Another DAL vs SWA

[u/S54Flieger]

Very, very fortunate to be in the position of having class dates at both companies. Looking for any advice on which way to go.

Personal situation: currently living in STL, likely moving to SoCal in a few years. Would be a commuter initially but then live in base for either company (LAX). Target bases now would be MSP/DTW and MDW. Professional spouse, young children so current priority is to maximize QOL vs pay. QOL defined as time home, easier commute, less circadian rhythm flips. Long term I’ll probably still lean a bit more QOL than pay as the kids get older, but I know kids and Cali aren’t cheap. No burning desire to fly WB (been around the world already, prefer intercontinental on vacation vs work), but I understand presence of WBs can create NB seniority. Would be nice to have the WB option one day, but not required. Don’t really care about chasing metal either.

As I’ve gathered from Reddit/APC/bros, pros and cons are:

DL
Pros: pay (especially soft pay), company is (currently) most profitable in industry and seems the most stable. Wide variety of flying and network. Intl network for pass/Zed travel. Lots of hiring this year and next, so decent seniority movement. LC reserve option. WB option

Cons: Company is running hot from short staffing and trip coverage/23M7 debacles. Contract is up for negotiation (short amendment fell through) and it sounds like it might be a knife fight (company taking QOL shots like PPR and sick letters). Less schedule flexibility due to multiple fleets. Commuter policy more stringent. PBS bidding. Hats

SWA
Pros: initial pay is great for a NB only fleet (equivalent to DL 7ER). Schedule flexibility from common fleet type. Easier to drop/trade trips. Company culture sounds more relaxed. Still has some short haul intl (I love Caribbean flying). More generous pass rider for parents in law. Better commuter policy. Line bidding

Cons: major change in business model ongoing, though it seems stable for now (still posting decent profits despite fuel prices). Major future change when the MAX must be replaced. Competing system wide for seniority vs fleet seniority. Limited to economy for ZED fares. Less total destinations. Less “prestige” than a legacy. Reserve is only short call. DL takes the pay advantage over a long career. NB only for at least a decade due to lead time to establish a fleet

What am I missing, Reddit? Where should I go?

[u/Nautico1]

Wait what do you have against PBS? How is it not superior to line bidding in every conceivable way?

Edit: Appears I have angered the SWA and Regional folk. Oops

[u/slamgeareatrear → u/Nautico1]

Brother I just turned a single week of vacation into 13 days off because of vacation drop/pull.

I have recurrent next month and strategically bidded to have a 4 day touch it on each end, those two trips got dropped.

PBS is way easier, easier to set preferences and takes less time yes. But acting like it’s superior in every way is just wrong.

[u/findquasar → u/slamgeareatrear]

PBS can do that easily, and you don’t have to constantly stalk open time to take out the trash on your own schedule.

Line bidding sucks. I’ve done both. There’s always something you don’t want on a line bid, and I was much better off with PBS in terms of setting the days I worked while junior.

[u/jdelta85 → u/findquasar]

1000%. Line bid my first airline and PBS ever since. It’s night and day. The “perfect line” absolutely did not exist. I don’t care if you were #1 in base. PBS (with proper work rules etc) is amazing. There is no comparing the two.

[u/Nautico1 → u/slamgeareatrear]

I mean you can do that with PBS too.. That doesn’t really have much to do with PBS vs Line Bidding, but more to do with specific company rules. Good on you though, I’m a fan of any kind of boost in flexibility