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UAL vs SWA...what am I missing?

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UAL vs SWA...what am I missing?

Old 03-09-2019, 08:44 PM
  #61  
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Originally Posted by Bizkit View Post
With PBS, once your schedule drops for the next month, is there much ability to trade trips, or drop them and pick up others?


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Depends on the airline.

Generally you can always trade/drop with other pilots. May need to maintain a min credit level. Some places that's a hard deck, others you have to pay the company share of benefits if you drop below a certain level.

Dropping to the company depends on policy and reserve staffing.

Many airlines allow part-time FA's (no bennies), but their annual training overhead is low. Pilots cost a chunk of change for annual sim currency so they don't really want part-time pilots.
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Old 04-16-2019, 04:52 AM
  #62  
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I’m assuming you’ve probably made your choice by now but input for others in the same situation (as I was).

Domicile - the only reason I would choose SWA over a legacy was to drive to work. That being said, I chose SWA to work in Denver where United also had a base. I commuted for 2 months. UAL Denver base at the time was years to get in, a narrowbody only base, and upgrade time (in that base) was tracking about the same or longer, so you need to look at base seniority and equipment as well. You may find you have to commute to do WB flying which may take that off the table for you. Plenty of stories of 2-3 year upgrades at Delta but do you want to commute to NYC to fly the MD-88? There is a reason for some of these short upgrades - most of the people already there don’t want them. Another thing I considered was what if something happened to my domicile? SWA legitimately had 3-4 bases I would move to. United had a grand total of... one (apologies to fans of Newark).

What is most important to you, short or long term quality of life? Having young kids at home made time at home the next 3-4 years of my life the most important thing. Yes, in 10-15 years I could be sitting WB reserve AND be senior enough to sit at home but that didn’t help me - don’t let guys fool you into thinking you’ll be doing that quickly. You may be able to go WB FO fairly soon, but a great sked will take time. Almost immediately I had 17-18 days off a month and at home at swa, I couldn’t have done that anywhere else that soon. I made the choice for short term over long term. United (and all the legacies) are a better long term option for variety of flying and seniority.

Don’t believe some of the hype about swa working so hard. The nice thing about a pilot group that mostly wants to work hard is that easy trips get dropped into giveaway. I drop days or down to an easy trip whenever I feel lazy, which is frequently. SWAs flexibility is nice, so is turning one week of vacation into 18 days off. 2-3 leg days are the norm these days, less than 14 hours in the hotel is a rarity. Granted I don’t know any better, but I don’t feel like I’m working too hard. I can count on one hard the times I didn’t get a workout in the last 3+ years. I like that my body stays on the same clock.

Caveat all that with SWA has hired a lot over the last couple years, as has Delta. Your experience will differ. United and American seemed to be ramping up now. At SWA you will leave $ on the table (no WB pay and longer upgrade), I figured about 350k over a 20 year career when I was making my decision, and long term quality of life is better at the legacies.

Legacies over swa would be my initial take. Some circumstances may draw you to swa (or others), but you will be giving something up.
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Old 05-07-2019, 06:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Bizkit View Post
With PBS, once your schedule drops for the next month, is there much ability to trade trips, or drop them and pick up others?


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So what did you end up choosing?


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Old 05-08-2019, 11:47 AM
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Originally Posted by vikeshunter View Post
So what did you end up choosing?


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I ended up choosing SWA for a few reasons. But, I had about the same number of reasons to choose United, they were just different. For me, two, good options was sort of a curse as I now spend a lot of time thinking about what I'll be missing out on at United. But, if I had chosen United, I'd be doing the same thing. Mo' money, mo' problems I guess. I just got offered an American interview, but not sure I'm going to take it as it would mean a commute.
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Old 05-08-2019, 12:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Bizkit View Post
I ended up choosing SWA for a few reasons. But, I had about the same number of reasons to choose United, they were just different. For me, two, good options was sort of a curse as I now spend a lot of time thinking about what I'll be missing out on at United. But, if I had chosen United, I'd be doing the same thing. Mo' money, mo' problems I guess. I just got offered an American interview, but not sure I'm going to take it as it would mean a commute.


Congrats on ur decision, like they say, won’t know if it’s right until we hit 65! I hope to have the same decision soon, have one CJO and hoping to hear on the other soon


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Old 05-12-2019, 09:40 PM
  #66  
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Originally Posted by Bizkit View Post
I ended up choosing SWA for a few reasons. But, I had about the same number of reasons to choose United, they were just different. For me, two, good options was sort of a curse as I now spend a lot of time thinking about what I'll be missing out on at United. But, if I had chosen United, I'd be doing the same thing. Mo' money, mo' problems I guess. I just got offered an American interview, but not sure I'm going to take it as it would mean a commute.
Congrats!
Don't worry on the comps. You made a good decision based on your wants and needs.
Easy to ponder, but in reality, 99% of us figure out the cherries to enjoy and realize everywhere has pits too.
We all have friends everywhere else and in reality, most pretty satisfied overall, and we all love to belly ache as is our nature LOL
Enjoy the journey
Cheers
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Old 05-22-2019, 02:02 PM
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Originally Posted by vikeshunter View Post
Congrats on ur decision, like they say, won’t know if it’s right until we hit 65! I hope to have the same decision soon, have one CJO and hoping to hear on the other soon


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Just found out, got the other CJO! now its decision time...I am going to commute no matter what so that won't factor into my decision, but its going to be a long weekend!
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Old 05-23-2019, 10:52 AM
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Originally Posted by vikeshunter View Post
Just found out, got the other CJO! now its decision time...I am going to commute no matter what so that won't factor into my decision, but its going to be a long weekend!
Congrats. I'm gunna suggest that it ain't decision time till you're on property with one and the other one calls with a date.
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Old 05-23-2019, 12:16 PM
  #69  
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I retired five years ago, UAL was my first and only offer at the time (AA called a few weeks before I started training). I haven’t looked back and am very happy. WN is a great company with high quality people. I would have gone there if they had offered first (was preparing to get my guppy type rating when UAL called). That said, here are my thoughts:

- Short call time to base. UAL is 2.5 hours call to show (3.5 hours to departure); I believe WN is 2.0 hours call to departure. Might impact your decision if you’re in that 2-3 hour drive-to-base range

- UAL has huge (yuge!!!) retirements coming up in the next few years. Lots of movement right now just because of that. Throw in some modest growth and there will be opportunities to change your scenery/goose your income that might not be there with WN.

- WN has never furloughed as far as I’ve known. UAL has a very poor track record there. However, the aforementioned retirements and attendant hiring may mitigate that somewhat.

- Benefits. UAL has profit sharing (avg ~$14K/yr for past 4 years, though last 2 have declined considerably); pass travel benefits (have taken family to HNL, SIN, & FCO); UAL LTD bennies aren’t very good (tops out ~$100K annual tax free); can’t speak to medical, but dental/vision are reasonable (~$25/month per); sick leave is so-so at 60 hours/year accumulation with no cap, but also no sell back. Don’t know what WN offers in these respects, but that’s a start for comparison.

- Scope. WN has the edge here as they don’t have regional feed and no JVs as far as I know. UAL management wants to outsource more of our flying but can’t due to contractual language. That’s a big sticking point in current contract negotiations.

Both are good companies. Good luck!
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Old 05-24-2019, 04:08 AM
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On Reserve WN is actually 2 hours to show and 3 hours till departure. For benefits WN has a medical plan that cost zero $$ for you and family that includes dental. For retirement WN has profit sharing, a B fund, and a 491K match. During the year most Pilots get cash back because the max allowable IRS contributions have been met.
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