I’m a former F9 Capt that’s now at UAL. To give a little perspective on this thought.. Remember that at a multi fleet airline your global seniority has far less impact on your bidding power than at a single fleet airline. If you aspire to be a 777 captain with weekends and holidays off, sure. That’s a high bar. But legacy narrowbody FO pay is nearly approaching ULCC captain pay at the moment. I’ve been at UAL a little over six months and I already have Xmas eve and day off as well as two other weekends that I needed off (and I’m not in a particularly junior base).

Of course doing what’s best for you and those that you depend on you comes first in your decision. However, I’ve found that a lot of the arguments that people made for not leaving for a legacy to be false. I was well above 50% seniority at F9, so being furlough fodder again is a real concern. But literally every..single..thing has been better outside of that.

This industry has been kicking me in the teeth in one way or another for nearly 25 years now. So I’m not just speaking from some rosy, freshly minted pilot/riddle grad perspective. Leaving is a risk. Staying is a risk. Take the risk that is best for you and yours. Don’t stay locked in your room in a burning building out of fear because you might break an ankle when you jump out the window.

That said, if you’re happy, there absolutely nothing wrong with a career at NK, F9, JetBlue, etc.