Originally Posted by
kcdriver
Can you elaborate on "riskier career?" I have CJOs from UA and WN (30 y/o) and plan on moving to the DC area (live in-base for either). I am leaning toward WN primarily for the reason that I do not think UA's 500+ aircraft on order will be friendly to its balance sheet. If/when the next pandemic/worldwide calamity rolls around, I think that WN will be best insulated and prepared among the big 4 passenger airlines in the US. Is a single fleet type and lengthier upgrade worth the trade-off for perceived corporate stability? I don't know.
“Riskier career?”
United may have $42B in debt and lease obligations, but it has over $70B in gross assets, including over $18B cash on hand. Also United has generated over $3B in net cash flow in Q1 and Q2 of 2022. United is in a very strong position for an airline. Far more net equity than almost every other airline. United also announced they will be using cash to pay for the planes going forward using its strong cash flow. You can be a 737 Captain as soon as you get 1 year on the property and 500 hours. Or you can be a 777 or 787 FO as a new hire. United isn’t going anywhere, its part of an oligopoly, and except for Covid, its has been profitable every year since 2009.
Also this is the strongest management team we have had in the last 30 years. Whatever happened in the past (furloughs from 9/11 and the 2008 Financial crisis) is the past. Any pilot hired today will likely have 8,000 pilots junior to them by 2028.