Hugo Stiglitz

Yeah it’s pretty lame SWA does this, and especially dumb because reserves rarely go unused. A new hire here could go straight to a reserve-only line and still hit consolidation without having to subvert seniority in the process. I guess management would make a case that a legacy who buys off an FO so that a new hire can consolidate is being less efficient cause it’s paying two people for the same trip, and hey it’s SWA so we need every cent we can save for, oh I dunno, updating our scheduling software, among other things?

Sucks, right? Military much?

The military having to do a lot of work at the behest of the commander in chief…ya really hate to see it.

Oof, freezing fog with midpoint RVR 600. Here’s the ATC tape…good stuff starts about 8:30 in: https://archive.liveatc.net/kaus/KAUS3-Twr-Feb-04-2023-1230Z.mp3 Sounds like SWA was cleared from a holding short position with FedEx on a 3 mi final. A minute later when asked if moving they said “rolling now.” Then 30 sec later it sounds like maybe FedEx directed SWA to abort before announcing its go-around? Didn’t come from tower and SWA continued so I guess it wasn’t them…but sounds like it caused tower to lose SA on if SWA was airborne or on the ground. Good on the FedEx guys for having their spidey sense tingling as soon as tower cleared SWA for takeoff. Stay safe out there…

Out of curiosity for the DAL guys, any gripes from the pilot group? Any major asks that were inadequately addressed?

At SWA you can never be called or have flying added on a day off, but it can be added if you’re on duty. One confusing thing is that here the term “JA” applies to what you’re thinking of (“You thought you were going home but this other trip needs to be covered so go do it”), but also to what is actually an unscheduled overnight (“I got so delayed today that I missed the last deadhead flight back home”). While the former is contractually legal it’s exceedingly rare (hasn’t happened to me in 5+ years), although the latter occurs in my experience maybe twice per year. In a true JA you’re flying a brand new pairing in addition to the one you already flew, but in an unscheduled overnight you’re contractually deadheaded home on the earliest flight following your rest period. And here’s the biggest difference with the AF: you’re rewarded if the company doesn’t get you home when you planned. True JA pays double on all legs, unscheduled overnight pays higher of 1.5 or full day’s rig, and if you’re reserve you have the option to drop a day of work later in the month. A minimum of extra $500-$1600 depending on seniority is a pretty decent way to feel okay about getting home at noon instead of 1am. Compared to my C-17 career when a 10-day SRT consistently got me home 2-3 days late and sometimes 2 weeks late with nothing to show other than a backlog of office work and pissed off Bobs, it’s a night and day difference. Our union actually tracks this stuff if you’re curious…during this week’s epic meltdown there were 70 unscheduled overnights*, exceeding the historic average of 14 for that week. There were 9 true JAs, and the historical average for that week is 0. There are definitely reasons to decide airline life isn’t for you. IMHO JA really shouldn’t be one of them. *Edited for full transparency that this number only refers to people at the end of their trips and not the ones who got messed up in the middle of theirs from all the cancellations and clogged scheduler lines. Also plenty of commuters who couldn’t get home too.

Would also add that point to point is affected less by disruptions when frequency of flights between city pairs is high enough that cancellations can flow to later in the day or different connecting airports. When the pandemic recovery began SWA gambled on adding new cities rather than restoring frequency between existing ones. The new COO has talked openly that the goal for next 2 years is now rebuilding frequency, but in the meantime the airline is vulnerable to meltdowns. Well we F’d around and are now finding out…

Probably too soon to say but SWA has always faced hiring headwinds because of the obvious reasons. IMHO we had been successful in becoming a destination rather than stepping stone airline for 3 reasons: 1. Best balance sheet among the majors 2. The whole never-furloughed thing 3. Pilots have genuinely loved their jobs. Most of that’s related to the work rules, some of it is tied to that Southwest “culture” A year ago the company issued furlough warning letters as a political stunt. Everyone knew they didn’t need to furlough but the fact that they took that first step kind of blew up the surety of #2 above and chipped away big time at #3. The pursuit of #1 came at the expense of investing in modern systems and maximizing efficiency. These meltdowns are a result, which throws into question how long #1 will remain the case. And of course the more meltdowns we have the less people enjoy their jobs. I do think SWA is the index fund of airlines though…doesn’t look so great when times are booming but suddenly pretty attractive in lean years. We’ll see if that remains the case.

That’s interesting…at first I thought that could be a USERRA violation based on discrimination as a result of military service, but then I realized it’s the union not letting you vote. I guess the company can be accused of discrimination by deeming you an inactive employee? A couple years ago SWA lost a lawsuit for not making 401k NECs to members out on mil leave. Now when we’re out we get a contribution based on our average monthly credit. Presumably your union has a military committee that has considered it already, but I still call BS that you’re not allowed to vote!

They had greater leverage and used it to negotiate a better contract. ‘Merica. Fingers crossed airline unions can do the same…

Genius move and a win/win…takes out some of the apprehension for those who have FOMO about getting into the industry ASAP, and ensures a continued steady flow for the next few years while all the rest of us race to the bottom in terms of experience. Actually I’m jealous.

Lanyards don’t affect the bottom line. Unions can’t be perceived to be encouraging any actions that modify how people perform their jobs (and negatively impact revenue). Fewer pickups than historical averages, more sick/fatigue calls, anything that the company can point to and claim is an organized action in violation of status quo can trigger a lawsuit and possibly hurt the union during mediation. There’s a rich history of them making such claims right or wrong, and sniping random social media posts from union members running their mouths as “evidence” is a relatively new tactic. Notably “informational pickets” don’t fall under job actions because they’re conducted off duty. And Bashi, while yes, your premise that there is a lot to focus on before joining an airline is true, awareness of the union dynamics shouldn’t be too far on the back burner at least. Mil guys already have a rep for not being team players because of their cluelessness, no need to unnecessarily add to it.

I heard Alaska is happy with their new TA? So-so pay bump, but I’m told big fixes to work rules. And I think a snap-up too? Going to be high stakes when everyone adds a snap up and it all comes down to the final major to reach a TA that’ll carry the hopes of the industry along with it.

Sure I can. Don’t be so emo.

Yeah. Welp. And I was promised condoms prevent pregnancy. BRB, gotta change another diaper.