Flyby,
I'm a new hire/new furlough at CAL, I've never been at SWA but I have a ton of friends there.
I'm sure you know the disadvantages of CAL, particularly when it comes to scheduling and sitting reserve.
SWA's scheduling system is much more flexible and lends itself to trip trading. Picking up open time and VJM seems to be the norm and not the exception. As a result, my buddies are better able to manage their 4/3 schedule.
Some disadvantages: plan on spending some quality time at OAK, then probably LAS or PHX. HOU seems fairly senior. Also, plan on a longer upgrade. SWA has some older pilots, but its main boom was in the past 10 years, so its crew force is younger than CAL. Yes, their fuel hedges will erode at their competitive advantage, but lets face it: SWA has pretty much controlled domestic rates, so if its costs rise, it's a fair guess that they would be able to handle it without pilot concessions.
Good luck, there's a lot of CAL guys looking to follow your footsteps.
Riddler
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