Small point of order:
Reading online it's the SWA Pilots ONLY VEOP that is up to 5 years of pay.
The extended leaves are for a 6-12-18 months off with some sort of pay package for other SWA employees. Maybe (?) includes the pilots? Not clear.
Articles do say that 24% of their pilots have signed up for some kind of retirement or leave.
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In any case, it seems like an amazing offer. Different company and all that; I'd much rather be at Delta. But if Southwest is a bellwether, the airlines are in for a rough few years.
Nearly 17,000 Southwest Airlines employees sign up for buyouts, leaves in bid to avoid furloughs