Imagine you are a PanAm pilot in 1985 - deregulation has hit you hard and you can see things going downhill
You're a 727FE based in Berlin since 1981 and were hoping you'd have the seniority to bid home but it hasn't happened. You bail and go to this crazy new airline in Texas where nobody sits sideways
All the FO's you're flying with are living the sweet life and saying it will all sort itself out. I mean we've been crossing the ocean since flying boats! They stick around for several more years
The captains ... can you imagine leaving someplace with 25 years seniority and you work 11 days a month! They wait for the pink slips

Fast forward 10 years - the Southwest Captain meets his new FO who was his old FO too.