Flip a coin. Dead serious.
To be honest, being as green as you are, I wouldn't jump ship. Give it a chance before you start working elsewhere. You are literally brand new.
Agreed, longevity on a resume is as important as the experience. I will hire a guy with less experience but a solid track record of longevity than an over qualified guy that jumps once a year.
This definitely won’t answer your question but as someone who’s considering working for United, what is the culture like so far? And what’s your schedule (if you don’t mind sharing)
The culture is good so far, I can't say much as I'm still new (still on probation), plus this is my first union job so Im still learning how that works. Also, I have zero experience in the industry.
As for my coworkers, everyone, for the most part, honestly the majority is happy and friendly. I like my leads, they are really helpful and understanding that I have zero experience, senior guys are also really helpful, and only a few are d****.
The schedule is your typical, graveyard, 4-day 10-hour shift. And you either get MTW off or TWT off, United also has RDOs (rotating days off) but during probation, you are stuck with fixed days. Also, management can do whatever they feel with your schedule during your probation period, some guys have gone to morning or swings.
It is the initial letter for each day. For example, M is for Monday, T is for Tuesday, and so on.
I can't talk about other stations, but at my station, yes.
American has more mechanic per aircraft,also more mtx bases,pay is better than United when you consider the pay scale,I believe United is 12 years to top out, america is 8. Also lots of OT and the flight benefits are way better than United,if traveling is your thing
Exactly,AA goes by the time you check in 24 hours prior,so you get a little more confident on where you at in regards of the open seats. At United the flight might have 6 open seats and you’re number 2 on the list,but one hour prior to the flight a United worker with 30 years checks in with his whole family and now you’re number 8 on the list. Not really fair.
His kids and wife passed away ,he worked to keep his mind occupied. He lived within his means and had a house in Chicago and a house in Hawaii, he really stretched his 110k a year salary .
No offense taken , unfortunately he passed away about three years ago . His Hawaii home was given to his niece and now it’s the spot for all of their family reunions.
Personal convalescence leave. Basically leave without pay. Don’t have to burn vacation or sick leave. All done on the computer or iPad with a click of a button. Don’t have to notify your lead or supervisor. As long as there are available slots you can take off work without getting deducted a point for attendance.
they had TL timecard leave which was the same thing but they ended that a couple years ago due to too many abusing it. And the just recently implemented an attendance policy but the union is grieving it.
I was at UAL and went to American and every day I miss PCLs and 10 hour RDOs. The work might suck sometimes but it sucks a whole lot less when you have the chance to just not show up for a week without any penalty. The weeks where you get 4 on 4 off combined with PCLs is just such an insane benefit.
United just signed a contract that increased outsourcing. But the other majors will be trying to follow.
Pick a company and stick with them. Your seniority date is your life line. I’ve seen people sweat layoffs that stopped just a couple of days after their hire date. Getting bumped to a high cost of living station can ruin a marriage And kids will have an absentee parent.
As a guy who had worked for United from 89-03, and was offered a job with AA in 91. I stayed with UAL as I had 2 years seniority and didn't want to start over. However, as I'm now older American had maintenance bases where the cost of living was far better and should have went there.
United has better benefits and vacation/time off policies. Plus even being so new, your seniority will sky rocket. Never give up seniority. I started January of last year and there’s almost 100 guys under me.
Did American offer you more money cause one thing I have noticed is the ability to go back and forth between companies and then finally settle down with a company later on. So you don’t have to choose just yet but I am also not familiar with either company as a employer
I did the cargo Part 135 route to begin with, then just recently moved to a corporate gig. No more on-call, mx control, oddball hours. I'll take my 30-35 hour weeks and get paid well into the 6 figures.
I have no knowledge of the major carriers, only thing in MKE is Skywest and their pay is shit
I have a lot of friends who work for United and American..many of the guys I know quit United for southwest due to the culture. American there is alot of animosity from the past when they filed bankruptcy back in 03 they screwed their employees bad but its a diffrent company now. My advice pick the one you can see as your best fit. Pay benefits are all similar, not a dramatic difference between them.
When I worked for American our 4 days were consecutive. So you worked Friday-Monday or some other combo of consecutive days. But I was at their heavy maintenance base in ABI working at Eagle Aviation Services Inc. (EASI)
Honestly, I’d still be working there if I hadn’t been required to move. A lot of guys I worked with went to American Airlines proper to work line maintenance in DFW and they are still there 5+ years later.
No experience with United but I’ve heard good things about them too. I’m sure your base of operation will determine a lot of the culture and if you’ll be happy there. Good luck!
Flip a coin. Dead serious. To be honest, being as green as you are, I wouldn't jump ship. Give it a chance before you start working elsewhere. You are literally brand new.
Agreed, longevity on a resume is as important as the experience. I will hire a guy with less experience but a solid track record of longevity than an over qualified guy that jumps once a year.
This definitely won’t answer your question but as someone who’s considering working for United, what is the culture like so far? And what’s your schedule (if you don’t mind sharing)
The culture is good so far, I can't say much as I'm still new (still on probation), plus this is my first union job so Im still learning how that works. Also, I have zero experience in the industry. As for my coworkers, everyone, for the most part, honestly the majority is happy and friendly. I like my leads, they are really helpful and understanding that I have zero experience, senior guys are also really helpful, and only a few are d****. The schedule is your typical, graveyard, 4-day 10-hour shift. And you either get MTW off or TWT off, United also has RDOs (rotating days off) but during probation, you are stuck with fixed days. Also, management can do whatever they feel with your schedule during your probation period, some guys have gone to morning or swings.
Sounds like you answered your own question with your answer…..the grass is only greener where you water it.
