SWA a stepping stone airline

MikeD said:
Don’t let Delta hear you call them a mere, lowly, “resume builder airline”. You may as well have just called them Mesa Airlines. 😂

“We are a destination, not a stopover”
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Trust me. I doubt want them to be a stopover. 😅😂
 
Inverted said:
Think positively, maybe we will get to fly together while you are based here lol.
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That would be awesome! I am trying to have a positive outlook on it, I’ve never spent time in CA and I bet there is cool flying out of there. Also I hear good things about the fVirgin folks which I imagine is most of that CAs there. It’s just the 2 leg commute and crashpad etc is intimidating coming from riding my bike 2 miles to the hangar.
 
Roger Roger said:
That would be awesome! I am trying to have a positive outlook on it, I’ve never spent time in CA and I bet there is cool flying out of there. Also I hear good things about the fVirgin folks which I imagine is most of that CAs there. It’s just the 2 leg commute and crashpad etc is intimidating coming from riding my bike 2 miles toI the hangar.
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Yea, I feel ya. Hopefully, the cool people will reduce the sting a little bit until you can bid where you want. I will say, the crews are really great in SFO. Best CAs I have ever flown with when I was an FO, and our BCP is fantastic.
 
alaskadrifter said:
Flew with an LAX CA on reserve once when I was on the Bus that was flabbergasted that I didn’t have my apps in at UAL. No heckin’ way, I don’t want to commute to California.
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I've definitely had that a few times. Not a ton, but occasionally. Generally LAX dudes, for obvious reasons. They're not necessarily wrong, but I have some specific personal reasons that I think this is the right place for me. Doesn't mean it is bad advice for the younger kids who are flexible with bases, and have a good 30+ years ahead of them on any seniority list. I'll never live the super senior guy life, regardless of where I go. If I moved right now to southern jets, I could probably hold 7ER (non-76-400) CA before mandatory retirement, and I have no intention of working past age 59.
 
Not to get on a "CA soapbox" but I can't freaking stand when CAs do that to FOs. I personally think it sets a bad tone in the flight deck, it is distracting, and it sets up the FOs to feel bad to where they either have to explain themselves on why they are staying, or they are forced to talk about their personal career choices.

Sometimes it seems like CAs feel that liking where they work is almost cliche.
 
I think if you like the Northwest and want to live there, you can't go wrong with Alaska. I'd have been there is a heartbeat if I could have got an interview. The guy who got his pilot ratings in high school with me just retired from AS during the COVID flush. We used to preach here 15 years ago that any major airline job is a good pilot job. I still think that's true.
 
Inverted said:
Not to get on a "CA soapbox" but I can't freaking stand when CAs do that to FOs. I personally think it sets a bad tone in the flight deck, it is distracting, and it sets up the FOs to feel bad to where they either have to explain themselves on why they are staying, or they are forced to talk about their personal career choices.

Sometimes it seems like CAs feel that liking where they work is almost cliche.
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I'd always ask the CAs why don't they have their apps out?

At the Blue Juice factory, I think while we were in contract negotiations, many CAs really wanted as many FOs to leave as possible as for their own selfish reasons, being just another data point to show the company why we needed a contract.
 
Inverted said:
Not to get on a "CA soapbox" but I can't freaking stand when CAs do that to FOs. I personally think it sets a bad tone in the flight deck, it is distracting, and it sets up the FOs to feel bad to where they either have to explain themselves on why they are staying, or they are forced to talk about their personal career choices.

Sometimes it seems like CAs feel that liking where they work is almost cliche.
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Yeah certainly in the last year I ve had people who literally lead with "so where else do you have apps in at?"

"Not me, boss, I'm here for the long haul."

One guy tried to talk me *into* leaving and someone left an American airlines tie in my mailbox which I still am baffled by.

It's almost always ex mil people who never flew RJ's into Pellston and have zero perspective on how good the job actually is even during contract negotiations

*shrug*
 
Jordan793 said:
lol wut? Pretty much anywhere else they go they’ll face the same “stagnation.” Thats just how it is now. If you weren’t hired before ~2020, you won’t have as good progression. Pretty much the only reason I see people leaving legacies for other legacies are base choices.
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I was hired mid way through 2022 at 37. I think my seniority progression at AA will be just fine.

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DE727UPS said:
I think if you like the Northwest and want to live there, you can't go wrong with Alaska. I'd have been there is a heartbeat if I could have got an interview. The guy who got his pilot ratings in high school with me just retired from AS during the COVID flush. We used to preach here 15 years ago that any major airline job is a good pilot job. I still think that's true.
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I live in CA and am very happy at AS. Yes I was VX, yes it took a while to get used to things but all things considered, I am quite happy with my QOL, the financial stability of the company, and for narrow-body flying, I think rivals or beats the rest of the domestic industry. I could easily leave and have 24 years at another airline but I legit like where I work.
 
trafficinsight said:
Yeah certainly in the last year I ve had people who literally lead with "so where else do you have apps in at?"

