Going to work at an airline that only has an ATL domicile, I'd say it's pretty realistic to expect that you'll continue to be based in ATL. Leave it to SWA management to find out a way to screw hundreds upon hundreds of pilots out of the only domicile that their airline had when they went to work there.
This doesn't address neither of Howard or i's posts.
You thought air tran would continue on indefinitely?
You thought you could get hired on with any airline and have your domicile stay in existence?
Ask American how that SFO base is going. Back in the 90's when I first got hired, if you wanted to be Bay Area based, it was UAL, aa, or SWA in oak -
Change in the airlines is the ONLY constant.
We've had these seniority debates often, bc I for one, would love to have a career that transferred seniority among companies and paid us something greater than $40k if we switched, bc domicile's do float around from company to company- but if you live in a strong market, you know that it will be a base for some company.
I happen to love working for SWA, and would rather work here in any city vs others in my old hometown- but I'd say most pilots really couldn't care less what logo is on the tail as long as they make a good living on good schedules in the city they call home.
My suggestion is way too communist for me, but I do wish we had more professional freedom.
(Knowing full well that's a 'be careful what you wish for' statement)
That said, our current reality is our current reality, and you are choosing to view it as negatively as you are. It's very subjective, when in reality, the security of your paycheck got a lot better