Southwest Savings & Hiring Info

[chase]

Some interesting numbers that should be encouraging to those wishing to come to Southwest from a brain of an FO who knows as little as most. Some info has already been posted by others but I wanted to confirm what I've read here & some additional "rumor" info....fellow SWA folks chime in as applicable.

- Interviewing obviously continuing for Sept but in fact will continue for rest of this year & throughout '05 for the foreseeable future. Talk of adding more interviewers to the team for the long haul. (BTW, you guys are doing a great job, it is THE most important job that is going on at SWA right now, it will determine our future for years to come...keep up the good work!).

- 5 classes of 20 for the remaining part of the year. Expect a class every 2 weeks beginning 1Q'05 through Aug '05, probably longer.

- Capt upgrade classes are occurring at a rate of at least 1 class of 15-20 per month with some months have 40ish throughout next year.

- 194 "net" aircraft between '05 & end of '08, nearly an airplane a week. Currently confirmed aircraft for next year is 29 but don't be surprised if others are moved from previous year buys into the 3rd or 4th Q'05 for a net gain of more than the already announced 29 (speculation on my part)

- 2700 (previously reported) pilots added to the rolls during the same time frame....next year projections again around 450-600 depending on deliveries, retirements, growth plans, etc.

- Total number of interviews have topped out per month around the 140-150 range...more interviews will be schedule soon to allow more than 200 folks to interview per month to handle the expected increase of pilots needed for next year to fill classes.

- Costs for the month of July have trended downward to slightly below $.08 which is good. Controlling costs right now the #1 issue the company is working on & squeezing more productivity out of all areas....staff at headquarters, particular middle management is being trimmed for the first time...folks being moved from overages to undermanned areas (been happening in res ctrs & FAs already, more to follow)

- What do life perservers & barrels of oil have in common? Adding life perservers to aircraft flying along the Atlantic seaboard (greater savings) or over the G of Mexico (still some to be had) allows SWA aircraft to go out 120 miles vs the current restriction of only 50 miles (take more shortcuts) along these heavily travelled routes. Estimates are $2-3 m per month can be saved by allowing our crews to take advantage of these cost saving routes & saving fuel.

- New operational procedures have saved money in the maintenance area. If I told you why I'd have to kill you!

- We are not the only LCC carrier out there obviously & our competitors in this area are hanging in there. Southwest can not rest on its laurels & must remain competitive by controlling costs. Our pad between what our competition could charge in the past & make money versus what we could charge & make money has diminished. However, Kelly & the SWA leaders have a path outlined for Southwest to lower our costs through technology & thereby efficiencies.

- Fewer people to do the jobs we have now. Currently we have an ops agent for each flight. With technology being developed it is fathomable to believe an Capt could print out his/her weight & balance info, weather & other pertinent paperwork, review it, sign it & give it back to a ops agent that is working several flights. The autiomation of the W&B is here already & will be rolled out in more cities over the next few months. Checking people in could be handled by customer service agents in the future while ops agents are dealing with other issues specifically related to the loading & unloading of several aircraft. This isn't going to be done tomorrow or next quarter but as folks look at the process (as they are doing) recommendations will come out to how such a process could occur. We'll see if it is feasible.

- PHX is our next city to have "gate services" where ground air/power will be used vs. the APU. Largest city yet & we have nearly 1/3rd of the system complete, saving money, maintenance & resources.

The following numbers I can not confirm, they were merely repeated to me by someone who received from leaders within Southwest:

Profitability load factors: UAL - 94%, AA - 88% SWA - 65%ish

That's about all the gouge I have for now, again take it for what it is worth, I've been wrong many times before so don't buy the stock or sell the house over this.

I spoke to someone today about redoing their on-line app & if they should change a block that was previously marked "no" to one that should've been marked "yes". Will SWA track the fact one has changed the answer?

My response is this. I have no way of knowing for sure since I don't have access to the data personally. However, knowing the intent behind the electronic process & knowing the folks who designed it I could pretty much 100% guarantee that there is no "ding" for changing answers. Most importantly answer truthfully & if that means you have to go back & change an answer, do it. Don't get caught in a minor lie when a simple explanation regarding the events can make it clear to the folks reading the app what one's background is. I've been asked this before & I can't imagine a scenario in which SWA cares if a block is changed. If it requires an explanation, make it & get on with it but NEVER fill the form out knowingly in a false manner....the quickest way to get voted off the island before you even have a chance to get voted on!!!!

