Originally Posted by Lonestarcaptain

You’d need your head examined to even consider this job. They are hiring new instructors as fast as they can get them even at that rate almost 1/2 quit before completing training once they see the reality of the job.

If you have any dreams of moving to the line it is actually harder to get hired as an instructor because they can’t afford to let you go. If you have a medical this job is a career ENDER!! I’m sure in the interviews they are touting how many instructors they’ve recently hire as FO’s. What they won’t say is those instructors were giving seniority numbers but won’t be allowed a class date for nearly 6 months maybe longer if they don’t stop bleeding instructors. What that means is they effectively take a pay cut because now they are paid under SWAPAs CBA but they can’t fly. That leaves them at training pay until they get a class and finish IOE. Because SWAPAs CBA doesn’t cover that class and craft they are essentially on their own with no support. Many have already accepted class dates at other carriers.

This is just one example of SWA warrior spirit at work within the their leadership ranks. Screw over whoever you have to to make yourself look good. SWA has some incredible Chief pilots and they have done a tremendous job insulating line pilots from the idiocracy that is HDQ.

The reality is SWa doesn’t have 16B they have somewhere in the neighborhood of $4B. Yes that’s better on paper than the rest but what that doesn’t account for is the technology debt, infrastructure, real estate, rewards program equity amongst other assets. The company leadership has run the airlines like a mom and pop shop and failed to invest in any infrastructure. They doubled down on the MAX not because it was the right choice but because it was the ONLY choice. There simply was no way the company could operate a different airframe without buying an entire airline with scheduling software , maintenance software and hardware, training, actually writing an FOM and AOM that don’t rely on RBFs 3 times a week and a host of other issue “under the wing”.

As for commuting to be an instructor? 1. Read the contract. 2. Talk to someone that works there. 3. Kiss your QOL goodbye. I told you some just doesn’t quite some it up.

Probably the best way to sum up what you can expect working as an instructor for SWA is in the past year over 18 SWA employees have left for FSI or CAE. That should speak volumes.