Originally Posted by
biigD
There's no way to know without knowing the future with regard to widebodies, the size of the pilot group, future contracts, etc. Could my seniority make up for some of the areas where our contract is lacking? Hopefully, but who knows without knowing how things will look in 10, 20, or 30 years? I try not to get caught up in thinking about this stuff because I'm already on the seniority list and it's not like I'm gonna leave at this point anyway. I vote for union reps, fill out surveys, try to stay knowledgable, and vote yes/no when the time comes. That's about all I have any control over.
What I *do* know is that I enjoy being here - the trips and crews in my base (NYC) are great, I'm one of those weirdos that actually enjoys flying the 737, the chiefs leave us alone, and every two weeks a large sum of money shows up in my bank account. My personal life has me surrounded by doctors, lawyers and a handful of tech guys, and I'm constantly reminded of just how good I have it. Do I wish we had Delta's contract? Absolutely, and I'll happily keep pulling in the same direction as my union to work towards it. I also wish our management was as committed to running a good airline as Delta's. But I'm not going to let that sour how I see the overall situation here at AA - that it's a really, really good ****ing job.
I would say the exact same thing above! Spot on. But where you want to live and EXPECTED seniority are probably the 2 biggest factors in deciding between AA, DAL, UAL, and SWA that for most that makes the decision easy when lucky enough to have a choice. I lived in ATL at the time but AA/USAir called first and off I went and 2.5 years later I moved the family to CLT and haven't looked back since. My best friend, same age by a month, got hired at Delta one month before I did at AA, so in about 26 years from now we will be able to look back and compare. Until then, who knows...for what it's worth he is a SEA330 FO(commuting from a DAL base he lives in!! crazy right?!) by choice and I am just a lowly 320 FO living in base loving life. Best I can hold is LGA777FO, so for now his seniority progression has been better since he has been able to hold that for quite some time.