Could Southwest's run of profitability be coming to an end?

[Jim Smyth]

I agree, but its the yeild that counts. I hope the un-hedged fuel doesnt eat all the profits up.

 

[puddlejumper101]

There are "NO" guarantees that were made to you in Aviation! Not then and definitely not now! There are so many variables that are out of your direct control, so you are in it like the rest of it. My best advice is to do whats best for you and your family and always plan on the worst case scenario. It has served me and my family well through my 3 airlines.

My Hats off to Paul for spending 10 years of his life, time off and personal money to work for change in what he believed in. This is America, feel free to do the same with your beliefs.

Sorry for getting of the orginal intention of this thread. My Guess is 22 Million profit for the first quarter.

I was never looking for guarantees, in fact, not even the guys working the extra five years have guarantees. I do think being at SWA made a huge difference as to why the biggest pushers of 65 were SWA pilots and not any others. SWA has been very good while others have not. What I do know is the pilots that will benefit from this change are the minority. The majority of pilots will gain nothing in the end from this. 60 is just a number and so is 65...so why not get rid of a number all together? This goes with what has always happened in this industry. Airline pilots will always eat their young. Even at SWA you will see a guy that is 64 happy as can be since he has been a captain for a while flying with an F/O that is 64 that never ever upgraded...so it won't even have to do with age. The guys that made this happen saw the $$$ at the end of the tunnel knowing they were set.
This isn't about me...trust me I will be ok...the same can't be said for the guys on their third airline hanging on to the bottom for 5 to ten years. Can things change? Of course, but I have yet to hear the coalition even come close to recognizing the guys that gained nothing from their fight to work till 65.

 

[Jim Smyth]

I agree with the majority of what you say.

But everyone will have an extra 5 years earning potential no matter what seat your currently in. Whether you decide to work past 60 is a personal decision that you now have, that you didnt have before. I would assume that most Pilots, when they get to 60, have a relatively good line and are making good money,vacation,benefits. They will hang on a few years more till at least Social Security kicks in at 62. At least thats what I have been hearing around the campus with the older generation.

The guys that will be hurt by this are the guys that were planning on retiring at 60. But things change, look at most of the current pay rates now compared to 8 years ago? Pre 911. How about those pensions or lack there of now. See you cant count on anything! But from seeing allot of my fellow Pilot buds that are in that age range, most are in good shape and wouldn't mind putting a few more years in and are not ready for the farm just yet.

I am also with you for voting for no age limit. The job position should be based on performance/ability and overall health. Some guys should leave at 40 while others could do the job safely till 70. This whole age 60 that was put in place in 1959 had nothing to do with age/ability at the time. It was back doored into policy to get rid of the old so called union trouble maker pilots at AA by there CEO and his buddies in Congress.

I can tell you my father was a 2 striper (professional FE) at AA. He stayed till 64 when it was time for him to go. The last 5 years of his career he "Doubled" his retirement package! That to me is huge and worth potentially staying for. But we each have different circumstances, needs and values. So we will each get to make the call when the time is right to go.

 

[puddlejumper101]

I agree with the majority of what you say.

But everyone will have an extra 5 years earning potential no matter what seat your currently in. Whether you decide to work past 60 is a personal decision that you now have, that you didnt have before. I would assume that most Pilots, when they get to 60, have a relatively good line and are making good money,vacation,benefits. They will hang on a few years more till at least Social Security kicks in at 62. At least thats what I have been hearing around the campus with the older generation.

The guys that will be hurt by this are the guys that were planning on retiring at 60. But things change, look at most of the current pay rates now compared to 8 years ago? Pre 911. How about those pensions or lack there of now. See you cant count on anything! But from seeing allot of my fellow Pilot buds that are in that age range, most are in good shape and wouldn't mind putting a few more years in and are not ready for the farm just yet.

I am also with you for voting for no age limit. The job position should be based on performance/ability and overall health. Some guys should leave at 40 while others could do the job safely till 70. This whole age 60 that was put in place in 1959 had nothing to do with age/ability at the time. It was back doored into policy to get rid of the old so called union trouble maker pilots at AA by there CEO and his buddies in Congress.

I can tell you my father was a 2 striper (professional FE) at AA. He stayed till 64 when it was time for him to go. The last 5 years of his career he "Doubled" his retirement package! That to me is huge and worth potentially staying for. But we each have different circumstances, needs and values. So we will each get to make the call when the time is right to go.

I agree with you, there will never be a rule change or a law that is passed that will benefit everyone. Too many variables for too many people and everyone has a situation that is different. I just hope especially at SWA that no one at the bottom ends up in the street. More because I fear a collapse of brotherhood than anything else. This issue has caused quite a stir. If in the next ten years SWA stays in the black then eventually everyone will forget about when 60 was raised to 65...if however we ever got to the point where some guys lost their jobs then it can get interesting...not so much for the guys that are furloghed but for the guys that are still on campus. There will be a division in our pilot group that we have never had...so I hope it never happens. One way to start mending that possibility is for the guys that pushed 65 to make an effort to reach out and say...we got ours but have not forgotten yours. That would go a long way...I have never seen that though.

 

[Jim Smyth]

Southwest had never furloughed a single Pilot.............ever............ in 37 years! Not even after 911! We at that point carried the extra Pilots while parking planes in the desert and went to minimum bid lines.

That should tell you that we know how to take care of our own. I don't for see it happening anytime soon either unless something catastrophic happens and Gary doesn't have a choice to keep the airline running. If it does happen, there will be ALLOT worse off airlines than SWA.

 

[Jim Smyth]

There are "NO" guarantees that were made to you in Aviation! Not then and definitely not now! There are so many variables that are out of your direct control, so you are in it like the rest of it. My best advice is to do whats best for you and your family and always plan on the worst case scenario. It has served me and my family well through my 3 airlines.

My Hats off to Paul for spending 10 years of his life, time off and personal money to work for change in what he believed in. This is America, feel free to do the same with your beliefs.

Sorry for getting of the orginal intention of this thread. My Guess is 22 Million profit for the first quarter.

Profit for the first quarter is 34 Million.