Just wanted to say thanks for answering NJ'er questions so persistently. From your posts, it is obvious that you you have a very balanced perspective, which I really appreciate.
In regards to your post about seeking SWA first, I would say it depends on the type of flying you prefer. Having done military and regional / national-type flying, I am certain I don't want to fly 3-7 segments per day for SWA the rest of my career. Been there and done that. That's just me though. I want to get it over all at once and have lots of days off - which is why I am drawn to the long haul at CX.
I start in June. Do you think SFO and LAX will be 777 in three to four years? Or still use the whale? Will NA PAX DEFO be a potential barrier to switching over to pax in the future?
Also, if the -200F's go away sooner rather than later, will inter-Asia flying on the -400F be on the roster for NA pilots? I realize predicting the future is difficult. Curious as to your thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Thanks for your comments. I try to keep emotions out of my answers but I'm not always successul.
As for SWA, it's the exact opposite to ULH flying as I'm sure you're aware of. Both have there pros and cons. ULH flying gives a great amount of time off but you get 1 sector a month and chronic fatigue can easily set in. After a few years of this you tend to hate flying but accept it's still a good job as far as pay/time-off is concerned.
I believe the official plan as of today is for NA to be served only by the 777. I don't buy it! I think we may order the 747-800 in the next 12-24 months and have both flying to NA. We need 4 x 777's to replace 3 x 744's out of LAX. If I'm wrong and 3-4 years pax in NA is all 777, then you could use your JOKER and transfer to the 777 with a USA base.
As for Asian flying, I'm sure you would do some but it's hard to fly NA freighter guys 3 sectors over to HKG then fly regional and another 2-3 sectors back to their base. I guess a worst case scenario would be 2 x 10-12 day patterns with paid overtime (IE. 92-100 hours).
Good luck!