Right off the bat: Total first-world problems, so happy Independence Day; glad to be living in the USA.

Quick version: Part-time ANG guy relocating to PHX to be near family and the family business. AA and SWA are on the table, so I'm trying to search the depths of internet wisdom to figure out what would be better for PHX. Pay and/or widebody international flying = not important to me right now; optimizing my time is the driving factor since I'll be pulled into the family business at some level. Looking for the good, bad, and ugly of the options in PHX when it comes to any company (if any DAL or UAL guys are lurking around here, please weigh in). Zeroing out a schedule in any given month may be an impossibility in the current environment, but that option (if it ever exists again) would be ideal.

Thanks in advance -- happy 4th!

 

The most amazing thing about WB flying is not doing it. The most senior peeps in either seat will mostly end up in a WB. And if you are happy about sitting in a NB (and since you are considering SWA, you apparently are), those people are in a virtual different seniority list from you. I don't have updated numbers, so this is just an example: Suppose SWA has 10k pilots, al 737. AA has 14k, 10k NB, and 4k WB. assuming you are looking at med level seniority as a NB captain down the road, so 50% RS in seat. Discounting growth (because it is uncertain for both, but likely somewhat comparable), to get to 50% BES you would need 75% or 7500 of the pilots above you to retire. That is quite a lot at SWA. At AA, you would need to get to 7500 out of 14000 because the 4000 WB peeps don't matter to you, and AA will retire those 7500 a lot faster than SWA will.

SWA you can only get rid of flying if someone else wants it. AA AFAIK does have a minimum credit per month, but not sure what it is. So if you get senior enough to get the coveted weekday day trips SWA would be better for clearing your schedule, if doing 60 works for you AA might be easier for dropping.

Obviously just very generic numbers. And some bases like MCO @ SWA will forever have 30 year pilots move in for their last few years, so even if you can get it pretty easy, you will never be senior. But it is a point worth making in case you aren't familiar with 121 WB vs NB.

(not in the same league pay/benefit wise for sure, but companies like F9 tend to have more flexibility than the legacies)

 

Come to SWA where you will join the most underpaid, most productive plumbers in the industry!

 

Still think that was a horribly wrong thing to say...



(you are paid by the mile, so it's "trucker") /s