Swa hiring 140 pilots

[Amish RakeFight]

We had a guy do over 60 grand in a month a couple months ago. I'm sure he can't do that every month, but if he doesn't crack 500k, I'd be really surprised.

Sorry, but no one deserves half a mil to fly an airplane. ~$250K for a senior capt. should be the theoretical ceiling as its commensurate with the skill and responsiblity. The rest should be allocated to the rest of the junior pilots who need the work and money.

 

[Sacha]

Sorry, but no one deserves half a mil to fly an airplane. ~$250K for a senior capt. should be the theoretical ceiling as its commensurate with the skill and responsiblity. The rest should be allocated to the rest of the junior pilots who need the work and money.

Comrade!!!!.....I agree!! The Central Committee will determine the pay of the pilot......and if you don't agree,we will give you a nice little Holiday....in Siberia!!

We are the 99%!!

( pssst...Comrade...there are some sexy, little comradettes down at OWS...)

 

[Scoot 11]

You want to give away all your trips and fly nothing - that can be done too-
Why would we not want that flexibility?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I want flexibility as well.

 

[SWA Bubba]

Sorry, but no one deserves half a mil to fly an airplane. ~$250K for a senior capt. should be the theoretical ceiling as its commensurate with the skill and responsiblity. The rest should be allocated to the rest of the junior pilots who need the work and money.

Actually, it's not quite like this. I don't like to get into the money discussions, because it is a little crass (plus I don't want Zonejumper thinking I'm compensating for "shortcomings," 'cause actually, MY "shortcoming" is where I can actually hang my hat and cheap rayon tie, if you know what I mean <wink><wink>), but there's plenty of salary to go around here. A junior captain (me, for instance) with ten years of service makes just over $225k MINIMUM wth our latest 2% payraise. That's for the bare minimum of flying your line (100 tfp/mo). That's me--quality of life and all. If you want to work it, you can average 130 - 140 tfp/mo (Do the math yourself). Hard chargers can make even more that that. Senior F/O's make 70% of that ($158k) MINIMUM. We even have "player" F/O's pushing the high 200ks closing on 300k. There's no need for "allocating" the money for junior pilots.

'Course you actually work for it here. No one sits around on their ass doing nothing and collecting a paycheck at SWA.

That's the power of having more efficient pilots and leaner manning. You can pay your pilots more and still make money. What Fubijaakr advocated above, and what ALPA preaches, is complete crap and counter to any enduring business model: cap the amount of work an employee can do so you need more employees. That is ludicrous. That's ALPA working against the company instead of with it.

I mean, what would you have us do, Fubi? Hire extra guys off the street so we can spread out our work (and money) just to stick it to the company? Classic ALPA. We could pay pilots to sit at home on reserve and do nothing. Then there's no extra flying for anyone. Yo, chucklehead: This is NOT a charity business. Our model works well for everyone here: we make money, the employees are well-compensated, we grow our product, and then we hire more employees as needed, and compensate them just as well. We don't hire extra folks just to satisfy a national union's agenda. That hamstrings the company's efficiency and hurts all of us.

That's why I work here, and not there. Oh yeah, also I enjoy myself here, and for the most part, have outstanding and fun-to-be-around coworkers. That was true when I started here, and we weren't the best paid. That's why this is the only airline I've ever applied to.

Bubba

 

[Sacha]

What a crazy way to run an airline! It will never work!..........

 

[waveflyer]

What bubba said

 

[Fubijaakr]

I mean, what would you have us do, Fubi? Hire extra guys off the street so we can spread out our work (and money) just to stick it to the company

Nope. I'm just suggesting that if you were properly staffed, there wouldn't have been such a heavy push to steal the AAI guys seniority and Capt seats.

But, whatever, Bubba. You guys just keep those F/O yanking you gear for the next 12-15 years while you fly double lines.

Then maybe you can push for Age 70 and stagnate everyone's career (except yours, of course) for ANOTHER 5 years.

 

[waveflyer]

Find an FO at AT or WN who wants your version of a "properly staffed" airline.
To us, you're talking about flight attendants on layovers-
Oh yeah- but you're a troll- weird arguments repeated are the JD

 

[redflyer65]

Fubi,

Nice try buddy. Let it go, you really don't know what you are talking about when it comes to SW staffing and work rules. There's plenty of both...working your butt off, or giving it away. To each their own, it's a great system. Works well for the pilots and the company.

 

[Sacha]

Fudgepacker,

I take it then that you are retiring at 60 next year along with all the other Alaska pilots?

After all, you do have a Golden Defined Benefit Package that's rock solid....

Why would you hold up those poor,junior guys that are suffering through the B-scale and stuck in the right seat?

Don't be Greedy....

You're like those hypocritical wealthy Hollywood buffoons that cry "we should all pay more taxes!" but when asked why they dont voluntarily "do the right thing" and write a check to the IRS, they started stammering and are suddenly at a loss for words.....

GO ALPA!!

 

[SWA Bubba]

Nope. I'm just suggesting that if you were properly staffed, there wouldn't have been such a heavy push to steal the AAI guys seniority and Capt seats.

This is a "straw man" argument (you should look that up, Fubi) which has nothing to do with this discussion.

But, whatever, Bubba. You guys just keep those F/O yanking you gear for the next 12-15 years while you fly double lines.