Good luck to all. There are many of you out there who will make great Southwest Airline employees, keep working hard at it & don't give up....the numbers are in your favor but don't be surprised if the call doesn't come this week, next or even this year but certainly the chances of getting called sometime next year look VERY good for most of you. Don't get discouraged if the phone doesn't ring, trust me, it will eventually I believe. Cheers, now go hug the kids & wife & get off the computer!!!!

 

[jp1030]

Chase,


You've been a help and an inspiration for all of us Southwest hopefuls. I was fortunate enough to get the call and I can't wait to start over with the best managed airline in the world.

Keep up the 411,

JP

 

[johnnyV]

Chase,


You've been a help and an inspiration for all of us Southwest hopefuls. I was fortunate enough to get the call and I can't wait to start over with the best managed airline in the world.

Keep up the 411,

JP

Ditto for me Chase. " Be patient" was hard to hear at the time but when THE CALL finally did come, I was more than ready for it.


Thanks a ton for the encouraging info.

JV

 

[E3Pilot]

Hey Chase, any words on when the DB for July interviews is suppose to happen?

E3Pilot

 

[capt. megadeth]

I wouldn't hold my breath for SWA....I know at least 3 people that interviewed with the type and didn't get hired. They seem to be turning people down left and right.

 

[TR4A]

allows SWA aircraft to go out 120 miles vs the current restriction of only 120 miles (take more shortcuts) along these heavily travelled routes

I think you meant 120 miles vs the current restriction of only 50 miles.

 

[saabcaptain]

capt. megadeath i still have a chance... maybe i will be 1 of 4 of people you know that does get it. i suppose i will know soon, the board i think meets august 31st. ;-) good luck to everyone, what a great place to be!!!!

 

[SkiMoguls]

hmmm...

I wouldn't hold my breath for SWA....I know at least 3 people that interviewed with the type and didn't get hired. They seem to be turning people down left and right.

When I interviewed in May, of the 12 that were there that day, 9 of us got the call.

It looks like they are hiring as many as they are turning away. They average about 150-170 interviewees and hire about 70. Remember that they encourage you to reapply in one year if you don't get on...and some of those guys are gonna get on the next time around. So the averages are pretty good. If you want to check the history on SWA it is quite a bit better than Eastern and without Lorenzo making the bad decisions.

Keep your head up man!

See ya there.

Ski

 

[chase]

TR4,


thanks for keeping me straight, I made the correction, you are correct, life perservers will allow us to go 120 miles off shore vs just 50 according to my source.

The next DB is next Tuesday, 31 Aug, as originally scheduled. Good luck to all.

Mega,

Over the past 5 years I have known of many persons with & without the type who have interviewed but were not hired, those from HPA, K&S, Aero, CPT, & other type schools.. I also know of some of these individuals who have come back the 2nd, 3rd & 4th time who were eventually hired also from many of those type schools also. That is too much effort for some, I have no argument with that fact.

What impresses me still is that (A) Southwest will even look at someone a 2nd (much less a 3rd & 4th) time even after turning someone down previously. I don't know of many airline companies that has a history of that and (B) the dedication shown by the indivduals who are willing to go through the process multiple times!!! Good on ya & it makes the job offer that much sweeter when it comes.

Of course there are those who never get hired even after multiple times, it happens no doubt. For those individuals I only wish them well.

For me, the first time I asked my wife out she didn't say yes. Now I didn't have to wait a year to ask her out again (fortunately) but I was willing to try to win her over with my charm the 2nd time (it was a sympathy date, trust me). It worked out (at least for me) & I'm glad I hung with it to convince her my initial shortcomings weren't that bad after all but that she just needed to get to know me better She couldn't resist my charm after that!!!

My point is rather simple and is no great revelation to folks in the industry who have been knocked around, Southwest, like any company has particular requirements in terms of personality, temperment, suitability with others and this is indeed a subjective process.

It isn't a question of the "system" being fair, it is a question of being consistent and meeting the needs of the company, not the applicant. Applicants are treated "fairly" because they are treated "consistently" regardless of background.

