Man..The SWA pool bunch is sure quiet..

[MLBWINGBORN]

Ok guys and gals..

Ive had about all this quite i can stand..

Heck.. You guys arnt even whining!!!I guess you all have passed out or drowned..

I gonna be on reserve in PHX the whole month of May and thats just not fittin into my lifestyle..So you are just gonna have to go to school after they announce a profit on the 18th..

To give you a little heads up..The union is already up in arms about the pilot shortage last summer when everybody was flying their butts off and the reserves and JAs were totally out of control..

They are saying its gonna be worse this summer and that they arnt gonna allow it to happen again..My guess is that they are gonna be watching the reserve and JAs very close and will already have the grievance paper work in hand...

I suspect that the closer to the contract date the tighter the union is gonna hold the company to the contract and this summer may be the opening round so to speak..

I hope everyone is doing well..Kinda hard to tell from here..I cant even see any bubbles in the pool..

SO..Stir it up out there kids..Make some phone calls..Post some rumors..Get busy trying to find more poolies to add to the list..

I dont here any splashing at all out there..

Ok now..Stroke..Stroke..Hey...You in back..Yeah you..The Navy guy..Thats not what i had in mind there dude..

Ok..Now lets try it again..Stroke .. stroke..

Hang in there you guys...Its gonna happen sooner than you think..

Mike
MLBWINGBORN

 

[w8n4swa]

Mike,

Thanks for the news. It's good to hear good news these days. Even though we're all very happy to be here, I think we've all sorta submerged for a while from the news of "No more classes till August or Sept". I believe it would be easier to look back after getting there than to look ahead...some of us have been unemployed for quite some time (luckily I'm working), and this has been toughter than we thought it would be.

Check back Thursday night...my guess is we'll see alot of people coming up for air after the report comes out.

My fingers are crossed!

Have fun in PHX...great place to be!

 

[flydog]

Itll be even quieter when the majors start recalling

 

[zymotic]

MLBWINGBORN,

I take it you were awarded PHX? Is it true you were in a Jan. class? So you only spent about 1 or 2 months in OAK?

 

[chazworth]

MLBWINGBORN-

Quiet yes, but still splashing! I am taking advantage of the slack time-no news time (until the 18th) to wack away at the honey-do list and to convince my wife I do more than just sit and read this board all day...pretty sad, huh?

Regarding reserves and your post...are you flying or riding the couch? I have a bud in BWI that has been bidding reserve the past few months for family reasons and says he is not flying at all. Said may be one part of the reasons no classes for a spell (=enough pilots). What do you think?

One last question, did you have any former furloughed guys in your class? I am and haven't flown in many months (FS2000 doesn't count) and am wondering how "challenging" the box will be. I anticipate very, and am hoping the training dept understands a little

Keep the info coming and thanks for keeping us motivated!

Chazworth
"A smoking hole is a small price to pay for a s--t hot manuever"

 

[Seeniner]

MLBWINGBORN,
Huh? Sitting reserve doesn't fit into your lifestyle? I'm guessing there are plenty of folks whose lifestyle it would fit into right now.

 

[MLBWINGBORN]

Nice to hear from you guys..

I was thinking you all had went under..

Let me answer the questions first..

I started class on Jan 31st..I was awarded Oak as was most of my class as well as the class in front of mine..I think a total of 40 went to Oak..
I was awarded PHX for May and got an a.m reserve line..I have heard that the reserve flying is mixed depending on the base..Im told BWI is pretty slow right now..Ive also been told its mixed in PHX..I have also been told that all this will change as the summer goes on and everybody will be flying..

I will let you know what happens when i get the PHX and see for myself whats going on..

Im trying to get BWI and it looks like i should be able to hold it in June..

As far as the sims..

SWA hires all kinds of people..Military that have flown single seaters and not flown anything but a desk recently to current and qualified in the 737 to former airline and or furloughed folks..
The failure rate is almost too low to measure..

