Hey all, hoping for some insights from the experts on here.

I’m moving to PHX for the next 20+ years, so I’m looking at AA vs SW. I’m in the AF Reserves so I can be patient on finding the right job. Though I would like to get a line number before the hiring waves really start to pick up.

At the moment my app is in at AA exclusively. My thought is that AA is currently a much less financially stable company but has a lot of perks regarding seniority & aircraft options. If I were to get hired by AA and they were to theoretically crumble or close up shop at PHX, I could still apply at SW in the future since they are far more stable. It’d suck to lose seniority but it would keep the family in domicile. Any seniority I lost by making the switch would be an accepted risk, assuming it were to happen at all.

What I don’t to happen is *if* to apply at both, and *if* I were to get a call by both, then have to turn one down and burn the bridge. As dumb as it sounds, I’d like to apply to only one at a time so the other one can remain an option if things were to take turn for the worse and still keep my family close to all our friends and relatives.

My question to you all is, am I crazy for wanting to pass up a SW window for the seniority progression at AA? Any thoughts or problems you see with this approach other than the obvious?

Thanks for any insights you guys have.

 

[QUOTE=52Flyer;3302356]

My question to you all is, am I crazy for wanting to pass up a SW window for the seniority progression at AA?
/QUOTE]

No but you are crazy not to apply to both and pick one if you get hired at both. You really can’t plan on either until you have a job offer.

 

Apply at both. Seniority won’t wait for you.

 

I’m doing the same thing as you but in the Southwest side. I figure I’d rather lose the 2-6 months of seniority versus having to turn another airline down and keeping that door open later. To each their own. If I don’t get a call from SW in a couple months I’ll throw my apps in at other places.

 

I'll echo what others are saying. Apply at both and go to the first one that calls you and don't look back.

 

Ah the days of picking what airline will hire you. I miss those days. As in I completely missed those days and had to go with whoever's offered me a job because there was only one chance and I was lucky to get it. But in all seriousness it's nice to see people have options.

 

Btw is AA still planning on shrinking the PHX base? That was the rumor two yrs ago

 

Don’t just apply at both. Apply to many. As mentioned, seniority waits for nobody and in this business seniority is everything.

As someone once said, “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.”

 

Considering junior pilot movement is literally backwards at this point, I'd favor AA over SWA unless you're fond of OAK or LAX.

 

So what is the best guess of the hour for time to hold PHX if hired tomorrow morning?