SWA announces new Denver service

[climb2slow]

Hey Climb2,

You would be incorrect on the TWA ref. I was at TWA 19 years ago. At the time they were in the clutches of good old Carl Ichan. Everyone there knew we were in deep doo doo. TWA has not been in the untouchable crowd for better than 30 years.

dammit! i knew i should done my mental math better! my how time flies.

 

[shagadelic]

And you SWA guys are proud of these fares? When airline pilots (your friends) are losing jobs, and fuel at an all time high, your airline pulls this stuff. I am all for an open market, but I would also expect to pay a fair price.

I am not proud of these fares, and I certainly do not want anyone losing their job. I am not managing the airline though.

I don't believe SWA cares whether their fare gives it's competitor a healthy profit. Our competitors certainly did not give a rat's a** about us in the past...think Braniff, United Shuttle, etc. It's a cut-throat industry, and unfortunately some will not make it in these tough times. Obviously SWA is making a play for Denver, and in light of recent anouncements from Frontier and United, I would suggest that is exactly what a prudent competitor would do.

I have the greatest empathy for my fellow pilots. I know if United had called first 8 years ago, I might very well have gone through what many of my friends have gone through. I hope the best for everyone, but remember, we just drive the bus. We have zero to do with the management decisions each of our respective airlines make.

 

[CitationUltra]

All they have to do now is wait and keep doing what they're doing and they'll own this market too.

for the sake of every resident in Colorado--I hope not![/QUOTE]
Well, Colorado is not exactly the center of the universe--just a small niche market.

 

[Benhuntn]

No one needs to apologize for SWA. It is capitalism at work. The 69 dollar fare will go away as soon as the loads go up and the niche is set.

I reject the premise that SWA guys are all rejects from other airlines. I know I researched airlines long and hard and studied them as if I was investing my life's savings in one and only one. It turned out that the business model at SWA made it look the most attractive to me. It was the only airline I applied to and I have talked with many pilots that took the same approach. But I do remember my friends in the squadron laughing when I came to SWA and they were headed to legacies. They are all back in the AF now. So was it luck? Maybe either way I found a home here and I love it. I wish no one any ill will.

 

[FlyinGuy]

We are making a profit off of our fares! Why would SWA raise fares so that other companies can make money??? That goes against any business sense. If we were losing money that would be a different story. We all hate to see someone lose their job because we all know that it can be us one day. Everyone needs to stop blaming SWA for the job loss at their company and look to their own management and business plan.

 

[climb2slow]

I would argue that you are making a profit off of your well timed hedges...not your fares.

 

[Cobra17]

We're very happy for you, you should continue gloating!

Agreed.

Given the latest news and recent events at F9 and UAL, the timing of this post is in exceptionally poor taste.

Rubbing salt in others wounds is simply bad karma.

 

[shagadelic]

No argument there. We don't HAVE to charge higher fares. Everyone else NEEDS higher fares. You are management. What would you do?

 

[Green]

I would argue that you are making a profit off of your well timed hedges...not your fares.

bingo! The simple fact is that Southwest happens to have the smartest management in the bizz. They manage for the long term while the rest of the industry is focused on doing 'deals.'

 

[climb2slow]

I agree, you don't have to charge higher fares. However to brag (as some of you coworkers have done) about the low fares and how you are making money with them just doesn't seem to make sense given all the facts. I am happy to see that Kelly is the forward thinker that we all thought he was, and he can see past this current profit down the road to when you will all need to generate a ton more revenue just to cover costs. Hopefully things work out for you guys, and hopefully they work out for us too.

 

[Whataburger]

And you SWA guys are proud of these fares? When airline pilots (your friends) are losing jobs, and fuel at an all time high, your airline pulls this stuff. I am all for an open market, but I would also expect to pay a fair price.

I am fairly certain that not ONE pilot at this company got a phone call asking what should be charged for flights out of DEN. Our company is making us competitive. Maby you should blame your mgmt for making you un-competitive. I will never be "proud" that other pilots lose their jobs. I have been one of those pilots. Should Manning have thrown his last two passes in the stands so that the Patriots felt better at the end of the game. Good luck to all of us. Don't hate the pilots, hate the game.

 

[pipejockey]

Anyone know what happened to that? Long way from the pleated Khaki "mom pants" they wear these days. It's like they just got off of their shift working at Target.

As I was approaching the security line in PIT a while back I see a bunch of people in the crew line. I initially thought they were regular passengers or non-revers trying to sneak through more quickly and since the line was so long I began to proceed to the front when one of these unprofessional looking people asked where I was going, I responded that this is for crews only. Yup, you guessed it, they were all southworst FA's. Needless to say I never fly swa and had no idea what their "uniform" (and I use that term loosely) looked like. I couldn't believe an airline would condone such an unprofessional and disheveled look from their employees. If they were rampers maybe, but a flight crew? Atrocious!

Someone mentioned hot pants and go go boots back in the day? Well it's a good thing they are not wearing that attire any longer with the winners they are hiring now, because the cleaning crew would constantly be cleaning up the vomit that most people would spew at the sight of these folks.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

Funny thing is, most of the folks at southworst are their by default. If they had their way they would have been at the likes of Pan Am, TWA, Eastern and the other legacies. Before 9-11 southworst was the booby prize among airline pilots. If you couldn't get on with 1 of the 6 remaining legacies or the 2 cargo carriers worth working for prior to 9-11, their was always a job waiting for you flying all the white trash and ghetto gang bangers in those dirty puke brown and orange planes!

I can tell you that I am not here by default...nor are "most" ( as you say) of the folks at Southwest. The vast majority of the Pilots are here because they want to be here.

Are the pilots at your company not happy there? Maybe thats the type of people you are exposed to. What about you? Are you happy with your employer?

SWA always was my 1st choice. Not having the money to get a type in the 737, I took a job at a legacy airline, eventually upgraded in the ...737...got the type, and sent my app to SWA the very next day. Got hired 5 months later

Believe me...one doesn't spend bucks, or invest time and effort into a type "just because"....

Your comments lead me to believe you are not happy with your lot in life and can't stand competition.

Remember, competition is a way of life in this country...Americans love a winner....they don't like losing...

Buck up, buddy...get yourself in fighting shape...and get out there and compete...Oh...thats if your management will let you.

 

[BlueandWhite]

As I was approaching the security line in PIT a while back I see a bunch of people in the crew line. I initially thought they were regular passengers or non-revers trying to sneak through more quickly and since the line was so long I began to proceed to the front when one of these unprofessional looking people asked where I was going, I responded that this is for crews only. Yup, you guessed it, they were all southworst FA's. Needless to say I never fly swa and had no idea what their "uniform" (and I use that term loosely) looked like. I couldn't believe an airline would condone such an unprofessional and disheveled look from their employees. If they were rampers maybe, but a flight crew? Atrocious!

Someone mentioned hot pants and go go boots back in the day? Well it's a good thing they are not wearing that attire any longer with the winners they are hiring now, because the cleaning crew would constantly be cleaning up the vomit that most people would spew at the sight of these folks.

Oh give me a break! You've never flown w/SWA...why don't you fly w/us sometime to give yourself a little more credibility. I would put our FA's up against any others in the industry and they would do very well. Every company has their good and bad eggs. For SWA the focus has not been on pretty uniforms, but on taking care of the customer...nothing cosmic, but something other carriers seem to forget.

I invite you to fly with us sometime to see how we operate. Do that, then you can critique as you see fit!

 

[Golden Falcon]

I especially like the "pfo" letter Herb used to send to complaining pax..