SWA Pool Movement

[Heat]

Fellow Poolies,

Congrats to those of you recently called for the 12 Jan class! Although the pool list hasn't seen much action lately, it appears it's time to blow the dust off and put it back to work.

If you have been called for the Jan class, please take a couple minutes and fire an email my way. I'll post as many as I have on the 15th of December. AF757PILOT was the first to break the ice yesterday.

While I gotcha on the line, some repeat information from LL this morning...

No classes in Feb due to checklist changes
2 classes of 20 persons each per month starting in March
Continued 20 person classes through 400 total hires
I'm 10 classes out @ 20 per class, including the January class (#152 on our list, for those of you near the bottom of the pool, gives you an idea of how the real numbers are working out.

That is all... again congrats to the 12 Jan 04 folks. Send me your confirmations and I'll update the list on the 15th. Take care, and have a great holiday season!

Heat

 

[PTinbound]

Heat, thanks so much for keeping the updates on track.
We all appreciate your work.
So far, I've tried to search and here are the ones I've come up with invited to the party on Jan 12th:

JDeanP
Santini
Hankhill
IceburgClub
Stinger22
CE750driver

I haven't seen AF757 post that he made it unless he emailed you seperately. Hopefully I didn't miss anybody. If I did, please chime in. All y'all have a great day!

 

[AF757Pilot]

Originally posted by PTinbound I haven't seen AF757 post that he made it unless he emailed you seperately. Hopefully I didn't miss anybody. If I did, please chime in. All y'all have a great day! [/B]

Sorry this news is so tardy, but I had to let my employer know before I posted anything. Boy was Heat fast! Anyway, I got the call from LL 1 week after everybody else (I am #21 on the unofficial list). She must have indeed "squeezed me in." I think they have had 3-4 people below me not accept training, which supports the historical "unofficial pool list factor." I got the official Chief Pilot call Tuesday, and the Fedex package yesterday. Getting excited now!

Sorry for the secrecy, Flyingchef. You are crazy, and going to be missed (not.....LOL). Stangdog, keep him in line for me.

AF757pilot (I need to think up a new name now - cool).

 

[AJWick]

Congrats to all the poolies in front of me.

As far as no classes in February... well thats not good news and to make matters worse...'04 is a darn leap year!!! Thats 29 days and not 28 days of no classes!!!

Oh well....Been this long in the pool, I know I can make 1 more day go by. Back to changing diapers and house work.

Happy Holidays/MERRY CHRISTMAS Everyone

AJ

 

[Heat]

ISO

Searching for a few good Poolies... Sent a bunch of PMs out, and received the following:

SLAM89: Does not accept PMs
Zeus: Invalid username
Fredman: Invalid username
Chode: Invalid username
Bruggs: Invalid username
KD: Invalid username
DC8MAC: Invalid username
Flyhaller: Invalid username
Muff: Invalid username

If you know any of these folks, please take a minute to ask them to contact me regarding their class / pool status. Now that the pool shows signs of movement, I'd like to ensure it's as accurate as possible... you know... for the customer and all! Would rather not do the "he said, she said" thang, but would like to correspond directly with the poolie. Lots of intergrity out there, don't get me wrong... just wanna keep the honest people honest.

Thanks for the replies you've sent so far. Congrats to the following:

Stinger22
Hankhill
Icebergclub
JDEANP
Santini
CE750driver
AF757Pilot

Congrats again, and Happy Holidays,
Heat

 

[Lonestar]

Heat

The word I got from the PD last week was a class of 24 every two weeks starting in March. I guess they have decided to drop it down to 20 again...who knows. By the way did she say "Two classes a month" or "a class every two weeks"?

 

[Juniority]

Just to let you guys know:

I spoke with "Flyhaller" yesterday and he's gotten the call from Southwest and will be attending a March class.

Also, "Cooter" has been through training and flying out of the Oakland pilot base for quite a while now.

 

[thebluto]

From Conference Two Months Ago...

I attended a conference put on by HPA/SWA in San Antonio a couple months ago and there was talk that interviews need to start two months prior to non-poolies hired (Background Investigation time lapse) and that they want to keep a "pool", if you will, of 60 to ensure future classes get filled. (I know they either put that word out at the conference...or I dreamed it after a couple bong hits. Wait, did I really type that? Never at dusk...)

 

[LJDRVR]

Starting to sound like April interviews?! Someone else posted several weeks ago that historically WN kept roughly 100 poolies at a time when they were hiring continously. This piece of gossip would support interviews even earlier.

I've been patiently optimistic for a loooong time and Heat's post is the first one I've seen that really sounds like honest-to-god official good news for us poolie-wannabe's awaiting the opportunity to interview.

Anybody have anyting more concrete concerning interview start dates? I think 2004 is going to be a good year for a lot of us.

