I agree with you-- I'm glad that your friends over here at SWA give a good representation of what we're all about--nice people who feel lucky to have a good job. It seems like there are a few posters from many of the airlines here that aren't necessarily a good representation of what the "average" pilot thinks. I would say that the vast majority of us got to our own airlines partly out of luck, and "choice" of which airline to work for didn't have a whole lot to do with it; Much of it depends on who was hiring when we each decided to move on from our previous jobs. For instance, when I was looking to move on to the majors, Southwest was about the only one hiring. It worked out great for me and happened to be my first choice, but given different times and other companies hiring, who knows where I would've ended up. I have tons of friends at every airline who went on multiple interviews with many majors, only to be offered a job at one of them, making the whole process somewhat "luck of the draw." Some also were seperating from the military at a time when only one or two carriers were hiring. I really hope that none of us wish any ill-will on our brethren at other carriers. When it comes down to it, none of us really know if we made the right decision on which carrier to go to (if we were even given a choice) until our last breath comes and we still have some money left over after all is said and done.
I love to hear good news in the industry. Especially when it's about reputable company's such as Southwest.
Unfortunately some of the attitudes of the more frequent WN posters on here are really sad. Luckily from the friends I have that work there I know better.
Hope that DEN base comes sooner than later for all of ya.