Southwest CEO: 'I'd rather have a customer than a bag fee'

[Captzaahlie]

Nicely put....

but I believe the stupid LBB overnight comments will start in 5,4,3,2,1.....

THEN

the equally stupid paid for your job comments.

(cave man dude plz note I'm signing my comment)

captZ.

Thanks for not letting me down General.....

 

[GuppyWN]

SWA is not the norm again. Internal goal to have 20% of domestic market. Well we will see.

Dude we've already got that. The goal is 40%!

Gup

 

[Captzaahlie]

Dude we've already got that. The goal is 40%!

Gup

:beer:


Now plz get "Luv mission control" to start interviewing again

so I can be of help with that!​

 

[Stifler's Mom]

I've noticed that the "Bag Fee" commercials aren't on TV lately, replaced with the "Change Fee" ones now. I'm wondering if a move to bag fees may be on the horizon, and attack the competitors with their change fees.

 

[StopNTSing]

That is correct Rod, that is what I was trying to say. Airtran cost SWA $1.4 billion, and will cost them more when Southwest has to increase the pay for each Airtran employee to match their counterparts at Southwest. That Low Cost Operation won't be so low cost soon. Add higher oil prices, and I see extra fees sneaking in to Southwest's game plan, and a bunch of one time charges in the future.



Bye Bye---General Lee

Yet another pilot who can't seem to grasp the relationship between labor rates and labor productivity. If you look at the two airlines' flight ops cost per available seat mile, they're already pretty close. But how can this be? Because SWA's scheduling & utilization of aircraft and crews is much more efficient than AAI's. When the AAI aircraft & pilots are completely folded into the mix we will actually be short crews. This is also why we didn't have to accept pay cuts for our current contract, despite already having the highest rates in the industry. Even with the new raises our costs are still competitive within the industry. <cue sound of several legacy pilot heads exploding>

Sorry, is that being too cocky for you, General?.

 

[vikesfanIV]

I've noticed that the "Bag Fee" commercials aren't on TV lately, replaced with the "Change Fee" ones now. I'm wondering if a move to bag fees may be on the horizon, and attack the competitors with their change fees.

Nope. Gary stated in the conference call they feel they pretty well saturated the market with the "no bag fee" campaign. Now they are moving on to another one to educate everyone about our no change fee policy. This whole conversation reminds me of a few years ago when everyone talked about how "doomed" SWA was once we lost the advantage of all our fuel hedges. Now here we are talking about how doomed we are for not charging for bags. And yet we just posted a $500million+ profit for 2010. Seems to me we are doing fairly well.

 

[Max Powers]

Nothing says one has to "buy" a type rating to get hired at SWA.

No but to get the interview you virtually have to.

 

[StopNTSing]

No but to get the interview you virtually have to.

As has been pointed out here ad nauseam, you don't have to buy the type to be competitive, you just have to have the type. It can be obtained in many ways other than buying, and they all count the same in the People Dept's eyes.

But you don't have to worry about that anymore, Max.

 

[BlueandWhite]

No but to get the interview you virtually have to.

Nobody told me that. I got the interview and got "the call" without a type. So did about half of my new hire class.

Hiring requirements have not changed. Having a type helps, but is not required to get an interview.

 

[johnsonrod]

Nobody told me that. I got the interview and got "the call" without a type. So did about half of my new hire class.

Hiring requirements have not changed. Having a type helps, but is not required to get an interview.

The problem is if you do get the interview without the type, and do well, you then have to buy it if you don't already have it. That is paying for your own training. Do you disagree with that assessment?

 

[waveflyer]

The problem is if you do get the interview without the type, and do well, you then have to buy it if you don't already have it. That is paying for your own training. Do you disagree with that assessment?

Do you understand the point? They want employees who take ownership of the company. They will empower you to take care of the customer- but Swa wants you invested. You will be paid far in excess of your type rating investment in the first year- but we want pilots who are willing to bet on themselves and southwest.

You seem fixated on this- yet I made over $70k in my 1st year here.
What is it called when continental pays less than $30k and no health benefits for 6 months? How about $27k at united or $40k at Fedex, but btw- we're sending you to hong kong where a 2br apartment is $5k/month?

It's a throwback, for sure. It helped determine who really wanted to work for southwest and who just wanted a stop gap before moving on to a legacy. Can you blame them?

