Thoughts
SWAbigdaddy brings up some good points but I believe the most important one is be true to yourself & what you want out of a job.
Nothing is always but certainly for the foreseeable future the following applies:
SWA will always be a combination of short/long haul.
Some passengers will always complain, boxes never do.
SWA won't be flying to exotic places anytime soon (unless you call COS, MSP, etc. exotic points). We are what we are.
Cost will always be supreme. Anything that drives up costs will be viewed as a negative by the company & factors that drive the costs down (automation, technology, work rule efficiencies, etc) will be viewed positively.
Customer service is paramount next to safety. When we forget that, we will lose our advantage.
International flying is not in the foreseeable future.
Larger aircraft are not in the forseeable future.
Conclusion:
Come in expecting SWA to be something it isn't going to be then you'll be disappointed. We are what we are. Expectations by new hires or folks currently here have to ask, who is more likely to change, the business model of SWA or my expectations for flying a domestic low-cost carrier for a 10-20-30 yr career? If that doesn't excite you, no problem, there are other options out there & I wish you good luck at pursuing your aviation goals.
As for the future of LCC, I'll take a wild guess & say our future looks very bright. More aircraft purchased (we're paying cash except for one lease deal) than all other majors combined, 400+ pilots for these aircraft, a 13% pay increase in Sept '04 (that will be a total of 26% pay increase since Sept '02). I hope the recovery continues for all carriers, not just LCC. Our growth & expansion has less to do with other carriers (LCC or legend) but more to do with how our people respond to the challenges facing us to continue to provide a safe, customer friendly, and affordable means of transportation. It is really as simple as that, regardless of what the financial pundits spout out on the various pages of US newspapers. cheers,
SWAbigdaddy brings up some good points but I believe the most important one is be true to yourself & what you want out of a job.
Nothing is always but certainly for the foreseeable future the following applies:
SWA will always be a combination of short/long haul.
Some passengers will always complain, boxes never do.
SWA won't be flying to exotic places anytime soon (unless you call COS, MSP, etc. exotic points). We are what we are.
Cost will always be supreme. Anything that drives up costs will be viewed as a negative by the company & factors that drive the costs down (automation, technology, work rule efficiencies, etc) will be viewed positively.
Customer service is paramount next to safety. When we forget that, we will lose our advantage.
International flying is not in the foreseeable future.
Larger aircraft are not in the forseeable future.
Conclusion:
Come in expecting SWA to be something it isn't going to be then you'll be disappointed. We are what we are. Expectations by new hires or folks currently here have to ask, who is more likely to change, the business model of SWA or my expectations for flying a domestic low-cost carrier for a 10-20-30 yr career? If that doesn't excite you, no problem, there are other options out there & I wish you good luck at pursuing your aviation goals.
As for the future of LCC, I'll take a wild guess & say our future looks very bright. More aircraft purchased (we're paying cash except for one lease deal) than all other majors combined, 400+ pilots for these aircraft, a 13% pay increase in Sept '04 (that will be a total of 26% pay increase since Sept '02). I hope the recovery continues for all carriers, not just LCC. Our growth & expansion has less to do with other carriers (LCC or legend) but more to do with how our people respond to the challenges facing us to continue to provide a safe, customer friendly, and affordable means of transportation. It is really as simple as that, regardless of what the financial pundits spout out on the various pages of US newspapers. cheers,
