When trip trading opens for United pilots
Short answer
At 1500 on the 21st of the month before the bid period. After that it runs at least every four hours, though some categories take longer.
What the contract says
“The trip-trade system shall process requests for the first time at 1500 on the twenty-first (21st) day of the calendar month preceding the Bid Period.”
“The trip-trade system shall process at least every four (4) hours except that the parties understand that some Categories may take longer than four hours to process.”
When can I start entering requests?
Shortly after the Monthly Schedule Preferencing results are available to the trip-trade system. § 20-P-3-a
Who gets processed first?
Except for scheduler-assisted instantaneous trading, everything is processed in seniority order: in-base lineholders first, then out-of-base lineholders and instructor/evaluators when they are eligible. § 20-P-3-g
What if there is hardly any open time?
If open trips in a category are worth less than 1% of all the trips available in that category’s monthly award, the first run allows enough drops to bring open time up to that 1%, to get trading started. § 20-P-3-b
This page explains contract language; it is not legal advice. If your situation is not covered, ask your union representative.