Now I think it has a better role- it protects against those pilots who are just here for the money and don't care to contribute to the overall corporation.

In this capitalistic society- this is swa's right and if you don't like it- don't buy the type. The market however, will probably leave you cold-

I paid for my school and all my initial ratings- I fought for a career and won. To me it's not a bad thing. It's an entrepreneurial spirit that ought to be encouraged.

Lesser companies wouldn't find the pilots willing to do it.
IMO.

 

[Quimby]

The problem is if you do get the interview without the type, and do well, you then have to buy it if you don't already have it. That is paying for your own training. Do you disagree with that assessment?

Who paid for your training?

Let me guess........your 747 capt. daddy?

 

[General Lee]

Who paid for your training?

Let me guess........your 747 capt. daddy?

You still didn't answer his question, and are actually avoiding it. You are slamming an RJ guy who called you out, and is correct. It's too bad you had to pay EXTRA (on top of other training expenses) to get your job at SWA. MOST of your pilots had to do it that way, and that really is unfortunate. Try to justify it all you want. That's like an NFL draft having to pay for initial training camp. If the team drafts you, they should pay your way.

And, unless you are Military, most parents who can afford it help pay for initial training, or college for their kids. That is common, Quimby. But, you just paid for something extra, that most don't have to pay for in this field, because companies usually pick up that tab. But hey, now there will be plenty of people in front of you that NEVER paid for their 737 type, or even their initial training. Who? Those Airtran guys in front of you on the list. Those guys HIT THE JACKPOT. Congrats!


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Bake]

I disagree with that completely. SWA paid for my training and paid me while I was in training; 4 weeks of it Dallas and then even more the first month out flying. Hell, they made me fly a whole line without being on reserve. In no case was the type rating training to fly at SWA. It was a "are you really interested in SWA" fee. I will grant you that. Later, after I was hired it became a "OK, we will hire ya, but are you really that interested?" fee. In no way was the type rating to take the place of training.

 

[Quimby]

You still didn't answer his question, and are actually avoiding it. You are slamming an RJ guy who called you out, and is correct. It's too bad you had to pay EXTRA (on top of other training expenses) to get your job at SWA. MOST of your pilots had to do it that way, and that really is unfortunate. Try to justify it all you want. That's like an NFL draft having to pay for initial training camp. If the team drafts you, they should pay your way.

And, unless you are Military, most parents who can afford it help pay for initial training, or college for their kids. That is common, Quimby. But, you just paid for something extra, that most don't have to pay for in this field, because companies usually pick up that tab. But hey, now there will be plenty of people in front of you that NEVER paid for their 737 type, or even their initial training. Who? Those Airtran guys in front of you on the list. Those guys HIT THE JACKPOT. Congrats!


Bye Bye---General Lee

Is your little RJ buddy doing any ex-Delta flying?

 

[Captzaahlie]

The problem is if you do get the interview without the type, and do well, you then have to buy it if you don't already have it. That is paying for your own training. Do you disagree with that assessment?

A lot of airlines REQUIRE you to have an ATP before applying.....

You paid for that didn't you? It was also added on the your certificate was it

not? Don't forget about the multi engine part of your ticket either, your company

required that too right? Do I need to continue?

 

[S3sundowner]

General, you really do need to get a hobby. It's so sad that you get your kicks out of baiting swa pilots on here.

 

[johnsonrod]

Who paid for your training?

Let me guess........your 747 capt. daddy?

Yes, my father paid for my initial training while I was in college, getting ratings each Summer. But after that, I was on my own, including flying crappy jobs even before I could get to my current RJ job. But I do know that if I ever brought up asking for money to buy a type for a job, he'd send me out of the room. I just don't think he would approve of anything like that. Most people don't. You probably think the Gulfstream "pay to play" deal is a good idea too.

 

[johnsonrod]

A lot of airlines REQUIRE you to have an ATP before applying.....

You paid for that didn't you? It was also added on the your certificate was it

not? Don't forget about the multi engine part of your ticket either, your company

required that too right? Do I need to continue?

So SWA requires you to pay for an ATP AND a 737 type. BOTH. PAY for BOTH. See the difference?

 

[johnsonrod]

Is your little RJ buddy doing any ex-Delta flying?

Here' a hint. I fly E145s out of IAH. Guess what airline has a large base there? Not Delta.