::QUOTE=fireman0174;313319]Before I retired, I flew commercially for 35+ at a major carrier, and I can honestly say that in my opinion, SWA on average taxis faster than most everyone else. That doesn't mean unsafe, just faster than most. I never did, but I have been tempted a number of times to key the make and say "V1".
I seem to recall from years ago that SWA was violated by the FAA for taxiing while knowingly aware that passengers were not yet seated. Also, if I'm not mistaken, SWA pilots get some sort of a "bonus" for being under schedule.
Are either one of these recollections on my part correct?
As far as being "cut off" by SWA, that's never happened to me. One event by American sticks in my mind, but not SWA.[/QUOTE]
Fireman,
Great questions! In the days of old (my understanding is that) SWA used to push back with people standing because they could. Rules only said that all passengers must be seated prior to takeoff. Now when I look back at that I think "that was pretty dumb" and wonder how we avoided a lawsuit. We all get a little smarter as we mature (hopefully).
As far as a bonus goes that really does not apply unless someone is trying to under fly so that they can pick up extra open time. We are rather motivated to expedite things because our turn times are generally about 25 minutes. Not much time to dilly dally and if you can save a few minutes on the taxi we try to do so. That being said it still does not allow for us to do anything that is unsafe. We also try to be courteous but if you hesitate and we have nose position we will take advantage of the situation if allowed by the ground controllers.
I am not sure of the motivation of those on this thread trying to disparage SWA and the guys that went off the taxiway in GEG by pointing out our taxi speed. Good headwork would dictate a taxi speed that leaves the aircraft out of the dirt. We still don't know the specifics and I will wait for the actual info before pointing fingers or placing blame. I think every carrier out there has made some mistakes and I certainly wait for the facts before engaging in banter that could be wrong. Again I wonder about the motivation to discuss this by some.
