Are Southwest Pilots as Happy as We Think They Are
 

The Title says it all folks....I know myself...everytime I see you guys on a bus to a hotel...you guys are in a great mood. I mean we know you guys are paid well....have a good contract...all that stuff. So am I right? Are things really that great over there???

Reason Im asking...granted its a while away given the current state of this beloved industry....but I think its the perfect fit for me. I just want the real no BS story as to how life is over there. Thanks alot for any input!

That's classified. I could tell ya but then I'd have to kill ya :D

Here's some input - apply at Volaris. They're getting all the best SWA flying.

Cabo layovers ROCK!

See...the fact that you can talk like that despite whats going on with this industry...says alot

They have only been without a "New" contract for what? almost two years plus? I think there a bunch of wimps my self.

SWA is a great company, however, you need to have a great attitude in whatever you do...grow where you are planted and it will consume others too like an infectious disease. I think SWA works hard at this mantra. I work for CAL and love it, why? I try to have the same spirit and fun in everything I do, regardless if circumstances or people that I cannot control. Personally, if I had the 123 rule that SWA has...I would be on cloud nine though.

I think you can tell by looking at the posts on APC. You can tell which pilot groups like their company and which ones do not.

I don't see SWA pilots complaining ... so things must be good. Of course, the situation could be different for each person. But, in general, I think they are having a great time. And they should be, they work for a good company.

-Fatty

This is one of the most profound statements that I have found on this entire website. Well said! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE - EVERYONE AT EVERY AIRLINE READ THIS QUOTE!

Yeah, its good at SWA. Good people, great attitudes, everyone is on the same page....even management most of the time. Everyone treats eachother pretty well overall and you get rewarded for working hard.

Just my 2 cents

And when the next rounds of contract finally get settled...and the pay is brought back to where it should be....the forums will cheer up a little....for everyone.....I hope. Usually the front line folks are great individuals....perception of their management brings out the bad.

Yep, 123 rule for a pilot group making more than all of us combined. It's great they have it but man are we all jealous...

SWA has done many things well for years, but we are at the tipping point of finally losing that "infectious" high energy, can do spirit...our new CEO is a numbers guy that does not value people and cannot be trusted. He is smarter than most airline CEO's but has alienated labor already almost irreparably in his short tenure. We all knew the good times would come to an end some day at good ole SWA and that we would eventually become like the rest in the long run, but no one expected it this soon. I hate to say it, but when Herb left, so did the heart and soul of SWA and now we are just left with the heartless, soulless management that every other airline has.

"Mongo just pawn in game of life"

Besides SWA pay scale...can you be specific on how the company rewards you?

Are you serious? The pay is brought back to where it should be? Holy cow! I can't actually believe you are an airline pilot. Inflation adjusted from 1979 we should all be making $300,000. Anything less is a concession. Attitudes like yours lower the bar for all of us.:mad:

You beat me to it. I thought I was the only one who caught that. By the way, what is the 123 rule at SWA?

$1 beer, $2 wine, $3 well drinks at overnights...the best thing we have going...at least for now

Flyboy,

I have several old Air Force bros that are at SWA, and everyone I've talked to loves it. Granted, that's compared to doing trips to Iraq, but still. I'm close to retirement, so I've been surfing this site and it's seems to me that the majority of people posting here are like me...looking for their next job. I don't think too many SWA guys are looking for new jobs. That answers it for me.

I took his statement differently. I think he is talking about pay going back UP to where it was not back as in backwards. It could be taken either way so maybe a clarification is in order before you tar and feather the guy.

I think that many of the people that work at SWA are as happy as everyone thinks they are. It is not perfect, but I don't think you will find a company in this country that is. I worked there for 5 years, and I had some great times- I should write a book about it all someday. There can definitely be a "party" environment- the 123 thing doesn't help! Many of the pilots who choose to work at SWA are more of that type of personality than ones who choose to work at a more traditional, conservative airline.
Someone asked earlier what other rewards are given- obviously pay and 123 top the list. After that I would say kick-ass insurance, awesome company and new hire parties, cheap buddy passes...
I had knee surgery when I was a new hire. One day, a large box arrived on my doorstep with a huge wool blanket with the Southwest logo on it and a get-well card from Colleen. After I had my son, a box arrived with real flight attendant wings with his name on them. Maybe all of the airlines do these things- I don't know, honestly. But I think the combination of everything is why everyone seems so happy.

You're right, pilotwife, it was a great ride at SWA while it lasted...I'm afraid those days are gone though. This place has changed more in the last 2 years than the 35 before it. Gary is killing the SWA culture one metric at a time. Your husband probably hasn't noticed yet because he is like many pilots here...just happy to be here and have a job in these trying times. One day he will notice though and he'll realize that the dream is over here as it has turned into just another airline job only his retirement is much worse than his peers at other carriers. This is not the company I signed up for and I wish it wasn't so...too bad Herb couldn't stay with us forever.

Have you talked to your bros within the last week, odds are their minds may have changed somewhat. Management Labor relations here are at an all time low right now, but that low is still pretty high compared to some other carriers from what I have heard.

