Originally Posted by Sliceback

Project what you'd be doing at 35 yrs old at each airline. 40, 45, 50, 50, 55, 60.

It's a 34 yr forecast. Not a short term look

Spoke with a UAL guy at the airport bus stop the other day. 3rd year pay so 2+ yrs LOS. 27 yr USN P-3 community guy. 757/767 FO out of KIAD. Did 6 months 737 and jumped on the 757/767. "I'm loving it. I'm not sure I'm ever going back to domestic." Has his bid in for the 777...to sit reserve and hopefully not get called to go to work....but when you do get called it's on a 777, with F/C meals, and a bunk, to Europe. "I can nap anywhere, anytime."

Military w/b? How many hours are you wearing headsets? Did they finally buy SELCAL for the HF's? Airline w/b flying is vastly different (guys flying both statements).

Much fewer pushbacks (ground ops pre departure/pushback are 90% of the B.S.) but you have more support with each departure. Every plane has 2-3 mechanics jump on it at arrival time. N/b vs w/b? "It's a completely different airline." Most guys like it, a lot love it, and maybe 10% don't care for it. Buddy kept flying n/b domestic. I kept pushing him to bid w/b. After 12 yrs as a n/b Captain he bid w/b international. His opinion? "If I'd known it was this good I would have done it years ago."

If you're going to get stuck in one job,in one aircraft, the Airbus is a better place to get stuck. Yeah it's got a degree of weirdness and 'WTF' that you have to get used to but it's more comfortable which IMO is the tie breaker - 737 = better airplane, Airbus = better job.

Originally Posted by Fly4FunAA

I think personally for me, since I do have the military flying, the airline isn’t my only flying job and it’s more just about the lifestyle it can provide. Personally I’d rather have more days off, good seniority, and pretty good pay. If I want to travel the world I can jumpseat on my off time and then spend as much time as I want at the destination.

If I leave Southwest now to go start over again, it would take several years to even catch up to the pay I’m at now, as well as I still may be waiting on a WB.

I think if I didn’t have the military flying on the side, the current seniority at SWA, or if CA upgrade at UAL/WB FO was still going junior, then this would be a safer jump. Though, no matter what, switching airlines will always come with risk, but if the risk is worth it then it makes sense. I’m still not sure if it’s actually worth it, in my personal situation. Southwest said they would never go to assigned seats and here we are…I think another type will eventually come over my 35 yr career.

I think the best thing is to monitor the situation at United and in the world and see what makes sense when I’m offered a class.

Originally Posted by Fly4FunAA

I also just checked the seniority calculator and saw that I’m supposed to retire at SWA in 2059 as the #15 guy on the list…I just don’t know if I can give that up…does it even make sense to leave?

Originally Posted by Otterbox

Not that it's bad but #15 or #1500 at SWA you'll likely still retire as a 737CA (or whatever the NB replacement is for it for your last 10 years) schedules might be different but flying will likely be the same.

You'd retire within the top 1000 at UAL. You'd have a bunch of fleets and seats flying and schedules to choose from.

Originally Posted by Fly4FunAA

Honestly man, this is exactly how I feel! I had CJOs with Delta/United and went out on mil leave for a few years. Came back here and my mind was completely changed. Now I’m like I’m so glad I didn’t leave. Who cares about WB when you have our amazing quality of life and high pay!

Originally Posted by Fly4FunAA

I also just checked the seniority calculator and saw that I’m supposed to retire at SWA in 2059 as the #15 guy on the list…I just don’t know if I can give that up…does it even make sense to leave?

Originally Posted by Margaritaville

That's only good if SWA is still in business in 2059. That's a long time in airline terms. I faced a similar decision with Allegiant and took the leap to a mainline carrier.

One thing about the legacies is they're too big to fail so your job will be there until you retire. LCC/ULCC carriers not so much. After the last 12 months of turmoil at SWA I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket.

Originally Posted by Margaritaville

That's only good if SWA is still in business in 2059. That's a long time in airline terms. I faced a similar decision with Allegiant and took the leap to a mainline carrier.

One thing about the legacies is they're too big to fail so your job will be there until you retire. LCC/ULCC carriers not so much. After the last 12 months of turmoil at SWA I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket.

Originally Posted by Fly4FunAA

Also…have you seen what is going on in the world lately? The risk of World War breaking out is higher than ever…all the international flying could come to a halt if Russia decides to drop one nuke. I would argue that it’s safer to bet on domestic flying still being lucrative in the near future than international. We saw the effect of COVID. Imagine another World War.

Originally Posted by ATISInformation

There was still a lot of international flying during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was just cargo flying.