The whole training program is set up for success and not failure..The only way you can bomb out is to have a bad attitude and bring bad habits to training..You now work for SWA and telling them how they used to do it at a former employer is a sure way to find the door..

As far as how hard the overall program is all i can say is this..DO what they tell you when they tell you and say yes sir can i have another..The rest will either be taken care of or take care of itself..They will not let it be their fault that you didnt make it..

If you need help or say another CPT or sim..SO what..No harm,no foul..They are truly there to help and will do so without it counting against you..

I see that some of you are military and as far as you guys the only problem seems to be in the area of Jeppesen charts..

If you have never used them you are way behind the curve..I would highly recomend spending a few bucks and either borrowing or buying the Jepp home study tapes..May as well..You are going to have to learn them for the rest of your time at SWA anyway..Take advantage of your time waiting for a class and learn your Jepps..They have a set to borrow at the training center but i think that might be a little too late to start..

If you have been flying turbo props.. slowing down and coming down is going to be a big change for some of you..The 737 wont do both..Give yourself plenty of room for awhile..Be down early ..Even in the sim..

As far as what to study now..

Get John Pansmiths PASS cards..Eveybody uses them and they are a great way to learn what you need to know..If you have his cards and have both the green and red hashed items down cold you will be way ahead of the game..

As far as what i think is going to happen..

From what i have seen flying around i see nothing but expansion and growth..They are going to need all of you guys and gals in the pool and then some really soon..Yeah..Seems a little slow right now..Watch out for the summer travel season..That plus the profitable first Q is going to help empty the pool..

I may lose my bet with Dan.. but not buy much i would guess..

Anybody got any questions send me a PM and i will try to answer them or if i cant i will find someone that can..

Hang in there..Be well..

Mike
MLBWINGBORN

 

[SiouxFlyer]

Poolie List

Mike,

Good hearing from you and others on this thread. I just e-mailed you my info for your poolie list. It is a great idea by the way.

I do have a question though. Do you, or anyone else have any idea what the actual (approx.) number of poolies is?

Take care and enjoy PHX. I'm off to Miami next week to get my type.

 

[MLBWINGBORN]

Lets see..

The number ive heard pretty often is around 250..Im not sure i agree with it but ive heard that one the most..
My"guess" would be around 200 is more likley..

I will see if i can find out a "real"number in the next few days..I havnt asked lately so im about due to bug some resources..

Mike

 

[KLJ]

Hello Poolies & Other Interested Parties --

I keep hearing the negative vibes from everyone (including the Company at times), but what I'm seeing out on the line is all positive. The news the Company puts out on the street is ALWAYS doom & gloom compared to how things actually turn out.

It's kind of like going to a popular restaurant -- they usually tell you the wait's gonna be longer than it actually is -- so when they call you you're pleasantly surprised. I have found the same to be true with SWA. The Company's ultra-conservative -- which you gotta LUV -- but it sure stinks when you're waiting for that class date.

Even if we don't announce a profit tomorrow (although I think we will), we are going to be head-and-shoulders above the rest of the industry's 1st qtr performance, and I believe good things will start happening very soon.

I'm in my sixth month now and I've been a reservist at BWI for all but my first month. I keep hearing that the reserves aren't being used, but I haven't found that to be true at BWI. I put "Pass" on my board (meaning I do NOT want to be called), but I have been used every time but 3 since January 1st. I have noticed the reserves seem to be pretty underused at HOU, but it's not been the case for me at BWI. (Maybe it's because I'm a WEEKENDer though.)

One more comment about the reserve thing; take it for what it's worth. During my entire tenure, I have only been called ONCE to do what a reserve is actually supposed to do -- fill in for someone who's sick, go get a broke jet, etc. Every other time, all I have done is to pick up the Company's open trips which were not filled via the normal schedule, extra fly or daily open time. That tells me we don't have enough pilots to fill out the normal schedule.

Just a few observations from a FNG and worth what you pay for them!

Hang in there, folks!

KJ