Southwest Plans Mexico Codeshare

[B727Driver]

Hack the clock...you are still not hired.

With all your international experience, please don't waste your time with SWA. I think you are needed somewhere else. Apply at Delta. I can see it now, Capt General Lee and Tanker Clown on their way across the pond. The boys and gals at SWA would be so thankful.

 

[castle bravo]

Southwest Airlines Announces Codeshare And Some Pilots Are Not Happy

Today we have a new subject to talk about.
Well, I guess the main topic is a familiar one. Pilots who are not happy with things that management is doing for, er, to them.
But in this case, the players on the playing field have changed.
You may have read the news release yesterday in which Southwest Airlines announced a new codeshare agreement with Volaris -- a Mexican airline.
In the release Monday, Southwest said that the airlines will coordinate flight schedules and reservation systems, allowing Southwest customers to book flights to Mexico using both carriers. Volaris currently serves cities including Mexico City, Tijuana, Cancun, Guadalajara, Mexicali and Acapulco.

But wait just a minute.
Who stands to lose potential flying if the airline goes ahead with this codeshare agreement, as well as the agreement already announced with WestJet?
That's right. Southwest Airlines' pilots.
Today the PlaneBusiness email box has received more than a fistful of emails from Southwest pilots who are not happy campers. To say that this is an unusual occurrence would be a hefty understatement.
Here is an excerpt from one of the longer notes:

"In really simple terms, and feel free to use it (just don’t credit me, a bit of a witch hunt going on here), it should not be called Code Sharing, but Outsourcing.

[Southwest CEO] Kelly and SWAPA negotiated a codeshare (outsourcing) agreement in the new contract during the initial current negotiations. This was about a year ago. He stated publicly that even though it had not been voted on, that he would honor that agreement. He has since come back to our negotiators and said he wants to re-negotiate that portion of the new contract. Meanwhile, he is doing all the codesharing (outsourcing) he can while he “slow rolls” our contract negotiations.
WestJet has announced 15% growth after our agreement with them.
Volaris says they will double in size.
Kelly cut 6% of our flying.
Now the rumor is that Republic is negotiating with Kelly to take over our short haul intra-Texas flying.
I am a 20+ year guy and am really disgusted with what is going on here. I spent several years at a Lorenzo airline and am seeing parallels that I thought would never happen here. The line employees realize they are just numbers to Kelly."
​

Where is the LUV?
Yes it's now been two years and counting and there is still no new contract between the pilots and the company. From the sound and tone of the notes we received this morning, it sounds like maybe the tone from the pilots' side has just taken a little turn towards a more defensive posture.
Posted by Holly at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

 

[castle bravo]

Pilots Case of "Codeshare Blues"

Earlier this week I talked about how I had been rather inundated with emails from Southwest Airlines' pilots (and other employees) concerning the airline's announced codeshare agreement with Mexican carrier Volaris.
Since that time, the email bag has continued to fill up.
Now, not only am I hearing from pissed off Southwest pilots, I'm hearing from other Southwest pilots who tell me, "Well, if you have the highest paid pilot group in the country, what do you expect Gary Kelly to do?" One Southwest pilot wrote me, "You can't have it both ways. We are blessed with the contract that we have and have had. But reality is what it is. And if the airline can fly shorter-haul routes more cheaply using pilots from other airlines -- guess what the airline is going to do."
So both sides of the argument are making their voices heard.
But even one Southwest Airlines' pilot who talked about how the pilots should not be surprised, given their current compensation level also acknowledged that "Gary blew it." A lot of the comments coming into me this week have talked about how after negotiating an agreement as part of the continuing negotiations between the airline and the pilots on a new contract that would allow codesharing -- that Gary apparently then went back to the union again wanting to renegotiate the deal -- and this is where things have now begun to unravel. Meanwhile, the airline stepped up and announced the codeshare with WestJet this summer.
And then there are pilots from other airlines. The notes from you folks tend to go something along these lines, "It's about time the guys at Southwest joined the rest of us. Welcome to the club."
As for the pilot union at Southwest, SWAPA president Carl Kuwitsky said in a letter issued Wednesday,

