SWA is techno challenged

[luckytohaveajob]

Technology improves aircraft reliability and saves lives. Boeing's Connexion system has many benefits SWA will never be able to capitalize on.

With the emphasis on passengers, Connexion's benefit for airlines often gets lost, notes Smith. Carriers can use the bandwidth to move important data, such as aircraft health-monitoring, from the airplane in real time. This would enable airlines to use predictive instead of reactive maintenance. In addition, airlines such as Lufthansa are looking at applications such as telemedicine, to reduce the number of costly diversions related to inflight health emergencies.

 

[luckytohaveajob]

BINGO! Standards. Crap or premium.

A spotlight on standards

The rise of participating consumer review content will throw a large spotlight on product and service standard differences between airlines. Airlines that treat passengers with indifference will find it much harder to retain existing passengers and to attract new ones.

 

[luckytohaveajob]

Airlines delivering a sub-standard product and treating passengers with indifference will eventually go out of business.

 

[CA1900]

Airlines delivering a sub-standard product and treating passengers with indifference will eventually go out of business.

And yet, inexplicably, US Airways is still in business. Strange.

 

[GoodTimes]

Lucky,

You almost ran the whole page. Try again. I bet you can do it!

 

[SWA Bubba]

This thread is about TECHNOLOGY you Flintstone pilots.

Put your feet out for brakes you Corn dogs.

Technology is the topic here not economics.

Dear Luckytohaveajob,

I guess I'm disregarding my own advice, because here I am responding (sigh). I was sure you were just flame baiting, but now it appears that you may actually believe the crap you're spouting, as incredible as that sounds. So, first, I have to say that you have, without a doubt, the most appropriate moniker in all the history of Flight Info. As stupid (or trying to be more charitable, uninformed) as you clearly are, you are indeed lucky to have a job in this industry. One can only hope that you are not in any position of responsibility where you may accidentally hurt yourself or others around you. Perhaps a skycap or a ticket-taker.

As far as your actual patently false assertions, FlyingItalian already debunked them one at a time. Can you not read, either? However, here's a few more tidbits for you:
- Southwest has one of the newest fleets in the world. We're buying dozens of new 737NGs every year and retiring our oldest planes. Newer fleet than United/Continental.
- Every one of our airplanes (even the -300s) are CAT III certified. Is that true for every United/Continental plane?
- Like Italian pointed out, we have every one of the "flight deck technology" items you claimed we didn't, except autoland. I dunno; maybe we have better pilots than you. We're even spearheading the industry in RNP approaches, trying to drag the rest of you industry laggards kicking and screaming into the 21st century. You know, so that ATC can sequence all airplanes more efficiently, and we all save money on gas. Would you United/Continental guys please hurry up?

You then went on to talk about your "superior" technology and how it saves lives. Southwest carries the most passengers in the United States, including the most take-offs and landings (where accidents normally happen). Care to compare United and/or Continental's safety records against Southwests? No?

And then, after insisting this thread was entirely about technology, you somehow morphed it into a service contest. Talking about lie-flat seat/beds and first class amenities. That's a different business model entirely, and not any kind of comparison. The high-paying first class passengers certainly bring in some money for you, but if you're gonna' talk about numbers, you've got to add them up. Hundreds of coach passengers for every first class passenger certainly trumps that argument.

AND, if you want to talk about service for coach passengers (which brings in the majority of your revenue too, even if you don't want to admit it), we'll go there. Southwest's coach seats (all of 'em) have a seat pitch of 34" (distance between the back of one seat to the next). Most other airlines' coach seats have a pitch of 32", with a few going as high as 33". I'd have to guess not quite as comfortable as Southwest's.

Then (I'm assuming you couldn't help youself), you uttered the single stupidest rant of all:

Airlines delivering a sub-standard product and treating passengers with indifference will eventually go out of business.


