That’s not even close to a worst case scenario…

 

The hard part about leaving SWA would be giving up the lifestyle. Right now I’m getting 17 days off a month and averaging 120-140 credit a month. Because of our new contract, we are able to make so much money. Sure I’ll never fly WB but the quality of life is really good. I’m on track to clear 30k this month as a yr 3 FO…it’s just hard to give up the lifestyle.

As of now I’m just thinking that when United has a class for me, that would be a good time to reevaluate things once it becomes a reality.

 

Remember SWA credit is something like 80% of other airlines.

 

What are 1st/2nd year 737 FOs averaging per year? I know it varies but trying to grasp an idea of what to expect if I decide to still jump

Also to make this conversation more interesting, I fly a “Heavy” part time for my mil job. Would you say it’s still worth chasing a WB at the airlines if I have the opportunity on the mil side?

 

The rule of thumb is whatever the hourly rate x 1000 is about your yearly gross. I’d add about 10% tho. Most people with new contract here can hold a line if they want to.

im not divorced, but isn’t there an impact on alimony when you decrease your income intentionally? Child support? I honestly don’t know but it is worth looking into

 

Earlier you wrote you could see yourself being happy at either airline.

This implies to me that you have not yet “become happy” at WN.

What exactly defines your happiness?

To play devils advocate, let’s say it’s upgrade that would seal your happiness.

You mentioned a two year upgrade possibility at UAL. Flip side is how many UAL pilots bypassed? How many could bid on top of you perpetually keeping you junior?

If the upgrade at UAL is 5 years, by the time you get there you may have had the opportunity at SWA.

How many pilots are below you on the WN list?

As a father of two, i understand spending time with the kids. How would you manage the disruption to your child with your new job/junior schedule/domicile changes?

We all have feelings and try to chase happiness. The feelings are real to us…but sometimes feelings are wrong.

I would hate to chase a possibility of happiness only to be unhappy over there.

Maybe it’s time for you to reflect on what happiness really is to you.

Some people are just unhappy wherever they are.

 

Always budget for min guarantee and you won't be disappointed (unless you're furloughed, I guess)... but I'll throw out one data point for you. I'm a 3rd year UAL 737 FO, live in base and bid reserve by choice 10 months a year (all but June/July) to try to minimize my time on the road. Through the first ten months of 2024, I'm at 1006 hours credit, 937 hours TAFB, and 256 hours block. Slide the decimal point over by one spot and you've got a monthly average.

Couldn't tell you what the pilot group's overall average numbers look like though, or if other folks are doing better or worse than me. I'd guess I'm crediting more than an average LH who just flies their PBS award, but I do provide the company a good bit of flexibility and they get their money's worth out of me that way. Not a great option for everybody, but it works for me at this point in my life.

That's such a personal question that I don't know if it's possible for anyone to give you a straight answer. Probably depends on your reason for wanting to fly 121 WBs. If it's for the "novelty" of crossing the pond and having dinner in foreign cities, well... you've already checked that box and sort of understand it already. If it's for the efficient schedules or other 121-specific considerations, maybe that's a good reason to make the leap.

 

Thats like $276K/year right now @ 120 TFP for the outsiders. Not bad for year 3. About $295K for year 4….

 

I really can see myself happy at either airline. If anything, I was so dead set on United/Delta at first and then SWA called first…I went on mil leave and now I’m back at SWA. Since we got this new contract, I’m now seeing how great of a quality of life I have right here at SWA that it’s causing me to review the others. And I’m looking to see…is it still worth chasing the original dream or is it better to stick with the current quality of life? Is WB flying all its cut out to be when I’m already making WB FO equivalent pay but home more often for my kid and not as tired? I’m not going to make any decisions just yet, but just thinking about things big picture. The great schedule, seniority, and pay, make me not want to start over again, but if I were to start over, now is probably the best time to do it. So I’m torn on what I want to actually do.

However, if I hit year 4 pay at SWA then I think it’s a done deal for me. That’s my cutoff point. Too much seniority at that point, I’m currently 44% in base on the FO side. I love the 787 but at some point it won’t make sense anymore. And if SWA ever gets a 787 some day I’d regret leaving past 4yrs of seniority to try and chase it somewhere else.

 

Well, a good quote from my near decade of corporate between 121 gigs was, “the bigger the airplane, the bigger the suitcase, and the farther away from home you go” still rings true.

Dont forget your pay raise Jan 1 to $204.55 per trip.