"While this announcement is yet another step in previously announced plans by the Company to form multiple codeshare alliances, it leaves a very unsettled feeling with many in our pilot group including your SWAPA leadership. In fact, it is very problematic for me personally and as a leader of our pilot group. Codeshare has the potential to severely affect the career of all pilots on our seniority list. At a time when our Company has stated publically that we are not planning to grow in 2009, we have embraced yet another codeshare partner who will benefit significantly from the codeshare partnership by experiencing double digit growth while our pilot group experiences negative growth with the capacity reduction in January. I cannot support these efforts and the cost to our pilots. Our Company needs to be committed to growing Southwest Airlines, not codeshare partners.
Volaris is mostly an unknown to our pilot group and your leadership. It is a two year old carrier with 19 Airbus 319/320 aircraft. They serve 23 cities in Mexico focusing on smaller satellite airports. One very troubling aspect to this announcement is that our Company is risking brand dilution by association with an unknown carrier. Our Company’s experience with ATA via a codeshare agreement resulted in numerous customer service and operational problems that reflected poorly on Southwest Airlines which adversely affected our brand. Additionally, when ATA went out of business, thousands of customers were holding itineraries sold by Southwest that could not be completed. Clearly the association with ATA reflected poorly on our Company. While Volaris may turn out fine, it does nothing to satisfy membership angst over potential brand dilution due to poor customer service or operational issues, especially when we could do some transborder flying and completely control our brand image. As employees all of us have worked very hard to build what we know as Southwest Airlines. We take great pride in our Company and what we have built. Our Company has a great responsibility to maintain that positive brand image. I must say that I am dismayed that the Company would risk its image by associating with such a young, unknown carrier."
​

This contract should have been wrapped up way before now. But it has now dragged on so long that the airline is looking at simultaneously trying to negotiate three major employee contracts at the same time. While the airline is now watching previously agreed upon sections of the pilot contract apparently go poof!, the TWU, which has been negotiating a new contract for ground workers at the airline, just asked, along with the airline, for the National Meditation Board to help in those stalled talks.
Then there are the flight attendants. Negotiations continue between TWU 556 and the company on a new contract there. Not much progress has been made as far as we can tell. According to the union's website, "...it is clear that we are still far apart on our Economic Proposals...."
Posted by Holly at 5:

 

[Quimby]

Hack the clock...you are still not hired.

With all your international experience, please don't waste your time with SWA. I think you are needed somewhere else. Apply at Delta. I can see it now, Capt General Lee and Tanker Clown on their way across the pond. The boys and gals at SWA would be so thankful.

great idea.:beer:

 

[relief tube]

This is a joke! WestJet ok but Volaris??? Southwest pilots should be flying this stuff.

You mean 1's ok but 2 aren't? Or is it b/c canadians are ok but Mexicans working it aren't?

I normally don't like loosing potential growth to a "partner", but I think this is actually rational.

This year SW has thrown a bunch of new planes on direct routes that already have 2, 3, or even 4 existing competitors (MSP-Chicago and everything out of DEN to name 2), along with 2 stop service that up to 8 or 9 airlines already serve....and now Canada and Mexico.

There's already 8 or 9 ways to get to a lot of these Canadian and Mexican destinations, do we really need a 10th airline to get to us Vancouver?

 

[Tanker Clown]

Hack the clock...you are still not hired.

With all your international experience, please don't waste your time with SWA. I think you are needed somewhere else. Apply at Delta. I can see it now, Capt General Lee and Tanker Clown on their way across the pond. The boys and gals at SWA would be so thankful.

By the time I retire, Delta guys will definitally be making a lot more than SWA. It looks like 5 years from now, pay rates at SWA will be at '06 levels. The way things are going, SWA could very well be smaller. Things are getting ugly at SWA. Maybe people will use it as a stepping stone again now that upgrades for new hires are in the 15-20 year range.

But I'm not really telling you anything you don't already know.

 

[B727Driver]

With that being said, I guess you won't be needing you Check Airman friend to walk your stuff in and the SWA pilots won't have to put up with you. Everybody wins.

 

[Tanker Clown]

I'll probably still work at SWA. The pay may be down, but with my retirement check that's ok. I'll work for whatever. I like their domociles better. But if things don't improve there, and there's more labor unrest, I may have to think about it. There's no way I'm carrying a picket sign.

 

[GuppyWN]

That's OK "bro". I've got your back. I'll carry two picket signs.

Gup

 

[Tanker Clown]

Do you have to pay dues at Southwest? If I have a choice, I'd rather spend the money on other stuff.