I believe they apply the selection of who gets called for an interview in a non-biased and equitable fashion that provides a diverse pool of candidates for the interviewers to review and the DB to select from. It is a rainbow of candidates and right now the pool that is generating that rainbow is rather large.

I never propose having only Southwest as your only option, that would be foolish & unwise. Food needs to appear on the table & bills need to get paid. If Southwest isn't providing the money then someone else better be or you'll have bigger problems than getting turned by Southwest.

Managing expectations and controlling the variables that allow you to achieve your goal is a real challenge and doesn't fall into everyone's lap...it does for some & they are the fortunate few but for the rest of us, it requires a strategy that isn't designed overnight and requires a thorough gameplan. You are the CEO, general manager, coach & water boy so don't go blaming others when the "only" plan you had set up fails to materialize. You better have an alternate and be prepared to execute it but that doesn't mean you can't return to the same field (Southwest) & attempt another approach with better/different preparation this time. (too many metaphors, getting dizzy, gotta go to bed!!) Good luck & good night Gracie!!!

 

[capt. megadeth]

chase,
Very good comparison between SWA and asking your wife out (I am not being sarcastic)....I never thought of that. I do think that it is b.s. though......"hmmm, you weren't good enough last time but you are now. You know what? That just doesn't work for me. Saabcaptain would understand (he knows me ).

James,
I hope you are one out of 4 I know who does get called. 1. I like you and you are a good pilot. They would be foolish to turn you down 2. I need my household income to increase know what I mean?

 

[chase]

Capt,


Pls don't tell my wife I compared her to a job!!!! I might be looking for a new wife vs. a new job

Our society teaches us today that when rejection occurs we immediately assume "we're not good enough" for them/it/they/whomever. When one steps back and does some thoughtful reflection I believe if we look at the situation with a bit more reason we can come to a different and useful conclusion.

What really happens in our own lives when we are faced with choices? We "choose" or "select" things/people for all types of various reasons. Why one chooses the gas station we stumble across...probably for price/convenience maybe? This doesn't mean the gas station we stop at has outstanding customer service, is a legitimate business person or that we have some longing to help this person out & reach their career goals. The station has met a particular need for the "customer", that is the owner of the car. There is no value statement in making our selection, at least from our standpoint.

Otherwise every time the owner of the competing stores saw "customers" going into his competitors stores he would be truly upset at the rejection, the choice made by the "customer". An acquaintance maybe running the other store but if you as a customer don't believe the other store is meeting your reasonable expectations, then you're not going to choose them. Sometimes it is about friendship but most of the time the choice is made with very different reasons.

Not just in business but in dealing with people. We make "discriminatory choices" all the time in our daily dealings with people, who we sit next to on the van going to the airport, on the airplane, the food we choose on the menu....we don't place value judgements (not all value judgements have a negative or positve connotation in the sense they are of intrinsic worth) on these items but merely as the person who is responsible for the choice we make hundreds of decisions everyday that involve the same sort of unemotional, yet valid choices that suit "our" needs.

No one considers us as being unreasonable in making these choices unless they are done in an offensive type of manner. Treating people with respect is always a requirement I believe and I think Southwest does that in its dealing with its applicants, even more so than other airlines. I believe there are those who have posted on here who would say the same thing.

When one goes into an interview it is much like a "customer" going into a restaurant and looking at a menu. No one likes to think of themselves as an item on a menu believe me but the analogy is apt I believe. One presents oneself as best you can with all the trimmings to the "customer", Southwest (through the interviewers). If they choose you, great, if they don't it doesn't mean you weren't worthy...or else not a single person who was ever turned down would've been hired by Southwest (or any employee for any company) on the 2nd time around.

Because one doesn't choose an item from the menu doesn't mean you only "like" one item on the menu (even if you could have multiple ones), it is that on that given day you "desired", "favored", "preferred" the particular item you chose. The next time the customer goes into the restaurant the exact same person could & may chose a different item...that is why Southwest has so many different interviewers so as to make sure the same "items" (candidates) aren't being preferred over another that still meets the need of the customer.

