Southwest to Newark!

[Quimby]

Maybe you need to look at current financials. DL has more cash on hand than Southwest, is very close in market cap, and will have another huge quarter, making more cash than SWA by far. $90 million was placed into the profit sharing section for employees for last quarter, with the same amount probably for Q3. I think you may want to watch CNBC more oftern, or just read Yahoo finance. Really. And, DL is hiring currently. How about SWA? When will you guys hire again? Larry said not through 2012. Stagnation......



Bye Bye---General Lee

http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/Ratios.jsp?tkr=DAL

http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/Ratios.jsp?tkr=LUV

It's great to have tons of cash, but what about the debt?

When was the last time DL furloughed? What about SWA?

 

[DHPFLYN]

Now...I don't remember exactly, but somehow, I remember that SWA came up with something in the neighborhood of 450 million dollars bond money backing to finance the modernization of MDW airport, and I don't recall anyone else coming up with anywhere near that kind of cash (let alone any) to help...anyone care to jump in here???


Just sayin!...

That's because you needed to repair the wall you crashed through so I guess you figured you needed to make some more improvments.

 

[Whataburger]

I guess you haven't seen lately that the RJ problem has taken care of itself. Comair will be cut in half. (49 50 seaters will go away) Freedom Air stopped flying two days ago (22 ERJs gone). More and more are going away, and DL has divested itself of all other RJ operations (Compass and Mesaba). That argument of yours is getting weaker. And I hope we hire every one of them, even if we start hiring 5 yrs from now. I will persnally do what I can to get this done. You seem proud these folks are gonna be out of a job? You let them on the property. I be you are the type to adopt a dog from the shelter, and then dump it in a field when you realize it was not the perfect dog.

The Next DL Contract will start talks within the next few months, and is due to expire in 2012. How long will it take? Good question. Lots of growth in the mean time, with a lot more planes coming. How about you guys? A lot more planes and new 738s? Will they replace old 733s and 735s? Yeah. Oh well for you guys.
The Geezer Meter will be long gone when yall get a contract. You really think Delta is gonna hand over a contract? Hiring: We hire only when we need pilots and it makes long term sense. Seems that airlines like to hire until they furlough. Sound familiar.
And your safety record is ok, but your mx record SUX. Should I bring back the article that stated you had 47 planes flying around that should have been checked for cracks, and 6 actually did have bad cracks? Would you like me to refresh your memory? Quit bragging. For a company that is so rich and gives dividends every quarter, how about complying with FAA MX procedures? Come on now.
Actually a our safety record is remarkable and, yes, our mx record has a black eye or two. There is not perfect airline. I am not braggert, I am only stating the facts. Sorry if they make you uneasy.

Bye Bye--General Lee

Bottom line: Neato-mosquito you work for Delta and fly to neato-mosquito places. For some of us, being a pilot produces a paycheck. I try not to tell people I'm a pilot. I saw flying as a way I could make a paycheck for 40 yrs. I reasearched the airlines. SWA has never furloughed, their people loved their job, they pay well, they plan very conservatively, and have historically grown consistantly. That was worth a $7k gamble for me. That's it.

 

[General Lee]

http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/Ratios.jsp?tkr=DAL

http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/Ratios.jsp?tkr=LUV

It's great to have tons of cash, but what about the debt?

When was the last time DL furloughed? What about SWA?

Sure, there is debt, and we paid off some last quarter. I am sure Southwest will have some debt after replacing all of your old 733s and 735s with new 737-700s and maybe 738s. I doubt you will pay cash for all of them. (DL just paid cash for 2 777s) IF you don't think airline accounting is a chess game, then you are a newbie. Airline Execs can move money around and find creative one time charges every day.

The last time DL furloughed was after 9-11, the same time that United also furloughed , and many of the UAL furloughs were ex SWA Captains that moved over to UAL. That should say something. Who is hiring right now? How about SWA? Maybe in a couple more years......


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

Bottom line: Neato-mosquito you work for Delta and fly to neato-mosquito places. For some of us, being a pilot produces a paycheck. I try not to tell people I'm a pilot. I saw flying as a way I could make a paycheck for 40 yrs. I reasearched the airlines. SWA has never furloughed, their people loved their job, they pay well, they plan very conservatively, and have historically grown consistantly. That was worth a $7k gamble for me. That's it.

Did you say I was glad that RJ FOs were losing their jobs? Heck no. I am glad RJs are leaving the fleet, and maybe some of the FOs will stay at the regionals thanks to DL actually hiring some of the Captains right now. I sure wish SWA could help with that problem, but not for at least 2 more years according to Larry.

I love how you say "the paycheck" is the only thing that matters for you. What happens when the SWA and Legacy paychecks are the same? It will happen again, to say otherwise is foolish. It may take a couple more years, but it will happen, thanks to the SWA guys keeping the pay high, just like the DL guys who kept the rates high for the SWA negotiations. When pay is equal, then you have to look at other features. You have to look at variety of planes, routes, bases, etc. When you look at all of that and pay being equal, SWA loses. Yes, Southwest has fun stews, but they are getting older too (look at the DAL based stews), and fun seems to be a part of the younger crowd. (DL is hiring 800 new stews at the end of this year, BTW)


If you only go to work for a paycheck, that is kinda sad. We are in the business to move people around, but there has to be some variety for you or it will take a toll. I actually look forward to seeing where I can go this month or next, and see it as a vacation paid by my employer. It's too bad you don't really do that. Sure, you may like SAN layovers, but it takes 12 legs over 3 days to finally get there. Maybe you like that........well good then. Some people just don't want that type of lifestyle.



Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[redflyer65]

You sound like a GIRL. Thanks for all of your emotional riffraff about customer service. Hey, get back in the cockpit and worry about not bouncing your landings like you guys always do. And, how about NOT going for that first intersection at LAX on 24R and making a smooth landing for once, instead of scaring everyone in the back? A friend of mine flew on one of your flights and said people were screaming because the plane hit the brakes so hard to make the turn off. Gimme a break. As your crazy ticket lady states on TV "We're not saying the others are bad, we just slam on the brakes to make sure we can get to the gate fast enough so the FO can run to McDonalds and get the Captain a fish sandwich..... We're AWESOME, and Redflyer is one of my boyfriends, along with Whateburger and SKC, all at the same time. They are AWESOME together. THEY ARE AWESOME at the same time........" Yikes, that lady is NUTS.



Bye Bye---General Lee

That's all you got? I sound like a girl?

You didn't refute even one of my points. The reason.. because you know its all true. The legacies don't care about their passengers, and it shows! (wasn't that an old Delta ad?)

Got news for you General, the domestic lines at Delta blow. I have buds over there that constantly complain about the non-productivity..its throughout the lines.

$300,000 for an FO at SW? Yea, it can be done. What you continue to not understand is the productivity we have. We don't have those ALPO imposed caps you have over there..

You see its about choices, you can fly as much or as little as you'd like. Want to spend alot of time at home? Bid down, but your high hourly rate is going to still bring in a nice paycheck (something you don't understand).

Want to get max pay? Drop your regular flying and pick up at 1.5 or 2.0X pay. The past two months I've been at 120+ credits, and thats not even working hard. I still have vacation coming up as well. That kind of credit puts me in the 140k per year range...and I'm a new hire!

Gotta go General, just finished my two legs today (got one tomorrow) and hitting the free happy hour. Enjoy your 750+ RJ's and the food in Gabon or wherever it is you overnight in Africa. Maybe it's best you don't go off the compound over there..not so safe. (Buds mentioned that too..)

All you can talk about is a landing? Pretty weak. You really don't have any arguements to stand on, and the more you post, the more that is evident.

 

[redflyer65]

Oh I forgot,

Southwest owns more than 80% of their aircraft. Delta? Not so much. But that kinda goes along with the 750+ RJ's. But if you would have read Yahoo finance General you would have known this.

800 new FA's at Delta? Thank God, you have got to dilute the NW grannies somehow..oh and they are the ones you see in first class!

Best Northwest story I heard recently.. Northwest crew on the employee bus heading to the parking lot. Group of Northwest FA's talking about how unfair it is that the new Delta red dress only comes in sizes 8 and under. Needless to say these ladies didn't miss too many meals.

Then one of the ladies pipes up and says she's gonna go down and get material to make her own dress. Crusty white haired Northwest captain interupts about this time and says

"Ladies, I'm afraid you all can't wear the red dress. If we had that much red in one place, they'd think we were on fire!"

 

[mt2]

Depends on which plane you have, some have CPDLC and some do not. Also, if your APU is inop, you have to fly closer to the coast incase something does fail (not 180 ETOPS anymore), which means you probably won't get one of the normal tracks, meaning you will be spending a lot more money going out of the way. So, in reality, that just doesn't hardly ever happen. INTL flying really does ROCK. SWA can have it's 5 or 6 leg domestic days to LBB. And being a SWA dispatcher yourself, it must be kinda boring for you too. No INTL cities to check, no INTL coordination when things go wrong, instead---you just have to call Sally in MAF or Duane in LBB and make sure there are peanunts ready to go when the flight from Vegas gets there, and check the local weather-----clear and 100 degrees F. Good for you. Sounds rough.


Bye Bye--General Lee

Wow, what a load. And what coast would you be hugging GL ?? There is an area which is 120 all the way across so you don't always need to be 180 to Europe. And that ETOPS check...do you know what is on that ?? Which chip detector gets checked eastbound ?? Or is that a maintenance function like everyone else that has ETOPS? Do you check your own ETOPS alternate weather or do you just take the dispatchers word for that too. SATCOM oceanic clearance and position reports make oceanic flying a piece of cake these days, unless you don't have those tools. It used to be something to go international...now not so much. Oh yea, sundaes over Iceland....really ?, maybe you were blue spruce because something was broken...

Former International Supplemental Driver

 

[satpak77]

all this cut and pasting is giving me a headache

 

[Whataburger]

I love how you say "the paycheck" is the only thing that matters for you. What happens when the SWA and Legacy paychecks are the same? It will happen again, to say otherwise is foolish.

I actually look forward to seeing where I can go this month or next, and see it as a vacation paid by my employer. It's too bad you don't really do that. Sure, you may like SAN layovers, but it takes 12 legs over 3 days to finally get there. Maybe you like that........well good then. Some people just don't want that type of lifestyle.



Bye Bye--General Lee

I bet you your screen name that your pay will not equal ours in 2 yrs from today. Deal? Who's foolish? Back your sh!t up. No more General Lee if if the pay is not equal, no more Whataburger if it is! What do you say?

I go to work to rest. I don't care if my Coors is in LBB or SAN or TPA. I got 36 days off the last two months without using vacation. Vacation with my family in my own house every month. All the family outings, t-ball games and cook-outs that I can handle. Cool concept huh?