Originally Posted by
ZapBrannigan
I cant tell you how many people i flew with during the pandemic who were salivating over the prospect of one of the legacies folding and SW still standing when the dust settles. When i argued that would result in tens of thousands of pilots out of work i was told some drivel about winners and losers and how thats competition. I was dumbfounded how any pilot could wish ill will on a fellow aviator.
I was disappointed that we werent better than that. I dont know if we have the high ground here.
No, we don't.
A quote from a SWAPA official in a
New York Times article published March 10, 2006 about pilot frustration with the state of the industry in the wake of 9/11 and the ensuing bankruptcies entitled "
Airline Pilots Still Flying, but No Longer Quite So High":
Not everyone agrees that the longer working schedule is a problem.
"It's hard for me to feel sorry for them," said Capt. Jeffrey R. Hefner, the safety chairman of the union that represents pilots at Southwest Airlines, who have always flown longer hours than pilots at older airlines.
"They're a bunch of spoiled brats," he said. "Historically, this has been a really cushy job once you get to the majors. You make a lot of money and you don't have to fly a lot. But there had to be a market balancing at some point."
Note: the tentacles and ethos of SWAPA 1.0, some of which is reflected in the above quote, still permeate current SWAPA. It's better than it was, but there's still more than a little bit of it there.