Why do you (want to / like to) work for SWA?

[SuperDavi8ator]

Current SWA guys. What do you like most and least about working there.

Hopefuls, why do you want to work there?

Please no "they are about the only ones hiring" type comments, that's a given.


Thanks

 

[vetteracer]

After reading Hard Landing and Nuts, it seems they are one of the only airlines to have fiscal responsibly and a business model that is framed with good management.

The amount of effort and Luv put into SWA from its inception to today is evidence that that they will be around for some time. They have persevered through insurmountable red tape to become what they are today. A passage from Hard Landing recounts Herb experiencing a set back due to a judge ruling against him. The judge was incorrect and Herb knew it. Herb was so peed off that he clenched his jaw so tight he cracked a couple of molars.

Someone with that much Drive and determination can accomplish just about anything and the proof is in the pudding. SWA IMO tries to hire people with the same qualities of drive and determination. From my personal experiences in life, I think I fit that mold and would fit in well. And I believe that SWA has been successful for that reason. Everyone is an owner, it is their airline, and there job.

Mark

 

[LearLove]

My MAIN reason for wanting to work for SWA is the type of flying they do. I prefer 4 to 5 legs per day of about an hour each. Must be my commuter roots, I could fly ABE-PHL in a Dash8 all day. Yes I know SWA does longer flights and so forth but 1 to 2 hour legs seem to be a bulk of thier flying.

Actually the flying I'm doing right now at MidAtlantic is the exact type of flying I want to do the rest of my career. Although it has been fun doing the Texas runs and flying to the midwest but I prefer 1 to 2 hour legs up and down the east coast from Philly.

I prefer 3 and 4 day trips with 3 or 4 days off between. My prefered sked would be a 3 day from tue to thur with fri to mon off or a 4 day starting late on tue and finishing by noon on fri with sat to mon off. About 85-90 hours per month or 1000 hours per year. Call me crazy but I enjoy working (A local airport bum/friend told me has something to do with my German/Pennsylvania Dutch family history) and I'm past the point of "building time".

Also the whole job security thing and bla bla bla......

 

[Beer&Brauts]

"Hopefuls, why do you want to work there?"

The 1-2-3 rule.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

"Hopefuls, why do you want to work there?"

The 1-2-3 rule.

Use the 1-2-3 rule...even if you don't fly for SWA..... YEAH!!!

This is SWA contribution to the industry!!!

 

[SWA/FO]

You guys have listed somethings that most people don't pick up on here at SWA. The QOL.

 

[singlespeed]

Family.

 

[328dude]

Exactly what singlespeed just said.

 

[NEDude]

Quite simple for me, its the people I have come across who work there. For two years SWA was my ride to and from work. I have never been treated so well by pilots, flight attendants and gate agents as I was with them. I have been treated better as a free loader on SWA than I have been as a paying customer on most other airlines. I once had a gate agent go out of her way to get me on a flight that was overbooked by 45 (due to an earlier cancellation) on a hectic bad weather day. And she did it with a smile despite the crap she had been dealing with all day.

There are a few other reasons as well.

My first exposure to SWA came when I was working as a fueler in SLC about seven years ago. Their paperwork was simpler than every other airline, and their operation seemed far more efficient than all of the other airlines we dealt with. Everybody went out of their way to get the 20 minute turn done. At other airlines, three or four people would slowly walk out when a plane came in, and just sort of went about their business unloading bags with no particular sense of urgency. When a SWA plane came in, no fewer than 12 rampers were ready and waiting to jump on a plane when it came in. I even saw pilots come down and lend a hand to get the job done.

Being a family guy, I don't have much of a desire to do international flying. I'd hate to be in Lima, Tokyo, or some other far away place and get a phone call from my wife about a family emergency or something.

Just a few of my reasons. Now if they'd only give me a call!

