Buchanan is a troll and this whole argument is ridiculous. He is just seeing how long he can string you guys along arguing his stupid premise.

Southwest is just another big airline now with big airline costs and big airline problems, including anti-pilot management. They would furlough in a hot second if they thought that scheme would work out to their finanacial benefit. Tammy Romo dropped an accidental nod to the fact that they are already having contract regret when she mentioned in the investor day presentation that labor contracts and especially pilots are expensive, causing increased headwinds that need to be overcome with similarly increased revenue. The thing about that is that the pilots worked with the company and have for many years to give them revenue streams to unlock via scope and costs to cut via scheduling practices. SWA management chooses not to pull those levers, so here we are.

The email that came out from our VP of Flight Ops should come as no surprise to anyone. It's just a reminder that any warmth, personal connection, and emotion that you feel for this company is born out of a lie from long ago and is completely misplaced. Given a choice between doing the right thing and doing the thing that will benefit them, they will almost always choose the thing that puts money in their pockets at a cost to you. Pilots are faced with choices on a daily basis at a micro level along those same lines. Carry extra gas or no? Single engine taxi or no? Continue tired or bang out fatigued? Jump through the commuter policy hoops or just bang out sick? My advice to everyone is to remember the cowardly message that LK decided to send out after 5 on a Friday before he went home for the weekend. I know I will.