Agreed. Good riddance to VDV. AW is sharp and brings an outside perspective that is sorely needed at the GO.

 

Makes for a net-loss of two bean-counters in the C-Suite this year. What's not to love about that?

 

You’re not wrong and healthy skepticism is always a good starting position for us. But I’ll add one more positive about AW that isn’t related to his fleet/network aspirations. The dude’s straight up honest and forthright. Back in new hire training we peppered him with questions and he was very direct. Even basically told us LAX would be the next base about 6 months before it was announced even though he wasn’t supposed to. Was also not holding back about strategic mistakes he felt the company was making. After hearing nothing but GK and VDV answer our questions like politicians up til that point it was a huge breath of fresh air and made me a believer!

 

Well, we'll see. I remember when Babbitt was first hired to negotiate for the company. People here actually praised that decision. That also goes for nearly every VP of flight ops. "So and so is a good $#/π," Ad nauseam. Then reality sets in.

Look people. Maybe the direction of the company will change 3°. Or maybe not. What's for certain is these people are not our buddies. They always seem to become adversarial as soon as they are in the hot seat. Let them do what they do. We need to focus on pulling the "no" lever at least once, maybe twice. And maybe stack some greenbacks for the 3 minutes/days/weeks when you might need to dip into your piggy bank for your Cheerios and beer money.

 

So just because the guy "speaks pilot" doesn't make him a friend. Never met the guy, but actions speak far louder than words.

As Lew says, pilot catnip indeed. Show me a contract rewrite AIP with industry-leading rates that are in line with the inflationary environment first... then I'll start cheering.

 

I concur with this thought. The guy seems like a very straight up dude. Rarely are these types willing to be pawns.

Despite all the negatives right now, this is great news. They are not hiring 2k pilots just for greater route penetration. There is more to the story and I personally think this change is a glimpse of the plan and a piece of the puzzle.

We have some tailwinds right now: Pilot shortage/demand, uptick in business travel, mediation, and competitors laden with debt, or merger quagmire. I have said it before, I don’t want us to be first to sign and don’t want to be last. We just need to keep pushing the ball up the field and be in a position to push into the end zone when the time is right. The company is going to NEED us to settle and that is the time to do so.

This is great news today. It appears to position us a few yards closer to the end zone in my opinion.

 

this. I worked alongside AW in hq and was extremely impressed. He lives and breathes airline industry and is competitive. Puts in long hours and stayed in office while everyone else was at home. Honestly my main concern would be that he gets an offer he can’t refuse from someone like Scott Kirby.

 

Yawnnnnnnnmm

 

He seemed pretty transparent as a management guy can be. Told all of us in Oakland he thought we had too many 800’s/-8 max’s. I’m not thinking sunshine and rainbows but I do believe he’s a forward looking manager vs our old antiquated management style. I do believe he looks at the industry cerebrally. Good for us as a company, I’m still in the fupm camp no matter who is in charge….

 

He is the first company outsider in a very long time to take a senior leadership role. That is a huge win for the company long term no matter how you look at it.

Pilots like him because he doesn't speak like the two headed snakes that we have had in the C Suite for the last 20 years and he plainly wants to change the way SWA does business and take some risks. I am guardedly optimistic, we shall see.

It won't make a bit of difference in negotiations. This isn't some secret plot to bait us into taking anything. The dude really wants to make big changes, and he has been preaching that to anyone who will listen since he got hired here.