United Airlines is slated to open new pilot bases in Orlando and Las Vegas in May 2023, in line with a memo despatched to crews Wednesday.
Airline Weekly, which obtained a replica of the memo, first reported this improvement.
The adjustments will see the Chicago-based service open a pilot base for the primary time in additional than 20 years. The Las Vegas base will likely be house to 204 pilots and the Orlando base 300. The Orlando location might doubtlessly embody Tampa as effectively. Both new bases are solely for Boeing 737 pilots and can shave off hours from pilots’ commutes to different bases to function their journeys.
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The bases is not going to turn into new hubs for the airline. Part of the reasoning for establishing the brand new pilot bases was not solely to shorten commutes for pilots but additionally to scale back delay occasions. Plus, outdoors of the service’s present bases, 1000’s of United pilots reside in Florida and Nevada.
“Additionally, having pilots positioned in more locations throughout the country will help bolster our operational integrity,” Zach Shapiro, the United managing director of flight crew sources, stated within the Wednesday memo.
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United principally had bases in its hubs — pilots can dwell wherever they please, however they’re chargeable for commuting to their bases to function their flights. Oftentimes, these commutes could be inconvenient, particularly if pilots dwell in Florida however should fly to Chicago or San Francisco to work their flights, for instance.
United has eight hubs within the U.S.: Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Denver International Airport (DEN), Dulles International Airport (IAD) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Besides working bases in its hubs, United additionally has a base in Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE), which had been a hub for the service till 2014.
The announcement of the brand new bases comes after thorny contract negotiations between the Air Line Pilots Association — which represents greater than 13,000 United pilots — and the Chicago-based service. In November, United pilots turned down a tentative settlement that may have given them roughly 15% raises over 18 months, with ALPA saying the contract “fell short.” The airline subsequently gave pilots a 5% elevate sooner than scheduled.
Nevertheless, Shapiro emphasised within the memo that the brand new bases could be “good news for our pilots, our customers and our airlines,” calling them a “win-win-win” scenario.