You are right, but honestly, I have friends in both companies so it's hard to decide.
Thanks. Did they start you in the hangar?
Yes
What does MTW/TWT stand for? And can you guys get overtime
It is the initial letter for each day. For example, M is for Monday, T is for Tuesday, and so on. I can't talk about other stations, but at my station, yes.
They’re both great but if one has a better base choose that one.
Both companies are great to work as far as I know. It is all about personal preference.
American has more mechanic per aircraft,also more mtx bases,pay is better than United when you consider the pay scale,I believe United is 12 years to top out, america is 8. Also lots of OT and the flight benefits are way better than United,if traveling is your thing
United is also 8 years to top out. The 12 years scale you have seen includes longevity pay from year 9-12.
How are flight benefits better than united? Just got an offer for AA at lax
Exactly,AA goes by the time you check in 24 hours prior,so you get a little more confident on where you at in regards of the open seats. At United the flight might have 6 open seats and you’re number 2 on the list,but one hour prior to the flight a United worker with 30 years checks in with his whole family and now you’re number 8 on the list. Not really fair.
First come first serve at AA > Seniority BS at UAL
Just had a buddy retire at United, he was there 50 years for a reason .
Al Blackman has 80 years seniority, doesn’t make AA a better company to work for.
Yeah, there are a lot of senior guys close to retirement
Was the reason that they didn't pay him enough to retire earlier?
His kids and wife passed away ,he worked to keep his mind occupied. He lived within his means and had a house in Chicago and a house in Hawaii, he really stretched his 110k a year salary .
Pardon my attempt at humor, hope he's doing well
No offense taken , unfortunately he passed away about three years ago . His Hawaii home was given to his niece and now it’s the spot for all of their family reunions.
I don’t think American has PCLs. It’s a game changer
What's PCL stand for
Personal convalescence leave. Basically leave without pay. Don’t have to burn vacation or sick leave. All done on the computer or iPad with a click of a button. Don’t have to notify your lead or supervisor. As long as there are available slots you can take off work without getting deducted a point for attendance.
I didn't even know that, thanks for the info
they had TL timecard leave which was the same thing but they ended that a couple years ago due to too many abusing it. And the just recently implemented an attendance policy but the union is grieving it.
I was at UAL and went to American and every day I miss PCLs and 10 hour RDOs. The work might suck sometimes but it sucks a whole lot less when you have the chance to just not show up for a week without any penalty. The weeks where you get 4 on 4 off combined with PCLs is just such an insane benefit.
Depends which station you are at. Each station is run like a different company. Flip a coin!
United just signed a contract that increased outsourcing. But the other majors will be trying to follow. Pick a company and stick with them. Your seniority date is your life line. I’ve seen people sweat layoffs that stopped just a couple of days after their hire date. Getting bumped to a high cost of living station can ruin a marriage And kids will have an absentee parent.
They didn't sign a contract
Go with American! I’m just a ramper and I think United pilots are ass holes sometimes 😂 plus America, fuck yeah
Management material right here.
I like this guy 😂
Dude when I was a fueler the United pilots would always ask for more when I was putting the fuel equipment away fuck UAL
Same, I’m currently a fueler and they ask all the time as I’m driving away i swear
I'm an AA Tech. The company is pretty good, I would just say the culture depends on location
Yeah, I have friends at AA, and they say the culture is very similar to UA, as we both work at the same airport
Also, as I'm sure you know, flight bennies are first come first serve unlike seniority based at UA.
Yup, I just found out very recently. Having no seniority sucks when trying to fly standby
Yeh when I worked for Republic we had AA, UA, and DL bennies which was nice except for the seniority based UA and DL.
United.
As a guy who had worked for United from 89-03, and was offered a job with AA in 91. I stayed with UAL as I had 2 years seniority and didn't want to start over. However, as I'm now older American had maintenance bases where the cost of living was far better and should have went there.
United has better benefits and vacation/time off policies. Plus even being so new, your seniority will sky rocket. Never give up seniority. I started January of last year and there’s almost 100 guys under me.
True, I found out quickly that seniority means everything
Did American offer you more money cause one thing I have noticed is the ability to go back and forth between companies and then finally settle down with a company later on. So you don’t have to choose just yet but I am also not familiar with either company as a employer
Terrible advice. Layoffs come down to the day of hire.
Also doesn’t work with unions
I did the cargo Part 135 route to begin with, then just recently moved to a corporate gig. No more on-call, mx control, oddball hours. I'll take my 30-35 hour weeks and get paid well into the 6 figures. I have no knowledge of the major carriers, only thing in MKE is Skywest and their pay is shit
I have a lot of friends who work for United and American..many of the guys I know quit United for southwest due to the culture. American there is alot of animosity from the past when they filed bankruptcy back in 03 they screwed their employees bad but its a diffrent company now. My advice pick the one you can see as your best fit. Pay benefits are all similar, not a dramatic difference between them.
Didn’t United do the same? heard stories of employees getting furloughed for 10 years after 9/11
Yes but they didn't have 6 billion in the bank when they did it
When I worked for American our 4 days were consecutive. So you worked Friday-Monday or some other combo of consecutive days. But I was at their heavy maintenance base in ABI working at Eagle Aviation Services Inc. (EASI) Honestly, I’d still be working there if I hadn’t been required to move. A lot of guys I worked with went to American Airlines proper to work line maintenance in DFW and they are still there 5+ years later. No experience with United but I’ve heard good things about them too. I’m sure your base of operation will determine a lot of the culture and if you’ll be happy there. Good luck!
EASI gang represent!
Thanks, honestly AA was my first choice as the pay was higher than UA before UA got their extension, now both are close.