I never like it when people rubberneck past an accident on the freeway, but here I am… in the southwest forum! I will say I have the southwest credit card and you’re my first choice on my patterns that have a commercial ticket.

I see some comments by pilots thinking about options at other airlines, and I thought I would tread into these risky waters! I was at Northwest and I experienced a strike, 2 IT melt downs, bankruptcy, etc. There was a snow storm in Detroit dumping a lot of snow and the airport was totally overloaded. Dispatch just kept sending the planes. People stranded on the aircraft for 9 hours les to new laws and a class action lawsuit costing $7 million in the year 2000.

in any case, I thought I’d sharp shoot the system… so I went to the cargo side after 10 years with Northwest. Then came age 65 retirement, parking 3 man planes, global financial crisis… so the 5 year upgrade at cargo turned into 12 years. Had I stayed at Northwest… quicker upgrades and more seniority at Delta. I’d retire in the top 100 I think.

I have completely enjoyed my career. I have liked aspects of every carrier I’ve worked for, but it’s torture when you’re not given the tools to do your job or you’re not treated like a valuable assest. Pilots are nothing but a cost item, and we’re treated more like a horse hitched to a carriage. Unbridled capitalism has left little value to intangibles such as happy employees and investing in an item that doesn’t justify itself immediately. Wall Street runs things… sorry for the tangent…

sooooo… I guess what I wanted to share is that the magic eight ball works as well as anything in the airline industry. You won’t know until the end of your career if you made the right choices. When you make your choices, don’t look back. Nobody want to hear “I could have been a Captain at xyz.” As bad as you feel today, you will feel a lot different in a year. All airlines have happy employees when planes are coming, upgrades are happening, and there is a raise. We feel horrible when there are planes parked, furloughed, and bankruptcies. Good luck with your choices. There really are no wrong choices. I think this will force Southwest to upgrade systems to something like the 1990s! I enjoy riding on you guys, so hold the course… and BTW… if you want to feel better, I don’t recommend reading twitter comments or reading statements by your CEO.

I bought a Southwest ticket for my 15 year old son from SLC coming back from skiing with a friend. It’s not until 3 days, so I hope you guys get it together!