Start Training 7/30/2007...Tips, Suggestions, Classmates?

[comeflywithme]

Hi! I'm John. I start UAL training on July 30, 2007. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, tips, and would love to hear from any others who will be in my training class!

I'm a current US Airways FA so I kinda know what to expect in training, but I know UAL is vasty different in many areas. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Fly away!

John

 

[EMBFA]

Hi! I'm John. I start UAL training on July 30, 2007. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, tips, and would love to hear from any others who will be in my training class!

I'm a current US Airways FA so I kinda know what to expect in training, but I know UAL is vasty different in many areas. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Fly away!

John

Tip # 1. Don't reveal your identity on a public internet forum.

Tip # 2. Forget everything you learned at your previous airline- America West (I guess you can call it US Airways but people think you actually mean US Airways). Nothing is more bothersome to fellow students and instructors than "At XYZ Airlines we did blah blah" or "I have a story about that."

 

[UAL_TECH]

Hi! I'm John. I start UAL training on July 30, 2007. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, tips, and would love to hear from any others who will be in my training class!

I'm a current US Airways FA so I kinda know what to expect in training, but I know UAL is vasty different in many areas. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Fly away!

John

Spell Checker would be good...

 

[laura62]

John,
If you are re-entering this line of work you must love being a flight attendant-we need f/a's who still love their jobs.
I went through UA training long ago so I don't have any fresh advice to give. However, I want to send you the best of luck.

Laura

 

[Bear96]

I'll second laura. I went through the training over 10 years ago so I am sure it has changed since then, but congratulations and good luck! As you know it's tough being a F/A these days, but if you decide that's what you want to do, UA is probably one of the best places to be, especially if you want to fly international. I recently saw some numbers, and over 50% of UA F/As fly international now as a result of international expansion and domestic shrinking over recent years.

My only specific advice since you are coming from another airline is get your hands on the UA evac commands from Day One and drill those into your head -- purge those USAirways commands. Ask your training instructors and explain why you want them early; I would imagine they would understand (at least it's worth a shot). The only person in my class who didn't make it through training came from another airline and couldn't quite get the old airline's emergency commands out of his head during the test on the evac drills.

Have they told you where you'll be based?

 

[jimntx]

Tip # 2. Forget everything you learned at your previous airline- America West (I guess you can call it US Airways but people think you actually mean US Airways). Nothing is more bothersome to fellow students and instructors than "At XYZ Airlines we did blah blah" or "I have a story about that."

Can I have an AMEN from the choir? In my new hire class there was someone who had worked for another airline and would do this. They never seemed to notice the instructors roll their eyes every time a sentence started with "Well, at XYZ, we did so and so."

It doesn't matter how it is done elsewhere. The FAA expects you do to it your airline's way. Once they have approved a command or procedure in an airline's safety manual, they expect all f/as at that airline to do it that way.

 

[JAMAKE1]

Comeflywithme:

I just want to prepare you. It is an entirely different ball game at United. We do not fly pure aircraft trip pairings (at UA, we call them trip id's). It can be a somewhat lonely experience as a new-hire reserve. A trip id can consist of going from a 737 to an A-320, to a 767, to a 757 all in one duty period. It is not ideal, but it is what it is. For you to have serenity at United, my best advice is that you not compare the way we do things to the way things were done at AWA/US. Just accept the fact that it is going to be very different at United. We don't fly with the same cockpit crew most of the time, unlike many other airlines. United is a very compartmentalized company. The comraderie between F/A's, pilots, mechanics, and customer service agents at UA is sorely lacking. It is not necessarily a bad place to work, it is just very different compared to other airlines. The other thing that you should be prepared for is that United has been informing new-hires that they can expect to make about $24,000 their first year. From what I have been hearing on the line, the new hires aren't even making close to that amount. So be forewarned. Sign up for the 401k as soon as possible, since pensions are a thing of the past at UAL. My one last tidbit of advice is to not be afraid to jump into every work position. If you get juniored into a galley position on a 747, then embrace it and learn it. Don't be afraid to jump in. If a situation arises where you are forced to work the Purser position, then do it. When I started at United in 1995, I was often juniored into premium positions, including Purser on a Premium trans-con flight between SFO and JFK. In hindsight, it was actually a blessing. I learned very quickly how to work each F/A position that I was juniored into and then I became Purser Qualified, which has kept me off reserve at a time when F/A's that were 15 years my seniority were having to sit reserve. And finally, don't be afraid to exert your personal power. You will be juniored into positions such as the galley and the more senior F/A's will tell you how to do your job. Remember that you are in charge of the galley, if it is juniored down to you. You get to call the shots. Don't let those senior babes walk all over you. You're in charge! Best of luck...and welcome to the not-always-so-friendly, Friendly Skies!

Best,

Jamake1