The problem is I never tried to make it apples to apples, because if it was, the question would be pointless. The business model, customer experience, and principles are all different. I was curious to see if any of these factors have any real weight in someone's decision, or if pay scale trumps all.

Having worked for both and seen both operations the differences are pretty shocking. In general the feel good, GO Team GO attitude that some LCC sell is a very thin facade over a mediocre airline. The lower pay at the LCC affects every aspect of the airline from baggage handlers to upper management. They aren't willing to pay for talent or competency and so you see many manager new hires at the LCC's be off the street hires with zero industry experience or even worse they promote from within. Pilots and flight attendants are generally good people but very little of our jobs is relevant to a career in route planning, operations, or middle management. They hire nice, friendly people but sometimes they hire quirky and "different" individuals who leave you scratching your head and feeling like you are in the land of misfit toys.

The difference in pay between a LCC and a legacy is in the millions of dollars over the course of the average career (check the UAL pay comparison from a few weeks ago), the flying is more diverse so you can find the aircraft and type of flying you like for your lifestyle, and you aren't the last line of defense in an operation that is barely holding together. The difference in professionalism from a LCC to a legacy is night and day at almost every level and is noticeable in almost every interaction. The LCC I was at tended to micromanage you to fit their idea of culture but when the rubber met the road you were just a number. I had to work there to really understand and appreciate the differences.

I wouldn't group Southwest with other LCC's. That is a different animal and a well run airline.

I thought you were talking principles.

Yes but ones that directly affect pilots, not mechanics.

All very good points. Thanks

Do the majors not outsource heavy mx anymore? It was all the rage 5-10 years ago.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/11/airplane-maintenance-disturbing-truth/amp

Pretty much Jetblue in a nutshell. If you have the time and your regional is not falling apart at the moment, ride it out until a legacy calls. Not worth jumping around.

Obviously you're unfamiliar with some of the customer service debacles that jetBlue suffers still during IROPS. Perhaps you also missed the reality tv show featuring southwest.

They are not immune. They just aren't in the news this quarter.

I never said they were immune, but I see your point.. Jetblue does have a knack for staying under the radar. However the southwest tv show was 90% just drunken entitled idiots being handled by gate agents, not exactly the same as dragging bloodied old men off of airplanes.

For me personally...

Internal company culture (as experienced by the pilots) is huge. I will not work in a toxic culture, period. Few majors fit that description these days.

External culture, how the customers and public perceive the company, would certainly be a tie breaker if all else were about equal.

But most of us are not going to have multiple job offers in hand at one time (unless you're a top-tier fighter pilot). It would be a bad idea for most pilots to selectively apply to certain majors unless geography is a factor (ie if you live in NY and aren't moving, probably shouldn't apply to Hawaiian).

I think Aquaticus nailed it though.