-edited for bone-headed date mistake.

 

[hopeful]

1994 was a pretty good year, I got out of prison.

 

[LJDRVR]

hahaha..ooops, 2004. I hope they don't ask any difficult "What's today's date?" sort of questions during the interview.

 

[Heat]

Twice a Month...

...but I wouldn't bet your paycheck on it. I sat down and whooped up some quick math on MS Excel, and dialed in 2 classes per month. So, either I heard what I wanted to hear, or she said two each month (but a xXpress1 figured, a class every 2 weeks would be better)

At 2 classes per month and 20 folks per class, I determined that 400 new pilots would be put through training in '04 with the last class on 6 Dec 04. The 200 mark would be reached during the first class in July.

I wish there was a way to share this spreadsheet with you guys so you can shoot holes until we get it corrected to 100%. If any of you networking types have a plan, bring it on!

Heat

 

[AFcitrus]

list may be shorter than you think

For those of you swimming in the pool, here's a bit of good news that might make your wait shorter. I know of several ex-Air Force, would-be future SWA pilots who weren't willing to take a chance and decided to stay on active duty or got tired of waiting and came to AirTran, Jetblue, and ATA.

It's a win for everyone. The Air Force got to keep some highly experienced pilots for the war, AirTran and others got some great pilots we would have lost and you poolies will get to class sooner.

Cheers

 

[wnt2fly4swa]

Got a number of guys that have jumped ship for us?

 

[Heat]

Great Post !

AFCitrus,

I'll bet we've all had that thought and conversation with someone over the past year. Could I ask a favor of you? The next time you're taking a look at the unofficial SWA pool list, could you take note of any names that ring a bell, and send them my way? I'll PM them and try to get the scoop.

My thoughts and prayers went out to those guys and gals a long time ago for having to make the tough decision, so don't think I'm bottom feeding off of their misfortune... just wanna know what the numbers are (as best we can) so others can determine their life's plans.

Thanks again for the post,

Heat

 

[AFcitrus]

Hey Heat,

Can you PM me? I tried to PM you but it won't let me. I'd rather not post anyone's screenname on this public forum since I can't be sure that my info is 100% correct.

Thanks

 

[Yahtzee]

Heat & gang,

Thanks for all the encouraging words. Here's hoping all the figuring (especially xXpress1's) will pay off for SWA, the poolies, and a lot of wannabes.

Any words from anyone on the online app system for the wannabes?

Yahtz

 

[thebluto]

Got an email from LL

I sent an email to LL last week to update my phone #. She said the online update for those who got their apps in before April will start in January. She also said interviews will probably begin in Mar/April timeframe.

 

[Benhuntn]

Congrats

Congrats to the 12 Jan class. AF757pilot take good notes for me. I am old and can't remember things the way I use to.. Have fun in Dallas and Smoke the class. You may not be the oldest guy/gal in the class but you will easily look like the oldest....

Your pal
Maxie me

 

[chase]

Long term Hiring Prospects

This cut from a financial guru talking about why SWA is set to do well from an earnings (translation=hiring) standpoint. There a few negatives, he covers those also:

Per Walter Thorpe, Sr. Analyst, although one of the largest airlines as measured by passengers carried, their low fare places it in the bottom third revenue wise in the group.

Pros:
1. Operating efficiencies is most profitable of group. LUV is only 6% of Airport Industry’s revenue in 2000, but, LUV took in a remarkable 20% of earnings.
2. LUV just went thru one of the most difficult period on record for airlines, LUV stayed in the black, while other airlines were in the red.
3. Although capitalization is greater than competitors, share price does not fully reflect LUV’s superior profit potential in 2006-2008.
4. Demand should gradually improve as the economy improves.
5. A low cost structure gives the company a competitive edge that enables mgmt to keep fares down and achieve profit.
6. Although terrorism is a concern, LUV is more insulated than others. LUV flies mostly to smaller airports, which are less likely to be targeted.
7. Customer traffic to increase faster than capacity.
8. Pt to Pt route structure is more cost efficient than monopolistic hub-n-spoke model used by major carriers.
9. 2nd Tier airports are used, where landing fees & congestion is minimal, keeping costs and shortening delays that waste valuable resources.
10. Increasing Internet sales helps reduce travel agents commission from 5% to 1%; other national airlines selling expenses are closer to 7-8%.
11. LUV accounts for only 11% of domestic capacity, leaving lots of room for future growth.
12. Low cost structure consistently demonstrates it can move into new market and grow.
13. LUV, to date, has never experienced any serious union discord.
14. Fuel hedging has helped keep costs down for the immediate future.

Negs:
1. Travel is depressed
2. LUV’s expansion plans on hold.
3. Abrupt hikes in jet fuel prices can squeeze carrier’s margins in the LT future