Is AT or SWA hiring?

[humveedriver]

Ok. I've read those statements too. I agree with the rest of Daddy's post. If you live in FLL, Spirit just started looking a whole lot better. The OP asked about SWA hiring. The problem is SWA just hired 1700 pilots in one snap of the fingers. 500 of those pilots will be senior enough to hold Captain in 5 years through retirement and zero growth. There is no reason not to apply to SWA if they start hiring. AT was not the best airline in the world when I took the job there. But I had a see an wait attitude and it worked out very well for me. SWA appears to have clogged up the seniority list and is not growing much right now. But who knows what SWA will look like in 10 years? Bankrupt/smaller? Or ordering 787s while announcing Rio and Gatwick? Apply to all the airlines and quit looking when you find the situation that works well or well enough for you. You only have to look at the last 25 years of airline history to realize how fickle it all is. The Delta retirement numbers are some of the most impressive out there. I'm sure there are folks on every seniority list in the world lookin at that.

 

[Phlintstone]

To the contrary, Phred....I think leaving for Delta or someone else may very well be a good call for AT or SWA guys at the bottom of the list depending on their situation.

To the contrary of what? I think we agree. What I was trying to convey was the same thing that you wrote...that guys on the bottom will look elsewhere - specifically folks will look at the legacies, UPS, and Fedex. From what I know of Spirit, I personally would NOT leave even a stagnant SWA for there.

Phred

 

[maxblast72]

Our COO is already floating bankruptcy and furloughs as options...and just a few days before Christmas.

That is your problem, you were listening to the COO. You should have been listening to what the CEO and the CFO were telling Wall Street at their Investory Day conference in December. Gary and Tammy were busy laying the 2013 road map to 15% ROIC (4-5% RASM increase coupled wth $3.30/gallon Jet A). I don't think Gary or Tammy mentioned filing bankruptcy in their remarks.

 

[slaquer5]

To the contrary, Phred....I think leaving for Delta or someone else may very well be a good call for AT or SWA guys at the bottom of the list depending on their situation. Age, domicile, financial situation are all factors. SWA is going to be stagnant for the foreseeable future. SWA is a great company to work for, but timing might be extremely bad for many and timing is everything in this industry. Our COO is already floating bankruptcy and furloughs as options...and just a few days before Christmas. This is the not the SWA of old. This deal was bad for pilots on both sides no matter how you look at it. If you are an east coast guy on the bottom here, your life could suck for quite awhile. The east is very senior and if you can't hold a line here, you are essentially on a B scale with a poor QOL for the forseeable future. Commuting across the country to 4 on 3 off reserve with little flying is no way to go through life. Good luck to all and I hope we can all be good to each other on the line as this is a management vs pilot problem not a pilot vs pilot problem. Like Mongo, we are just pawns in game of life.

I do not know where to start . You have no idea what you are talking about , unless all you wanted to do was install fear w/ the AT pilots. Then you completed your mission .

 

[texman]

We made 400,000 in revenue in just two weeks! This is part of the new boarding option. It's all good!

 

[Daddy]

I do not know where to start . You have no idea what you are talking about , unless all you wanted to do was install fear w/ the AT pilots. Then you completed your mission .

I'm not spreading fear...I'm trying to sprinkle some common sense out there. Guys are passing on good opportunities to stay at SWA. That may be a big mistake for them....especially if they live on the east coast. If you are an AT guy or hired post AT near the bottom at SWA, you may very well be better off at your other option. SWA has far too many pilots for too few airplanes for the next several years. That is a fact. An inconvenient truth if your goal is to belittle the other pilots on this forum and make them think that their airline careers are worth less and not as good as yours as a SWA pilot. I seriously doubt SWA will wash itself through Ch 11 anytime soon, but I thought it was very disconcerting to hear the leadership throwing that thought out there a few days before Christmas at a time when tensions are already running high.

Folks come here to gain perspective on other airlines and may use that info to influence their decision to stay or go. SWA used to be a growth airline...one stop shopping if you were in the job hunt and wanted lifelong security. I think one would be naive to think that is still the case. It was a great choice for me. It might not be for a 20 something year old out there right now who has other options.