OP.....here’s the unfiltered facts of your dilemma:

You’ll have a great career at either AA or SWA, but for different reasons and here’s why:

AA you’ll enjoy insane seniority progression throughout the 2020s. By the end of the decade you’ll be a widebody captain where at SWA you’ll be a B737 Cptn doing crap layovers instead of 24 hour + international layovers.

SWA you’ll enjoy highly efficient trips (IF and I repeat....IF you take a little time to work the system to trade into more efficient/better paying trips.....highly worth it, I assure you.). SWA is also a much better run company that has a dramatically better balance sheet than AA. Like.... DRAMATICALLY.

CULTURE: This should be at the bottom of your list. I’m on my fourth airline and my theory is that the percentage of A-holes you fly with is directly proportional to the their degree of job satisfaction. Theoretically you’ll fly with more miserable people at AA than SWA.

Honestly (and I think this applies to AA, UAL, DLA.), if you have no desire to live the international widebody lifestyle then go to SWA. At least at today’s snapshot, you’ll fly more efficient trips and have more days off for the same amount of $ as your legacy counterparts. If however you want to maximize the $/days off ratio, go to AA and get on a widebody ASAP.

Bottom line will depend on what you’d like to ultimately do, but it sounds like you should go to AA and enjoy the São Paulo layovers as an FO after three years and a captain after 10 years as opposed to the Tulsa layovers as an FO after Day 1 or the Tulsa layovers as a captain after year 10.