 

[SWA/FO]

That is what I find funny. You hear guys say "I want to fly heavy iron and international". Makes me start thinking - when and if they get to the heavy iron they will be in their mid 50's. Who wants to be halfway around the world if you ever get an emergency call? Who wants to learn a new airplane in their 50's. Who wants their body clocks to be all messed up in their 50's?

If it was a perfect world, you get the heavy flying job in your early 20's then when you decide to settle down you comeback and fly domestic.

 

[stb]

Forgot this also...

That is what I find funny. You hear guys say "I want to fly heavy iron and international". Makes me start thinking - when and if they get to the heavy iron they will be in their mid 50's.

Add in the fact that most of the international flights are at night. Give a 50 year old pilot a JFK to LAX red eye; stand back and watch the prelude to a heart attack.

This thread sounds like someone is trying to get some info for a SW interview question.

 

[AMRCostUnit]

If it was a perfect world, you get the heavy flying job in your early 20's then when you decide to settle down you comeback and fly domestic.

This is how BA does it. They have seniority based pay which is independent of the equipment. So the youngsters are on the 10 day 744 and the old heads are doing turns out of LHR.

AA's international trips leave between 1700 and 2300 out of ORD. You get to Europe between 0100 and 0400 body time (unless you're on the midnight rocket; the sun comes up in your face at about 50W and it's 0200 with 5 hours to go. Ugh.) so its just like staying up late. We have 3 pilots so each gets about 2 hr break. If you can sleep on a plane its great. You get back in the afternoon of the third day so its 3 on 4 off.

Having flown with the most senior Captains at AA I can say that they are outstanding aviators no matter what time of night. They are sharp, ahead of the game at all times and there is no doubt who is in command. And I say that in a good way. They go when THEY are ready and they take care of the crew.

Unit

P.S. And given the state of our company, those same 30+ year Captains think my plan to go to SWA is a good one. Hey, the phones ringing....could it be.....? Nope. Another free vacation. Just what I need.

 

[chase]

Interview question

This is one of the interview questions asked by the SWA interviewers as most know. It makes sense that it is....if you're wife asked you "why me?" & you began to stumble & stammer versus being able to speak from the heart in a coherent fashion, besides sleeping on the couch for the night, you wouldn't fair to well I would believe.

When the interviewers ask this question there isn't a right or wrong answer. It is a measure of your poise, how you put thoughts together & about your passion for coming to SWA. Rattling off a litany of items that one gets from friends or message boards comes off more as a 6 o'clock news read off a teleprompter that makes the interviewee appear insincere. I urge anyone coming to a Southwest interview to take the time to write down one's reasons on a piece of paper, peel the onion back a little so to speak on each of the reasons & formulate one's own thoughts to the question. Try it out on folks & make sure it comes from your heart vs. merely regurgitating lines from a play.

There are many reasons to want to work at Southwest but no one has lived in your shoes, lived your experiences or followed the path you have taken to get to where you are now interviewing with Southwest. All of that "should" make your answer distinctive and unique so don't throw away that opportunity to truly have a distinctively flavored response that applies to your situation and life. Don't shortchange yourself by using other's material. If you've done the reflective introspective evaluation of your motivation and your career aspirations you'll do just fine. Otherwise you'll possibly come off as "over prepared", "canned" or "rehearsed" IMHO. Good luck in your quest. The same goes for the question, "Why you/me for SWA?". Take care,

 

[SWA/FO]

I love SWA!!! For some reason, I love SWA more on the 5th and 20th of each month, I can't figure it out?

 

[Big Beer Belly]

That is what I find funny. You hear guys say "I want to fly heavy iron and international". Makes me start thinking - when and if they get to the heavy iron they will be in their mid 50's. Who wants to be halfway around the world if you ever get an emergency call? Who wants to learn a new airplane in their 50's. Who wants their body clocks to be all messed up in their 50's?

If it was a perfect world, you get the heavy flying job in your early 20's then when you decide to settle down you comeback and fly domestic.

