...whew! FIFTEEN new hires! Easy there, SWA...don't want to pull a muscle! To be clear, I do not wish to discourage any new hires or prospective pilots. We need all the good ones we can get... however... even with the massive amount of hiring already done at the Big 3...I would still head over there if under 30-ish. We've been going through a solid few years of stagnation, and I don't see that changing in the next 5. Retirement numbers are baked into the cake, and our vehicle for growth (-7), even if it comes now, will simply be replacement aircraft (a year from now) for -700's. Our projected hiring numbers for 2026 are LESS than our retirements and medical-out projections. We are shrinking in a time when places like UAL are being downright carnivorous in their appetite for market share. Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed my near decade here, and do not live looking backwards; however, the sight picture looking forward, while not dire, is slow and sticky for SWA. Thousands to be hired next year alone at the Big 3...worth considering.

I came here almost a decade ago because of stability and $13 billion in the bank. Fuel check...howgozit...?

Poopoo out...