Not good for the Southwest Poolies....

[Mach 80]

From a SWA pilot forum:

>>>>>Why the apparent anger from a few of the posters on the subject? These guys have been your brother pilots and have paid union dues into YOUR union. If these guys want to commute and sit reserve in OAK, big deal, let them! Not all of these guys have been working for SWA for 35 years and are millionaires either. Some have come to SWA in their late 40's and early/mid 50's after having bounced around thru bankruptcies and stolen pensions. There is as much liklihood of living to age 90 as to 75. Earning $40,000 the first year and then stepping up to $70,000 - $120,000 for a few more years can make a HUGE difference in their retirement and well being. Why wouldn't you want that for a fellow SWA pilot and union member?<<<

Heard only 40 or so have applied, so big deal anyway.

 

[Dane Bramage]

I absolutely do not agree with letting these guys jump the line. Once again, I find myself embarrassed for my company. I expect more than half of these rehires will never fly a full FO month before they conveniently medical out with a nice additional monthly paycheck. We'll see.

 

[vixin]

Exactly Dane. They will get on property and Medical out. Then they can get VERBA/PMA and other benefits as that go fishing or play golf. Heck one of the geezers on the SWAPULL forum was telling other geezers how to collect $1500/month in unemployment. We will see how many on the bottom of the list medical out.

 

[sonny320]

Man...why don't these guys retire and enjoy life. Flying is a job not a life.

 

[Red Baron]

This just get more ridiculous as time goes by. I am totally against this. What a shame it is for them to be put ahead of the poolies. They should get in the back of the line. I don't care if it is only 40 guys, it is not right.

 

[waveflyer]

.........

 

[Tomct]

Sorry to the Poolies...this is totally lame and I can't believe that SWA would do this to their pilot group. Good luck poolies, I hope that you have a descent job right now, it could be a while before you get online. Sorry!

 

[skiandsurf]

As is with most change in the industry these responses are understandable but impulsive and short-sighted. First, the website only mention the date for a deadline to submit an application not an interview date or guarantee of a job. Second, the current state of affairs in the airline industry requires that our response to changes are measured and cleverly calculated. There isn't a single individual that truly knows the effect of age 65 on the rest of the sub-60 workforce. It can be assumed that delays and stagnation will be the flavor of this cycle but I caution everyone to consider that this business is very dynamic and will likely be a lot different in the few years to come. I do not contest the fact that many pilots will get a screwing, but I will suggest that those individuals will most likely have their butts handed to them by another company and not the old farts sticking around another five years. Many are also assuming that most, if not all, of the old guys are going to stick around until 65. I doubt that. Just imagine someone deciding that they'll stick it out for a few more years and then fast forward one year and the scenario looks like this: Day two of a three-day, just starting his/her day, A flight attendant (very gay and militant) tells the Captain that they ain't serving because they looked at the wx and decided that it will be too bumpy only after bitching about how full they are going to be all day, 5 wheelchairs that are boarding as slowly as they eat at Shoney's, +FZDZSNPLTSRA, half of the rampers called in sick, station is down to 1 deice truck with 6 departures withinn an hour of each other, 2.5 hour ground stop to LAS because its BKN150 OVC250 and 6SM, and Hillary just implemented a tax hike that has his/her old ass now working like a Hebrew slave for about 15% less than he was making a year ago. My bet is that would be the last day of his career. Most guys I fly with that are approaching 60 had rather fly their Champ in the afternoon and take their motorhome out on the weekends, not fly and put up with 5 more years of BS. I am not particularly excited about age 65 myself but given this industry I am going to sit back and observe the next year. My guess is in 6 months age 65 will be as relevant as Richard Branson taking over the world. If you're in the pool, just relax and don't worry about the geezers. How many do you think want to commute to OAK, pull gear, and have $hitty vacation and work holidays?

Not all retired pilots were senior for the past 30 years. I would guess that SWA has hired enough guys in their 50s that they would like to return for a few more years. Afterall, SWA is such a great company to work for, I cant imagine anyone not wanting to return. And these senarios that you mention, look more like UAL then SWA. I thought SWA was nothing but LUV.

 

[Dude]

Unfortunately, the above mentioned elements do exist at SWA. It is unevitable, even at LUV. Until you require more than a pulse to get a job at an airline, this scenario is not only possible but commonplace at every airline.

I mispoke earlier, it appears that retirees are not only getting an interview; they will jump in front of every poolie as well. This sucks for poolies but there probably wont be many who REALLY do it. I am interested to see how many guys want to commute, pre-flight a/c in MDW, MHT, or PVD and not get the holidays off. I can't possibly imagine this being attractive to but a few.

As far as the PMA and losing medical scenario, holy crap that would be a disaster. I hope that these men understand the delicate position they put the company and the association in if they do this. Litigation would be a likely result and countless union dues will have to be spent to deal with this needless malicious practice.

p.s. LUV is still a great place to work. The previous post was intended to describe what makes us all crazy and given the grumpiness of maturity it would be difficult for me to tolerate the worst days at an airline.

 

[waveflyer]

How verified is it that they are coming back as a way to set the stage to sue for their old seniority back? It seems logical- and i don't see how they have anything to lose by trying.

I hope the young pilots see this, realize noone's looking out for them and start stepping up to the plate politically. At some point- we have to blame ourselves.