satpak77

just an observation but we departed "Southwest Hiring Info" airspace about 20 posts ago on this thread

XtremeF150

Yeah I think your missing the big picture here. No one said SWA is paying or will pay these same fees. They referenced the chart and said those carriers with much higher CASM are related to paying much higher fees than SWA currently endures in its domestic flights.

I don't know how much the airlines get hit with these fees but I do know that nonrevving isn't free outside the US and can vary greatly with the fees incurred to the employee on those international legs.

XtremeF150

I thought several posters cleared that up for us. "No hiring planned in 2013" Same for DAL I think. Join the club guys.

Justdoinmyjob

So who is going to pay CBP begin operating at those two airports? Last time I checked, neither Midway, nor Islip were "International" airports, ie no customs/immigration, and Cancun and the DomRep were not pre clearance stations.

Not picking on you really. SWA is completely capable of doing near international. I think that what is annoying people is the near cavalier attitude some SWA'ers have about doing it. It's a whole other ball game with a steep learning curve, hence the purchase of AAI, who had the experience and knowledge base to do it.

Besides, if people really wanted to fly ultra cheap across the pond, Ryan Air would already be doing it. That guy out southwests even Southwest in cheapness. (Or People Express, Laker Air, or the many others who tried doing it cheap would still be around.)

satpak77

indeed, presently correct. However never say never. Especially in the name of "more jobs, more choices" for air commerce. Last time I checked, both parties were concerned about our economy.

Good luck to SWA and I see a great future ahead for their great company

XtremeF150

They indeed have a great future but count me in for the doubters on the trans atlantic or pacific flying. They will definately do some LA and island flying but there would be blood shed on international routes. That isn't just UAL, AA, and DAL fighting for those routes. It is a new fierce competitor that has better fuel hedges than SWA could ever touch. Right now the legacies are changing to survival mode out over the open water. I just hope there is an N number on the tail of those a/c crossing the atlantic in the next decade.

Bush Pilot

I would agree with those that stated we will not be hiring any time in the near future.

We currently have to absorb the rest of the 1700 pilots we acquired while not bringing on 88 of their airplanes. This begs the question, "What is our planned crew total post transition?"

Great question. Currently we will be averaging a plus 10 pilot per month ratio on the swa side until at least post 2015. This is while airplanes are going to DAL.

I seriously doubt SWA will make the transition timeline on the staffing. Expect a side letter for relief. I'm also betting that we'll lose some pilots at the bottom of the seniority list who will see greener pastures elsewhere. However, I would only put that number at about 2% of 7500.

Most of the rumors I hear claim we're currently overstaffed by 400 and that's on the captain side. The other rumor is that all hiring has ceased, all upgrades have ceased and it's all about bringing air tran guys over here at about 48 a month. Not a very efficient manning model but the other rumor is that the over staffing on the captain side is to keep the senior RSW FO's happy in deference to the SLI by offering as many upgrades as possible before the 2015 transition date. But, it looks like those upgrade opportunities might now be gone.

My take on all this is that you won't see any new hiring at SWA for at least two years. But what the hell do I know. I'm just a dumb pilot.

tr4a

The 400 number you are hearing is for Jan-Feb every year. The schedule is reduced in those months. There is at least one upgrade class of 24 each month.



(Disclaimer: The opinion is my own, and not that of Southwest Airlines Officers, Directors, or Employees.)

Bush Pilot

No mystery with that call sign.

I've heard that from swapa as well but the training center has been telling recurrent classes NO UPGRADES.

Which one is it? And, if we're already overstaffed then why more captains?

sailingfun

There are other issues that impact some of the cost advantages SW has on domestic flights. You have to make a positive bag match. The aircraft can't be quick turned because you have to wait for customs to release the aircraft before you can start the turn process. The crews even if staying with the aircraft will have get off with all luggage, clear immigration, customs and then back through security to reboard. The boarding process itself is slow and chaotic to many of these destinations. Lots of carry ons and passengers who don't mind blocking the entire process for 5 minutes doing some of the strangest things.