirements at AA, if you are a Texan, pick them.

 

[jonjuan]

I reported aboard CVAN-65 USS Enterprise in 1975. At that time civilian flying jobs a scarce. I meet this guy who is getting out, going to work for company doing overnight mail, paid $400/mo for a F/O's job, he had to use his GI bill for training in the right seat of the DA-20. The company must have had a gov't contract I thought with a name like Federal Express. He stayed at FedEx, ran across him at a CO's conference in the late 80's he was like a double-digit seniority number.

And he's dead now. What's your point?

 

[DCAA320]

And he's dead now. What's your point?

Come on jonjuan, the only point he ever has is don't go to college.

 

[airgator]

My 2 cents:
Same $hit, different paint job. I went to US Air last year for 6 months, right after the merger was announced, and then jumped ship for UA, solely for the reason I live in a UA hub and stronghold. You can't go wrong with either one; i questioned my move after last years disastrous first quarter for UA but I truly believe the big 3 are all so similar you just have to go with whoever hires you first or given the option has a base where you live. Yes AA has more retirements but also keep in mind UA shrunk before the merger to make it happen and AA is shrinking now post merger. UA is growing mainline now at a pretty good click and shrinking express, and AA is doing the opposite. I think upgrade time will be very similar at both. Don't get so caught up in current contract or reserve rules or blah blah blah, if you have the choice go with whoever has a base in your hometown. FWIW i had fun for my brief stint at US but I really prefer the culture at UA.

 

[pilotyip]

And he's dead now. What's your point?

And your point is? My point was you never know about that job when start out. In fact this guy was going to get me an interview at FedEx, but who would want to fly DA-20 's in the middle of the night

Come on jonjuan, the only point he ever has is don't go to college.

You are out of line, I have never said not to go to college, what I have said is it has nothing to do with flying an airplane.

More in more in the county are starting to question the waste of money a college degree is for many.

Now all that being said, I realize the top 4-5 airlines make the degree thing a shop stopper, so if you want to work at those place you must complete at least an on-line degree from Bubble-Bee State in Gender studies.

The degree is only needed for the last career move, and like some our pilots without degree, they let our company pay for their degrees while building TJ PIC getting ready for the next move. I have seen too any succeed following this path.

 

[jonjuan]

You are out of line, I have never said not to go to college, what I have said is it has nothing to do with flying an airplane.

And yet, ironically, it's required to hired at any reputable, well paying company. No bucks, no Buck Rogers. Good luck not having one.

 

[DCAA320]

And your point is? My point was you never know about that job when start out. In fact this guy was going to get me an interview at FedEx, but who would want to fly DA-20 's in the middle of the night


You are out of line, I have never said not to go to college, what I have said is it has nothing to do with flying an airplane.

More in more in the county are starting to question the waste of money a college degree is for many.

Now all that being said, I realize the top 4-5 airlines make the degree thing a shop stopper, so if you want to work at those place you must complete at least an on-line degree from Bubble-Bee State in Gender studies.

The degree is only needed for the last career move, and like some our pilots without degree, they let our company pay for their degrees while building TJ PIC getting ready for the next move. I have seen too any succeed following this path.

I just think you are a babbling idiot. Nothing personal, you give bad advice full of false hope.

 

[pilotyip]

And yet, ironically, it's required to hired at any reputable, well paying company. No bucks, no Buck Rogers. Good luck not having one.

Guilty of selective editing you left out the other part of that quote

Now all that being said, I realize the top 4-5 airlines make the degree thing a shop stopper, so if you want to work at those place you must complete at least an on-line degree from Bubble-Bee State in Gender studies.

BTW: You mean Spirit, JB, SWA, NJ, Atlas are not reputable companies? No degree required to get hired at these places

 

[pilotyip]

I just think you are a babbling idiot. Nothing personal, you give bad advice full of false hope.

What! it is bad advice not to rack up $100K in debt when you can get the degree paid for by someone else. Talk about false hope.
BTW I just think you are a babbling idiot Very professional fits right in with FI mode of ops

 

[inline]

I just think you are a babbling idiot. Nothing personal, you give bad advice full of false hope.

Oh. You called him a babbling idiot and then say it's nothing personal.

 

[DUBLINFLYER]

Having a piece of paper saying degree does not make a person any better than the average person. I have run across numerous people who have degrees and basically no common sense or real world experience. I bet if you polled the vast majority of pilots with degrees and asked them if they ever used their degree to enhance their flying experience the answer would be no ( just go the degree to get the interview). I know Emery has a good program but not everyone goes there.

 

[pilotyip]

Having a piece of paper saying degree does not make a person any better than the average person. I have run across numerous people who have degrees and basically no common sense or real world experience. I bet if you polled the vast majority of pilots with degrees and asked them if they ever used their degree to enhance their flying experience the answer would be no ( just go the degree to get the interview). I know Emery has a good program but not everyone goes there.

Bingo this man gets it. However I did find that Solid Geometry in college gave me a tremendous advantage at VT-29 in Celestial Navigation Class. Wrote the highest Final Exam score ever recorded at the school, I shot a Local Apparent Noon (LAN) with a three mile error.

 

[maru657]

Which airline do you think is the best to work for now? Which has the best long term potential?

Thanks!

Keep your eyes open, your best choice might be a foriegn airline.

 

[SWA Bubba]

All majors have their plusses and minuses, but right now, all are good choices. And in this industry in particular, it's awful hard to predict what will happen in the future. Figure out which airline offers the best quality of life for you and your family, and make the best of it.

The only surefire advice though, would be to avoid taking any kind of advice at all from FI's reigning scab-wannabe, Maru. That's a given.

Bubba

 

[SpauldingSmails]

JHC, is this the sequel to Groundhog Day!? Just use the search function if you gents want to re-live the college degree argument. There should be a veritable matterhorn of ********************e to wade through - it'll save everyone a lot of time.

 

[Mkubwa]

My 2 cents:
Same $hit, different paint job. I went to US Air last year for 6 months, right after the merger was announced, and then jumped ship for UA, solely for the reason I live in a UA hub and stronghold. You can't go wrong with either one; i questioned my move after last years disastrous first quarter for UA but I truly believe the big 3 are all so similar you just have to go with whoever hires you first or given the option has a base where you live. Yes AA has more retirements but also keep in mind UA shrunk before the merger to make it happen and AA is shrinking now post merger. UA is growing mainline now at a pretty good click and shrinking express, and AA is doing the opposite. I think upgrade time will be very similar at both. Don't get so caught up in current contract or reserve rules or blah blah blah, if you have the choice go with whoever has a base in your hometown. FWIW i had fun for my brief stint at US but I really prefer the culture at UA.

Airgator,

What is it about the UA culture that you like vs. the US culture?

Thx.