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Southwest 5 year...

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crjdude

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2002
Posts
220
Southwest...

What can someone conservatively/realistically expect to make year 5?

Trying to sale the Wife on a change...

Thanks
 
5th year FO pay is 114/per trip.

You can roughly use 100 trips a month as a general guideline.

100 X 114/per trip is $11,400 per month (or 137k per year).

There are plenty that fly their line and go home making the above or possibly less in Jan/Feb which are lean months.

If you live in base and want to pick up, the extra money is there. It's all personal choice. There is also plenty of soft credit available. You can easily turn a vacation month into high pay (130-140)...and still take your week off. Same with your training month. You just have to know the methods. You could easily make 150-160k per year if you wanted to. Again, plenty would prefer the days off to the pay. That's the flexibility you will have. Especially if you live in base.

Beyond pay, the retirement is really where you are going to change things vs. a regional. That and Profit Sharing. We need improvements in this area, but it's easy to say your retirement years will be substantially better here versus any regional. Same can be said for any of the big four airlines....hands down.

Feel free to PM me if you have any further questions. Or ask here..
 
I know this is not an answer to your question, but I would recommend going somewhere else.
 
Southwest...

What can someone conservatively/realistically expect to make year 5?

Trying to sale the Wife on a change...

Thanks

You'll "make" about 5,000 approaches, and 4800 landings, all over Texas by year 5.


Did that answer your question? ;)


Bye Bye---General Lee
 
Last edited:
Please. I've flown small regional, large regional, LLC, and now Southwest. There is no comparison. It's the only airline I feel like I am treated like an adult....really. At 5 years you will make 130K/year, maybe more if you live in base. You should be able to max out your 401k to the IRS limits and get profit sharing(an extra 9.4% of your yearly gross this year). Great schedule flexibility....I almost always never fly the line I was awarded by choice. I like long legs with long overnights and fewer legs per day. There are plenty to choose. Vacation months are great. I can actually take my vacation off AND make more money....unlike at my previous airlines. People I fly with are great. Every pilot here truly wants to do a good job for their crew and customers and try to have fun doing it. If you are a motivated person and like to drink good beer or whiskey this is a damn good place to fly airplanes.

We have some issues, yes, but just think about the issues you deal with now. Regional flying is a young mans game.
 
You'll "make" about 5,000 approaches, and 4800 landings, all over Texas by year 5.


Did that answer your question? ;)


Bye Bye---General Lee

I've been based in HOU and DAL and I've never even been to Amarillo.

I'm a little weird in that I don't mind the 300/500s....without them I don't have a job. Last week I had a 25 hour overnight in PUJ. I really need to learn some Spanish.....man.
 
One man's trash is another man's treasure. I'll be the first to say that the rumors about this being the worker's paradise where management showers it's people with gold and adoration are greatly exaggerated. There are things that this company doesn't provide that every decent regional in the industry does... and it blows my mind sometimes.

That said, it's just a job. If your ego isn't wrapped up in what kind of airplane you drive, which seat you're in, or how much money you make its an ok place to be. Lots of time off and good schedule flexibility (once you're off reserve).

Not sure I would have come here if I had to make the decision all over again, but it's better than where I was before.... so I guess I'll gamble that they'll be around for a while and I won't have to deal with yet another furlough and starting over yet again.
 

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