Southwest on that given day (through its interviewers) are making the same type of assessment. They aren't placing a value judgement on your worth, ability to contribute, flying skills...they are simply saying we either find enough characteristics about you that make us forward your name on to a decision board or we don't...nothing more nothing less. This doesn't mean they don't like you or failed to find value in you. They obviously did or else you wouldn't be at the interview, remember? You had to have some qualitiies (very objective though they be) that they thought were of value just as we have minimum level of standard for the choices we make in life.


As the "customer" they are doing this without the emotional baggage that as the interviewee obviously has. Trying to remove oneself from that rejection is obviously difficult but shouldn't be a showstopper when viewed within the context I've described. Trust me the interviewers for the most part "like" most of the applicants they come across but it isn't merely about "liking" someone, it is much more, i.e. that is why it is a difficult job. Would you want your daughter to bring home every boy she met & introduce them to you? I hope not!

The process is much more personal than merely choosing items on a menu, I'll grant you that. However I've attempted to remove some of the emotion from the process and while that is difficult, it is important if one is to deal with the prospect of rejection or success. At the end of the day we do develop a great deal of our self-worth out of the acceptance or rejections we receive in life.

However, just as no Olympic athlete competing in Greece has ever not experienced the bitter taste of defeat, most have used that experience to move on & now do something most of us would love to be able to do, represent our country to the world (my salute to our Olympians!) but it didn't come without rejection & defeat. Sometimes it can't be overcome as the many thousands of folks who competed but never got on an Olympic team (me in my dreams) but it doesn't translate I believe to a desire to not compete for something I believe is worth pursuing.

I'm not trying to convert you to my line of thinking trust me, just another perspective as someone who has attempted to help a few folks & deal with both the upside of the process and downside. Good luck in the pursuit of your flying career.

 

[Stash]

TR4,



For me, the first time I asked my wife out she didn't say yes. Now I didn't have to wait a year to ask her out again (fortunately) but I was willing to try to win her over with my charm the 2nd time (it was a sympathy date, trust me). It worked out (at least for me) & I'm glad I hung with it to convince her my initial shortcomings weren't that bad after all but that she just needed to get to know me better She couldn't resist my charm after that!!!

Chase, you too? She said no to me too, but, I'm still hopeful! I wasn't going to wait a year either! JUST KIDDING!!!! Thanks for all the info Bro, it's helped a lot of us. Hopefully I'll be at the Renaissance in Oct, looking forward to starting ANOTHER great career. I've been in the military for 21 years, hope to do another great 17 with SWA before I hit 60! Fly safely brudda! Cheers,

 

[jp1030]

TR4,



looking forward to starting ANOTHER great career. I've been in the military for 21 years, hope to do another great 17 with SWA before I hit 60! Fly safely brudda! Cheers,

Glad to see I won't be the only "old fart" in the group....

JP

 

[Lear70]

- 5 classes of 20 for the remaining part of the year. Expect a class every 2 weeks beginning 1Q'05 through Aug '05, probably longer.

Any idea of how many are currently swimming? Just trying to see how long most people are having to wait between "the call" and class...

- What do life perservers & barrels of oil have in common? Adding life perservers to aircraft flying along the Atlantic seaboard (greater savings) or over the G of Mexico (still some to be had) allows SWA aircraft to go out 120 miles vs the current restriction of only 50 miles (take more shortcuts) along these heavily travelled routes. Estimates are $2-3 m per month can be saved by allowing our crews to take advantage of these cost saving routes & saving fuel.

Does that mean the question in the LOI scenario between MSY and TPA will go away?

Thanks for everything, once again. You ROCK!

 

[Judge]

Capt M,

Maybe one of the interviewers just didn't click with you, or whoever, the first time. The next group of interviewers the next week may have a completely different opinion. Or maybe, you, or whoever, just had a bad day. I'd be happy to get another chance if I get shot down.

 

[SWA/FO]

Chase for SWAPA President!!!! I'm writing you in

 

[chase]

Sorry I offended you!!!! Not even my wife talks to me that harshly!

thanks for your words of encouragement to those on here who are asking for advice, MLB, yourself & others do a great job of keeping the info flowing. Southwest isn't perfect but at least I believe the likes of guys like you and the other of us on here who try to provide some glimpse into the airline help some folks out and get Southwest the type pilots we need. After all, it is an "interview board"!!! Cheers, time to go cut weeds!!!