Originally Posted by
BusBoi
I'm a Spirit FO, mid 30s, living in the northeastern quadrant of NJ and based in AC. I'm also considering going to a legacy with United being my target. Not interested in Delta (can't stand their pilot culture) or American (I've heard lousy workrules, miserable pilots, incompetent management, and several years for upgrade). However, if I don't get hired by United (and I have zero interest flying cargo), do you think JetBlue would be a little bit of a step up or purely a pointless lateral move? They have a highly convenient Newark base, but JFK and LGA are doable as well (shorter mileage than AC but traffic and high bridge tolls. However I'm planning to move closer to NYC and could then use public transit to get to JFK/LGA). I really like JetBlue's product, they seem better run than spirit, their pay is better, they're flying to Europe, etc., and I understand upgrades are no worse than Spirit and very quick for the E190 in NY. What do you all think?
Don't rule out American. They have a metric $hatton of retirements coming up. And as far as culture goes, United had a poison culture and work environment up until ~5 years ago. But it was never as bad as it sounded on aviation boards.
If I were in your shoes, American would be #1 choice and United number 2 due to the seniority advancement you'd see at those airlines. United's good, but American's better.