I just had my 10 year milestone and am not even 50% DEN 737 FO. My good buddy here in Denver was hired at SWA 6 months prior to me in 2007 and has been flying as a Captain here in Denver for 8 months.

 

I also had CJO at UA and SW. I chose SW and couldn’t be happier. The flexibility is incredible. Having one ac type allows you to bid across bases and trade with every pilot in your seat. You can load it up and make $$$, or you can give it away and have time off. Lines consist mostly of 3day trips with 16-20 off (17 about average I’d say). Right now, a newhire could get DEN 2months after training. The upgrade at SW is slow. I think it will come down, but not sure by how much. There’s still money to be made as an FO, so it’s not a big deal to me.

Either airline is a fantastic career, so there’s probably no wrong answer. Also consider the type of flying. I have no desire to fly long, international flights out of the USA, so SW is a good fit for me. YMMV

 

I made 20 years back in Sept if I could ever get a capt bid in DEN I’d be 1 from the bottom of the list on the 737. Somebody already mentioned it but DEN is career suicide at UAL.

 

I would guess that a pilot hired at SWA 20 years ago has (not counting divorces, investment disasters, etc) substantially more on average packed away in a retirement plan than a typical 20 year UAL pilot. Will that trend continue for the next 20 years? Who knows? While UAL is certainly much better off than it was during the lost decade, I would still say it remains more vulnerable to economic shocks and domestic / global competitive threats than SWA.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I want to live in Colorado, so it sounds like there’s a possibility I could never see the left seat absent commuting. I hear guys say it’s a colossal waste of your time and money.

At least I could drive to training.

 

I'd go to SW....

Lot's of FettyWap fans working there...

The home of 1...2...3 can appreciate 1738

 

Read through this deck presented at last earnings call. If converted into reality, UAL's Denver hub will grow faster than it has in the past.

http://ir.united.com/~/media/Files/U...esentation.pdf

 

First of all I hope you get the SW job offer so you actually gave a choice. But sounds like upgrade in DEN is what matters most to you. If that's the case SW is the best bet. But you better be sure that you want to be stuck flying the least desirable aircraft United has to offer for 20+ years. You say you don't mind what you fly but you better be sure. Commuting isn't that bad when you are holding a line and somewhat senior so you can bid trips that start late and end early. You can probably hold denver at UAL in about a year. As far as United making money in the long run? Who knows, SW could go out of business before united or vice versa. We seem to have management who are thinking long term which is great, but we also have a lot of short term fixes.

 

What in particular in that doc makes you think that?

 

Something to consider, UAL today trails DAL by 216 and AA by 245 total mainline aircraft operated today. While UAL has a significantly higher number of widebody aircraft compared to AA & DAL, we have significantly less domestic narrowbody flying. That’s the most profitable flying at the legacies today and one reason why UAL trails DAL and & AA in revenue and profits. Current management wants to close this gap. Will they be successful? Only time will tell.

Everyone on this thread has posted accurate info on how senior Denver is today and in the past. If (yes big if), UAL were to grow significantly in both domestic flying and the Denver hub flying (as indicated by the current management team) historic time to hold a Denver CA position and overall Denver seniority could change significantly as compared to today or historically. Yes it’s also possible Denver could still be just as senior or more senior as it is today or in the past.

One thing I’ve learned in my 33 years in this industry is change is constant and past or historic flying, staffing, seniority and or projected growth or contraction doesn’t guaranttee what comes to fruition in 10, 20 or 30 years.

All you can do is take an educated non emotional guess on what’s best for you and your family at the time you have to make a decision. Many before you have made those guesses and sometimes they work out and sometimes not. Unfortunately, in this industry many pilots made decisions that at the time looked like a no brainer only to be burned, 5, 10 or 20 years later. To a certain extent it’s a crap shoot. Make the best decision for you at the time and once you do it don’t look back. Best of luck.