Your "heavy iron" comments have me rolling on the floor! Obviously, you've never done it. Last count I have been privileged to have visited over 70 countries ... from crawling through the Great Pyramids of Giza to "window shopping" certain "distinctive" cultural districts of Amsterdam, from sipping coffee in Vienna to scuba diving in the south pacific, from enjoying a pint with the natives in Sydney to touring Goree Island in Senegal (point of embarkation for all African slaves bound for N. America), and from UAE to the UK and many places in between. ALL my visits were while "working" and I did all that prior to the ripe old age of 35! (Sorry to rip on your "can't be done prior to 50" theory.)

At UPS a new hire today could easily find himself/herself in the right seat of a 757/767 international between 6 mos and 2 years from date of hire. Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, Sydney, Honolulu, London , Paris, Oslo, Madrid, Cologne ... you name it and you could easily be flying it in short order if that's what you choose. But hey, if Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Albany, and Albuquerque are more your thing then I can safely say that can also be arranged.

Point is ... if you want (typically) 1 leg to a hotel, then 24-96 hours off to do whatever your little heart desires then intl flying is right up your alley. If you prefer 4-6 legs per day, congested east coast airspace, and a 10-hour layover, then you're more the domesticated kind of aviator. Lots of choices out there and you can be doing any of them well prior to age 50 at many airlines.

 

[SWA/FO]

I was thinking more of a UAL, NWA & AA type of wait to get into the heavy iron. I didn't even think about you guys at FedEx/UPS.

I sometimes do 1 leg and go to the hotel, however our overnights are 11 hours - 23 hours with most being 14 hours on average.

 

[On Your Six]

Yipppeee - I'm going to Midland/Odessa!!!!!!!!

Who would want to go to culturally-dead places like Paris, Rome and Shanghai when they could instead fly to culturally-rich places like El Paso, Spokane and Buffalo????????????? After all, I feel refreshed after my 6th leg of the day having just flown through peaceful LAX 2-3 times that day...

Personally, I think I would enjoy flying for SWA for the first few years. The pay would be outstanding and the job security is the best out there... Plus, the work environment is fun from what I have heard - that would be a great change.

However, the idea of flying the same aircraft (even if it is a nifty 737-700) and flying to the same destinations for the next 20 years is not that appealing. How many SWA pilots have memorized every approach frequency after their 5th year? At what point do you become so jaded that you just don't care where you are flying anymore? Sure, you could say that about most airlines and their limited route systems. But I like the idea of route variety and looking forward to new equipment and new cultures - but that's just me. I didn't get into flying because of the money or the "security." I like both, but I want to also enjoy what I do and maintain that "excitement" factor if possible. I don't want to be jaded and have 15 years to go before retirement where I am just focusing on the non-flying aspect of my life. I enjoy flying and I'd like to hear from SWA people out there who believe SWA contributes to that enjoyment after 5+ years on the job....

I remember reading a post from an SWA guy named Balley who previously flew a BBJ worldwide and now he is super-bored at SWA. Is that the case with a lot of the SWA pilots after a few years on the job?

 

[SWA/FO]

That guy that is super-bored at SWA probably misses his expense account. You don't think those international guys memorize any of their frequencies?

 

[canyonblue]

Not at 5 years yet, but this place is the best place to work, period. I have a family and that is the first priority in my life. Sorry, it's not the airplane, it's not the layovers and it's not the flying either. This company has the best management in the business and that is why I chose, and was lucky enough to be hired at Southwest. Job security, Days off and a fun place to work with great people make every day I spend at work fun, and not work. For some the idea of flying the same seat and flying to the same destinations for the next 20 years is not that appealing either. If I want to go to Paris, Rome and Shanghai I'll buy a ticket. I imagine after the 10th overnight there it starts to feel like El Paso, but if that is what you like, then enjoy. If you are the type of person who likes to layover at the cultural hot spots in Europe, do not apply here. But then again I'm just an average American guy who watches football on Sunday, unlike some pilots on this board. The safety and security of my family comes first, if you are not at that point in your life yet then it will not matter, if you are then you know what I mean.