These decisions are best made at the dinner table and not in the pilot lounge or cockpit.
This is excellent advice. At the end of the day you have to do what is right for your family. That may mean an airline with a more commutable domicile even if it means a longer upgrade or less desirable flying. Only you and your family can make that call.
Not exactly. Zap's career reads like a choose your own adventure novel. He is the world's most interesting man.
As funny as that sounds, it is not positive. I gave up several seniority numbers after being furloughed by declining recall. Almost every single one of those numbers would be worth more now than my career today. Almost every single one would have resulted in a career path with higher earnings, better seniority, and a quicker upgrade than where I am today.
I'm not saying that things didn't work out ok. They did. I have a good job that I love and I'm fortunate to be able to provide for my family. What it means is that a seniority number at a major airline has intrinsic value beyond what you may see today. In addition to built in furlough-insurance, it could ultimately be your ticket to a solid seniority number at some merged carrier in the future that offers greater opportunities.
Is it a gamble? Sure. But so is starting over at the bottom of the list at Brand X looking at a lengthy upgrade, being on reserve, working weekends and holidays.
Learn from my mistakes. Guard your number. Don't chase dollars. Don't chase shiny jets. Unless your wife disagrees with any of this... then do what she says.
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