Not flying for an airline at the moment, so take my thoughts for what they are.

The junior FO's observation you posted are interesting IMO.

I go back to when I was hired at UAL in the mid 90's. I'm a voluntary furlough if you are curious. I turned down both SWA and DAL in favor of UAL. It was the right decision at that time, for me, and I was fortunate to have that decision to make.

The 3 airlines each had their pros and cons. Just like any airline today. Although they all, even SWA, have more cons than pros in today's environment, one has to go with what they think the best career decision will be at the time. That is of course having NO idea what will happen 1, 5, 10, etc., years down the road.

In my new hire class at UAL, I had 2 former SWA pilots. I also saw a few friends leave SWA to come to UAL as well as a couple of DAL guys during my first year. Go figure.

Want to bet that if they had it to do over again, those guys would have not left their former airline for UAL?

Hindsight is 20/20. While the FO's points are perhaps valid, I hope he remembers that the grass may not truly be greener when all is said and done.

Making a career decision such as leaving SWA would be a hard one in my book. They may not be the same company they were 20 years ago, but neither is any other carrier.

Looking only at upgrade potential might make one want to make a jump to a perceived better opportunity. Perhaps it will work out....perhaps not. Perhaps SWA has met their maximum potential in the domestic market. ETC.

The fact is, what we see today and think tomorrow will be can change. UAL went from a pretty functional company that was kind of fun to work for to what it is today. In my early years, we had 3 year Captains, and so on.

Things change........

Bottom line, "love the one you're with." If you can't, then make the move. Just realize that nothing is guaranteed.

Frats,
Lee