Seminole00

Going to SWA may just be the boost he/she need to get a call from UAL or AAL.

TheFly

My $00.02, leave the regionals and get a seniority number at a major. What major? Well, that depends on what’s important to you. Commuting? Driving to work? Upgrade times? Multiple fleet types?

Every place has is challenges, and it seems that SWA has it’s fair share these days. A new contract is long overdue, and the company knows it has to act on this and other improvements sooner versus later. Eight months ago, I left OO after just shy of 9 years on property. I went to WN and have zero regrets and have no intention of leaving. With that said, do what’s best for you.

Brickfire

This is the way

loveislost7M8

Have you thought about your strategy for sitting reserve? You gonna be on reserve for a while, and have to be within 2 hours from sign-in at the MDW pilot lounge when scheduling calls. From your message it sounds like you're outside of our CBA callout range, we don't have long call reserve or proffering where you can bid for trips and lock in like a line holder so you have 4 options: 1. Pre-position yourself to within a 2 hour call out range 2. get a hotel, 3. get a Crash pad, or 4. drive all the way in and sit in the pilot lounge/quiet room (least desirable option IMO).

Realistically speaking as a probationary pilot you're going to need a crash pad. And you will meet other Wisconsin commuters in the bunks. $160-$350 per month depending on amenities and location. Some offer parking for another $100 or pay for our employee lot. Drive in the night prior if doing AM reserve (3am RAP) or drive in the day of if doing PM reserve (11am RAP). Less back and fourth from MDW-MKE when doing turns/day trips or copped up trips. We have some late arrivals into Midway if you fly PMs, LAX-MDW scheduled arrival is 1am, I have arrived as late as 5am when the originators were getting ready to push, it's nice have the option to go to a bed and get sleep before driving home.

I can't recommend Southwest to a friend in our current state, but at the end of the day you need to make the best decision thats right for both you and your family, best of luck.

pangolin

This is gambling the music won’t stop. It’s gonna stop.

usmc-sgt

There is no amount of money that would get me to hang my hat long term at a regional over a legacy/major.

tommy2times

Just stay at your Regional and flow, SWA is just another glorified regional.

Otterbox

SWA pilots are often getting interview invites at legacies within 30 days of applying. A regional pilot, depending on agreement with the legacy my not ever get a call by it’s parent company if it has a flow or have a long delay to companies that have throttled preferential hiring agreements with the regional in question.

Hotel Kilo

This right here.

Where do you want to be stuck for 10 years? A regional?

Or a major?

Lewbronski

That’s why I said “sometime soon.” In the short term, it’s possible that going to SWA could slow down or prevent OP getting hired at UA or DL if, for example, he/she gets called for an interview in the middle of training and has to delay scheduling an interview at UA until some portion or all of SWA new hire training is complete.

What if UA or DL then cuts off interviews? Theoretically, in that case, OP could have gotten to UA if he/she hadn’t gone to training at SWA. I suppose it’s fine if they don’t consider SWA a sort of consolation prize.

I guess it depends on when you think “the music is going to stop.” I’m not an economist, but even the economists get it wrong. People like Nouriel Roubini and Michael Burry are notoriously pessimistic, seemingly always pointing to a major economic collapse right around the corner. They’re kind of like broken clocks - they’re right twice a day.

Yes, it’ll stop sometime. How long from now is the question. It could be a very long time. It could be tomorrow.

I thought the music was going to stop when covid hit. It was more like a temporary lull. Then, as a total of something like an unprecedented $10T was injected into the economy (including tens of billions for our industry), asset prices exploded and eventually, travel demand followed suit.

I didn’t think that’s what was going to happen. I doubt a lot of people did. I know very few economists were expecting that in the first week or two of covid shutdowns.