Leave SWA for AA or Delta?

[Mercyful Fate]

This is how one responds when they can't really debate anymore, They got NOTHIN, so they go for "the post total." Classic! Thanks...


Bye Bye---General Lee

Kind of like your "lav dumper in Minot" routine eh?

By the way, must have cried pretty hard at the Mods...Good job!

 

[waveflyer]

No general, it's how one responds when we hear the same elitist widebody crap over and over

Go chase your carrot man

 

[General Lee]

No general, it's how one responds when we hear the same elitist widebody crap over and over

Go chase your carrot man

It's called variety, Wave. Elitist? It's a great part of this job, and a great option to try. The great part is, if you don't like long haul, you can go back to domestic. Hey, I'd rather get 12 hours of pay in one flight, while you do it in 12 flights. Good for you Wave, good for you. It is nice to choose, though. And, there is soooo much else out there. I enjoy all of it.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[waveflyer]

I did choose. And have never regretted it.
Why that bugs this online ego of yours, I have no idea- but the point is that we've all heard it.... Pushing 20,000 times now.

 

[slaquer5]

This is how one responds when they can't really debate anymore, They got NOTHIN, so they go for "the post total." Classic! Thanks...


Bye Bye---General Lee

What am I debating with you ? I do not think you deabate much . All you do is slam Texas, and talk down to the comuttter pilots .


PS. I left out slam SWA in every post . Why dont you put this much effort into trying to do something nice for someone or some family.

 

[General Lee]

What am I debating with you ? I do not think you deabate much . All you do is slam Texas, and talk down to the comuttter pilots .


PS. I left out slam SWA in every post . Why dont you put this much effort into trying to do something nice for someone or some family.

Slam SWA in every post? You don't like that some people don't want to do what you do. I point out actual differences, something a perspective job seeker should need to know. There are big differences between a LCC job and a legacy job. Each point I make cannot be refuted. Sorry if that upsets some people, including you.

And you say I should put effort into "helping someone or some family.....????" Hmmmm. What? How do you know I don't do that now. Besides outside of FI posting, I do. I also answer plenty of PMs giving advice, and I think I have steered people towards better job options. One piece of advice I always give is "never pay for your own type rating." That has saved thousands of dollars already.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[waveflyer]

If you've had one PM that was looking for actual advice and not just trying ways to figure out who you are- I'd be genuinely surprised.

Btw- pot meet kettle. You clearly don't like that Pilots are happy at SWA and ignore that SWA schedules DO NOT EXIST within your domestic lines and our QOL is good.

Said it before- most pilots roll their eyes at us going back and forth about which MAJOR AIRLINE JOB is "better" while they're slugging it out

 

[slaquer5]

Slam SWA in every post? You don't like that some people don't want to do what you do. I point out actual differences, something a perspective job seeker should need to know. There are big differences between a LCC job and a legacy job. Each point I make cannot be refuted. Sorry if that upsets some people, including you.

And you say I should put effort into "helping someone or some family.....????" Hmmmm. What? How do you know I don't do that now. Besides outside of FI posting, I do. I also answer plenty of PMs giving advice, and I think I have steered people towards better job options. One piece of advice I always give is "never pay for your own type rating." That has saved thousands of dollars already.



Bye Bye---General Lee

Please seek help. We will have a fund drive for you on FI

 

[benelli]

Wow

Not a big poster on this forum but sure do like to stalk. Funny how we see these conversations constantly degenerate into personal jabs. Sad how little respect we have for each other.

Addressing the original question. No, I would not leave Southwest for Delta, or any other airline. In this industry there seems to be a never ending ideal that the grass IS greener at any other airline, and the job I have now could not suck anymore than it does now. Bigger airplanes(heavies) are always better, and Southwest will never play in that sandlot. I have no personal allegiance to Southwest Airlines, but will say that most fail to realize what their management is building right under the industry's nose. What I see happening is a company that realizes they can no longer operate under their original business model, which was as a low cost carrier competing against legacy carriers with much larger networks, better perks for their loyal costumers, and much higher costs.As the legacy airlines have adapted, so has Southwest. Over the last decade, Legacy carriers have adopted business models more in line with the LCCs. Wages, adjusted for inflation, have dropped, contracts with employee groups have focused more on maximizing productivity, and the moral of the employee groups and the understanding that they have a stake in the success of the company has become more of a focal point. (Delta has excelled at this.) Although some will say SWA has lost some of these attributes, it is still very much a part of their business model and culture.

Southwest Airlines purchase/acquisition of AirTran accomplished two things. First, it removed a major competitor in the domestic market, and expanded its domestic route structure. Second, it gave Southwest, although limited, immediate international exposure, exposure that Southwest had shunned up to that point because of their aversion to code shares. This purchase/acquisition, and the ones I feel are to come, are game changers.

Southwest's focus for the last 30+ years has been on building a domestic network that would cover every major metropolitan area in the country...and some not so major. They have done so without a reliance on code shares and contracts with commuter operations. And yet they now carry more passengers domestically than any other US carrier. This is impressive considering approx 20% of Delta's domestic passengers originate from international flights INTO the US. What Southwest has neglected in the past, international, will now become their focus and change the way we look at them forever. BWI, FLL and HOU have been announced as major gateway cities to South America and the Caribbean. And this is just the beginning. It is my guess that Southwest's entrance into the BOS market, and NY via LGA and EWR, are in anticipation of future service to not only the Carribean/South America, but also to Europe( Mr Kelly has voiced such interest.) Future service to Hawaii is still on the table , but not as most had anticipated. During a conversation with one of the business channels in the past year, Mr Kelly expressed Southwest's strong interest in the Pacific Rim/Asia, and Hawaii. In order to gain access to this market, Southwest will most likely acquire Hawaiian Airlines. With a market cap of approx 300 million, the purchase would be inexpensive,and would give Southwest the same overnight presence in the Hawaii, and the markets they serve.(Austraillia, Tahiti, Manila)

Note that all the cities serviced by Hawaiian on the mainland also overlap with SWA. After this is announced, I would expect a large wide body order to be announced. This would most likely be the Boeing 787, giving SWA full access to the Asian markets, with feed to the US markets.

Food for thought before you bail. The probability of Delta doubling in size from 11,800 to 23,600 is very slim. Southwest doubling in size from approx 7400 to 14,000 is not. International expansion will happen and with it even more domestic. Yes Delta has a significant number of retirements, but so does Southwest(Given their size)

 

[canyonblue]

Food for thought before you bail. The probability of Delta doubling in size from 11,800 to 23,600 is very slim. Southwest doubling in size from approx 7400 to 14,000 is not. International expansion will happen and with it even more domestic. Yes Delta has a significant number of retirements, but so does Southwest(Given their size)

A very well thought out post. I quoted your last paragraph, as I have had this same conversation with fellow pilots, not about leaving, but more about their friends getting hired at a Major, and I believe you hit the nail on the head. When your main selling point is the "massive number of retirements", that doesn't really sell for the person looking for security in an airline. We can only get bigger, and we will.