"Not me, boss, I'm here for the long haul."

One guy tried to talk me *into* leaving and someone left an American airlines tie in my mailbox which I still am baffled by.

It's almost always ex mil people who never flew RJ's into Pellston and have zero perspective on how good the job actually is even during contract negotiations

*shrug*
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I usually got that leg one, but the last guy who asked ended the trip with “I know it’s a tough decision, but make the one that you feel is best for you and your family” and I really appreciated that perspective. Definitely a lot of judgement from a few places for either decision that I could have made.
 
Maximilian_Jenius said:
National DPE shortage has made getting my instructor ratings difficult, its been near impossible to get a DPE for my ride. My checkrides have been canceled like 2x's by DPE's, because they got more money doing rides at pilot mills. The last one I canceled due to the DPE upping his fee from $1500 to $2400. I called the FSDO, they apparently don't do CFI rides anymore and they referred me back to the national DPE list. So, I'm going out of state to get my CFI and CFII done together, with a school that has in-house DPE's.
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How much are they charging for the II portion?
 
Inverted said:
Not to get on a "CA soapbox" but I can't freaking stand when CAs do that to FOs. I personally think it sets a bad tone in the flight deck, it is distracting, and it sets up the FOs to feel bad to where they either have to explain themselves on why they are staying, or they are forced to talk about their personal career choices.

Sometimes it seems like CAs feel that liking where they work is almost cliche.
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I agree with what you are saying in spirit, but counterpoint, as a junior FO sometimes on the receiving end of this, it honestly doesn't bother me at all. I just tell them I'm happy here. Normally ends that conversation topic. I'm of course interested to hear their reasoning why I should be looking elsewhere, because who knows, maybe I haven't thought of some things. Most of the guys in my left seat are old old old though, and probably disproportionately happy with their current lot in life.
 
trafficinsight said:
It's almost always ex mil people who never flew RJ's into Pellston and have zero perspective on how good the job actually is even during contract negotiations

*shrug*
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Additional counterpoint, as one of those ex mil people, to be quite honest, I'm just happy to be here. I'm pretty much too ignorant to have developed any real gripes. From MY perspective, this job is fantastic, I miss it when I'm gone, and only at the end of a 4 day am I pretty tired of it. And it would be at any other legacy/major/etc. But I can see what you describe happening. I think one of the unfortunate things is that we, as former mil people turned 121 people, sell to the active duty guys writ large, is the "perfect" "grass is greener" "you'll make 1 million in green slips and not even go to work" fairy tale. Nobody tells you year one sucks anywhere. Nobody tells you that its gonna be a long time before you are bragging about making $40k for a 3 day that you triple combined holiday pay, premium pay, and a training buy out of original trip. And you won't be bragging about that often. Or you hear about the DAL CA who made $237k last April, while making over 1M in that (his) retirement year. Outlier stories inhabit the imagination.
 
///AMG said:
Additional counterpoint, as one of those ex mil people, to be quite honest, I'm just happy to be here. I'm pretty much too ignorant to have developed any real gripes. From MY perspective, this job is fantastic, I miss it when I'm gone, and only at the end of a 4 day am I pretty tired of it.
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I find it relatively boring, which it’s supposed to be, but not very mentally stimulating nor taxing. I’m usually tired of it about 15 mins after takeoff; however I see 121 for what it for me: part time work using a type I happen to hold, that nets a some extra side cash. Keeping it in that perspective, the few days a month I put up with flying trips, is doable.
 
///AMG said:
Additional counterpoint, as one of those ex mil people, to be quite honest, I'm just happy to be here. I'm pretty much too ignorant to have developed any real gripes. From MY perspective, this job is fantastic, I miss it when I'm gone, and only at the end of a 4 day am I pretty tired of it. And it would be at any other legacy/major/etc. But I can see what you describe happening. I think one of the unfortunate things is that we, as former mil people turned 121 people, sell to the active duty guys writ large, is the "perfect" "grass is greener" "you'll make 1 million in green slips and not even go to work" fairy tale. Nobody tells you year one sucks anywhere. Nobody tells you that its gonna be a long time before you are bragging about making $40k for a 3 day that you triple combined holiday pay, premium pay, and a training buy out of original trip. And you won't be bragging about that often. Or you hear about the DAL CA who made $237k last April, while making over 1M in that (his) retirement year. Outlier stories inhabit the imagination.
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It was definitely an "and" type statement and not "or."

It feels like some of those guys don't even know the regionals exist, so some of their complaints come across more than a bit tone deaf sometimes.
 
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