That's because you just sat there with your jaw open in awe of the company. Either that or you thought I'd bitch slap you if you said anything.
Thanks for ONCE keeping your mouth shut.
Gup
Gup,
I know you're just taking a swipe at the General - and he needs many - but posts like yours are what give Southwest a bad name on message boards for "we're the best" arrogance. I hate to say it, but in this case GL is correct. I used to fly for Delta and numerous times we waited for SWA crews before heading to the hotel - one of my last months there had BDL "pm's" all month and we waited 15-20 minutes each night for SWA and then made the long trek to Springfield. We didn't bitch - just the way it was and SWA crews were thankful for us waiting.
So a few years ago when I came to SWA I can't tell you how much sh!t I've taken for "Delta guys don't share the van". Maybe it has happened, but not to me in my time there.
And BTW, dedicated van is in many hotel contracts, not for crew comfort but for previous histories with crew rest issues. Delta (domestic anyway) doesn't have the lengthy layovers that we do. Some are scheduled less than 10 hours and with delays, you know how that goes. Also, especially in old days of FE's and extra FA's, crews were larger and space could be an issue. So, dedicated van - not necessarily to not share with other airlines, but mostly not to have to worry about full with pax and no space for crew, wait 30 minutes for next one, etc. - was put in contract. If our hotels blew off the "1,2,3" and just told our crews we're just getting the standard airline discount, would there be any issues??
So, not sure the current state of these contracts, but the urban "no share van " legend lives on. I just had two SLC layovers last week and shared the van with DAL both times. All was well. Their FA's were even all girls!
So, hate to burst your bubble, but van issue is no issue IMO. So, is the "we're the best and the coolest" self promotion at SWA. Same mix of pilots at both airlines, mostly good guys and the handful of as$holes mixed in.
So, I'm sure you will completely disagree with all of the above, but I am not alone in my observations. Time to give the other airline bashing a rest. We have much to learn ourselves.
BD