Been with CAL less than a year, survived this round of furloughs but have an opportunity with SWA. Tried for the COLA at CAL with no avail. Any thoughts.

 

CAL who? go to SWA

 

I think thats a no brainer.....

 

Min days off per month: SWA wins over CAL (15 to 12)
Scheduling flexibility: SWA wins over CAL
Financial stability: SWA wins over CAL
Upgrade time to Capt: I still think CAL would be shorter than SWA
Work rules/contract: SWA wins over CAL
Union strength: CAL has a union? Really?
Management: SWA wins over CAL, but CAL isn't that bad compared to others.
Commute: it all depends on where you live.
10 years from now... who knows. I remember when everyone wanted DAL and UAL. SWA was virtually unheard of, and folks in my squadron kinda felt pity on anyone who got hired by FedEx or UPS. 10 years later and things are different.

If you're leaving at < 1 year, you'd be getting a nice pay raise at SWA.

Good luck,
Riddler

 

All good points. Also consider type of flying though. 73's for the career or lots of flexibility from 73's to 777. CAL's rules can change over time. If I lived at a SWA base it would be a no brainer though.

 

True. Like I said, who knows what SWA will be like in 5-10 years. CAL's only real strength is that it seems to produce higher revenue than its peers.

I think the next few years will be tougher for SWA. First, they're shrinking their schedule somewhat (could mean career stagnation). They're used to growing 5-7% every year, which means that they start generating revenue prior to incurring substantial operating costs on those legs... result is increased revenue and ability to cut ticket prices. Combine that with fuel hedging and efficient crew scheduling and it's a no brainer that they've made tons of money.

However, their fuel hedging returns are extremely likely to at least diminish. And when they shrink capacity, that means that they're on the negative side of the revenue curve on that route - they're still paying for crews/gates/etc. and not getting any revenue. That's sure to take a chunk out of their profit. Their business model seems to depend on rock-bottom low ticket prices to encourage the family/spring break type of traveler (low revenue to begin with). A $20 fare increase to that demographic is a bit different than a $20 fare increase to CAL's bread-n-butter business traveler.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not predicting all doom and gloom. I'm just predicting that SWA will slowly start to feel the rest of the industry's pain.

Riddler

 

One thing I have learned through my career (I am no longer an airline pilot) - work for a company with a strong, respected management, and a positive workforce. I think CAL is a great airline with a bright future and a history of strong management (since the mid 1990s with Gordon- and yes I know the past history with Lorenzo), but low morale and constant labor battles in the future will likely take a toll. Key takeaway - go to SWA and work with the most positive culture that any Fortune 500 company has to offer.

Good Luck

 

Thanks to all for the input. It seems the obvious choice is to go to SWA.

 

If hired by SWA now, be prepared to be in the pool for a while.

 

You got it buddy. SWA