The money is better and they treat you like a true professional. No gloving up, no pitting the FAs against the pilots, first year pay is about the same as JB second year pay (considering TFP equivalent), better variety of bases regionally speaking... why wouldn't you go?

Did you see what Zap said?
Literally worked here and left for SWA.

Not exactly. Zap's career reads like a choose your own adventure novel. He is the world's most interesting man.
There you have it. Different people have different opinions.
For what it is worth, I was mulling over leaving SWA after two years here due to the toxicity of contract negotiations. Luckily for this pilot group, we got some strong union leadership who rescued this union from a pretty dismal state and pushed this thing across the finish line. Now that chapter is over and I am glad I didn't leave here to start over somewhere else. These decisions are best made at the dinner table and not in the pilot lounge or cockpit.
Best of luck!

This is excellent advice. At the end of the day you have to do what is right for your family. That may mean an airline with a more commutable domicile even if it means a longer upgrade or less desirable flying. Only you and your family can make that call.


As funny as that sounds, it is not positive. I gave up several seniority numbers after being furloughed by declining recall. Almost every single one of those numbers would be worth more now than my career today. Almost every single one would have resulted in a career path with higher earnings, better seniority, and a quicker upgrade than where I am today.

I'm not saying that things didn't work out ok. They did. I have a good job that I love and I'm fortunate to be able to provide for my family. What it means is that a seniority number at a major airline has intrinsic value beyond what you may see today. In addition to built in furlough-insurance, it could ultimately be your ticket to a solid seniority number at some merged carrier in the future that offers greater opportunities.

Is it a gamble? Sure. But so is starting over at the bottom of the list at Brand X looking at a lengthy upgrade, being on reserve, working weekends and holidays.

Learn from my mistakes. Guard your number. Don't chase dollars. Don't chase shiny jets. Unless your wife disagrees with any of this... then do what she says.


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I was just saying he has a very unique prospective vs just what you hear about SWA. Not saying good or bad just that he's been there and done that.

At WN, non-pilot employees have Empower for 401k and Profit Sharing accounts (the Profit Sharing account is another qualified retirement account).

SWAPA Pilots have Empower for the Profit Sharing account, and use Schwab for the 401k account. We are told our 401k has consistently been a nationally top rated 401k account. Much variety of investment options.

Replace a couple words there, and that's what I thought about Virgin and Alaska :eek:

Yeah. Good point.. [emoji15][emoji51]


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