ecam

Interesting twist no one mentioned. SWA lets passengers cancel without penalty and crew tickets to future travel or refund in come instances. Pretty easy to cancel their ticket and fly another airline. They are probably going to lose a lot of business if they keep up this policy.

trip

There's no quicker way to **** off PAX then to cancel. They'll sit out a delay and grumble about the weather in general but as long as it's still on your good. CX and they start thinking-never again.

e6bpilot

Ha ha. This is nothing. You should see some of our heat of the summer ops. And yet, they keep coming back. Weird.

at6d

We also lose gazzillions of dollars annually by not charging for checked bags.

AwkwardTurtle

You can turn planes faster by not charging for bags. Which in turn increases the utilization rate and makes Southwest gazillions of dollars.

ecam

Allegiant makes more money from checked bags and the other stuff we sell than we do from the base ticket prices. And were still the most profitable US airline.

We charge for everything and do scheduled 40-50 minute turns everywhere we go. We depart early most of the time. Our 319s hold 156 and our 320s hold 177/186. Your theory doesn't hold water.

Timmay

Yeah, well...we fly on Wednesday.

ecam

It was Tuesday and Saturday get it right. But that pretty much went away with the 80. We are a 7 day a week airline now but we still don't fly to most places every day.

dawgdriver

The shameful treatment of its mechanics is further evidence that WN senior leadership has monetized the culture of goodwill that Herb created. The heart logo, once seen as a symbol of an airline that truly cared for its people (now "cost units"), who in turn, cared for its customers (now 'shareholders'), has become more of an insult to those that remember what the company once was. Victim of its own growth, like most large corporations, everything is now callously sacrificed at the alter of profits and stakeholders. Even the greatest crews in the business, (which SW definitely has), can't compensate for the decisions of the company.

In contrast, consider the high level decisions made by Delta that reflect their long term goal of remaining the world's premier airline. Instead of rushed and chaotic boarding processes designed to accommodate unrealistically short ground times, DAL sacrifices the time profitably spent in the air to allow on time, orderly scheduled departures. Worst case, delay but avoid cancel. In contrast, WN continues to operate it's schedule hoping for the best, acting as if it still flies out of small airports vs. the highly congested major airports it has shifted towards.

On the employee front, Delta's focus on its people avoided collective bargaining in most labor departments for by caring for and compensating better than the competition. WN's pilot contract becomes amenable in 2020; understanding pilot demand and market forces, Legacy carriers started talks early. Time will tell whether WN management will do the same and step up, but given recent trends, I wouldn't hold my breath. Kinda sad considering the dedication and productivity of its pilots. If upcoming pilot contract talks follow the trends and drag on for years, SWA will likely find itself struggling to compete for the ever-dwindling number of pilots left out there.

gipple

Post of the year nominee.