TiredSoul

I’ve been catching some flack for being a negative nelly.
Let me explain a couple of things.
I’ve met a lot of good people while working at Swift. Mechanics, flight crew, cabin crew. They good ones work hard and have pride in their job.
Without a doubt.
However, company policy is from the top down. Nobody on the ‘workfloor’ can change that or force a change without a union.
So as management you keep the union out the door and your half way there.
Then use the ‘divide and conquer’ tactics by “allowing” (actively encouraging) special deals.
The recipients of which would never go against company.
What are or maybe were the special deals? Home basing for a special group while officially Swift didn’t have home basing.
Sugar trips assigned to the same people. Overtime assigned to the same and so on an so forth.
These people had an open line to Scheduling to have trips changed or crews changed on trips.
I’ve sat there many times with a Captain on the phone with Scheduling asking them to take another off a trip to have themselves put on.
Classy.
Now combine this with an abusive management style and a business plan which is based on buying airplanes retired by other operators, sending them to C/D checks and paint in South America then have crews deal with all the subsequent issues that rise out of these practices. Allowing your mechanics to only repair what absolutely necessary for the very next flight to take place.
Yes I know they have -800’s now but that’s because they fell into that deal after Eastern tanked.

Water flows to the lowest point.
Change needs to be forced and unless there is a sufficiently strong incentive it won’t happen.
If company policy is determined by management then it won’t change with the same people still in place.
It’s that simple.
End of rant.

, enjoy March madness.

By the way, the -300/400 are freakishly fun to fly and the Caribbean offers some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.
Just a shame about the management really.