Originally Posted by Margaritaville

First off you're asking if you should stay at AA on a DAL forum so I'm not sure you're going to get honest answers since none of them are at AA right now and tend to be pretty... enthusiastic... about their air line over there. You also don't need to make a choice until you get a CJO. Sure go interview. Can't hurt. But be ready to drink some kool aid.

I'd say DAL is a better money option and AA is a better QOL option. Just search this forum. They seem to ride these guys hard and put them away wet. Sounds a lot like the regional pilots get treated. At AA we get treated like adults and the flight office treats us respectfully most of the time. (The best technique for this is show up on time, do your job, and don't get on the radar). Sure AA management is a dumpster fire and has been for a long time. But day to day on the line I don't care. That's a management problem and doesn't effect my day to day. Our contract is almost the same as DAL and UAL and my pay checks always clear. The only thing they get that we don't is that sweet profit sharing. And a bunch of premium pay that comes from them being worked almost as hard as SWA. I enjoy going to work and am senior so I get a decent schedule and tons of time off. I don't think about this place on my days off like a lot of air line pilots seem to. My QOL is the best I've ever had in a very long civilian career of several airlines including Allegiant with all day trips.

Pilots seem to have an existential fear of their airline going away and having to start over because of the decades of black swan events and management ineptitude. I say we are past that stage. AA is not Spirit. We are truly too big to fail and we aren't going anywhere. AA also probably will never make the money or splashy headlines DAL and UAL make. Fact is AA is fine just paddling along and barely keeping their head above the water. And really the only place they can go from here is up since we are near the bottom.

Yeah if you go on The Line and Below The Line and The AArena and the other pages all you hear is whining. I think most of those guys got shot down by DAL and/or UAL and they are like the guy that got dumped by the hot girl and married the 5. It's entertainment but I wouldn't put too much stock in their constant bashing of the company and jealousy of DAL/UAL. It's just a bunch of noise.

DAL isn't perfect (no air line or airline is). They seem to have a lot of problems over there too. If you live in PIT it sounds like an easy commute to PHL which is a decent base with good flying. Way better commute than DTW or ATL or LGA/JFK/EWR. With our retirements you'll rocket up in seniority here. It sounds like DAL's best hiring days are behind them and they have a crap ton of young pilots above you. At AA you'll probably hold a pure long call line very soon. At DAL they don't have SC lines. They can assign you SC off LC many times per month and it would suck to have to commute in to sit at an airport or buy a hotel. I can't speak to their cockpit climate over there but we have all heard the stories of van admirals and cockpit colonels. Sure we have a lot of crusty old USAir and TWA guys who are always going to bark and grumble but they will be gone soon. I just listen to their stories of a bygone era. I don't get into the weeds with them. I am in MIA and I can really say there's only a couple of them I'd rather not fly with again. YMMV in PHL. MIA has a reputation for being pretty chill.

Now if you're one of those guys who thinks of wearing a Delta Uniform gives you a chub and you swoon when they walk past you in the airport without making eye contact and you're always wanted to work for them then you should go there. I'm sure you'll have a fine career either way. But if you just want to go to work do your job keep your mouth shut and cash your check this is a great job too. Don't let anyone tell you you're a lesser pilot because you work for a "crap" airline. The other places may be just (as someone above said) a smoke show that you'll hate actually working at.