Originally Posted by dawgdriver

SWA is far from 60 Minutes episodes and comparisons to Allegiant, but if there was ever a time to settle the contract with their mechanics, now would be the time.

5 years without a contract with a relatively small, however highly influential labor group is pushing one's luck, especially at a time when SWA is squarely in the media crosshairs. Add to that a revenue management department that has added flights, allowing maintenance less access time to repair aircraft due to later PM arrivals and earlier AM starts. The fleet is aging and the increased cycles will take their toll. SWA should be adding more quality mechanics with in house quality training. At 3.3 mechanics per plane (UAL 11.3 and AA 7.7) SWA should consider itself lean enough, but instead looks to further reduce the count to 2.7? In an industry that struggles to staff its ranks with the dwindling number of mechanics, this seems odd.