Had a chance to finally sit down & compile some insights garnered over the last few weeks…hope this helps those who in the pool, getting ready to interview or are just interested in Southwest. Again EVERYTHING is subject to change (usually for the good) so the standard caveat is don’t sell the house, wife, kids based upon anything said below….worthless drivel of an FO:- 4 classes of 20 a piece in Feb
- 2 CA classes canceled in Jan (probably not room to do both CA & 4 new hire classes per month….lance CA program was designed exactly for this reason, we have enough CA’s already trained to handle any increase in CAs if they are needed…my humble opinion only)
- The -300/500 has been the “standard” that was used for training, “differences classes” were used to cover the -700s…effective Mar the “core class” will be taught with -700s consuming most ground systems classes with “differences” taught in a shorter period for the -300/500s…as of today there are more -700s (195) than -300’s…
- only 10 of the -700s haven’t been modified yet with winglets
- All but 2 aircraft have been modified with ACARs (not news to most airlines but SWA’s ACARs are digital capable & supposedly have much greater capacity to pass info back & forth with new technology…save $$$
- Speculation (previously reported) about leased -300s for 2 years until Boeing can get more -700s spun up for delivery…attempting to increase delivery of -700s to 20 per month at some point down the road…takes 18 months to build them I’ve been told so the leased aircraft (maybe USAirs if they go on the block) could be gap fillers until new aircraft could be delivered….with AA & others deferring delivery of -800s to later years, -800s can be changed to -700s if done within the first 6 months of construction (any Boeing experts out there pls confirm/deny, thanks)…company prefers to -700s to -300s so that is why lease agreements vs. purchases of older airplanes
- New hire training will begin in Feb on Wednesday’s vs currently Monday’s…this scheduling change provides for 2 additional training days for new hires I was told…up until recently (last year) new hires started on Thurs….Wed will be the new day in Feb but as always COME TO CLASS WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO!!!….
- Quality of new hires is exceptional…zero problem with folks getting through the program….attaboy to those folks
- Printed schedules that were removed for cost savings in Nov are being brought back on Jan 16 schedule change…customers & employees voiced their desires to have it come back…company responded
- New construction on sim building should be occurring soon…4 more sim bays to be built…first new sim to be delivered probably prior to when the building will be ready but who knows…..I’ve been told 750 pilots per sim…do the math, my head hurts!!!
- Sometime in the near future new interview teams will be made up of 1 retired pilot, 1 active pilot & 1 HR person…great concept in saving money & using the valuable experience of top notch folks who for no other reason than reaching 60 years of age aren’t able to fly…their experience will be invaluable when it comes to participating in helping choose the next generation of pilots for SWA
- As reported numerous times on here but the original numbers of 400 pilots for this year have increased…550-600 (max at training center 750+ish) seems to be the new number but as always nothing is guaranteed….SWA has always been conservative in the past with forecasting hiring trends though….to move the numbers up (unofficially of course) is somewhat significant in my opinion
- Based upon 160 pilots being hired in the first two months that would leave the pool of folks that began ’05 down significantly…what does that mean to folks in the pool possibly? Going from interview to on property was taking 5-6 months….that could be shifted forward by easily a month or 2 in the near future…as always be flexible & talk to the PD if your situation requires “xx” amount of lead time to either come to Dallas based upon your currently employed condition (active duty, civilian job, etc).
Looking in the crystal ball for those wishing to interview at Southwest the future is bright I believe. For some who are currently employed at a legacy carrier the choice is difficult….do I leave “xx” years of seniority at my current carrier to expend money for a type (best way to get a call sooner rather than later), go through the process & have to start over again? I know of several folks who have taken this route within the last few months, found themselves with an interview, some have been successful, some haven’t but for those who have, they are now looking at a bright future according to them…for those still on property at other carriers who didn’t get hired at least they have tried & will come back again when their year is up, plus they are still employed..…at least they are calling the shots & I applaud their courage….not everyone could or should do that so please don’t think I’m encouraging that but for those who are thinking about it & believe you are alone, you’re not…good luck.
It isn’t clear yet from a pilot standpoint what accommodations are or will be made for the ATA folks who qualify to apply at SWA…I’m confident the issue is being looked at and will be handled fairly. Obviously for those folks who have types & have applied nothing has changed, many of those folks are being called as evidence from the folks on here who talk about getting interview from ATA…congrats to you all!!! If you have the PIC time, apply…I’d also consider getting the type if circumstances permit it but that is a tough call I realize for many reasons.
For non-crew positions at SWA that have openings, SWA internal hires are being looked at I was told, then ATA folks who have been furloughed (don’t know if folks who haven’t been laid off are eligible but would think they would be but who knows) who wish to apply may apply & compete for the job & then if no qualified folks are chosen from these two groups, external apps will be taken for non-crew positions. Again don’t know how the pilots situation will work out…folks at ATA will probably hear before anyone at SWA I suspect.
The webcast quarterly conference call will occur at 1030, 19 Jan 05…should be some interesting info from our bright financial team headed by Laura Wright, Southwest Airlines Chief Financial Officer….Gary Kelly appeared at the last one but don’t know if he will help Laura with this one…she certainly doesn’t need any help with anything quite frankly…very capable.
What this means for those wishing to come to Southwest & interview…get your ducks in a row as has been said a million time…be prepared to get the call at any time, don’t despair if you haven’t heard & you applied a year ago (12 Jan 04 I believe was when the “opening season” started…some started that weekend before I believe J ), your time will come…for those thinking if “I apply now I won’t get called before these folks & I’ll wait to get my ducks in order since I’m not likely to get a call anytime soon”…bad call!!! Lots of horror stories with guys/gals getting the call very shortly after applying & not having important paperwork ready or located, thereby stressing out over the next 2-3 weeks prior to the interview…if you say you’re ready to depart holding to ATC, you better be ready to depart holding or you could turn the wrong way!!!! You don’t want to not be prepared in this situation!!!!
Congrats to those in the pool, congrats to those in the Jan interview group & good luck & thanks to the many folks who have shown interest in Southwest & are willing to put yourself & your families through the angst we all know as “waiting for the call”….pls be patient & know that the process is working its way to you….yes it would be nice to know you’re next but when the call finally comes (sooner for those with types than without in my opinion) your patience & diligence will have paid off.
As a side note…if there are any Aloha or Hawaiian furloughed folks out there looking for more info on SWA or 737 type training or military folks stationed in HI & you live in Oahu…send me a PM if you fit the bill…thanks.
Lots of disjointed info but hopefully it is useful to some of you….after the quarterly results come out I’ll try to provide some highlights for those who may have missed anything other than the big headlines from the 19th….cheers
the insight above is like most of my other insight...ponderings of an FO...if it was meant to be 
