1. You like the kind of flying they do. Only Alaska is a serious Alaska airline. Delta (actually SkyWest) is just dabbling in hopes of stealing the market from Alaska. SEAK flying is like nothing else. If you like doing that on a regular basis, Alaska is where you go.

2. You like the company. Alaska is my first choice when I need to travel somewhere. I've had better customer experiences than on any other airline, except maybe Hawaiian. Most of the people I worked with back in my flight instructor days are now at Alaska, and they seem to like it, so why wouldn't I?

3. You're a West Coaster. They way it's going these days at Alaska, you're not spending a lot of time at a base that isn't your preferred base. In the meantime, the commute isn't that bad. You could spend a lot of time commuting clear across the country with any other.

4. You hit the hiring lottery and Alaska is the one that called you while you're still only one of many thousands waiting for a call from The Big Three.