Is AT or SWA hiring?

[SWAdude]

SWA may hire in the next few years when and if the bottom third of their list decides to go to any of the three remaining legacies that will be retiring tons of pilots in the next 5-10 years. Wages are coming up, and QOL improvements should be there as people retire in droves.

I'm not slamming anyone here, just giving my opinion. LUV you guys!


Bye Bye---General Lee

A third of our seniority list?

To go to Delta?

I have flown with guys who have left Delta to come here. How many guys have you flown with that left SWA for Delta?

ZERO.

 

[FlyinGuy]

SWAdude,

I can guarantee that there will be SWA/AT f/o's that jump ship if they get the opportunity. Life is different here than it was a decade ago.

 

[texman]

SWAdude,

I can guarantee that there will be SWA/AT f/o's that jump ship if they get the opportunity. Life is different here than it was a decade ago.

I would say so

 

[General Lee]

A third of our seniority list?

To go to Delta?

I have flown with guys who have left Delta to come here. How many guys have you flown with that left SWA for Delta?

ZERO.

Trying not to get hostile, but it sounds like you may have very few retirements (compared to all 3 legacies) which means stagnation is possible. The wages are increasing at the legacies, and that combined with better QOL thanks to tons of retiring pilots means the legacies will be looked at by Regional pilots, military pilots, and current LCC pilots. Timing is everything in this business, and all 3 legacies are getting healthier and pilots will be retiring in droves.

And those DL pilots who went to SWA back during the BK may be wishing they had not if they are stagnant now. We'll see.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[SWAdude]

Trying not to get hostile, but it sounds like you may have very few retirements (compared to all 3 legacies) which means stagnation is possible. The wages are increasing at the legacies, and that combined with better QOL thanks to tons of retiring pilots means the legacies will be looked at by Regional pilots, military pilots, and current LCC pilots. Timing is everything in this business, and all 3 legacies are getting healthier and pilots will be retiring in droves.

And those DL pilots who went to SWA back during the BK may be wishing they had not if they are stagnant now. We'll see.



Bye Bye---General Lee

So 2300 pilots are going to jump ship and leave a 150,000 dollar a year job on the table to go back on the bottom of the list with another carrier.

Proof positive. You can't be a pilot for Delta.

 

[roughneck]

So the answer in No, GL does not know a single SWA pilot who left for Mother Delta but we all know plenty who left Mother Delta for SWA.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

AT had a couple guys take the AA recall this last month. Not quite the same as going to the bottom of the list but probably pretty close.

 

[Remington]

So, "F" AT and SWA. Wait for Legacies to hire? Move up rapidly based on huge retirements? Not a bad idea I suppose.

 

[redflyer65]

It's the circle of life. We had quite a few leave Delta in the '08-'09 timeframe.

I'm sure there will be some that go the other way going forward. I've heard rumors of some looking to Fedex when it's available too. To each their own.

 

[canyonblue]

By "SQUARE 1", do you mean being at the bottom of a seniority list at another company ? Just like they are now at SWA.

Just like many AirTran guys that came over before the acquisition, they started at the bottom of the list. There were also a few hundred with applications on file who were ready to start at the bottom, but now it seems like they were wronged.

 

[General Lee]

So 2300 pilots are going to jump ship and leave a 150,000 dollar a year job on the table to go back on the bottom of the list with another carrier.

Proof positive. You can't be a pilot for Delta.

Wow, you guys are defensive. I think a HUGE amount of AT guys will try to jump ship, and the bottom 400 SWA guys that were placed below the AT guys. Also, there were plenty of SWA guys who left before 9-11. As far as how many have been hired since the DL/NW merger, I don't personally know any (only 300 pilots have been hired since the merger, and a lot were flow ups from Compass and Mesaba). Since then though, you guys have had a rough merger and even SWA guys are saying stagnation is a possibility. Sooooooooooooo, there is a great chance you will lose some people. Money aint everything, and a few years at a legacy (thanks to higher pay scales) can get you close to $150K (including DC fund contribution), but better QOL due to HUGE retirement numbers, something you lack. Thanks for being civil......


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

It's the circle of life. We had quite a few leave Delta in the '08-'09 timeframe.

I'm sure there will be some that go the other way going forward. I've heard rumors of some looking to Fedex when it's available too. To each their own.

Good post Red. I agree, and that is all I was stating. Many junior guys will be looking around at other options if they think they might sit stagnate for a long time.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

So the answer in No, GL does not know a single SWA pilot who left for Mother Delta but we all know plenty who left Mother Delta for SWA.

And some of them, now stagnate at SWA, may wish they had not. There are years coming up here that have 700 plus people leaving due to age 65. Can you imagine how many upgrades that would provide, and how many airplanes you could leap frog up as an FO or Capt? And that isn't just one year, but several in a row. Being former DL, I bet you want to take a look. But, if you are happy where you are now Roughneck, then good for you.


This from the "other" website:

Mandatory retirements:
2013 - 56
2014 - 121
2015 - 169
2016 - 225
2017 - 286
2018 - 415
2019 - 513
2020 - 602
2021 - 789
2022 - 851
2023 - 809
2024 - 805
2025 - 713
2026 - 610
2027 - 514



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[GhettoBeechjet]

GL is right. I know several SWA F/Os that want to leave for DL. I also know a F/O that left DL for SWA and now says it was his worst lifetime career move.

 

[humveedriver]

Is the SWA training department able to train 97 new hires a month, in addition to fulfilling the normal monthly PC, PT and upgrade requirements ? Has this ever been done before at SWA ?

Read the last two lines of the memo again. 717 MCO base expected to stay open until 2014. ATL 737 (AT partition side) open until all airplanes converted. They are going to get this done on their timetable. The term I've heard used is "level best to get it done by 2015". I think Thanksgiving 2015 the lightswitch will go out on AT. Those last few months are going to suck for marketing, no matter when they decide to pull the plug.