RJSAviator76

Congratulations!!

As a Southwest pilot, I'll echo the previous posts - if you live in one carrier's base, go with that base. That cannot be overstated enough.

Here's what I see at Southwest:

Flexibility with your schedule can be fantastic. The reason I say 'can be' is because we cannot just drop trips. We can put them in giveaway and we're on the hook until someone picks them up. We can, however, trade with the company, and most of the time I won't fly a single one of my original trips. I'll rearrange my entire schedule even as a junior line holder with relative ease.

Pay-wise, gotta compare apples to apples. You'll make more at Delta if you're chasing the quickest upgrade. But, there's a reason why 6000 other pilots pass on that upgrade, but if you live there, it ends up being a no-brainer. As an FO, from what I gather on apples-to-apples comparison, Delta makes more on a per-hour basis, but on days-away-from-home, SWA probably makes more simply on account of our flying being structured more productively. Some guys focus squarely on per-hour basis, while others look at the time away from home vs. final pay stub. I don't know how much ability to make extra junior pilots have at Delta, but here at SWA, if you want to work, you can work and make more, right up to FAR 117 limits, but all your choice. I've seen 2nd year FO's make north of $200k averaging 170-180 TFP working their butts off and having no life, to the guys only flying their 13 days a month making a tad over 120k and enjoying plenty of time at home or even have a whole other career on the side, and everything in between. I work a bit more than an average pilot, but I also manage to enjoy time off and I'm looking to finish my 2nd year around $170-175k gross working about 17-19 days a month, not counting any retirement or per diem in those figures.

Medical insurance - I'm pretty happy with Regular Plan at SWA. I don't pay any monthly premiums. My deductible is $300 dollars for the year and max out of pocket is $2500 for the family. Downside - this particular plan doesn't cover preventative medicine. But then again, not paying any monthly premiums can pay a lot of that preventative medicine. We have other plans as well, there's a whole other thread about it.

Loss of license/short term/long term disability is where I think we lack the most among the big carriers. My biggest problems with our current plan is that the company dumps your medical coverage after a year (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), and the union ends up paying your COBRA payments. You and your family also lose your travel benefits too even on Southwest. You have to ask your Chief Pilot for a pass and though they're usually very good about it, it's wrong and you should never have to deal with that. There has been some progress on the travel front, but it still lags substantially behind our peers. Judging by what I'm seeing and hearing, this is one of the biggest things to fix in any future contract negotiations.

Job security - well, the company brags about never having laid off a single employee. They haven't laid off anyone after 9/11, or the Great Recession, or after Airtran merger. They almost did at one point, but ended up not to and still retaining that record. I like our scope clause better than the other big 3. I would royally chap my rearend to see Southwest Express EMB-175 or some other subcontracting entity flying our passengers, but that's normal at Delta, and United and American for that matter. One thing I'd mention that both the union and the company told our newhire class was that in order to run our current schedule using Delta's rules and contract, we'd need something like 2500 pilots on the property overnight. Think about if/when the economy tanks. Makes you think... but overall, Southwest runs a pretty lean ship.

Upgrade time... well, depends who you ask and even more importantly, depends on your preferences. Are you willing to be the plug captain or you want to hold out for a particular base or perhaps want to hold out for a line holding captain position? Here's where I'm going with this... if you read this board, people will tell you it'll take 15 years to upgrade. If it takes you 15 years, it's probably due to your own preferences. Current junior captain upgrades are right at 10 year mark. Given the hiring and staffing numbers the company is talking about, and the timeline to achieve those numbers (12,000 pilots in 2022), if they stick to that plan, I'd say you'd be looking at the earliest upgrade in 6-7 years. Bear in mind that the current plug captain is sitting at 61% total seniority. Now, if you want to wait, and a number of people do.... it'll take you longer. It's all timing. People hired in the last couple of years have had a tremendous upward movement, and it's forecast to continue providing the economy doesn't take a major nose-dive.

In parting shots, it really boils down to you and what your preferences are... if you want to fly a heavy, don't come here. Personally, if I lived in a Delta domicile, I'd go to Delta. If you live in a Southwest domicile, go to Southwest. One cannot stress enough how much different this job is when you simply drive to work. Think of it this way... a commuter will fly a 13-day line, but he'll spend maybe 15-17 days away from home. He will still only make 13 days pay, and also pay for hotels in their domicile. You live in domicile, and if you choose to work 15-17 days, you'll make tens of thousands of dollars more per year being gone the same amount of time as a commuter working only their schedule; or you can have that much better quality of life and have that much more time off at home.

Good luck with your decision. It's a great problem to have.