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TZ
To get new hiring we need to use the excess in the system which as indicated is occurring. I agree, no new hiring in '10 but it bodes well for probable hiring in '11 if things continue in an upward momentum.

Just an example of the potential that is out here. In BOS we started with 10 flts and 1 gate. We have 2 gates now and 16 flts now. By Sept 10 SWA will have increased to 25 flts and 3 gates. SWA has access to 2 more gates right next door that could result in 50 flts total. Load factor upper 70%.....AE is shuting down their BOS-STL twice aday in Jul after SWA has been flying the same route for 2 months giving SWA exclusivity. By end of 3Q10STL will be within 10-15 flts of its peak prior to 9/11. SWA will have the entire C concourse in DEN (minus the one Delta won't give up) in 3Q10.

No 100% certain for '10 new hires but odds look good for sooner rathedr than later in '11.

Keep the faith poolies!!!
 
Just finished a three day trip and had 2 check airmen ride upfront. Both said that the training dept. has been asked when and how many clases they can handle and that as of now maybee two classes before the end of the year.
 
bravodude said:
Just finished a three day trip and had 2 check airmen ride upfront. Both said that the training dept. has been asked when and how many clases they can handle and that as of now maybee two classes before the end of the year.
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Dude, do you realize you are gonna disrupt the universe by all this kool-aid, glass is half full, the sky is not falling kind of talk?


SLC
:cool:
 
If true, this is great news. Good luck to the folks at SWA. Any glimmer of good news coming out of the airline job market is always welcome...
 
SELFloadingCRGO said:
Dude, do you realize you are gonna disrupt the universe by all this kool-aid, glass is half full, the sky is not falling kind of talk?


SLC
:cool:
Click to expand...

Tanker Clown will fix this positive trend in news! lol
 
I see SWA in San Juan, Santo Domingo, Mexico City, and Cabo within 18 months. There are just too many low costs leaving the lower 48 for them not to follow. Its a kin to leaving cash on the table.

As for destinations beyond the high frequency of the named above it will be interesting to see how they pull it off. Many Carribean destinations wont support more than 3 flights a day. There just isn't the traffic. Further the Carribean and leisure Mexico markets are low yields and often frequent flyer expenditures.

It will be interesting to see what the SWA map looks like in 2015.
 
TZtoSWA said:
I bid reserve in April again on purpose. I flew 3 that's right count em 3 days. They did not use me on my reserve blocks for three weeks in a row. It has been this way for a few months now. April was not the only time this has happened to me. I went back to a hardline for May to do some flying for a change. There is no way we need to hire with reserve utilization this low in some of the bases.

The Manager of pilot hiring was in my buddy's jump seat last month. He said NO classes for 2010 planned at this time. All subject to change of course but he was expecting nothing for a year. I want new hires here as much as anyone but seriously all information from the GO says it's not going to happen this year.
Click to expand...

Where are you based? I need to go there. Out west I fly my you know what off.
 
slaquer5 said:
Some of us don't want 100- 110 tfp a month. I personality like to average 85 - 90 tfp tops. Summer way less. :) Enjoy life it comes at you fast....
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You and I think the same brother. Drinking beer and chilling on the lake with the family.
 
I have 11 days off during the April-May carry over. So I was legal for just about ANYTHING. I was in LAS for 3 days over the weekend for my Bachelor Party. I was called 9 times for JA just out of MDW! CRAZY! That was the most I have ever been called in almost 4 years.
 
While utilization is obviously one main component of hiring, you also need to ask what the future "optimum" manning is going to be. Did SWA have it right in 2008, or were they too lean or too fat? After the wicked pullback of the economy in 2008, I think many airlines will be slower to hire extra bodies and will accept hiring amouts of "premium" flying, even when flying returns to former levels. What was "normal" in 2007 may no longer be the normal manning equation. There will be fewer jobs, but those jobs will likely be more lucrative.

As for a merger with AirTran... With everyone is a rush to "get big" right now, does anyone think that the smaller niche carriers might actually have some advantages? The city pairs that originally had DL/NW competion or CAL/UAL competition probably have a lot higher yields now. Once those yields get to a certain level, companies like SWA, FL, and B6 can offer services and compete on both price and service. I'm a pilot--not an airline analyst, but if the majors going from 4 to 2 increases prices on some routes, it opens doors for more competition from SWA. Being nimble might just be more profitable that being big for the next few years... (insert crude sexual allegory here).
 
Albie,

SWA's efficiency in terms of duty day, trips for pay, hrs flown was around its optimum in mid-2008. Griping by some we were working too hard but the bottom line was SWAPA pilots were the most productive they have ever been and were making the most money....fast forward to now when we have received pay increases and other "soft pay" increases with JA, VJA, charter, overfly pay....the question below is a tough one to answer.

How hungry will our pilots be if we're getting paid more per hour now than then? Will the pilots go back to that work schedule? Will SWA pilots become what is the industry standard, "pay the most, work the least" and expect management to live with that? Who knows.

