Pick the one with the most flights, even if it's a longer commute.

Maybe an unimportant factor but if you're planning to pick up extra flying to make up for first year pay, it's easier to do from a base. You probably won't get any premium but the occasional turn or extra reserve day picked up at 2nd year pay in HOU could be a nice income supplement and you wouldn't have to commute to it.

Very good point. I suspect we'll move to HOU sooner rather than later. I checked online & plenty of flights to all the new-hire bases from HOU.

The vast majority of DTW commuters go to Midway. It is a great commuter base.

On the original subject of this thread, it is simply not an apples to apples comparison. We were first in the pattern bargaining round this time. I suspect we will be last or close to it next time. Our work rules negate some of the "low costisms" that we endure but not all. I like that you can make the most of your work days here so that you can spend more days at home relaxing. I don't really care about long layovers in great locations, although we have a very small percentage of those too. I personally love it here but if you long for a legacy lifestyle, this isn't it.

When I was a first year guy, I initially bought into the notion that I was too junior to pick up premium. I was dead wrong!

You can get premium as a first year guy. Easiest premium to get as a junior guy are the weekend 3-day trips. Also, reserve blocks picked up from DOT even at straight pay 2nd year rate, including anything you fly during that block. That can be surprisingly lucrative and keep your block low as you'll likely deadhead all over the place. Remember, you only get 2nd year if you pick up that reserve block out of DOT.

As a first year guy, I was regularly over 150 TFP, even hit 175 twice. Know your contract, know the cap limits and be flexible.

That's great to hear and even more motivation to move to a WN base early. Thanks RJS!

Absolutely! It is WAY easier to pick up open time as a junior guy if you live in base. HOU isn't that senior, but it generally takes newhires a vacancy bid or two after IOE to get it.

My advice if you want to live in HOU, is to move down as soon as possible, and if you have to commute for a couple months, so be it. MDW is a pretty easy commute from HOU, and a couple months commuting won't kill ya. You'll get it within 2-3 months after hitting the line.

Back to the original topic.....

IMHO, barring another 9/11 type incident, we will never be anywhere near the top in pay, benefits or much else.

This pilot group will simply not allow it.

Heck, in, by far the best atmosphere to be negotiating a pilot contract in over 50 years, with the only pro pilot BOD we've ever had, we just approved a contract that once again has us sucking hind teat in pay and retirement, and that's pretty much all we got. Ironically, it's the second time in 22 years that I got a pay raise where on the 5th of the month going from the old to new rates, I could even tell I got one.

We still didn't fix the vast majority of the other contractual issues plaguing us for decades.

We could've at least given up a few of the SWApA "gains" we got in the last concessionary contract and it's 17 concessionary SLs.
:eek:

I just was offered the job...starting Aug 8th (Very excited!)...whats the likelihood I'll get OAK..and how quickly?

Congrats! Always nice to hear about people getting the nod. To your question, it's really hard to say when you'll get OAK. It is however, the most Junior base out west so I doubt it will be long at all. It really just depends on what the Vacancy bids look like for the next three months. My guess is that you'll be able to hold OAK within your first couple months on the line.