I'm 38 so still have quite a bit of time left. I'm sitting at about 80% on the seniority list right now. I'm bidding 30% in my plane/seat. After our currently slated new hires, I'll be sitting at about 72% overall. My family is in North Carolina.

Most SWA pilots that live in NC are either RDU or CLT commuters to BWI. BWI is on the more senior side in both seats and the commute from those aforementioned cities is tough. Yeah, the distance is short but there is a ton of competition, FWIW.

Given those seniority numbers and the future commuting/family scenario you paint, I’d be trying to bail to one of the Big 4 or Big 2 cargo carriers. Apply to all, and try to get on at the beginning of this post-COVID hiring wave so you have some great progression and hopefully furlough protection.

UAL, DAL, & AA all have great WB flying out of junior NYC/PHL domiciles and there are nice places to live that are rather affordable within 1.5-2 hours driving time (mostly PA).

That’s just my opinion which is worth, well…..you know……

Frontier and swa
 

One way to alleviate the pain of commuting would be to live in one of your destinations. For example, if you were to live in SoCal, with your seniority, how likely/possible is it for you to hold SoCal layovers? Or any daily Hawaiian destination for that matter? See what I’m getting at? Hawaiian is small enough that something like that just might be possible with a somewhat tolerable pain since you’ll at least spend time at home while on trips.

SWA is a decent option because we have bases all over the country. The opportunity cost will be that you’ll never fly a widebody here and upgrade time still will likely take just under a decade and that’s if there are no more black swan events like the MAX grounding and Covid. Prior to Covid, I would have said that job security at Southwest was better, but after the 1221, touting job security is false advertising and furlough would be a risk even at SWA.

Personally, I’d stay put. Move to the West Coast, upgrade on the little Bus, and aim to have layovers at home.

still curious as to "what legacies are expanding." I do not mean "added flights" of regional jet metal with the major brand painted on the side.

I would argue none are "expanding"

United is ditching all of the 50 seaters and the fleet size of their bigger metal is still scope limited. Same thing with Delta. RJs being retired in favor of 717s and A320s. That's not network expansion exactly but it's recapturing traditionally mainline flying.

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indeed this is good news.

Cant happen soon enough. Just got bumped off two flights cause the 50 seater was weight limited.

The current economic uncertainty would definitely make me reconsider a move; do you really want to risk being in the bottom 20% seniority by choice in this climate? Not sure I would.

All of the airlines are talking about major hiring. Will this be another “front wave?” Where will you be seniority wise after one year?

It’s a hard decision. Here at SWA they are talking between 1000 and 1800 newhires for 2021. It comes with the covid disclaimer though, and right now that trend seems negative.

SWA has strengths in domicile choice, talk of growth (solid orders anyway), scope, and the ability to change to any domicile without having to switch airplanes, and I suppose a strong financial history.

Current issues mean we are short staffed, all on reserve with record JA and reroutes, unreliable schedules, staffing issues on the ramp, uncertain future schedules, etc. Morale is not high, and the kool-aid “LUV culture” has been sweetened with salt instead of sugar.

The grass isn’t always greener.

I know an entire other thread is dedicated to this, but for a Pilot hired at SWA this year, how long would the upgrade be?

(Frontier is reported to be 3 years)

Plan on 10 years. Hope for less.