Please tell me they don't intend to field the MAX 200 variant in the States. 200 fat americans on slimline seats, on a narrowbody like that? Noooooo thanks.
Hey, but Southwest will buy it....if they still have any pilots left after the strike...
Flying the MAX for classic 73 pay scales sure would be a reason to fight the company. You're damn near flying a 757 load for guppy pay (and I hear it flies like sh%t). Considering the even more protracted upgrade time due to the demographics of SW, then you're not even doing it for top industry 73 pay in the aggregate either.
They need to figure out what they're gonna do, from my friends/co-workers at SW, it looks like they continue to have no-shows because folks keep punting to the main 3. The lack of B-fund is the real kicker for me, and the company refuses to even talk about it. If the hiring at main 3 continues as it is, and once American (the one real delayed time bomb regarding retirements in the entire industry) gets done with the in-house fighting over the three pilot groups (legacy AA, legacy East US, and the West group Nicolau award squeaky wheelers) and gets a damn SLI, never mind getting off the wholly owned musical chair hiring they're addicted to right now (or get punched in the mouth by a collapsing regional manning), then watch out, the sucking sound will start to make SW look like Jetblue was earlier in the decade; a trampoline job.
There's a lot to be said about living in domicile, but over 20 years, a 16% retirement contribution not coming out of my paycheck is a straight up go/no-go for my financial solvency and my family QOL. They need to figure out if they truly belong at the big boy table or not. The international growing pains is also going to be a good litmus test to see if SW has what it takes to sit at the table. No crew meals on intl turns? No parking or uniforms? That's just vestiges of regional corporate behavior, hell even some regionals do better than that. In 2002 you get away with that, in this hiring environment? Not so much.