Not trying to be sanctimonious and while we ALL joke about that philosophy, nearly all of the SWA pilots realize it is counter productive to a healthy business model for an airline or any business.

The last point you made is very valid, case in point with this bit of free market pricing by USAir and UAL.

A walkup fare for this Friday, May 7 from BOS-PHL (273 miles) non-stop on US Air, $1127 and UAL.

A 3 week out fare for Friday, May 28 from BOS-PHL non-stop on US Air, UAL, $1127.

You can pay less, $246 on both dates for 1 stop service on both carriers but for 273 miles, who wants to do that!!!

Fly on June 27, 2010 on either US Airways or UAL and the fare drops to $159.40 on 6 of their 11 non-stop flights.

The other 5 flights vary in price from $167 to $206 for non-stop service.

UAL 5 lowest non-stop flights are $189.41 and the lone other non-stop is at $643 (around 4 PM...will point out later why this is important).

Fees for baggage, drinks, food are as follow:
1st bag 2nd bag Preferred seating
$25$35$5–$30• Beverage/Snack $2–$7
• Oversize/Overweight bag $100–$200

Why the change? Price of oil dropping? Employees working for free? Nope, you guessed it.....

On Sunday, June 27 SWA begins service from BOS-PHL with 5 flights a day! Great news for PHL and BOS pax. :cool::beer:

Lowest fare on the Southwest.com website is $159.40 with the most expensive listed (fully refundable) $321.40.

No bag fees, no fee for food/non-alcohol drinks, $15-$20 for business select to be among the first 15 persons to board.

SWA has a gap between 2:30 PM and 6 PM of no flights...i.e. UAL squeezes in their very affordable $643 fare then...hope the businessman really needs to travel then...BOS-PHL commuters, I just found your preferred flight to fly on starting June 27th, your welcome.

There are city pairings out there that are dominated by the other carriers that SWA is not flying. Once SWA can optimize the schedule even more and re-flow resources to those, SWA will be able to capture market share and start winning more pax over.

With shrinkage (no Seinfield jokes please, my wife would be embarrassed) occurring in overall seats as a result of UAL-CAL, DAL-NWA, it allows SWA and other low cost carriers do have the opportunity to gain some % of those seats. 1% gain equals $800m for SWA.

What's the bet that SWA be the largest carrier between BOS-PHL in the next year? Just one simple example that proves your point Albie (Yoda). Not bad for an airline pilot and fighter guy too!!
 
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For those who haven't seen the most recent numbers of domestic shares:


UAL 17.7 % (after merger)
DAL 16.1 %
SWA 14.6%
AA 13.9%
USA 7.9%

The remaining 29.8% is flown by AAI, AK, Allegiant, Jetblue, Spirit and Frontier planes (not the RJ partners for other mainline, ie. Republic RJs).
 
I was in Boston this week. We have 2 gates. 3 starting soon and 5 by the end of summer. Our 5 flights a day PHL/BOS has already been expanded (even before launch of service) to 8 flights a day starting August 16th!

Somebody grab a towel to dry the poolies!

Get 'er done,
Gup
 
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The Lines for June SUCK. No 20 day off line and very few 19 day off lines. A bunch of 18 day off lines, which makes me think - they need to hire some folks so I can get back to my 20 days off lines.
 
When it's been this long between class dates-- who throws the party for the 1st class?
 
waveflyer said:
When it's been this long between class dates-- who throws the party for the 1st class?
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JMO---The Pilots that are getting to go to upgrade because we are hiring should. :beer:

....That is if we have an upgrade class considering all of the down-grades that have happened.

There will be a party. Don't worry.
 
Hell, at this point, I would almost bet that the new hire class would pay for it (me probably being one of them)!

I'm sure that would be too much of a breach of protocol though.
 
Plus after the USAirways DAL slot swap fiasco, DCA will be SWA's newest city real soon. It happened before and I think it is starting to happen again. SWA is positioning themselves to pounce on whatever opportunity that comes up. They always do this, especially when other carriers are making it easy for them. The only difference this time around is the economy was keeping them from pulling the trigger last year. They were being extra careful, but now with the latest earning reports, plus this merger deal between CAL and UAL, SWA is like a shark in the middle of a chum pool...LOOK OUT.
 
puddlejumper101 said:
Plus after the USAirways DAL slot swap fiasco, DCA will be SWA's newest city real soon. It happened before and I think it is starting to happen again. SWA is positioning themselves to pounce on whatever opportunity that comes up. They always do this, especially when other carriers are making it easy for them. The only difference this time around is the economy was keeping them from pulling the trigger last year. They were being extra careful, but now with the latest earning reports, plus this merger deal between CAL and UAL, SWA is like a shark in the middle of a chum pool...LOOK OUT.
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That and more service to LGA -- how ironic that by intentionally trying to keep SWA out of the DCA/LGA slots they will likely have to sell some of those slots to SWA !!
 

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