SWA April 11 class moved to April 25th.

[MLBWINGBORN]

Hey guys and gals..

I hate to spread negative stuff but I just got off the phone with the folks in training..

Looks like the April 11th class has been moved to the 25th..
Seems like a lot of things are being held back waiting for the 1st Q 002 numbers..I for one cant even think about a loss in the first Q..
I would not however worry for one minute over weither they are going to crank back up or what..
There are way too many things that are going on in Dallas that are clearly related to growth..

I do know that the system is just plain over run right now with new hires and they need a short break to recover.

Just before i left the other day i watched them install the cables and mounts for the first of two new sims..The other sims pad and mounts are already in place..

You clearly dont need two new sims and several new additions to the training staff if you aint gonna hire anybody..

INHOT..Keep breathing into that paper bag buddy..You will be there soon..

Mike
MLBWINGBORN

 

[ivauir]

Thanks for the info!

Don't worry about spreading "negative stuff" we'd rather have the straight scoop! Heck, this is GOOD news, I was wondwering if April was gonna be a no show all together.

Fly Safe!!

PS When are you on the line?

 

[Slug]

Yep, Thanks

Although I don't like the bad news, it is very good to hear something, like IVAUIR said. I too was thinking April would be a wash. I think once you're in the pool, no news is much worse than bad news. Thanks again Mike for all your hard work and info you've provided.

Slug

 

[MLBWINGBORN]

Guys and gals..

I dont want to preach to the choir here but i think we need to look back just a few months and remember how things went..

They said that they didnt think that they would make a profit in 4thQ of 001..When they said that all of a sudden everything sorta stopped and the rumors about no hiring started flying fast and furious..
But then what happened?

They said no classes in Dec..We had classes in Dec..

They said no interviews until after the first of the year..We had interviews prior to the end of 2001.A ton of them in fact..

They said no classes in Jan..We had THREE in Jan..

They at one point told me late Mar or early Apr.Then they called me and asked how quick could i get to class..In Jan no less!!!..

At one point they said class size of 20 per..Then ran several classes of 26 per and even asked training about bumping it up to 28 per..

At one point they said no new aircraft would be added..They are now going to take all aircraft scheduled in 2002..

They said at our breakfast that they wouldnt be adding service in the short term..They just added a bunch of long haul west coast runs out of MDW..

Hmmmmmmmmm???

Anybody see a trend here???

Do you think the most profitable company in history and its leaders are going to allow the first ever recording of a non profitable quarter??Not bloody likely mate!!

Say what you want..Read what you want..Hear what you want..

But history is always the best judge of future performance..

If they come out with a .0025 cent profit,All he!! is gonna break loose and that loud sucking sound you will be hearing is the pool draining..

SO..Relax and keep breathing into all those brown paper bags people..Your time is coming very soon and if you dont have the PASS cards you are already behind..

Mike
MLBWINGBORN

 

[Slug]

Mike rules

Mike,

Again, thanks.

And yea I walk through the valley of the shadow of darkness and furloughedom, and unemployment, I shall fear no evil for Mike is with me spreading cheer.

See ya soon



Slug

 

[MLBWINGBORN]

Brothers and sistors..

I havnt parted waters nor caused a major rain fall so i doubt my thoughts have any biblical backing..

But..I do believe in the people at SWA and the commitment they make to their internal customers...Thats you and me..

They value you and they are commited to you being a part of SWA..
But..They will do nothing that may place their family in any financial danger...That sounds a little harsh, but its one of the reasons you want to work here..Stability..

I was in the same place as many of you from Sept 12th to Jan 31st..Un employed,Mr MOM,wondering what was going to happen next..I hated every minute of it..It was one of the hardest periods in my life..

One of the things i did to keep from loosing it was get envolved in the process by finding out all i could about everything related to how many and when they would put us in class..
Thats how the Pool list got started..And i hope it continues as a tradition and is a way to support those that will come after us..

SO....You can sit back and wait for it to happen,or you can participate in the process and support your fellow poolies and get active on the boards..Spend some of the employment commisions money on a few long distance phone calls to buddies inside the company or people you may know in Dallas..Bug the crap out of your contacts..And post what you find out..

No..It may not make it happen sooner..But ..you will feel better being better informed and you will be providing a service to anyone that may be wanting to follow you to SWA..

I for one doubt that i would have been hired if it wasnt for the info i got from this board..I intend to try to return that gift by doing the same for anyone that wants to be a part of the best company on the planet..

And yes..Im **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** glad to be here..

You will hear this again very soon..Get used to hearing it..Its the battle cry of all new hires..As you will soon see..

Mike
MLBWINGBORN

 

[InHot]

Morale

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the morale boosting. You know all too well what we are all experiencing.

Hey didn't Dan do a great job on the poolie list? Shootr's recommendation to number the list was a great idea.

Where are you in the training process? Close to IOE I would guess?

