jcountry

I think you are right.....

The *******s who jacked up APA will be retired in a few years-and then WE can take over and make things better.

PRS Guitars

Maybe on a beaurocratic middle management level, but not on a day to day level for a pilot. At least my experience has been great as far as most of the Captains and F/A's I've worked with as well as the training department. I'm on the LUS side, but have jump seated quite a bit on LAA.

To answer the OP's question, once I was hired here, I pulled my SWA app, and I live in a SWA base (and not in an AA base). I just wasn't interested in that type of flying, my whole career. Seems like a great airline, and they've always treated me well, but American is probably a better fit for me long term.

450knotOffice

PRS and Slice are right, as is Al Czervik. My experience on the LAA side of the house has been overwhelmingly positive, with a great bunch of men and women to spend time with in the cockpit - really laid back overall. I've spent just over three years here, but prior to that I spent 20+ years at "the Eagle" as Don Carty called that operation once. Compared to that side of the house, this side is relative nirvana. In all honesty, I've always been a glass-half-full sort of guy anyway, so I've never spent much time being too ****ed off about the way things are or aren't.

LessThan24

I've been at AA for almost 3 years now. Most everyone I've come in contact with from training dept to the flight office (MIA and LAX) to the pilots and FAs on the line have been friendly and professional. If there is an AA domicile that you'd like to live in, I don't think you'd regret making the move.

Julio

Had the choice between both. Went with AA. It was the right call.

aa73

AA has its problems and we are currently below everyone else contract-wise. But that will change with the next contract, I fully expect us to leap frog everyone else. We are also actively discussing ALPA.

That said - this has been a great job for the 17 years I've been here.

I also know plenty of SWA guys who love it there.

Good luck with your decision but know that if you come here, you are joining a top notch pilot group!

Happy Turkey Day.

tyler durden

SWA isn't what it used to be either. Just another big company showing signs of labor fatigue, growing pains, same contract disputes, same angry, burned out employees. In too late, out too early. You'll work much harder, but you can make decent coin. Upgrades are much slower from what the picture looks like from here, but that is always an elusive target.

Sadly, majors/legacies are all much the same and it boils down to a job. All you can do is go with what works best for you and what your priories are. Easiest commute, solid business plan and future, pay, work rules, upgrade times, retirement, equipment, routes, etc.

Best of luck with your decision.

tyler durden

SWA isn't what it used to be either. Just another big company showing signs of labor fatigue, growing pains, same contract disputes, same angry, burned out employees. In too late, out too early. You'll work much harder, but you can make decent coin. Upgrades are much slower but you

Sadly, majors/legacies are all much the same and it boils down to a job. All you can do is go with what works best for you and what your priories are. Easiest commute, solid business plan and future, pay, work rules, upgrade times, retirement, equipment, routes, etc.

Best of luck with your decision.

Hueypilot

Wide body flying is a different world from domestic flying. Some guys really love it. At least at AA you can give it a shot.

Some mgt issues but overall the people you interact with daily are great. I'd make the move to AA if you live in base or aren't beholden to a particular area.

Albief15

Different airline, but flying international at FedEx changed my life and my career goals.

When I got hired, our chief pilot said something along the lines of "when you'd rather be at work than at home, then we have a problem..."

After about a year of flying around the globe--one leg to long layovers in Germany, France, and Brazil, I caught myself on a farm I had purchased cleaning fences asking "*** am I doing here? I could making north of a $1000 a day and exploring Paris, or I can work on this ##$^ fence..." Every time I went on a trip, I was eating or drinking in cool places, exploring, and getting paid. At home--I was fixing whatever was broken, going to Home Depot, etc. I sort of had an epiphany and ever since then have spent more time and money on travel and having fun instead of buying stuff and fixing things. Prior to doing the international, I "went to work" to make money to get the stuff I wanted on my days off. Once I started up on the international flying, I found myself "going on trips..." and enjoying my road time as much or more than my time off.

What about family? My CP's comments were directed at not screwing up your home life. I was making enough that I started dragging my wife and/or daughters along on some of the trips. About once a month or every couple months I had someone with me on west coast layovers, or Hawaii, Anchorage, or other places. Work became fun not just for me, but for the family...

All that led to me taking an overseas assignment at FDX. I enjoyed the travel so much, and the family did also, so when we had a chance to "live" on a layover we decided to give it a try.

What's the point of this rambling post? Its nice to have a job that let's you grow or change as the chapters of your life unfold. What is very important to you when you have young kids at homes changes when they get into junior high and high school. When they leave the nest, your goals change again. For those so inclined, this job can offer much more than just getting weekends off or having 17 days off in a month, but can instead create opportunities to travel anywhere or live anywhere you want. Not many folks can commute from Kona or Big Sky Montana to work, but airline pilots can. In addition to (sometimes) being fun and interesting, International trips with longer legs create a situation where you may get more days off and more days off in a row, allowing you to move anywhere you choose. If you decide that you prefer domestic and short trips, that's fine--but what if things change in your life down the road? Having options is great.