Originally Posted by saturn

Insight on the pie chart. SWA puts a lot of weight in total time that other majors do not. I would wager the average age of a pure civilian off the street hire at SWA is noticeably higher than other places. This simply favors those who have been in the industry longer. Some regional carriers have a higher ratio of seasoned pilots (Expressjet, SkyWest, Republic) and many that I see making the jump have 8+ years and up in the industry. Whereas the AA wholly owned carriers are flowing the top of their lists, and the commuterairs, compasses, mesas, & TSAs have much younger groups. Also consider that SWA has a regional homecourt advantage with a lot of these regionals they are drawing from. No surprise you don't get a lot of Horizon and Endeavor, since SWA has a tiny SEA/PDX, MSP/DTW/NYC footprint.
In summary, the hiring numbers have a greater likelihood of the demographics of the pilots at those regionals and their preferences than SWA playing favorites by association. No different than thinking you need to go to ERAU to get a leg up.

Originally Posted by surfpilot1414

This makes sense for sure. My main goal is southwest as well and I thought I needed to go to SkyWest to have a better chance. I’ve changed my mind and realized that choosing a regional that will be better for me and my family is more important than choosing a regional that LUV might hire like hiring from. plus as others have said, it seems like they’ll hire from anywhere as long as you have what they are looking for.

Originally Posted by BarrySeal

what regional did you go with

Originally Posted by surfpilot1414

I’m an east coaster and QOL was my top priority when I chose a regional so I ended up choosing Republic instead of SkyWest. I was able to compare schedules for both company’s with the same level of seniority, Repubic allows me to be home 4 extra days and pays me 1700 more a month (including the bonus).

Originally Posted by BarrySeal

ok, well SWA should give you extra points for “sound decision making”

Originally Posted by Fly507

Hey guys,

just looking for a bit of career advice. I'm currently an FO at a regional with no flow through, I have about 800 of 121 but the upgrade is about 16 months away for me. NOT former MIL. I'm commuting out of MCO and a friend of mine suggested me to go to Silver. I'd stop commuting which would be awesome for my QOL, and on top of that as soon as I hit the 1000hrs 121 I'd upgrade. It also opens the door to become a check airman/instructor after a year of being a CA with them. This obviously sounds very tempting, but I wouldn't want to shoot myself in the foot by making a lateral move. What do you guys think I should do?

SouthWest is my main focus, it's not the only place I'd go, but it is my top choice... comments, suggestions are more than welcome.

Originally Posted by Fly507

Hey guys,

just looking for a bit of career advice. I'm currently an FO at a regional with no flow through, I have about 800 of 121 but the upgrade is about 16 months away for me. NOT former MIL. I'm commuting out of MCO and a friend of mine suggested me to go to Silver. I'd stop commuting which would be awesome for my QOL, and on top of that as soon as I hit the 1000hrs 121 I'd upgrade. It also opens the door to become a check airman/instructor after a year of being a CA with them. This obviously sounds very tempting, but I wouldn't want to shoot myself in the foot by making a lateral move. What do you guys think I should do?

SouthWest is my main focus, it's not the only place I'd go, but it is my top choice... comments, suggestions are more than welcome.