SWA Currency Requirment for Poolies!

[OPIE01]

Here is a copy of the E-mail traffic between Lindsey Lang and myself today.

Hey Opie!

Just wanted to answer your question, I know it is a concern of the
poolies. Southwest does not have a currency requirement while you are in the pool. We are aware that some of you will have to wait awhile for a class date, but you have cleared all hiring processes and we will let you sit in our pool until we have a class date to offer. We do have to watch your background/drug expiration dates but are requesting updates as those expire so that you are ready to come to class at any time! Our Flight Ops Department confirmed that currency will not be an issue, they
said sit tight! We will keep our fingers crossed about class dates, it is pretty quite around here right now! Keep in touch and please let me know if you have any other questions.

Lindsey Lang
Flight Ops Employment Coordinator
Southwest Airlines
214-792-5446

>>> "Opie01" > 08/27/02 03:00AM >>>
Hello from Kuwait Lindsey,

There a bunch of rumors about Flying Currency while we are waiting in the hiring pool. Some former military may have to wait up to a year from when they go out for a class start date.
Is there a flying currency requirement while we are in the Pool?
And if there is a currency requirement, what is it? And how do we
document it? How do you all check it?
Is it so many hours every month, or every quarter?
What type of aircraft must it be in? Or does it matter.

Thanks, any words would be great so I can pass the information a long so poolies can budget some money for flight time if it is required.

Have a great day,
OPIE

 

[Shav'r]

LL Check-In

Nice work Opie...
Not that this was an earth-shattering response, but you've proven that the comm channels are still open and accessible to all of us poolies from Lindsey and the hiring team.

See ya in DAL soon!
Shav'r

 

[jll]

Currency Requirements

Just wondering if there is a requirement for those that were hoping to interview since about the March time frame and may not have an interview until early 2003?

 

[race#53]

This may help the interview-training a bit;
DALLAS, Aug. 27 Southwest Airlines Co.
announced today that it has agreed with its Professional Flight
Instructors, represented by the Southwest Airlines Professional Instructor's Association, to a two-year extension of the current collective bargaining agreement between the parties. The agreement will now extend through Dec. 31,2012.
As a part of the agreement, Southwest's Professional Flight Instructors will receive a grant of stock options, vesting during the 2009-2012 period.The agreement covers 60 Southwest workers.
Southwest's Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, James F. Parker, stated, "The skill and dedication of our Flight Instructors have contributed mightily to Southwest's superb safety record throughout our history. Our Flight Instructors are superb individuals, who help keep our Pilots the safest and best-trained aviation professionals in the world.
"Our Professional Flight Instructors have shown, once again, their vision, their commitment to the future of Southwest Airlines, and their belief in that future."

 

[LiveFreeorDie]

LETTING CURRENCY GO OR GO RESERVE

Any thoughts on this one.

My last flight in military was Apr 18. I am # 167 on this pool list. With military you have to get current again w/in 6 months or you have to requalify in the jet.

IF... (if dogs had square but holes and ate red clay) ...if we attack Iraq and the economy goes south in a big way. (Higher oil prices, investor fear = cold water shrinkage at the majors) And Southwest has no or negative growth (shrinkage) we may sit in this pool for a long while.

So do I keep my self marketable by signing up to fly part time with a reserve unit and risk getting activated and missing out on another 150+ senority numbers (hired last june, military kept me type rating until March!!) if I come up for a training date.


Or do I let my currency slip and put "all my eggs into one basket" and count on my job at SWA?


Any thoughts....

 

[pegasus]

Stay current with the Mil for the shortest return of service available (imho).

#167 on the list = approx 320ish on the real list. If they start again in Jan and have 2 classes a month (unlikely) you wouldn't get called for class until August 2003. If you get stuck in stop loss, you stay at the top of the list until available. And you may get the chance to say hi to Saddam in the bargain.

 

[Bake]

LiveFree,

I would suggest if you have the money, go get your commercial single engine add-on to your license. I did this for many people while I was in the military. All you need to do is find a flight instructor and get approx 3 hours in some single engine airplane and then take a check ride. There is no written exams and the checkride is a breeze. Alot of civilian only flight instructors will not understand how to apply your military service to the rating so if you want to do this or want more info send me a PM. costs should be around $600.00 to do the ASEL add on.

Bake

 

[LiveFreeorDie]

Thanx Bake-

I already have my SEL commercial. But I dont think paying $75 an hour is very good return on my money for SEL time. Plus SEL time IMO doesn't help much on an application to a major. Alot of the apps say not to include any airplane with less than 100 total hours. And it is the hours in last six months or year column I want to keep above 100 hours. 100 X $75 = ouch!

