Originally Posted by
mulcher
I don't SET but I tell the FOs start them whenever you want. I don't GAS! We can always shut one down if there is a line. I have never had a problem getting rolling. Every Jet, SET, every flight, every day for 175 years. Inbound, I only shut it down if I see all rampers ready to work. The risk vs reward isn't worth my career. Damage something and SWA will find any reason to pin it on the flight crew.
I am with you, but I will say there is NEVER a time to SET right now. We have had way too many close calls with taxi errors and near misses. We should have every gopher head looking out of the hole and not monitoring some stupid engine start. Safety is number one and if you miss a taxiway and cause a near miss the company will throw you under the bus even if you state you were SET.
Secondly I could care less about saving money. Mach .795 and the rides are always better down in the 20s. Could care less about money as I am in the safety business…