 

[chase]

Mike,

Hang in there. Keep plugging away & thanks for adding positives to the guys in the pool. I came across this article & the "code" words Kelly (CFO for SWA) is using leads me to believe the forecast for no profit for this quarter may not be as strong as it once was.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/724804.asp?0dm=-217K

Even though he is still very cautious, his words seem to be a bit more positive than in the past. As you have pointed out, SWA is historically one to lay very low expectations & then exceed them. There is however a very large amount of capital expenditures going into this quarter & with discussions beginning with various unions (FA, pilots, mechanics, etc) showing a very low profit or a loss for a quarter helps when it comes to the bargaining table. SWA knows how to juggle more balls to keep everybody (shareholders, employee groups, institutional investors, etc) exactly where they want the various groups to be at, well, they are maestros at that type of thing.

I believe we will begin hiring again fairly soon so hang in there. cheers to all & God Bless....good talking to you the other night MB, keep those flows going!!



T

 

[swimmer]

Only one class in April

I spoke with JM yesterday, and was told that there will only be one class in April (must be the 25th). She added that there are no classes currently scheduled after that. She also said that they will be adding future classes on a month to month basis. Not really new news, but just a confirmation from her.

Swimmer

 

[MLBWINGBORN]

Inhot and others..

The new keeper of the pool list is a super guy and really a whole lot sharper than i am when it comes to working with large files..

I have known Dan since we went thru 737-700 school together and found him to be pretty open to new ideas..

However...there are some limitations in place when working with the list that make a lot of things very time consuming to add as features..

As Dan works his way thru these limitations you may see some features added or changed for no other reason other than it may not work the previous way or it makes the list unmanagable..

I know Dan is going to do a great job with the list and so far the changes hes made have been great..

I suspect that whom ever follows Dan as the keeper of the list will have a tough act to follow..

Mike
MLBWINGBORN

 

[skypig]

April 25th calls

I've been playing phone tag with JM over the last week or so. She talked with my wife yesterday and told her that the Chief Pilot calls for the 25th should start after Easter. I hope it helps.

See ya in Dallas,

Skypig

 

[ArmyC12]

Skypig..........good for you !!!!!

I was just on SWA's page and I noticed that the quartes earnings will be posted on 19 Apr. From what Mike has been saying, the quarter shows a profit on the 19th, then things start moving on the 20th. Just a guess. Anyone care to venture?

 

[InHot]

1st Qtr Results

1st Qtr 2002 results will be posted on April 18, 2002. 1st qtr 2001 results were posted on April 19, 2001. Don't want to have to wait another day!

I have to agree with you. If they do post a profit we should (hopefully) here more about class dates soon thereafter.

Man, I'm looking forward to that first night I go to sleep knowing I'm a SWA employee!

..and don't worry Mike I am breathing slowly! Got to pace myself.

 

[ivauir]

How?????

InHot,
I don't know how you are breathing slowly, I am running out of paper bags!! We gotta wait until April 18th to find out if we are months away from class or .... man, what is the schedule going to look like if they take a loss? And just today I heard about a near midair between SWA and UPS at Skyharbor (PHX) - can you imagine what an accident would do to hiring? Or what if there is another attack? What if I get activated before my class date? What if I go crazy waiting and they pull my medical?

huff, puff, in , out

Does anybody have a floatation device? I think I need a break from treading...

Today is my 4 month aniversary in the pool, shouldn't be longer than two more, right? Right? RIGHT?

I think I am going to explode!

 

[w8n4swa]

Ivauir,

Here you go pal, grab a wing. I've only been in 75 days....still very bouyant here.

Breathe in, breathe out.....

 

[MLBWINGBORN]

Hey guys..

Can you feel the LUV in here?

But remember one thing..

You are all going to be junior to me!!!Forever!!!

Im pulling for you as hard as you guys are..I need to get out of OAK as fast as i can..lol..

Anyway..You guys are sooooo close..And yes alot of things can happen.
But..Look around..If something does happen where else would you rather be?

What place could be better to weather a change in anything..?

How many of the 25000 pilots out of work right now wouldnt trade places with you?

All of you have made the cut..Perhapes the hardest cut in the industry..You have been picked because they WANT you as much as they need you..

Remember the room full of blue suits a few months back you were standing around with looking nervous??I bet you all looked around going"i wonder whos gonna make it"..

Well...Now that you are the less than 1 in 3 of those looked at and an even smaller number compaired to those that have applied..Dont you feel a little bit special?Perhapes unique?

If you dont feel that way then let me tell you so you can be clear about it..
YOU have landed the hardest job to get in the business with the best run company in the business..

They will do everything they can to put you to work as qucik as their business plan will allow..

You all will be drinking from a fire hose very shortly and walking around with the" im a new hire" daze on your face..

You will very soon learn the true meaning of those dreaded words"payroll deduction".

So relax...Chase the girl friend or boyfriend around the house some more..Watch a little more MTV in your underwear while eating Pop Tarts..But do it with a smile..A well earned one at that..


Mike
MLBWINGBORN

 

[HPaul3]

Emotional Rescue

Thanks Mike, you really made my day.

Cheers!
HP