BeachBalls: Please put the crack pipe down for a moment. You are a pilot at Southwest. You want to go to RyanAir?? WTF? Man, enjoy your life at SW, if you need a taste of Euro life so bad, go out and buy a scarf and super-intellectual glasses, buy a purebred dog, learn to become a bad tipper, learn not to say hello to strangers and offer to donate 50 percent more in taxes to your government. Have at it, man.

Don't {Duit}:}

that Jetblue girl gets around...:}

Leaving SWA?
 

I emplore you......please leave for RyanAir....it will give the rest of us a chance to work for the highest paying/best benefits/best scheduled/best run airline in the US. Not to mention the fact we are in year 4 of the age 65 rule. Upgrade should be shaping up to be more like 3-5 yrs. :=

BTW, in order to compare the 2 airlines, can anybody tell us what crew bases do they have at Southwest? what's the salary FO/capt and how many flight hours do they do per month/year? What are the entry requirements at Southwest? I suppose they don't give a !!!! to the crapy european system which consists in hiring 200 hours underexperienced cadets... :bored:

Finaly, do you think that Ryanair will become as good as Southwest in the future? :ouch:

Oh...that is so disgusting that it's hilarious!! Let me guess...he also had a sticker on the back of his s2000 that read, "I'm not driving fast, I'm just flying low"....and on his off-days he probably loves to wear a t-shirt that says, "Bad Attitude" depicting an offset Attitude Indicator.

Crew bases are all over. Most senior is Dallas, last time I checked most junior is either Oakland or Baltimore.....
FO:
Yr 1--$52
Yr 2--$88
Yr 3--#98
Yr4--108

Cap:
Yr 1--$174
Yr 2--$176
Yr 3--$179
Yr 4--$181

Max @ yr 12
FO-$131/Cap-$198
Guarantees Line-78hrs Reserve-79hrs

And they arent hiring for this year....my guess is that they are looking around 8k-9kTT for competetive times. Toughest/Highest paying airline job in the US now. Dont know how you could even think of leaving.:ugh:

It is truly an amazing to watch the gate agents, to the pilots, to the attendants, to the bag throwers. Every team works together unbelieveably well. Quality of life @ SWA is the best by leaps and bounds. The on-going joke is that Southwest taking over ATA's gates in NY-LGA and no one thinks their consistant on-time arrivals will continue once they take over gates at the airport with the worst on time performance in the country. Its amazing what happens when the human spirit is happy everytime it shows up for work. Rare indeed.:D

I'm no troll, nor do I truly understand what that means. However, I have no information on European companies, and thought i'd simply ask.

SWA is unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to leave it. However, I'm just thinking years down the road what it might be like to work in Europe, if there is something close to SWA..

I quite fully realize working at SWA is a big deal, I'm just thinking of different possible paths for my life.

Thanks for the info. I'm not about to quit.

Pilots dont leave SWA.It is without doubt one of the best airlines in the world and I say that not as a Yank but as a pilot.Fedex is a good carrier.Of the international airlines,Qantas,SIA,Lufthansa.But Ryanair?Well,it sounds like a sweat-shop with a lot of disgruntled staff.Who'd want that?

I reckon this chap means Air Southwest, the UK turbo prop gig. Not the holy grail SWA State Side.

Might be wrong but doubt anyone would leave the latter.

Europe is a beautiful country to live but it is not so easy to reproduce the same quality of life you can find in the States.
Be careful where you want to be based in Italy! Same places are really wild!

Umm...no.

I meant THE Southwest Airlines from Dallas, TX.

Europe isn't a country.

I'm simply researching, and I've been steered towards Ryan Air, whose website doesn't delve into QOL issues. Hence my reason fro being here.

I'm not about to leave SWA. I'm interested in living in ITALY, however...
A Milan base would be awesome. I could handle that, but I'd only go there as a direct entry Captain.

SWA is an amazing company. It takes great care of its employees. However, in the end, a job is a job, and not necessarily the rest and end-all be-all of one's life. That's why I'm looking for info.

Thanks again for all the input!

Enjoy the view,

Well done for a lucid , informed, non hysterical summing up.

So refreshing (on a Ryanair thread) to read the odd post every now and then that actually tells it like it is, rather than the usual weighted claptrap.

Europe isn't a country? Yes Europe is a mix of Countries with different languages... BUT definitely you need a EUROPEAN passport if you are willing to work in EU, and probably also a JAA ATP!:}

Don't go to RYR!
 

First of all if you are an FO rated on B737NG RYR will not take you. Why? Because they can't make any money out of you. They are in the business of selling type ratings.

The company has a very good roster system and very good maintenance. However, as a pilot you are treated badly. I hear SWA is a great place to work, so if I were you I'd stay there.

If you are looking for a change of scene why don't you try one of the Middle Eastern carriers such as FlyDubai. Emirates, Qatar Airways or Etihad?
Also there are quite a few jobs going in China and packages are improving.

Fwiw There is no actual 'European' passport.

Every European country has it's own passport.

The European Union is made up of 27 member states.

Persons who hold a nationality from one of the EU member states have the right to freely move, reside & work in any of the other member states. In theory.

European Union - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Like I said before: I have the right to work in the EU already. I have dual citizenship.

Seriously, beech balls, forget about all this non-sense. Get back to reality. One year into employment with RYR, you will hang yourself wondering how on earth you got to the point of leaving SWA for RYR, with no turning back to SWA. Come on, have a drink, reconsider and forget about it...

Plus, RYR is about to see all their experienced/good quality people leave to greened pastures (for instance, EK is about to hire 700 pilots over a handful of months...). This will understaff the airline and make life there miserable, even more so than today.

thanks guys.
I'm not leaving SWA.

Beach Ball, if this feeling to switch from your present position comes over you again, may I sugest a glass of warm milk then rest in bed untill the urge goes away!