PBS QOL survey

[airlinepilot]

Compared to our present system at Southwest Airlines.....PBS in a big fat ZERO on scale of 1 to 10. Our system allows everyone to improve quality of life and/or gives them maximum latitude to earn more money. I have used PBS and it hopefully will never get in the door at SWA

 

[radarlove]

You probably are afraid of v-nav and EFIS too, aren't you?

 

[airlinepilot]

since you asked

I guess you meant "affraid" as in scared (not sure since you did not spell it correctly)! Which, has nothing to do with one system or the other.......just a matter of which system is the best. Additionally since you asked the question.....I have flown VNAV on a EFIS 737-700 but like PBS, it was for a company that is nothing compared to SWA.

 

[radarlove]

Um, might wanna get that spell-checker tuned up there big boy.

While you're at it, look up the term "Luddite", you'll see your own reflection.

 

[Benhuntn]

AirlinePilot
AMEN BRO!!!!!

 

[Tejas-Jet]

You probably are afraid of v-nav and EFIS too, aren't you?

Gee....didn't know that V-nav/EFIS were somehow connected to PBS...but...maybe it is in some strange way.

At my old "legacy" carrier, I flew the 737 with all the bells and whistles...and they lost tons of money, had horrible mgmt/employee relations, furloughs, rumours of the next calamity to befall the employees...and have been in BK.

Here at SWA, we don't use the A/T, or V-NAV...and we make money, save fuel, enjoy great mgmt/ labor relations, hiring like crazy, more new airplanes coming, good rumours, no ALPA, ...and 34 straight (coming up on 35) years of consistent profitability.

For what it's worth....the transition from the "legacy" "full up" 737 to the SWA way of operating was no sweat.

Tejas

 

[radarlove]

I didn't know that making money was related to v-nav or autothrottles either. Is that the point you're making?

Or is the point that staying in the 1980s, technology-wise, is always a good idea?

Here's the question you didn't answer: how much more money would SWA earn if it used technology instead of fearing it?

 

[airlinepilot]

Making more money

The issue of this post was PBS....my point about our system for trading, picking up or giving away trips makes it easy, as a pilot, to make more money or get time off. As far as VNAV or EFIS making more money......I don't think it makes any difference for us at SWA.

 

[Chest Rockwell]

I didn't know that making money was related to v-nav or autothrottles either. Is that the point you're making?

Or is the point that staying in the 1980s, technology-wise, is always a good idea?

Here's the question you didn't answer: how much more money would SWA earn if it used technology instead of fearing it?

You obviously do not know much about SWA.

 

[densoo]

Jury is still out on the recent implementation of PBS at this airline. In the biggest bases, the FO's average was programmed to be 86.5 hr/mo. Once it got through about 55% of the seniority list, the program saw it wouldn't be able to assign all the hours at that rate and bumped everyone from that point on to well above 90 hr/mo, whether they wanted it or not.

Since these can't be dropped by the pilot due to reserve coverage, there are far more trips being "advertised" in open time than before, 93 of 167 are advertised open pairings in one base and 87 of 181 in another. Of course, no one can pick them up because eveyone else already is flying near their max.

Common sense would say that a good number of these "advertised" trips will turn into sick calls throughout the month, straining the already to-the-bone staffing. If the company starts calling line pilots to fly these trips involuntarily at time-and-a-half, it would be an indication that somethings isn't working quite right. And some of the money saved by using PBS will be lost paying pilots time-and-a-half.