Originally Posted by
tyler durden
Not at all, Fly. That has to be frustrating. You've found your niche in this crazy business, and that's awesome. Smile man, nothing better than confidence and happiness to answer that question. Don't let anyone frustrate you or worse, talk you out of that elusive place.
Unfortunately for SW, yours might be a somewhat unique situation. Given the no-show and attrition rate, what meets your career needs and expectations appears to not fit those of others. i.e., the much larger number of pilots SW will need to fill vacancies created by growth and attrition.
For people at regionals and military they're going to likely apply everywhere and take the first offer. If it's not where they really want to be their apps will stay current and they'll bail when afforded the opportunity. Over the last decade there wasn't a lot of movement so people got stuck where they were.
Now it's a pilot's market and people aren't married to an airline if they're new and will go wherever gives them the best QOL. I've heard people leaving UAL, DL, AA, SWA, etc for other airlines because they live in a competitor's hub.
I was fortunate to get a job with a airline based where I live. I'm ok with never flying a 787 to Tokyo or upgrading in 5 yrs. I'll watch my kids grow up and make good money while I'm at it. For me that's an acceptable trade off. YMMV