Lewbronski

IMO, what really began the erosion of our schedule quality began with the arrival of the 800’s along with the implementation of FAR 117. The 800’s forced SWA to increase our turn times, which increased the length our duty days and shortened our overnights. FAR 117 allowed them to do so more easily.

Since then, my experience has been that schedule quality has continued to deteriorate. I’m t has gotten worse and worse. It used to be rare to have AM’s report before 0530-ish or PM’s terminate after midnight. Now, it happens all the time. It’s the norm.

I am way more tired now than I was when I started here nearly 20 years ago.

Like almost anything else having to do with the quality of our lives as airline pilots - from how much we get paid to work rules to benefits - it’s mostly our fault that we have voted to allow it.

But most airline pilots - at least most at SWA, it seems - have decided that the privilege of working for the airline founded by Herb is so exceptionally sweet that it’s worth embracing the suck of lower career earnings, regular 4-leg days, short overnights, insultingly poor disability coverage, and longer upgrades.

As SWA pilots, we have always taken a sort of perverse pride in our “scrappiness” compared to the more delicate and fragile pilots at other carriers. Way back in 2006, one of our SWAPA officials was quoted in the NY Times exclaiming about non-SWA pilots, “They're a bunch of spoiled brats … Historically, this has been a really cushy job once you get to the majors. You make a lot of money and you don't have to fly a lot. But there had to be a market balancing at some point." He seemed to be hypothesizing that it was the high-cost and inefficient pilots at other airlines that had fueled the mid-2000’s industry crisis as opposed to the effects of the 9/11 attacks. It’s pretty reflective still today of the the way most SWA pilots think.

atpcliff

That's one reason I like Atlas. I usually operate one leg, and then go to the hotel. Two legs in a row are more common now, because of COVID19. Very rarely, we have 3 leg days, but that is almost always 2 Capts and 2 FOs, so it is not so bad.

Here is my upcoming work pattern:
27Aug:
Leave on late Air Canada flight YYZ-ORD. Doubletree ORD.
28Aug:
0840 Lcl departure ORD-LAX, for QANTAS. 2 pilots only. Doubletree Torrance.
29Aug:
Overnight flight on Air Canada, LAX-YYZ, non-stop.

This month was a normally abnormal month...
Aug: Three work patterns: 4 day, 6 day, 3 day.18 days off.
It was a "Secondary" Line, which doesn't have any flying associated with it, and does not have Bid Line Guarantee :-( .
I get Min pay, which is only 64 hour guarantee.
Currently, I prefer to work less, and make guarantee.
747 ORD base.

Avroman

Who are you trying to sell that to? at 64 hours there better be an absolutely eye popping 747 pay rate, $500/hr+ or good talk....

symbian simian

​​​​​​​fillerfiller

tommy2times

I would pick Sydney any day over Harlingen, TX doin 8 legs 25 minute flights.

Crockrocket95

Spoiler alert... its not.

Fly4FunAA

No offense but Atlas? Really? Lol. If it was FedEx or UPS that would be very convincing, but I feel like once you’re at the big 6 no one is trying to go outside of that.

itsokimapilot

Sydney?! If I have to go there I’d rather be in the back drinking a beer or two or ten. Once or twice in my life is more than enough. I don’t miss being stuck on an airplane 15+ hours.

Harlingen wins to me. At the most 4 legs to get there, it’s close to home and there’s HEB next to the hotel!

Crockrocket95

Truth.

You don't come to SWA and hope to be gone for 18 days and 7 timezones. The difference is here you can generally stay within 1 or 2, and honestly I think I do maybe 3 or 4 4 leg days a month. Its not that common. And its not hard work - go do 4 legs under a 135 operator and you'll be dead tired. Do it here and its not that bad.

flensr

People burn sick time to avoid fatigue? I call in fatigued when I'm fatigued, and call in sick when I'm sick. I've heard unsubstantiated rumors that sometimes there may exist one or more than one person who may or may not call in sick if they just really need a day off, but I can't confirm anything like that of course. Except for that one guy who sniped a below-rig trip out of base 30 seconds before a midnight OT close only a handful of hours before he'd have to commute to make the flight, then sicked out a couple of hrs later. That was pretty obvious he never intended to fly it, but that's the only one.