United's Houston base and the Latin America flying: the Spanish speaking routes, the language premium and why Houston is a good first base for bilingual crew
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#1 United Houston, and there is a Houston thread already but it does not cover the thing that makes Houston special for a specific kind of new hire: the Latin America network and the language premium. Here is that.
The network
Houston is United's gateway to Latin America: Mexico (a dozen cities), Central America (every capital), the Caribbean, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Chile. Plus the domestic and a growing Europe and Asia component. For a crew member with Spanish, Houston is the base where the language is used every day.
The language premium
United pays a language qualified premium to crew who pass the proficiency test and work the routes, similar to Delta's LOD. Spanish is the big one at Houston, Portuguese for the Brazil flying. The test is a conversation assessment; native and heritage speakers pass easily and school Spanish usually does not. The premium is a real amount per hour on qualified trips and the language qualified crew get priority on those routes.
Why Houston for bilingual new hires
A junior base where you hold a line fast. A network where your Spanish is an asset every trip. The language premium from month one if you test early. And the Latin America international, which counts as international for pay and layover purposes and is a very good introduction to long haul: Lima and Santiago and São Paulo are real layovers, and Mexico City and San José are day trips that pay international.
The layovers
Mexico City, Cancún, San José, Panama, Bogotá, Lima, Quito, Santiago, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Rio. Some are short turns, some are 24 to 48 hour layovers in cities that the Europe crews never see. The crew who love Houston are the ones who love Latin America.
The honest downside
Houston is hot, sprawling, and the airport is a long way from the interesting parts. The Europe flying is thin and the Asia flying is thinner, so a crew member whose dream is Tokyo will be unhappy. And the Latin America routes have their own challenges: the late night departures, the early morning arrivals, and the passengers on some routes who are travelling for the hardest reasons.
The crew room
More bilingual, more Texan, more relaxed than Newark or SFO. A base where people know each other and where a new hire with Spanish is welcomed by the language qualified group in the first week.
Advice
If you are bilingual and joining United: bid Houston, test for the premium in month one, bid the Latin America international from the start, and learn to love the 11pm departure to Lima. It is the best first base for a Spanish speaker in the system and nobody outside Texas knows it.
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#2 Also Houston, also bilingual, and every word is right. The premium from month one, the Lima layovers, the crew room that knows your name. The 11pm departures are the tax and they are a fair tax.
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#3 Aeroméxico, and the United crews on the Mexico City layover are the ones who speak Spanish and love the city. Houston sends the right people to us.
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#4 Denver, and the one thing I envy Houston for is exactly this. Latin America international on a junior line. Denver does not have an equivalent.
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#5 @rafaelmex we try. The crew who bid Mexico City on purpose are the ones who eat properly and learn the metro. The rest stay in the hotel.