Unfortunately, Gary doesn't really believe in employees first. Stockholders first, everyone else second. We're just following in the legacies footsteps, I'm afraid.

Pilots not happy with company or the union.
 

You have the company codesharing with airlines that make half the pay rate we are at "Southwest undercutting the "luv" culture" they try to promote. You have SWAPA selling out their members with "secret language" on TA agreements, using union money to lobby for the age 60 change that has affected the upgade times of it's FO. You have a large percentage of the Captains saying they all want pay raises, while the right seat counter parts are stuck in the seat pretty much topped out on pay at the 5th year. You have a SWAPA President who seems to be worried more about his image than his members.

Yeah, I say there are some problems right now in mecca.

While I agree with all your other points, this one is kind of bold. Did you see the TA of Section 1 prior to it being opened again? Nobody did except the BoD. Don't make assumptions on things you have not seen in it's whole format.

Other than that, it's kind of gloomy around here.

I'll take SXM, SJD, and MBJ all inclusive CAL beach layovers over domestic 123 any day of the week and twice on the weekend!

No I did not, but you had the SWAPA President bragging that the TA language had been reviewed by top aviation attorneys and that it was the best in the industry, we also had the SWAPA President saying he had the CEO's word that he would follow that agreement. That post was put up by the SWAPA president himself for everyone to see.

What I would like to know is if the TA had not been agreed upon, and that section of the negotiated contract was not binding, why was it secret? What it is with unions and keeping things secret from their members? Sounds like to me the old heads taking care of themselves. Typical at most unions.

I had a choice between SWA and Northwest in '95and chose NWA. Every now and then I second guess my decision due to the $$ involved now.

Then I take my non 1,2,3 beer and sit on a beach on Hawaii, Saipan or Guam (after flying there in something other than a 737) and think I did just fine. But, of course you never know for sure till you die in this business.

I think the new Delta will be the place to work. Nothing against SWA, they are a great airline. I'm not say'en, I'm just say'en

Ferd
Good luck SWA......Herb was a once in a lifetime guy, he will be missed industry wide

Good job! Now give yourself a pat in the back for not adding anything useful to this thread.

I just try and stay focused on what brought me to this career in the first place. As I've stated previously, the minute it becomes a job, I'm on to something else. Regardless of current happenings, WN is still the best in the business.

Well, if FPG is happy, I'm happy. :)

Seriously, though, every company has good and bad. The overall economy is poor and looks to deteriorate even more before it reverses itself. In the meantime, I try to stay positive and surround myself with like-minded people. On days I feel down, I just come here and play Mom. ;)

Right on, brother. DAL is it!

learn to spell.

back to your flame bait.

Well hey guys....thanks for your input thus far....Im about 90% sure this is where I want to end up....its gonna be a longshot for now....but whatever....nobody is going anywhere in this industry right now.

Might as well stick it out at Air Whisky and go where I want to go...rather than taking first available.

Best of luck to the SWA guys and everyone else in this industry....its gonna be an interesting next couple of years.

Interesting indeed .

3 Pats for da Moose
 

Okay...then that's 1,2,3 pats for you my friend:D

So again, are there more specifics other that New Hire Parties, etc...? Is it really that fun working there? When you say you feel appreciated, is it with a pat on the back? A Merry X-mas card? OR.....Bonuses for making you airline the best in the way of compensation? I hate to sound like its all about the $$$, but I want to be able to send my kids to college, enroll them in sports, etc... and watch them grow up knowing I didn't break the bank.
Example: I bought 4 average new tires for my car the other day and it cost me about 1/4 of my paycheck (2nd year FO) That is just WRONG !
A retired pilot who is a great guy told me something I'll never forget; "always, always ALWAYS raise the bar"
It's all negotiation, and who plays better at poker with management.

I apologize for not reading the whole thread as I am on a trip, but just a little story from my end earlier this year. My wife needed to have outpatient surgery on a day I was supposed to be starting a trip. This was in April and I had a week left on probation. I called the chief pilot in LAS and asked what to do. He told me he'd pull the trip(a 3day) no questions asked. Worried about making a bad impression, I said I could pick up the trip on the second or third day. He said not to worry about it and to take care of my family. Later that week, a personalized card arrived from Gary Kelly and Colleen, wishing my wife the best in her recovery. Needless to say I was impressed at their attention to a lone hew hire.
We may have contract issues and codeshare questions, but talking to my squadron mates at DAL an Continental, I'm thrilled to be where I am.
Hope that helps.

just my 2 cents, when there is an early infection detected it can be cure fast. For the SWA guys, just don't let your company become like the regular airlines where we're currently at. There has been a solid foundation laid at SWA and surely do not let greed take over. if you let the infection grow and take over most of your body then it will be much harder to cure, not impossible though, but heck of a lot harder. Someone need to sit Mr Gary down and have him read "NUTS" and have him honor the leadership that help the company become who they are today... It's been said a bad leader bring his peoples to damnation....

Meanwhile I Declare an emergency today for a flap failure....divert...land at 170 KTS.... help with keeping the lives of 45 people safe...and not a single "Thank You" or a "Great Job" by anyone from the company or Mgmt.

Thank you. Great job.