flyguy81

I think that’s just that…stories.

If you fly your line…you’ll never make that.

If you work a lot….low to mid 300’s as a FO isn’t impossible.

I’d guess most CA’s are in the $275k-$400k range.

Obv this will all change when we get a big contract raise….

part91

Thanks for the feedback! Im moving forward with SWA unless something crazy happens. I actually wanted the job

Lewbronski

Even if you're a very senior FO, you'd have to fly your a$$ off AND score a ton of premium to make $400K. Maybe, if you could even pull it off, you could sustain that pace for a while but that would burn a lot of people out very quickly.

I know a fairly senior CA who made $550K flying tons of premium. He told me he was uber-burned out and was about to pull the plug. He said he wasn't just tired. He was tired from all the flying he had to do to make that kind of cash.

I know another fairly junior captain, who made over $500K last year flying a lot of straight time because they're not senior enough to get very much premium. This person also flew their a$$ off. I remember them telling me how much they were flying and I thought to myself, "You're gonna kill yourself." Last I heard, this person (young) is out on a medical now.

Do some (very few) FO's and some CA's make that kind of cash? Probably. But IMO, from the stories I've personally heard from people making somewhere kind of in that neighborhood of income at SWA, they are hating life. But, then again, maybe some people's definition of QOL is living most of their lives on the line at SWA and living on the computer for the few days per month they're home or not otherwise tied to the company (like on reserve).

So, yes, please come and see what all the whining is about. See how easy it'll be for you to make $400K as a junior FO.

hoover

are you ready for Prime Time... I think they'll at least make some bowl

GoBuffs03

Yeah, looking forward to season. It would be great if they can have a winning record, should at least be better than last year.

Cyio

As others have said highly unlikely you will make that number, especially as an early FO. Can it be done, sure but the better question is should it be lol.

Don’t get wound up over the politics right now, we are deep into an entrenched battle over the contract and the company has basically solidified our cause to strike if not given the best contract out there.

This to will pass but it appears it will take a little longer than many of us had hoped. Still great pilots flying the line.

mulcher

You will have to kill yourself to make that kind of money at this regional. We should be making that flying our line. Some of us like our families and doing other things then killing ourselves in a SWA jet. Vote no until we get what we deserve. A career earnings industry leading contract. Anything less and we are fools!

journeybird

Might want to start getting it together then.

https://www.alpa.org/pages/search#q=...sort=relevancy

RJSAviator76

I was an FO who made north of 300k for 2 years before upgrading. I live in base and I was working around 17 days a month. It would take giving away or getting rid of stuff through ELITT and catching NetZeros and then bid on premium. Being senior helped. Also, chaos indeed pays, reroutes and move-ups pay, Sched's stupidity can really pay. Lots of ways to play the game - you just gotta adjust to whatever is going on, know thy contract, and use it to your advantage.

Vettekid

Im starting soon as well, but my $.02 on this is that this forum is a place where people come to air their grievances. You get a large dose of negative that may not be representative of the general pilot group. Ill get flamed for that, but oh well. All forums are like this, read a car forum on any particular car and youll be left with the impression that the car in question is horrible due to all of the threads about a certain problem. When the reality is those are a TINY minority. No one starts a thread to say "Hey, im doing great, I love it here!". Most likely the active participants here are a very vocal minority in many cases.

Not to discount what is said here, there is lots of useful information and I take it into account when making my decisions. But I also realize the platform emphasizes negative remarks, and I dont know any of them personally. Its a good reserach tool, just realize what the limitations are. See you in Dallas.