I'm looking at F9 & NK even though I'm young enough to go to a legacy and have a solid career there. I think the QOL at the ULCCs are very good, particularly living in base. I value the time off and flexibility over the potential career earnings.

The ULCC is fascinating to me in that I think it has a strong outlook and huge potential upside. The potential limiting factor, in my non-economist rudimentary understanding of the industry, is that while the ULCC model has done well in Europe, Europe doesn't have a Southwest Airlines-like airline. That's not to say NK or F9 won't succeed in their growth plans, but the market is just that much more crowded. I think the disadvantage SWA has is that they're hardly "low cost" to the consumer these days; younger fleets, cheaper labor, and true ancillary revenue generation at the ULCCs gives them a true cost advantage over SWA (for now).