Originally Posted by RJSAviator76

At SWA, as a reserve pilot, you'll have 14-15 days off a month and it's literally impossible to just make guarantee because every time you fly on reserve, and it's rare that you don't, you make more than you started the month with,. You get reassigned on reserve, you make time and a half for that day that's all going on top of "guarantee." You may start a month with 90 TFP "guarantee" and when the month is done, you will have worked 15 days, but you will have credited anywhere from 110 to 140 TFP when it's all said and done. The downside of reserve is that there's no long call, and it's a lot harder to move blocks around since you can't trade with the company like you can when you're a line holder.

Once you're a line holder at SWA, you'll have 17-20 days off a month if you just fly your line. If you never pick up as a line holder, you'll probably make more as a reserve. That's assuming you don't get rerouted or messed with while at work.
Contrary to the popular opinion, we don't fly 6-10 legs a day even flying short hops up and down California. 3 legs a day is an average trip. It's not uncommon to have 2 legs a day, or even one leg if you're doing ETOPS. I don't know what lines are built to at AA, but chances are you'll have more days at work at AA unless you choose to pick up. If you pick up a single 3-day trip, you'll be gone about the same number of days as your AA counterpart, but you'll make more than him. I'm comparing NB to NB flying so keeping it apples to apples.

Living in base, you can crush it and you can do it on your terms. See End of year W-2 threads for more info. It's not johnson-measuring, it's literally there to help people make educated career decisions and separate wheat from chaff.

Now, SWA is not without its warts by any means. But the only attraction of AA I could see for me is the ability to fly something other than a 737. If that's your thing, that's your thing. For me, it was living in base, making money, and maxing out my retirement, and I've done that consistently at SWA with relative ease. If I lived in the AA domicile, given the AA's financials, I would be a hard pass. I've done enough character building in this career field. I'm ready for "boring."

Good luck in your decision