Originally Posted by CactusCooler

Be me, have about 31ish years till 65. Am I a fool for entertaining the idea of leaving a good job to wear a hat?

At SWA for just over a year now, sitting a couple % from the bottom. Live in a domicile but can’t hold it due to no hiring till 2026 at the earliest (max7 depending), have ~1h commute. Will retire ~10% if there’s 0 growth. Overall, I don’t have a lot of complaints, will make fat stacks of dollar bills, easily max out the 401k, vacation and scheduling swap are nice. Though 30 years of 73 3 leg days 13-15 days a month isn’t a highlight.

Have a CJO at delta, expected spring class date maybe, who knows. Don’t live in base but would be willing to move to ATL (okay Chattanooga or Athens), maybe SLC or SEA. Seniority calculator says 16-18% with no growth if I started today. Main appeal is the possibility of different types of flying/planes, WB international (as b, wouldn’t make A), and that delta is actually making money.

Is the 15 years to upgrade if hired in 2025 true?

My main concerns at SW is the current inability to generate a profit, being controlled by some wall street leeches, and ending 2025 with fewer 73s than 2024. I’m sure elliott would let me go so they can buy a bigger yacht.

Thoughts?

Originally Posted by Devildog40

Make the jump.
31 is still very young.

DL is poised for growth, especially intl. growth as their domestic side is established. They don’t publicize flashy future plans.. approx. retiring 3% a year with 2-3% growth behind it at 1,000/pilots a yr for “foreseeable” future.
Thats 5-6% movement a year. Widget Sen is amazing but also assuming 0 growth (which could very well occur or shrink).
Work with what you know. WN will never operate WB nor grow to the degree at majors will, in fact LLC system is deteriorating.
Is 10% system seniority the same as 10% system at DL? Only you can answer.

Latest -rumor- from LCP meeting I’ve heard is DL is hungry for another WB order & likes the idea of leveraging a 787 deal with Boeing debacle for cheaper, again a rumor.
P.S. you will be WBA at some point hired at 31 yr old, that 15 yr upgrade has 0 logic behind it for NB

Originally Posted by ImSoSuss

How come every single freaken FO thinking of leaving SWA needs to create their own thread like the 30 other "Shuld I leave SWA for xxx" threads around this site doesn't contain much of the same information?

Originally Posted by Extenda

There are a lot of them. APC should maybe have a “Should I?…” subsection maybe for all these, if only just to organize them better, since they’re kind of scattered all over the place.

Originally Posted by Timbo

And one other question; why did you go there in the first place if you're just going to leave?

I never thought of SW as a 'stepping stone' type job where you go to build time and credentials to get hired at AA/UA or DL, if you had the qualms for SW you probably already meet the mins for the others, so...why even start at SW if it's not your life long dream?

Originally Posted by ImSoSuss

How come every single freaken FO thinking of leaving SWA needs to create their own thread like the 30 other "Shuld I leave SWA for xxx" threads around this site doesn't contain much of the same information?

Originally Posted by 80knotsV1rotate

Because he lacks life experience, thinks his situation is somehow unique, and needs constant validation, just like every other one of these threads.

OP already got the usual answers on his reddit post from yesterday. A modicum of research would have already drawn the conclusions for him. But somehow that wasn't sufficient and he needs his hand held.