NoDeskJob

I recently got hired by JB. I got the invite from Southwest to interview today, and am considering turning it down.
I have to commute for the next 8 years (military wife), and will probably be commuting out of DEN, OKC, with a chance of ATL OR BWI.
Short term, I think the commute will be easier on southwest DEN-LAS, OAK, PHX, or OKC to the same. Long term, we want to live somewhere warm, and I think I could do that at either. I think I could move up the seniority list faster at JB.
Bottom line, I think they both are good companies, and was hoping for some more opinions on comparing the QOL/future of each.

missingbite

You can't make a decision on a job you have not been offered. At least go to the interview. Besides, no one knows what this industry will be like in 8 years. No one.

Captain Nemo

Ehh, go to the interview. Can't hurt. The industry is unpredictable that is for sure. If you are of the younger crowd and have patience I would go to SWA if they hire you. Do what is best for your quality of life and upgrade is just a bonus.

pilotpayne

I think with SWA you get a very "very known quantity" and that's good.
Jetblue is more up in the air but I have no doubt we will get a good CBA and have a lot of growth in front of us.

As others have said it can't hurt to go interview, I think the only thing is if you really don't think you would go you are in a way taking an interview from someone who really wants to be there.

Dolphinflyer

If you are going to turn an airline job down, do it 5 minutes before the indoc class at 07:55 am.

Seriously, f-em. There are too few companies left to play Mr Nice Guy. It is a pragmatic decision, nothing more. Things can happen that can change your decision up to the last second.

That being said, IMHO, take SWA even with the longer upgrade. JB seems to be a decent enough company, I work for neither, but SWA could go into a crash dive tomorrow and it will still live for decades. JB will not in the same situation.

Good luck. Enjoy the ride. No matter which company you choose in today's airline world, none features a high speed roller coaster run with a complete set of tracks.

Captain Nemo

Lol, well said.

ZapBrannigan

I was hired by JetBlue in 2013. Loved it but had a tough commute to Boston. I left six months later to come to Southwest. To be honest there were a lot of things that were better about jetBlue, but none of them outweighed the easier commute. I say go to the interview. You don't have a decision to make until you're offered a job.

PM me if you want to talk comparison / contrast

SayAlt

There are few things you can count on in this career, but here is one of them:


Evaluating things in this light, here are a few facts to consider about SWA...

9/11 came out of nowhere. Immediately, massive disruption to company/industry cash flows and major uncertainties requiring immediate decisions were manifested. Like US Airways Flt. 1549, the entire industry, and each company in it, had flown into the proverbial flock of geese that killed both engines at 3,000' over a huge and densely populated city. What happened next??

Most airlines furloughed pilots. They refused customer refunds, etc. Mgmt teams ran scared and rushed to protect their jobs. Not Southwest.

In the wake of 9/11, Southwest, unlike many (most?) other airlines, did not lay off employees, furlough pilots, nor cut pay. Mgmt also decided to give customers refunds if they wanted them, no strings attached. In this same time-frame, Southwest also faced a deadline to decide whether to make a planned $179 million contribution to an employee profit-sharing plan. Guess what? Southwest made the payment. It was all hugely risky, but SWA mgmt consistently chose the morally right thing to do. Every time.

As it turned out, Southwest wasn’t swamped with refund requests from it's customers, unlike the other airlines. Some ticket holders accepted credit toward a future flight. And some of it's loyal and devoted customers actually SENT the airline money, wanting to help Southwest endure the uncertain times.

AA and others have hit Ch 11 multiple times. Did you know? SWA has never even sniffed bankruptcy. Not once. In fact...

Southwest still managed to make money in the fourth quarter of 2001, and it has reported an annual net profit for 42 consecutive years – about $805 million in 2013.

42 straight YEARS, never a loss. 4 decades, and counting.

Yes, SWA doesn't pay as well as some of the other companies do. But then again, there is no airline with Southwest's track record. Not one. Given the risk over the course of an entire career...furloughs, bankruptcies, etc...the other companies SHOULD pay a premium to their pilots as compared to SWA.

After all, no one knows when another 9/11 or massive economic downturn will occur. What we DO know is how most airline mgmt teams handle such things vs. how Southwest handles them. We know who has furloughed pilots and gone into bankruptcy, and who never has.

Going by these known variables, over the course of an entire career, who would you rather work for?? For me, that's a no-brainer.

Pay isn't everything. Ya gotta look at the whole picture, not just the paycheck.

Captain Nemo

Jetblue was a startup in the wake of 9/11. They survived as well and never filed and never furloughed.

You need to also consider a major contributor to SWA's success was the genius that everyone thought was crazy by hedging oil at 35 per barrel. I am almost certain that if they did not hedge the oil they would have felt the pain of 9/11 along with the rest. That decision could have gone either way.

IQuitEagle

By your criteria, Allegiant would be THE place to be then. They have much more impressive financials than Southwest. But let's ask the current Allegiant pilots just how great thing are with their company making so much money and having so many profitable consecutive quarters...