Originally Posted by RJSAviator76

At SWA, we still do plane swaps, but I really don't think it's the same way as you guys do. It's a gamble when we pass through a base - I'd say 50/50 we'll have a plane swap, but just as often you blaze on through without switching. The Jetway Jesus miracles have dropped tremendously with assigned seating, so it's been actually quicker. I like it so far, and the pax - some like it, others don't. Can't please everyone.

Yesterday, I went to the End of 2025 W-2 thread, and looked up some NB numbers for United and one thing that stood out to me was that you guys at least on the NB side fly roughly the same number of hours as our hustlers do, but actually get paid a little less. This is why I like those threads as you can really see the effect of the work rules and the soft money vs. just the rate.

Here are some UAL posts and I'll highlight what caught my eye. You guys definitely put in some serious work too in your NB ranks as well.

This first one is sort of a baseline with hours and credit.



This WB FO is a decent case check on what's doable given the seniority.




Here's a WB FO that can hold line holder NB CA with medium hustle



This one caught my eye because of days including reserve days vs. pay.



On the one below, the block time to pay ratio really catches my eye as this is presumably a senior NB captain just flying his line.



This strikes me as an average UAL pilot off probation. Please correct me if I'm wrong.





And here are some UAL pilots that I tip my hat off to on both sides of the spectrum:



This is the pilot who's gonna kill it no matter where he is. The question is how easy is this to do if you're on a junior spectrum of the fleet you're on at United once the upgrade is complete? In other words, is it sustainable for a junior pilot?



After a long career, a hat-tip to the senior WB captain playing the game:



And a NB UAL captain playing the game as well:



Here are some SWA examples.

Summer hustling FO:





Here's a junior captain who was clinging to the bottom in DEN before getting displaced this year made last year:



Another fairly junior captain commuter:



I'm also a junior captain who lives in base. Here are my numbers:



Here are some more junior SWA FO examples.

This sounds like a bit of an outlier.



Another game playing junior FO



But if you only fly your line and never take advantage of what the contract offers you for whatever reason, this is more likely, granted this is a senior FO:



This is why I like to see the info on W-2 threads. It's nice to see what's possible within our each contractual guardrails. This post isn't made to sway anyone one way or another. It's merely one to illustrate what's doable, what's possible and how much work it takes to get certain results. Granted, all these posts are anecdotal, but at least it gives some some guidance to compare the two places.

I still maintain that one cannot quantify the ability to change fleets and switch back and forth between WB and NB fleets either chasing seniority, upgrade, money, quality of life work and quality of life at home. That's where UAL wins hands down. If one is only interested in money/days off ratio, then SWA seems to be a very formidable competitor as you don't have to upgrade into junior CA position like at UAL to see the big bucks and being on the hook for 18 days a month. 18 days of work (or being on reserve) in a month at SWA = serious $$$$$$ as it's never assigned that way out of the gate, but it's always self-inflicted. But once you do upgrade as a junior CA as SWA, you can still crush it pretty easily, but you will have been on the property a lot longer than a UAL captain of the similar seniority in the fleet.

Some questions for UAL guys on the board... You had some seriously low upgrade times. Has that changed a bit? Also, what does your WB upgrade time currently look like?