WN flight attendants reject TA

[CX880]

This is a pilot forum.

 

[Uncle Bunkle]

This is a pilot forum.

And you look like a dog.

 

[Freebrd]

But....with a tie, so maybe top dog?

 

[Ty Webb]

I'm not a real Southwest warrior. I just woke one day and they handed me the uniform. So. Here is my take, on legitimate question. Even if most rational people have stopped reading this forum. I have flown with some really great people at SWA. Not just pilots, but flight attendants too. I have also gleaned considerable knowledge from long time Ops Agents as well. Based on the stories they have shared and articles I have read prior to my arrival, the oil spike of 2008, age 65, 9/11 and of course the departure of HK, I have come to this conclusion. It's a matter of perspective. Gary Kelly doesn't suck at his job. In fact he's pretty good at it. Too good IMO. He has a plan. It's just deeply rooted in what he knows. Which is finance. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise when the company makes record profits (yeah, cheap oil is awesome), the plan would have made money at 100 dollars a barrel. It's never going to be what it once was unless you have a time machine. And that's just part life. The bottom line is, SWA is still a good company. The new boss has his stripes, they ain't going to change. It will make us money. He is a stingy SOB with contracts. What you should take away from the no vote of the SWA FA's is the fact that over 11,000 voted out of 13,000 FA's. And 9900 voted no. That's unity.

I agree, well put. However-

What Gary is doing is "writing down" the goodwill of the employees, a sort of "off the balance sheet" sale, and putting the money into labor savings. At most Companies, not a big deal, but much of the success of SWA was built on the goodwill and extraordinary efforts of the employees, and that is the very commodity he is trading for interim savings on labor cost.

At some point, the price for that goodwill will become apparent, in the form of lower productivity, higher turnover, and a shoddier product. Will he know when he has reached the limit? Or, will he go past the "tipping point" and have lost the thing that made SWA what it is, until it is just another angry legacy? I hope not, but, like the stock market or a real estate bubble, it's tough to call the top, or the bottom.

 

[Uncle Bunkle]

But....with a tie, so maybe top dog?

You can put lipstick on a pig...

 

[livin'thesim]

Since the SWA model has always relied on the employee goodwill, how might this affect the airline differently from the rest of the industry where there is almost no goodwill at all, so its already baked into the cake. It seems like it might be a disadvantage, at least until SWA acclimates to be being a suckfest like the rest of the industry.

 

[asayankee]

When you're in business to make money and you decide to piss off the people that are responsible for making that money (for a short-sighted gain)....you're playing a very dangerous game of chicken.

 

[DUBLINFLYER]

Its all about the mighty dollar - your just a number always remember even when they throw a bone or smile

 

[sniper]

This is a pilot forum.

Yourself as well as all of your Gojet or in better terms Blowjet pilots don't hold s--- next to SWA FAs ...

 

[AC560]

Its all about the mighty dollar - your just a number always remember even when they throw a bone or smile

That goes both ways.