JM,
With all due respect, and I mean it sincerely, do you feel that anyone joining a legacy carrier today and the next few years will have to go through the hardships you did? It's purely a numbers game isn't it? I'm not trying to act like I know, because I don't, but on paper with all the retirements its possible (with my math) to be halfway up UAL's seniority list in 9 years if everyone who wants to work till 65 does.
UAL, DAL, AMR/US are all going to be retiring 500+ in the next few years. I would think with that kind of movement rsv and seniority accrual would come fast. Also the numbers are without expansion, and I doubt the airlines are going to shrink anymore IMHO.
I'd like to work at a company where I can build seniority, have work rules, and MINIMUM days off, not maximum days off.
CC
It is true that we are currently retiring many pilots, but I would be surprised if some of the US legacies don't shrink over the next decade. Maybe DL will be able to expand, but UA have stated that their fleet count will remain flat to down over the next 5 years. AA have just started the merger process and currently have over 900 aircraft and 14,000 pilots. I doubt they will be able to stay that size.
The middle of our seniority list is populated with very senior NB FOs, junior NB CAs (75% range), and mid-range seniority WB FOs (right at 50%). That's where you'll be in decade if everything works out perfectly. I can see this move make sense for someone in their late 20s or early 30s if they really want to be back home and live in a junior domicile, but outside of that it makes no sense at all. The money is not better, and the schedules are not better either when you're junior. The NB FO and WB FO above probably have a good schedules, but they are not making anywhere near what an EK CA makes.
Where will you be living in the US? Because there is a good chance you will have to commute for many years or drive for about 2 hours like many of our NYC based pilots do. If you're in your early 40s, do you think you will ever be able to hold WB command at a US legacy? My guess would be no.