Serious question, along the lines of what you just posted.
I bid #7 in MCO. I hold weekends off and all holidays. I get my choice of long overnights at an international destination or west coast city, get my choice of vacation, and my choice of sim times, etc.
With the seniority loss after this, I lose my base, I'll be bidding in the BOTTOM 14% of the COMBINED seniority list and in the bottom 23% of ATL's 737 F/O list, and I'm not sure how your work rules will give me that Quality of Life back (weekends and holidays off consistently every month to spend with my family).
According to the retirement schedule at SWA and AAI combined I get my current system seniority back when my son turns 18... that's 13 years from now. I'll be 53. I'll upgrade 2-3 years after that, and will get off reserve 3-4 years after that. In other words, I'll be about 60 when I'm a line-holding CA with 5 years left to climb any higher on the list.
So where, as an F/O in percentage of a list in any given domicile, can I hold weekends and holidays off again to get my current Quality of Life back based on what you were saying about Southwest's work rules? Can I really hold that quality of life at 86% of the way down the list, just 6% above the reserve level? Then how senior do you have to be as a CA to hold that same QoL? Do I even have time left in my career for that to happen just upgrading when I'm 55-56?
Thanks for the answers, this kind of stuff is what every senior AAI F/O wants and needs to know.