SynisterAZ

Long time lurker, first time poster, in the terminal phase of refining where I would like to work for the next 30 yrs. Id like to stay in AZ for the forseeable future and am hoping to one day be based in PHX. There is a lot of info in the Southwest thread about their PHX ops but not so much here.

Looking at some of the latest class drops PHX pretty much never comes up. It looks like the 320 is the bread and butter out here, so lets assume that a hypothetical future version of me was awarded MIA 320 out the gate. So, what would be the path of least resistance following indoc. to get PHX base and how long would it take to get there? In the meantime, how commutable are some of the other likely initial bases from PHX?

Thanks in advance.

PRS Guitars

You can get PHX pretty quickly right now. It is a senior base right now in the sense that it takes a while to hold a line, upgrade to CA, etc. that can and likely will change. The other bases aren’t bad to commute to from there, I’d imagine,but don’t know.

With all that said, if you’re comparing SWA and AAL, take the long view please. Don’t base the decision on your first year or 2 at either company. There are pros and cons to both jobs. You’re likely to get more negative comments on here about AA. There seem to be quite a few SWA cheerleaders on the board, and many AA pilots unhappy with our contract. Don’t take that too seriously, at the end of the day, both are great jobs...and different.

Also, take the first job offered, because the second might never call, or the interview could go bad.

Name User

If wanting to stay in PHX for 30 years I would place that bet with SWA not AA. Make your life easy, go to SWA.

Regionalsuck

Their have been PHX 320 slots going to new hires lately

Cheddar

I wish I could share Vasu’s (VP of network planning) PHX townhall with you. Long story short - PHX is not going anywhere and may even grow once they can figure out how to manage LAX capacity. There was also a mention of bringing wide bodies back eventually - but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Friend of mine once gave me the best advice about the first few years at an airline: you’re not doing this job for the first five years - you’re doing it for the last twenty.


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Sliceback

Adding w/b flying didn't mean it would be based out of PHX. If PHX got a long haul trip, or two, it probably would be flown as a six day trip from another base.

I'd put SW down as more stable in PHX. $.02

Would I pick SW over AA? No. I think SW is a great company but there's a reason so many guys at AA go fly the w/b's, even if they have to commute to them.

Here's an idea of how guys actually bid -
top 1000 CA's - 87% on w/b's
top 500 CA's - 94% on w/b's
top 200 CA's - 97% on w/b's
top 100 CA's - 100% on w/b's

Top 285 FO's, all of whom could be a G4 CA (777,787,330)? 275 are FO's on the G4 aircraft, one is on the 767, and 6 are on n/b's.

They're living it. They not picking narrow body flying for a reason.

SynisterAZ

Whoa, thanks for the replies!

I didnt mean for this to turn in to a SW vs AA thread because Ive already done a bit of that myself in trying to balance the never-ending work / life equation. Its just that PHX has only so many contenders to consider for basing opportunities. My distilled version of things thus far (and feel free to critique) goes something like this:

-Live in the base for the airline for which you would like to work. In this case, SW and AA both fit the bill and if you omit the corporate politics and focus on maybe 3 tangibles (earnings, sked, and QOL) I think you can get ( dare I say) close to objective.

-If you cant live in base, then gun for the most commutable solution. In this case, perhaps cargo might be the most commutable option, however, the w/b pay breakdown previously mentioned and skeds currently available to the pax brands is not to be discounted.

And I do for sure appreciate the "long view" advice on things. Until the last few years, my long view was to remain in the military convincing myself 'its not that bad' for 20 yrs.

Maybe the grass is always greener and maybe there is no perfect job and all the advice given anywhere on this forum is just a coping mechanism for people justifying their choices.

Thats a bit dark though so Ill continue to thank the responders giving solid objective advice that includes aspects of a career choice that I (and others) may have not fully considered outside of a narrow X, Y, or Z comparison.

So, thanks. And keep it coming.

Name User

$$$$

At SWA it's kinda moot everything pays the same as our widebodies for the most part. Probably even higher.

mainlineAF

I see what you’re saying but the SWA guys who are making more than g4 captains are not just flying their line.

Regionalsuck

Personally if it was me and I was dead set on PHX living. I’d pick SWA if you are military and can get hired because it’s a more stable long term base there. Who knows what AA does in PHX long term. Closing or shrinking will always be a threat in the back of your mind there IMO.

Commuting is absolutely miserable vs living in base. It is not worth hardly any amount of money or widebody to commute long term for the rest of your career.

After a decade of commuting vs now living in base you cannot even compare the QOL difference if you value your kids/family. 30-40 extra hours a month riding in the back of an airplane “if” you can even get on. Which that keeps getting worse and worse every year. (That is a full extra work week a month for normal people). Countless nights in hotels or crashpads living like a homeless rat instead of just driving home because of commuting on days off for early starts/late finishes, reserve, Delayed flights, jumpseat competition, lazy gate agents, maintenance problems, weather, cancelled flights. Extremely long days 16-22 hours+ sometimes trying to drive to airport early, wait for flight, end up on backup flight 3 hours later, then sit on 2-5 hour flight, deplane with rifraff after 30 minutes of them dilly dallying around... all before you even start to work full long 12 hour day. The added stress is unreal.