United Airlines is opening two new flight attendant bases, which will bring its domestic network to 15 (or 17 if you count the international outposts at London Heathrow and Guam). While United has yet to publicly announce its plans, new-hire flight attendants going through initial training at United’s Houston training center have been told two new bases are coming, without being told where.
As a reminder, United currently has bases in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Guam, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, London, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. (Dulles).
Two new flight attendant bases could be big news for new-hire flight attendants. We know you have questions, so we have broken down what we know so far.
Why Is United Doing This Now?
It might seem odd that United would suddenly open two new flight attendant bases, but there could be a good reason for the airline doing so.
United chief executive Scott Kirby has told investors and the media that the airline wants to grow in South America and the southeastern United States. The airline already has small crew bases in Florida and Cleveland, but its footprint in that part of the country is thin compared with its major hubs, so there is a real case for something bigger and more dedicated.
There is also a New York angle: United is returning to JFK next year as part of a partnership with JetBlue, and Kirby has talked about acquiring more JFK slots.
And on top of the network strategy, there is a simpler cost argument. Housing crew overnight in expensive hotel markets adds up fast, and a small local base staffed by flight attendants who already live there can work out cheaper.
Where Are the New Bases Likely to Be?
While nothing is yet confirmed, there has been plenty of speculation among crew members. Some of the rumors also make a lot of sense if you consider what is happening at United at the moment. Miami and New York JFK are the two most talked-about candidates, largely because they line up directly with what Kirby has already said publicly.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Orlando, Atlanta, and a reopened Seattle base have all been mentioned too, but with less to tie them to anything United has actually confirmed. United could announce something nobody has guessed yet.
What Does This Mean If You’re About to Start Training?
Probably not a lot, at least not yet. New bases take time to open, get staffed, and start receiving new-hire assignments, and United is not going to stand up a fully operational base overnight. If you are heading into training in the near term, you should still plan on landing at one of United’s existing bases, not one of these two.
What Does This Mean If You’re Earlier in the Hiring Pipeline?
Here it gets more interesting. If your timeline stretches out further, there is a real chance you could end up assigned to one of these brand new bases once it opens. You will be working a much smaller base where you get to see familiar faces more often, although you are likely to have a smaller route network to fly.
Worth knowing: A newly opened base, without decades of senior crew already anchored there, can mean a much faster move off Reserve and onto a decent line than joining an established base like Newark or San Francisco, where a deep bench of senior crew already holds the best schedules. Being an early employee at a new base can work out well.
What Kind of Flying Will These New Bases Actually Have?
This depends entirely on where United ultimately puts them, and it will shape day-to-day life there more than almost anything else. Miami, if it happens, would logically lean toward South America and the southeast United States, plus flying up the East Coast, given that Miami is widely seen as United’s gateway into the South American market and the airline is already investing heavily in the airport. A JFK base would more likely start out domestic-focused, since that is the nature of United’s current JFK return, with international flying a realistic possibility further down the line as the airline builds out its presence there.
Insight: whichever city it turns out to be, a brand new base is likely to start with a narrower schedule and fewer route options than an established hub. That is a real trade-off against the faster Reserve movement mentioned above, not a hidden downside, and it is worth going in with your eyes open about it.
What Does This Mean for Reserve Across the Rest of the System?
That is the real unknown. A new base in a desirable location could actually pull a wave of senior crew away from existing bases rather than the other way around, since a smaller, newer base with an easier commute or a lower cost of living can be a real draw once you have the seniority to bid for it. If enough senior crew move, that could open up real movement in the seniority order at whichever bases they leave behind. How much movement actually happens, and how fast, is the real question, and it will depend heavily on where these bases end up and how many senior flight attendants decide it is worth bidding on a fresh start.
The Bigger Picture
This story is still developing, and we will update it once United confirms the locations. If you want the full picture on how United’s base system works more broadly, including seniority, commuting, and a base-by-base breakdown, our United Flight Attendant Base Guide covers all of it in detail.
For everything else on getting hired at United or any other US carrier, start with the Ultimate Recruitment Guide, and make sure your application is in the best possible shape with our free resume templates.
This page is part of our ongoing coverage of United Airlines flight attendant recruitment, built from close tracking of the airline's hiring process and what candidates can expect at each stage. If you're getting ready to apply, here's where to go next.