Then maybe you can push for Age 70 and stagnate everyone's career (except yours, of course) for ANOTHER 5 years.

I'm gonna' give you the benefit of the doubt that you just don't understand how it works here (or anywhere else, for that matter). If we were "properly staffed," as you put it (hire more pilots), so that the senior FOs can upgrade and stop "yanking my gear," that just makes the problem worse. Now we have even MORE FOs bitching about not upgrading. (If we hire 100 pilots to upgrade 50 of my personal gear-yankers, we have helped 50 top FOs, but put 100 more FOs on the list to bitch about their personal upgrade.) There's always gonna' be half of the pilot seniority list in the right seat; staffing a company lean or fat won't change that. Do you really not see that?

We'd rather be leaner, so that there's plenty of extra flying (money-making opportunities) for everyone, junior and senior alike. Like even your Alaska Airline, you still gotta' wait until you're in the top half to upgrade.

Bubba

 

[Tripower455]

I love our flexibility. Even being hampered by Carl's TA2 (lance and elitt restrictions), it still beats most other airlines by a mile. Want to bust your butt, you can easily pull in $30K per month as a capt.. Want to take it easy, you can do that too, and still clear a nice paycheck with 3 commutes. Due to my commute, I've been a straight time flyer my entire career here, ELITTing up a bit to maximize the pay per commute, and to have an idea of what I'm doing more than a few days in advance. FWIW, I often fly with FOs who make more than I do because they play the system. The secret is to live in domicile and be flexible.

I finally decided to dip my foot into the premium pay water, and it is warm! I am on the last day of my first ever premium trip. A 3 day paying 33tfp. Mama me gusta. I am definitely a convert. I left a nice block of time off next month, hoping for a big tfp 4 day to turn up.

Fubi,

If you're that happy over at AK, (my gut feeling says you're not) then more power to ya. We're all pretty content over here in LUV land, so why not knock off the BS?

 

[Fubijaakr]

Opposing ideas just don't hold any water over there, do they. If you boys are happy with the system, more power to you.

BTW, Bubba, according to you, if SWA staffed properly, then the additional 50 Capts would be tickled, but the 100 new hires would be biatching about their upgrade time.

I was under the impression it was also your position that those 100 new hires should be thanking God and the God King they were qualified to be intiated into the SWA cult.

Which is it? Getting hired and immediately biatch about upgrade time or genuflecting toward DAL for putting them on the Kool-Aid drip?

 

[SWA Bubba]

Opposing ideas just don't hold any water over there, do they. If you boys are happy with the system, more power to you.

BTW, Bubba, according to you, if SWA staffed properly, then the additional 50 Capts would be tickled, but the 100 new hires would be biatching about their upgrade time.

What are you talking about? First of all, SWA is staffed properly. When I used that term before, I put it in quotes to show that it was your words not mine. You don't know this, because "staffed properly" to you apparently means nobody works more than 70 hrs/month, and reserves sit around doing little more than playing with their pud most of the time. That's an ALPA-ism. To SWA and SWAPA, "staffed properly" means reserves don't sit around. Our manning model assumes a certain portion of the pilot list wants to fly extra for more money. Paying premium on some trips is cheaper than having more pilots. This business truism is highlighted when you look at seasonal fluctuations in the available flying.

I was under the impression it was also your position that those 100 new hires should be thanking God and the God King they were qualified to be intiated into the SWA cult.

Which is it? Getting hired and immediately biatch about upgrade time or genuflecting toward DAL for putting them on the Kool-Aid drip?

Here you must be mistaking me for someone else. Yes, I believe that our new-hires are happy to be here. If you don't believe that, just ask them yourself. "Cult" and "God King" are your words; I don't even know what you mean by that. Is "God King" some sort of Fubi pejorative for Gary Kelly (that's what I figured from the initials)? Really? That's the best you can do?

As far as upgrading vs bitching, every airline's senior FOs bitch to some extent about upgrading. Like I said before (and before you changed the argument so that you're actually posturing about something else), half of all the airlines' pilot lists sit in the right seat. A given airline's manning model has absolutely nothing to do with that. Get it? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. They're unrelated subjects.

However, in an attempt to humor you, I'll address your last question. It's both. New hires are generally estatic to be here, and when they get more senior, they want to upgrade. When it is delayed for any reason beyond what they had hoped or planned (economy, etc.), then they get antsy and bitch about it. Pretty much the same as at any airline, you know?

By the way, I see you still haven't looked up the term "straw man."

Bubba

 

[waveflyer]

Well, most airlines have more capts bc they call in sick a bit more and have more vacation- but yeah- I'm pretty sure a 73 requires 1 FO and 1 CA-

Fubi's a troll- there's a difference between an opposing argument and being argumentative--- trolls aren't to be fed, unless it's fun for you- I write to the lurkers, not really to Fubi

 

[Captzaahlie]

.............

 

[Captzaahlie]

So anyone getting emails/calls to interview????

Good point, I'd like to know also.......

 

[Whaler]

Sq mate of mine has a Nov 10th interview...

 

[slaquer5]

Sq mate of mine has a Nov 10th interview...

There will be a lot more interviews and hiring in 2012.

 

[Captzaahlie]

Sq mate of mine has a Nov 10th interview...

Thx, guess I can stop holding my breath for a call this month...