All valid points. I would add that WB Capt isn’t all it’s cracked up to be unless it’s just a personal fulfillment issue. One off’s aside (like the incredibly rare stories of 350 guys making a milly etc) the difference between WBA and NBA is about 75K a year if the assumption is pure hourly rates. That’s 375ish over a career if we’re talking the last 5 years.

However to make that jump always results in a huge hit to relative seniority. And unless you are one of the very few who can cross a million time zones at least twice a week (as a commuter either way no less!) and not have it wreck your health, then it’s not relevant anyway.

I would argue that staying NBA those last 5 years would earn most pilots far more if they know how to work the seniority based system with their increased relative seniority while also being easier on their health for the years that would have an even greater effect for most.

I know we all get into this career looking at WBA as a brass ring/manifest destiny and it is a great opportunity to be sure. But it’s not the career decider that many try and make it out to be. There are many other ways to make nearly as much money or more than crossing a dozen time zones every week in your 60’s while being junior in category.

I don’t have an answer to your question of staying AA or going DL. I see both sides and empathize that it is an impactful decision if you get the CJO. If I were to guess, by the time you would be in class at DL you would have around 1000 junior to you at AA. That is a very challenging decision.

If it were me, if I got the CJO then I would heavily weigh bases. If I lived in PIT I would prefer DTW if I drove, but all driving choices are extreme IMO over the long run. 4 or more hours on each end of every trip for almost 30 years is a heavy burden that I would not do. So take a good look at the commute by air options, commuter policies of each carrier, hotel/crash pad/transportation situations, etc.

IMO I’d vastly prefer DTW for almost all of those variables, except the flights. There are much more flights to NYC/DC. So DTW becomes a harder sell. That leaves NYC either way which isn’t really driveable anyway. Then there’s ATL, which is somewhere in between.

What kind of commuter are you?

If you are the kind of person whose day is ruined when you don’t make the flight you want or have to come in the night before or see the last flight home push 10 early without you as you run breathlessly to the counter, then stay AA.

If you are the kind of person who just rolls with it and “prices in” things like that years in advance, you’ll be fine either way.

So IMO this leaves NYC and ATL for DL and NYC or DC for AA, maybe CLT as well. Look at the flight schedules, etc. Can you do 30 years of NYC?

Tough call. Best of luck. IMO it greatly depends on when you get the offer at DL. Promptly, I’d probably go. After 1000 under you at AA, it’s a much tougher call. I think you will have a great career either way. Don’t try to sharp shoot it for a few years of WBA as that makes almost no difference in the long run. Back in the days of FAE pensions it was a bigger deal. Now it’s not nearly as relevant.