I both agree and disagree.

For starters SWA does have a lot of great elements to their contract, at least some of which we should emulate.

It is very difficult to compare the two, as they fly one fleet type and we are almost the universal opposite. Kind of hard to compare the two, but both companies seem to prosper with their respective models.

But as for SWA rules "adding 2000 captains"...I think nyet. Do you just make this stuff up, throw it against some metaphorical wall and hope that some sticks?

SWA pilots have long been the industry's most productive. They are always flying more, have few if any restrictions on picking up time and in general can fly more block hours with fewer pilots than other airlines' pilots could or would, EVEN IF those other airlines had an identical fleet and identical route structure.

2000 captains? If we adopted SWA's work rules, we would love some, and the company would love others. My guess is that we would need far fewer, not more, captains.

 

Don't forget WN has "lance captains," all short call, and various other oddities.

Cherry picking never really gets you anywhere productive if you hold that cherry picking as a "if not, then no."

Set goals and shore up areas where we are short (VACATION.... MEDICAL!!!), but the entire product is what's up.

 

While Jerry's "2000 added" number is clearly an exaggerated/no factual basis number, it seems highly unlikely that we would ever lose positions under our fleet plan with LUV work rules and your own analysis above seems to establish that.

There is no question in my mind that LUV pilots are more efficient than we are...when they come to work. That is the benefit of having one category. I would posit that many narrow-body Delta pilots would like to see productive trips like LUVs as well thereby minimizing the number of days they have to work.

As for picking up time, our high ALVs plus 15 hours puts us in the same neighborhood and then throw on a G/S or two and we are probably ahead of them. But, in the end, they are restricted by the same domestic FARs that we are.

However, remember that LUV still uses line of time bidding. Therefore trips that touch vacation and training drop into open time - they do not bid a schedule around pre-posted events that credit only 62% of a day of work....they get 100% of the value of the line plus the time off. Remember when we used to do that?

Also, LUV still does a day of ground training for CQ which adds another day to the CQ footprint and thereby makes it easier to drop a touching trip for CQ when you have a 4 day footprint.

Finally, by way of another comparison, LUV does not fly red eyes which limits pot of available domestic flights.

They do seem to like the AM/PM concept for trip construction which makes commuting an issue - either you commute in the day before an AM but finish early or finish a trip late and have to commute out the next AM. Good for circadian rhythym stuff but not good for commuting. 😆 Really no idea if that is a plus or minus regarding manning though.

We will never be a single category carrier like LUV but until they implement PBS and all of its efficiencies, you are going to have a hard time convincing me that we would lose manning by accepting their work rules.

The bigger (and much more important) question is how the LUV AIP factors into our NMB "time out." We aren't LUV, we aren't UPS and we aren't Allegiant but the trend has been established. Do we now have a "LUV dot" that needs to be addressed when the parties resume Section 3 negotiations?

 

I'm not sure what equipment Jerry flies, but I can assure you that us domestic 88 dogs DO NOT want to work any harder or spend ANY more time in the cockpit of these NB's!

As far as SWA, I'd rather NOT fly the 737 POS for my entire career, even if I earned more!

YMMV

 

Well at the risk of actually sort of agreeing with Jerry (shocking I know), I THINK that his point was that if we adopted the SWA work rules, for trip construction if nothing else, you would get more pay and credit for the exact same flying that you do now.

But it is a difficult comparison for sure. It looks like the SWA AIP (not even a formal TA yet) is a good one, but I only say that as a NON-SWA sort.

 

wait, an 88 pilot views the 73 as a pos?

 

Really Jerry?

 

If we adopted LUV's work rules, we would also suddenly have a surplus of several hundred pilots.

Anybody wanna be a Lance Captain? I can just see that...

 

Is that LUV work rules with or without PBS?

 

On average, a SW 737 pilot works fewer days a month than a DAL 737 pilot. And now if we go to their work rules it would give up DAL jobs? How the heck does that math work out?