I fly for SWA, and I have one friend each at UPS and FedEx.

At SWA we have a very enjoyable work environment, but we work hard when we're putting in our hours. I'm exhausted half the time when finishing my trips. But the paycheck, profit sharing, and 401-k balance are darned good for a passenger operation.

My FedEx and UPS buds love life flying their international trips in the heavy MD-11. I've seen some vacations knock out a complete month of flying. They're home a lot, talk about their nice layovers in France, Germany, and China, and how it's actually a plus not having to deal with passengers.

I would say that cargo has a lot more respect now as a career with what has happened to the passenger airlines. They pay better than everyone else, probably work a lot less, and have loads and loads of stability through their business model.