dicko
"It's a formidable scent"
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2007
- Posts
- 1,432
With SWA's TFP program and how they structure the pay, how does it compare when looking at the hourly pay rate published on APC? Is that page remotely close when comparing say a year 3 FO at SWA to a year 3 737 FO at say UAL, all things being equal?
If you're in your early to mid thirties, which I assume you are, go to Delta. If you get a job at SWA, then Delta wants to employ you, go to Delta. A wider range of flying and an earlier upgrade. Even if Delta shrinks, the numbers are better.
As you know, the industry is cyclical. Delta is rising and SWA is about to travel the path that every Legacy has travelled. They began as an airline that could turn a jet in twenty minutes, now they are unable to turn it in 50 minutes. The DOT metrics are not a point of contention, the cause is.
The average amount of money a SWA pilot makes depends on a system of premium pay and open time that is not a constant. It depends on factors outside of your control. Multiply the minimum guarantee by your hourly rate. That is the only constant. Until the next contract.