 

[LiveFreeorDie]

thx pegasus

Yeah I am looking into the guard and reserves. Too bad it is only for tankers and not something that would actually drop some ordinance!

 

[T1bubba]

LiveFree,

I'm in a similar situation. It's now been over a year since I've flown. I'm #26 on the pool list but there's no telling when SWA is going to run some more classes.

I had the opportunity to fly for a regional earlier this year, but turned it down because I didn't want to take the 66% pay cut and I thought I'd be in class at SWA by summer anyway. I'm about to start spending some of that money I didn't give up on getting current in a 172.

I'm currently in the process of joining the guard and should head for Little Rock early next year, so even if the worst case for SWA happens I'll still get to start flying again eventually.

The bottom line is you have to plan for the worst case because it's been happening a lot in aviation lately. SWA will do what's right for the company based on how the economy and the yields are doing, you have to do what's right for you in the meantime. It's always better to prepare for the worst and be pleasantly surprised than to be caught off guard when things take a turn for the worst.

Good luck.

T1bubba

 

[NEO]

Hey Pegasus,
How many people do you think are in the pool? I have a friend that got lucky enough to get into the July 15th class. While he was there, the word was that there were 360 people in the pool.

 

[pegasus]

Double the pool list is my best guess, that figures (approx) with what they told your buddy.
Once they (if they) start again, our pool list drains at 10-12 swimmers a class. Can't stress enough that this is best guess stuff. So if you are No100, you're really 200, and therefore 10 classes away from starting.

 

[NEO]

Pegsus,
So according to the "times two" theory, whoever is #228 on our list is really #456 on the real list. That would put him in the 23rd class (20 people per class). So if SWA starts training again in January at max production of 2 class per month, #228 will be looking at a class no earlier than January of 2004 (assuming no classes in December). I think I need a drink.

 

[PTinbound]

Pegasus, my math is a little more optimistic, though I think we all still have a pretty long wait. I'm guessing the actual pool size of 361 that has been bounced around is pretty accurate, and we've got 228. 361/228= 1.583. So for any of us, multiply your flightinfo poolie # by 1.583 to get a good guess on the "real" number. Then, divide by 20 to guess how many classes away you are.
Other factors that may help further:
1. I don't know if the Stop/loss has completely ended or not, but if there's even a few ahead of you, you might get an earlier class date.
2. Also, there's always the possibility that some in the pool may take classes at Fedex/JB, etc.
3. They can have classes of up to 26, though the average is 20.
Bigger classes=less wait time, assuming the same # of classes.

 

[w8n4swa]

And it gets better than that...

Since our last update we've had 5 more poolies sign in. With 360 in the actual pool, I believe PTinbound has the right idea....perhaps multiply your number by 1.5 for a closer count.

Also, I'm inclined to say there are more unlisted poolies after #200 and less (40-50) before this number....based on a Southwest news article in March.

Lastly, there are a number of swimmers at other carriers who may not want to leave their current jobs when they get called. Let's hope for classes in Sept & Oct to see how many get called from our list.

Hope'n & Wait'n,

W8n4swa

 

[Lonestar]

Pool Size

The number 360 is very accurate. That is the number I got from a VERY reliable source (don't ask) last week. Keep the faith.

 

[menacef15]

Pool list methodology

I'm new to this forum, and #87 on your current SWA poolie list (good gouge, kudos to the folks who put this together)

I talked to Lindsey a couple of days ago - she had no news that hasn't already been posted. She also gave me the impression that they rack 'n stack poolies differently than the methodology the Poolie list appears to use. I got the distinct impression the only thing that mattered to them was your interview date - and your type rate date only comes into play if you don't have it by the time they call you for a class.

Not the best news for me, because if it's true, I'd drop ~ 35 - 40 names lower on the list. Anyone have more SA on this topic?

Menace

 

[w8n4swa]

Menace,

Very interesting what Lindsey told you. This is very different from what I've been told....pool date is the later of the type and interview date. If indeed your correct, this whole list can be somewhat out of order.

Anyone else heard this??

 

[T44IP]

I'd like to think that's true. I'd move up 120 spots. I've only heard it by type rating date if you didn't have it by the interview and interview date if you already had the type.

 

[T44IP]

sorry, I guess if I were to be more accurate, I'd move up
120*1.583 or 189.96 spots. I may be in the next class. Not