Leave Airtran for United??

[Andy]

appreciate all the opinions..
its a hard choice.
I'm single. and have never commuted.. and don't plan to.
i moved to Atlanta for AT and would move to where I'm based at UAL too, probably Denver.
Just would be nice to have that crystal ball. See what the future holds for either place.
Be it status quo, or up or down. IF i was a capt. at AT, i wouldn't leave. but as a 737 fo who plans on waiting to upgrade in 737 (prefer longer legs, transcons, and don't want to go thru 717 training just to bid out at 1st opportunity) its a different story. i also miss the world wide non rev benefits of my last airline.
But giving up close to 25% relative seniority to be on the bottom of UAL is a big gamble. They aren't growing, no aircraft on order and looking to merge. i wonder how they are hiring 400 or so pilots in 2008 as it is.
Its a crazy industry, years ago it would have no brainier. now i simply don't know.
thanks for all the replys though.

Basing isn't an issue with you, and DEN has been given to newhires.
If you prefer the longer legs (as do I, which is why SWA was not even considered by me), UAL is your better choice.
You should be able to get a 767 in relatively short order at UAL. In the last vacancy bid, there were quite a few 767s. Certainly MUCH faster than 5 years, assuming that everything remains status quo.

I can't speak on whether or not it'd be better to stay where you're at or move to UAL.
We're going into a recession, so air traffic is likely to decrease. I don't know which would be more effected - United or Airtran.
Is Airtran still getting subsidies from some of the cities they serve? If so, I'd expect that to decrease due to tightening municipal budgets.
Are most Airtran pilots flying max hours? The pilots at United are flying more than they want to, so a decrease in block hours would be considered good for a lot of United pilots.

 

[jetblue190]

Stupid to leave!

 

[jetblue190]

I left Airtran to go back to the bottom of the list at ATA. Best move I have ever made.

Go to UA.

dumb move

 

[jonjuan]

Stupid to leave!

Stupid to stay!

 

[ATA For Now!]

dumb move

This from someone who works at JetBlue? WOW! For the record, I am at UA now as well.

There were a lot of ATA Guys who went to Airtran and there are few left. VERY DIFFERENT corporate culture....at least from the old ATA. It's a real shame they could never figure out how to make money. It was a really great place to work.

Airtran is not for everyone. And it was truly not for me.

RV

 

[pilotyip]

Back to the top, no matter what decision you make it will be some years before you find out if you made the right move, no matter wither you go or stay.

 

[Lear70]

Back to the top, no matter what decision you make it will be some years before you find out if you made the right move, no matter wither you go or stay.

True enough.

I watch people throwing the "my airline is better than your airline" stones and wonder where they'll be in a decade.

This industry is really, really strange that way...

 

[mnboyev]

I like AirTran... I've had fun here... make a fair livin...a lot of cool pilots.. good people..overall ! pissed cause I can't drop an integration trip !! otherwise its all good at Tranny... need a contract too !

I flew with RV.... he's cool... remember new years eve.. 07 !! Chick in the Hotel getting nailed...u could here her moanin in the hallway !!! LOL.... grin...awe.. we could all write a book... nobody would believe it...

UAL..... Hmmmm time will tell... I think it really depends how old ya are ....

 

[ATA For Now!]

Ha! I remember that. Was it JAX? Pizza and the young one with boy problems? She sure was peerrrtty....

That was about the best trip I had at Airtran!

You are right about UA....either it will work or not. I'll let you know in 30 years. Either way, it is my last airline. I'll just stay home and sell wine if this doesn't work out!

Hope all is well.

RV

 

[curious_george]

UAL..... Hmmmm time will tell... I think it really depends how old ya are ....[/quote]

37 years old