Time after time the industry has been rocked with something that sets movement back or kills progress from the airlines POV.

It is coming, we don’t know when or what, but it’ll come.
I’m 30, and in my career I’ll experience 1-3 events (I imagine).
It is easy to become sighted on the massive hiring, retirements, shiny metal- etc.
My two options being DFW- AAL/SWA.

Pro
AAL- massive movement, big planes (eventually)
SWA- 3 on 4 off, high block, taxi fast yelling Yeehaw.

Cons:
AAL- lack of new hire contract possibly limits their ability against DAL/UAL, stigma v other 2
SWA- 737, 10ish year upgrade (works with my 2 kids timeline to college- so may not be a bad thing QOL wise)


When the music stops and it will- just when, better place to be? Stability speaking. There are a lot of ways to put this answer.
As for other scenarios with a SWA/legacy X base I hope this can shed SOME insight for others.

I appreciate the insight.

 

Historically, SWA was a safer bet during Black Swan events. That changed drastically 12/3/20 when the company sent out WARN notices seeking a 10% concession and more importantly repeated attempts at inserting a Force Majeure clause into the contract. The management team subsequently issued themselves $26,900,000.00 in bonuses.
It is NOT "Herb's Airline" anymore. Sadly, GK and his team have traded that for accolades on wall street.
It is a good place with wonderful people, but I'm sure the other shops are too.

 

I’m not privy to the result of the 10% was that completed and lost? Or did swapa say eat sh**?

 

SWAPA made multiple attempts to come to an agreement. SWAPA told management that FM was a non-starter, but the association was willing to try to figure something out, i.e. stock options etc. The company negotiator ( former swapa prez & Benedict Arnold) kept pushing FM as a poison pill so he could say the association wouldn’t negotiate, or in their position just do what we’re told.

It was a major fail strategically.

 

I would say that Southwest made an unforced error and burned quite a bit of goodwill for no reason. However, your chances of being furloughed at Southwest are lower than at American. Of course, one could argue that furloughs aren't really possible in this environment anyways.

Remember that during Covid, American (with the blessing of APA) basically screwed over some pilots who were furloughed before PEP was signed, they got nothing. Delta and United pilots weren't furloughed but had reduced pay, and Southwest paid all pilots 100%.

 

That is very much in my mind. I don’t care what I fly, where I fly. It’s a job, and I find that who you sit next to matters significantly more than the bird you ride.

As long as the pay and QOL are good- I can’t complain.
Can I make more at DAL? Sure, but for me their bases are garbage. My primary concern is where is SWA V AAL in 15+ years after this whole hiring shake subsides. I imagine AAL will have to shrink if they can’t attract more.
Financially, pilot # wise- those are the ?’s

3 on, 4 off hard to beat.

 

As someone who definitely looks over the fence to see how everyone else’s grass is growing, had many thoughts of moving on, and decided hold steady for this reason. I was speaking to a senior WB United Captain a while back. He said, “pilots dream of being WB Captains, globe trotting, and having high earning potential (like a UA WB Cappy), but no pilot sleeps better at night than a senior Southwest Captain.”

It ain’t sexy, we have many, many, many things to fix (I’m a hard NO unless it’s all there and YES on SAV), but what we do have is “relative” safety and for this husband and father (pilot comes last in my priority matrix), that trumps my WB desires, unless I win the lotto, then it’s game on! 🤪

Good luck! I’ll let you know when I turn 65 if I was smarter than the average bear. 🥃

 

You really can’t form a complete opinion on this until you see our new contracts. Any decision made is based on old intel. If you have 2 offers in hand, it’s a gamble, go with your gut

 

SWAPA tried multiple times to come to an agreement while telling the company force majeure was a nonstarter. The company negotiator (former swa pilot, swapa prez & Benedict Arnold) put force majeure in everything they went the union with, as a poison pill. This was done so that the company could say they had no option, but to send out WARN’s. It was a money grab definitely but also a hard drive for FM. You will see the company do everything I can to their advantage in the interpretation of our contract. They wanted FM as another tool of leverage and a point to negotiate during this contract negotiation period. They are up against the wall on a few things and we’re strategically hedging their bets. It was a large strategic fail. So much so that the VP of flight OPs acknowledged it will be a generational issue.
SWA is just another company.

 

United pilots voted to keep pay rates but did reduced work to prevent furloughs and keep people in their current seat for a quicker recovery. If COVID had continued longer United the pilots would have worked less (so earning less) but not furloughed. I believe SW pilots would have worked and been paid normally (no reduction) with 10% of their brother and sisters on the street. What’s the better approach?