Good point. Let's talk about treating passengers and the quality of the product. I'd guess you'd measure how well the passengers were treated by looking at the number of customer service complaints. Geez... who always leads that metric (and by a wide margin, for that matter)? Surprise! It's Southwest and Airtran. On the other hand, United and Continental? Hmmm... Not so much. But hey, sometimes you actually score in ahead of USAir. That ought to count for something.

Bubba

 

[Double Shot]

ask lucky if he is having fun shoveling snow up there in the northeast. Im guessing hes bored or hes avoiding his wife taunting the rest of us.

 

[Quimby]

Lucky is an angry elf.

 

[GuppyWN]

Quimby gets it!

Gup

 

[luckytohaveajob]

SWA thinks a big airplane is a Guppy -800. Man if you guys get the -900 you can start using the "HEAVY" in your call signs, NOT!

 

[luckytohaveajob]

As far as SWA being on the leading edge of RNP give me a break. RNP has been out for 10 years. SWA is trying to get the training done before NextGen ATC slams it in your face.

Technology is not SWA strong points. SWA is still trying to fly in control wheel steering. Maybe after SWA retires those senior pilots you can start to get with the Boeing programs. Till then SWA is just a stone age legacy carrier with a Flintstone attitude.

 

[luckytohaveajob]

I found Gary's quote very interesting when he stated the SWA reservations system was not up to the task of charging for ancillary revenues.

SWA does charge for bags. It sticks it in the price up front.

Another SWA technology failure which is hurting its paxs.

 

[luckytohaveajob]

I also want to see how SWA will ever fly international operations. Do you know SWA lists all its times in Texas time. How retarded does SWA get? Texas is not the center of the universe.

It will be fun to see a SWA international weather package. ETOPS alternates will have to be listed in Bubba English. KDAL-PHNL. Translation for the illiterate Texans it is the Big D to The Land of the Grass Skirts and Warm Breezes.

How are you bubba's going to cut it out there on the HF? You know those radios have to be channelized before you use them, right? All those Colonels will probably miss doing it and wonder why their radios fail to work.

 

[luckytohaveajob]

SWA just got into the transcon business in 2003. Less than 10 years ago.

I was surprised to read SWA wasn't the 37 operator who rolled inverted with the rudder trim knob trying to open the door.

Oh but SWA does have a lot of experience rolling inverted after over-speeding those Old Gen flaps and cracking the flap tracks causing uncommanded rolls on short final. Nice recoveries using your superior skills to overcome your company wide superior stupidity.

And thanks for all the extra inspections on the old gen airframes. I am glad my company doesn't have any of those issues.

 

[luckytohaveajob]

Where is the defense of the technology issues.

All you guys got is "Our rates are higher." "We fly the most domestic paxs of any airline." "We haven't filed bankruptcy." Those statements and $4 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

SWA delivers a crap product to a low yield leisure market with a few cherry picked cities with no real route structure. SWA doesn't keep America running. It keeps people going on vacation and home to see Grandma. If they want to rent a car to get their final destination or drive three hours to get to the departure city while the plane does five stops along the way.

Up, down, up, down, up, down.

If the $100 per departure tax goes into effect, SWA is going to be paying a fortune to the IRS. But then SWA won't have the ability to even keep track of its flights and pay the government. It will just have to overpay on estimates.

 

[luckytohaveajob]

Try typing a message if you can form a thought.

 

[luckytohaveajob]

When is SWA taking its first B787 delivery?

 

[Fubijaakr]

Sometimes being low-tech is a bonus. Ever have your WHOLE airline go down because of a computer crash? Or even sit twiddling your thumbs because the computerized Central Load Planning is down and no one is qualified to do a manual weight and balance.

It sucks.

 

[TrumanSparks]

"Texas is not the center of the universe."

I was just going to let this thread go, but Texas is the center of the universe and everything is in Herb time.

 

[Double Shot]

man lucky you must be really tired living up in the north east. You should move down to Texas...say just north of San Antonio. I think you would like it.