Isn't it ironic that Skyhigh is the poster child for the doom and gloom of the piloting career and yet he wouldn't consider working for SWA, back in the day, because he might have been based in BWI?

Does that make any sense?

Or does that just put Skyhigh's rambling here more into perspective?

To me it does.
 

If one can not live where they wish and follow a life of their choosing then what is it worth? There are also plenty of jobs in the middle east that I wouldn't pursue either. You might be comfortable with throwing away any shreds of QOL to preserve a flying job but I am not. I have a life to live and aviation is just a small part of it. Base, pay schedules and routes all have a huge influence on ones satisfaction and QOL.

SWA has nothing to offer me.

SkyHigh

Nor you them apparently.

For the record
 

I have never wanted to fly anything bigger than a 737.

Never wished to leave the western north American continent.

Am not interested in living an impoverished life for any reason.

Am not happy about commuting anywhere.

Do not wish to fly for any regional for any amount of pay.

Do not want to ever be gone more than 4 days in a row. Two and three day trips are best.

Do not like being an FO, but understand that it is a part of the job.

Do not like to be more than three time zones away from my home time zone.

Can not stand red eyes. Am not made to rot in the seat for more than 5.5 hours at a time.

9 legs a day are criminal.

I did a lot of that stuff over the last 18 years. Enough to know that it doesnt get any easier. Enough to know that much of it takes a hit to your health and happiness. By now I should be past much of that but the unsettled nature of the airlines assures that most of us will be in a boiling pot for their entire career.

I put myself and family first. It makes me happy to be with them more than 180 days a year. We enjoy life with our friends and family. I like being able to pursue my hobbies and outdoor interests. It is important to me to live in the beauty and abundance of the pacific northwest. I had to spend many years living places I hated and doing things with people I didn't care about. I am not going to do that anymore.

The older I get the more I will not accept. Call me high maintenance or unrealistic. I say I have respect for myself and value my days more the older I get. Reclusive single pilots I am sure are in heaven whenever crew scheduling calls. They could live anyplace because four walls in Dallas are the same to them as four walls in Seattle. I am not interested in being miserable anymore. I have a life to live.

Modern life as an airline pilot at most companies is not in concert with the needs of a full and happy family life.

SkyHigh

"SWA has nothing to offer me."

They have a lot to offer to the career you constantly bash, though. Which, in my mind, gives your bashing no credibility.

Credibility
 

If others wish to go to SWA I would say that it is a fantastic company and that I would wish them well. I am sure that many people target SWA because the company offers a base in their home town and it would accommodate their lives nicely. If SWA had a SEA base I perhaps would have a different opinion but as of now they have never mentioned it as even a possibility.

It does not fit my needs at all. Great company though for someone who lives in Texas.

SKyHigh

Or Baltimore
Phoenix
Chicago
San Francisco bay area
Los Angeles
Las Vegas
Orlando

It's not you daddy's Southwest :D

Have you heard we have bases in BWI, MCO, MDW, PHX, OAK, and starting in October LAS. I think it's a GREAT company even if you DON'T live in Texas.

Contrails you beat me by a minute :D

Hands Down
 

SWA is hands down one of the finest companies to fly for. It is just not for me thank you. :)

SKyHigh