Originally Posted by
rickair7777
I would pretty much always say take the legacy job if you can get one. I would not delay THAT just to have 1000 RJ TPIC in my hip pocket lol.
Once you get a legacy number, you're pretty much a career made man, even if you get furloughed in a downturn. Especially if you're young.
Unlike the early post-deregulation era, I think the legacies have stabilized and are now too big to fail, outside of WW-III or asteroid impact. I don't think the big 4-5 airlines could go the way of Pan-am or Eastern.
A legacy job is a destination job. Maybe they got hired at 'not #1' as they might prefer one of the other 2 Big 3, or 4, or 5 (AK+HA?) but you've got 1st world problems if one of the Big 3 is just unworkable for you. Get the job and you'll probably be more competitive for your preferred airline than your current job is. If #1 STILL doesn't hire you after a couple of years it's time to face the music and realize "she's just not into you" and move on.