Originally Posted by Smokey23

FYI, 11th yr SWA Captain here. I believe I'm pretty representative of an "average" (or more likely slightly below average) SWA pilot in terms of earnings & productivity. I commute to my base. I have small kids at home. I have a great life outside this job and very much enjoy all the days off I can get. IOW, I basically fly my line and try to improve it where I can through trip trading WITHOUT increasing total work days each month. I pick up very little (~6 extra work days total last year). My 2010 W2 showed $224,860 and I flew 761 hours....virtually all of it at straight pay. I mostly do one 3-day trip each week, or the occasional 4-day every now and then. They're usually not commutable. I shoot for an average of 100 TFP monthly throughout the year to hit our annual household income target. I have 4 weeks of vacation each year.

Best of luck with your negotiations.