SWA virtual bases?

[freightdogfred]

I talked to a SWA dude the other day who said that virtual bases were coming, the only holdup was the issuance of Ipads? I'm curious if it's true and what the bases will be. Is there a timeframe? When I flew freight the company did this, it worked pretty good, with a lot less commuting, more days off and the company saved a lot on hotels. Is this just a rumor or some substance behind it? No flaming or mudslinging plz

 

[St. Nic]

Branson Municpal!

 

[redflyer65]

I think the company might be taking a look, but the timeframe is hard to pin down. Or if they will ever do it. They could save a ton in hotel expenses though.

 

[twepilot]

I heard SAT STL BNA LAX FLL and a couple others that I can't remember right now. You know what rumors are good for though??

RV

 

[Ty Webb]

From what I have heard, the ability to do this will be there, once the Ipads are in place, but it will take management and SWAPA to both sign off on it, so I'm sure it will be a "process". I would expect there to be some push-back from the senior guys living in base, who fear their lines will be diluted.

Rumored "mini-bases" are anywhere with a large number of overnighters, but I doubt anyone knows exactly which ones, or what the threshold would be.

 

[waveflyer]

I've heard a 5 airport SoCal domicile

And smf, sea, Pdx in the mix with the others mentioned

I hadn't heard STL but that makes more sense than smf

 

[t-bone]

SMF??? I'd give my left nut to be an a SMF FO for life...just gotta get called for that interview first!

 

[BUDDHA145]

Branson Municpal!

Hahaha!!!

 

[slaquer5]

Branson Municpal!

Funny coming from a USAir pilot


USAir =. Underwater Seating Available.

 

[ron burgundy]

Branson Municpal!

Tough commute...Have to rent a car to drive 15 miles to Branson.

 

[scoreboardII]

It may be coming, but now, SWA is going to have to give back some serious compensation. We gave at the office, if they want virtual basing, they will have to buy it from us.

I for one living in base, say no. I see no benefit to me, and see lots of pitfalls to me.

 

[waveflyer]

I live in base too -
But I like the idea of these mini domiciles

 

[Ty Webb]

They can generate, for comparison's sake, sample pairings for the month, with a certain number of pairings starting and ending in the mini bases, and a reduction of lines in current bases.

Then, if both sides sign off on it, there cold be a trial period, with a snap-back to the old way, if necessary.

 

[jonjuan]

I live in base too -
But I like the idea of these mini domiciles

As do I. Something for everyone.

 

[ackattacker]

Funny coming from a USAir pilot


USAir =. Underwater Seating Available.

You can do better. Lame.

SWA = Sliding Wintertime Arrivals.

SWA = Some Wheelbarrow Airplanes.

SWA = Somewhere West of Airport.

 

[felixpuppy]

How is the ipad test going? Last I heard, everyone was supposed to have them and be using them as EFB's this month. Any update on the progress?

 

[Tripower455]

Just like right of return, SWApA doesn't want mini domiciles, so there won't be any. It might thin out the Premium time at the regular bases, and Lord knows, we can't punish the 1%ers like that!

As for the iPads, I think 700 folks are still "testing" them. The rest of us are waiting for the rollout in April.

 

[say again]

You can do better. Lame.

SWA = Sliding Wintertime Arrivals.

SWA = Some Wheelbarrow Airplanes.

SWA = Somewhere West of Airport.

U Suck Ass

 

[737tanker]

How is the ipad test going? Last I heard, everyone was supposed to have them and be using them as EFB's this month. Any update on the progress?

FltOps selected the IPAd Air and the pilots have to buy it by April 15th, SWA will reimburse the cost. The date for full use of the IPAD is May 1st.

 

[Donald]

How is the ipad test going? Last I heard, everyone was supposed to have them and be using them as EFB's this month. Any update on the progress?

The company has already provided a link for purchase. The minimum is the ipad air, 32g, wi-fi + 4g. 4g is required to provide GPS function. You can upgrade the memory if you want, but at your own cost.

Does any body recommend upgrading the memory?

 

[Bake]

I hate to tell ya but us air is gone.

 

[scoreboardII]

They can generate, for comparison's sake, sample pairings for the month, with a certain number of pairings starting and ending in the mini bases, and a reduction of lines in current bases.

Then, if both sides sign off on it, there cold be a trial period, with a snap-back to the old way, if necessary.

Your going to want to ask some old SWA heads how that snap back thing doesn't pan out at SWA. Our last scheduling open time system was sold as a test we could cancel, but the company told us otherwise...

 

[scoreboardII]

The company has already provided a link for purchase. The minimum is the ipad air, 32g, wi-fi + 4g. 4g is required to provide GPS function. You can upgrade the memory if you want, but at your own cost.

Does any body recommend upgrading the memory?

Yes, My plan is to buy it through a cell service like Verizon with a dedicated service plan which knocks $100 of the price, netting me 64GB for the cost of 32GB.

 

[waveflyer]

After owning several iPads-
I'm going for the 128gig

Any news on a discount yet?

 

[j41driver]

After owning several iPads-
I'm going for the 128gig

Any news on a discount yet?

All of the info was sent out by the company and SWAPA the other day. Check your email.

 

[waveflyer]

I don't do that on off days, but maybe I'll make an exception.... (Sigh- I better not learn anything else man)

 

[ackattacker]

Since you guys are getting the 4g, version, check out T-Mobile. They don't advertise it heavily, for obvious reasons, but you can buy a sim card for $.99 and activate a free data account, 200mb per month for "the life of the tablet". 200mb isn't much but it's enough for occasional use, emails and such when you're away from wifi.

Pretty simple to do, order the sim from the website, turn off wifi on the tablet, pop in the sim, and go to any website. It'll redirect you to t-mobile and walk you through the process of activation. The free account doesn't even require a credit card.

I guess they're hoping to get you hooked on having a cellular data plan, so you upgrade to a plan with more data later on.

For the Ipad Air, get the nano sim.

 

[fr8doggie]

Who pays for the monthly data plan?
We have unlimited data with AT&T. Paid for by FDX.

 

[DUBLINFLYER]

SWa employees have a discount program with AT&T and they have plans for Ipads

 

[j41driver]

Who pays for the monthly data plan?
We have unlimited data with AT&T. Paid for by FDX.

Right now, activation of cellular on the iPad isn't required and the company isn't paying for data plans. They're requiring the cellular version due to the internal GPS that the wifi only version doesn't have.