Quote:
Originally Posted by TOGALOCK
It’s a very tough choice to have and I’m beginning to have the wheels turn with a similar question despite how much I do love where I’m at. I’m paying particular attention to this thread since I’m exactly the same as the OP in company, seat and age. There is only one airline I would leave for and I’m trying to have my decision made before I even re-up my app with them. I would rather decide what my choice would be if offered a job before even applying rather than be in the OP’s position and have to lay awake at night wondering what I’m going to do.
Personally, I’ve found the best people to talk to are the people that have made the U/LCC to legacy switch after having some seniority at the ULCC (not a newbie on probation who left for a legacy). Even better if you ask someone who left the left seat of a ULCC, but good luck finding them. That alone is telling. I have found that getting factual advice from current legacy pilots tends to be difficult - the most seasoned gray haired captains are so far removed from the industry that they wonder why anyone would want to stay at a “start-up” like Frontier, Spirit, or JetBlue (I have actually been asked that before), and the younger FOs have usually come straight from the regionals and have very little to no experience or knowledge of the money and QOL that can be had at a modern ULCC. The most unbiased info I’ve gotten so far have been from the mid-range seniority legacy captains - Young enough to not be completely removed from how the industry and airlines have evolved, but old enough to have had their teeth kicked in a few times by the industry. They’ve also lost their cheerleading pom poms years ago, so they generally tend to not speak from a position of ego. The majority of that particular group that I have spoke to tell me I’d be a fool to leave the left seat of an Airbus making the money I am making and having the seniority movement that I have ahead.
In the end, I seem to be trying to find reasons to tell myself TO make the move rather than to NOT make the move, so I think my decision is probably staring me in the face. I laughed when I read the last line of RJSAviator’s post because that’s exactly how I feel. It feels like I’ve already won big at the blackjack table and now I want to take whatever money I had left for gambling, along with all my winnings, and plop it all down on the roulette table hoping my bet on black pays off. It’s one thing when it only hurts you if it doesn’t work out. It’s another when it adversely effects and hurts my family of five. Being a degenerate gambler is one thing. When you still do it knowing it could seriously hurt the people you love it just makes you a dirtbag.
Just my 2 cents on the matter.
I signed up because I remember the stress your decision caused me.
I know of a few people who fit the bill of who you’d like to speak to. LCC CA’s and non-probie FO’s who’ve left to legacies. None of us were in our 20’s. It wasn’t an easy choice for any of us. We all came from what we considered great airlines. There were some rocky moments in that first year when we had the “what have I done?” moments, but a few years on, and those have passed. The QOL is the same, or better. The opportunities to try different kinds of flying are there. Those doesn’t really exist at a LCC, because of single fleet types. The pay is better as well- remember, it’s not all about hourly rates. You can see from the 2021 salary thread that it’s very possible to make LCC CA pay as a NB legacy FO. You’d also get better benefits overall- not just flight benefits.
If you opt to stay at your LCC, you’ll obviously do very well financially, but the with the movement happening at the legacy carriers right now, if you jump ship, you’ll be right back to that place in the RHS within a few years, then you’ll get the chance to upgrade…