It was the height of arrogance for the SWA pilots to even think of stapling the F9 guys to the bottom of the list. SWA was getting routes and jets in the deal. So they didn't want the Airbus, they still were going to fly them until they were replaced by 737s. That was additional flying that F9 brought in. You bring jets and jobs to the table, you keep your relative seniority. SWA could have brought the F9 guys in at a ratio of what, 12 to 1? Slot Captains in with captains, F/Os in with F/Os. That is the way it should have been done and it would have caused almost no disruption. After all, this was additional flying.

SWA and SWAPA have a history of screwing the pilots of the airlines that Southwest aquires. Just ask the former Muse Air, Morris or ATA pilots.

Very well said, cactusbusdrvr.
The Southwest guys appear to be a snooty lot.
Southwest is getting very large now, so look for problems to develop in future...just like large legacy carriers, only slightly modified.
In addition, Frontier is hugely popular in Denver, and the folks in DEN are mighty loyal to local businesses.....as they positively should be.

Southwest looking at "long haul low cost"?
 

Interesting article in today's ATW News:

ATW Daily News

Cue "Clash of the Titans"? With Ryanair having expressed an interest in this, might we face the prospect of both carriers competing with each other on t/a flights - probably not directly (at first), but with both companies being aggressive expansionist (although FR much moreseo, in recent years), it would only be a matter of time before their worlds' collided.

Certainly good news for Boeing, assuming both chose the 787!

There's still a long way to go for either carrier, but long haul low cost does seem to be the wave of the future ...

Hmmm , and who would win?:E:E:E:E

take-off - as per Ryanair's slogan, low-cost always wins

They had better crunch and recrunch their numbers a few times before embarking on TATL.

Suprisingly, sucess in long distance is based on maximizing revenue, by charging premium prices, as opposed to reducing costs.

Southwest has gotten to where it is over the years by avoiding long distance flying.

This meaning that we have to wait until 2025 to see this venture start! ;)

Wrong-

AIRLINE BIZ Blog | The Dallas Morning News


Southwest Airlines to Europe, South America? Not true, Southwest says
9:40 AM Wed, Sep 16, 2009 | Permalink

Terry Maxon/Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips

Air Transport World has quite a scoop Wednesday out of Beijing, quoting a Southwest Airlines manager as saying the carrier has plans to start service to Europe and South America.

To quote its online story, which also showed up as the number one item on the Air Transport Association's daily SmartBrief collection of Wednesday's media stories:

"Southwest Airlines plans to open international routes to Europe and South America, although so far there is 'no timetable' for the move, Director-Network Strategic Planning Lee Lipton told ATWOnline at the World Route Development Forum in Beijing.

But there's a problem. A Southwest spokesman says unequivocably that "there's no truth to it. Lee Lipton was very surprised to read it. He had no discussion with that reporter. He's never said those things."

Well, dang. As a reporter, one wonders about the disconnect. The Air Transport World certainly didn't make it all up. Maybe something was said as a hypothetical, and it became a certainty in the story.

Like Sen. Snort said in a long ago "Grin and Bear It" comic strip: "Yeah, I said it, but not in headlines that big!"

UPDATE: Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins elaborated on the story and Southwest's intentions this afternoon.


"Flying long-haul, meaning beyond Canada, Mexico, Caribbean or Hawaii, does not fit into our current plans, and we are not actively considering it at all," Hawkins said.

It could happen someday," he added. "But I think there will be others doing so long before we even seriously contemplate such an operation."

Hawkins said Southwest is taking a market-based approach to its international strategy.

"That means we are studying opportunities in many parts of the world in much the same way we do in the U.S.," he said.

After Southwest decides if it wants to get into a market, the next question is whether it should do the flying itself or through a partner.

"For now, the only opportunities we are considering for our own flying are those that can be reached -- and make sense -- with our current fleet of 737s," he said.

Southwest will prioritize potential markets from a number of factors, such as how much revenue the markets might bring, how they tie into Southwest's domestic strategy and how easy they can be accessed.

"Given how early we are at developing our codeshares, the 'ease of access' question is a big one for any place outside North America, even though we expect that to be a partnership too," Hawkins said.

Southwest chairman, president and CEO Gary Kelly has been saying that Southwest may begin its own international service as early as 2011, while adding that is in no way certain.

Back in February, Kelly talked to us about Southwest's intent to fly its own airplanes on international routes. Said Kelly:

"I would guess it's within five years. But we have a long way to go before we'll be ready to make that judgment.

"There are just some markets that don't make sense for us. Either the technology required to serve a market or the business needs of that market are such that it doesn't fit our operating style, i.e. it's a smaller airplane or a bigger airplane. Right now, we don't want to deviate from our single aircraft type.

"Then there are other market dynamics, for example, in the Caribbean or could be Mexico or Canada for that matter, where ... Allegiant Air for example flies several times per week between city pairs. Well, that's not Southwest Airlines.

"We just have to continue to search for markets that meet our operating style, where we can be profitable and at the same time simultaneously we are trying to evolve our operating style so we are more flexible and can do more things."

Well you could go low cost for an 8 hour flight... and then charge them $10 for a bag of peanuts and $15 for a glass of water..... :ugh:

Cactusbusdriver, How is it working out for you and your integration?

Republic plans phase out of Q400 operator Lynx

Republic plans phase out of Q400 operator Lynx

FAA faulted on Southwest Airlines
 

A government watchdog faulted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for allowing Southwest Airlines Co to fly jets that had not undergone mandatory maintenance work, violating stipulated safety rules, the Wall Street Journal said.

The Office of Special Counsel said on Thursday that the company failed to complete certain required maintenance involving rivets around the window frames of 55 of its Boeing 737 aircraft, the paper said, citing the counsel's documents.

Southwest voluntarily disclosed the information to a senior FAA inspector who was also a supervisor in the local office charged with overseeing the airline, the Journal said.

But the inspector did not determine why the company had never completed the repair work or ensure that the necessary maintenance work was eventually completed, the paper added.

"These issues have been previously addressed through comprehensive audits by the FAA ... our own audits, and work by outside consultants," a Southwest spokesperson told the paper.

The spokesperson told the paper that the airline officials "are confident that we have identified and remedied the issues."

"A second investigation has shown that some FAA managers continue their willingness to look the other way" rather than enforce strict compliance with maintenance requirements and voluntary disclosure rules, the paper said, quoting Associate Special Counsel William Reukauf.

FAA faulted on Southwest Airlines | Reuters

the FAA has fallen on hard times...poor FAA...not enough inspectors to check anything but paperwork.

and they (in their prototypical way) told Wrong Way Corrigan he couldn't fly to Ireland!

A bump from almost two years ago. Many times in this thread different pilots said, "only time will tell." The time has passed and as now the F9/RAH SLI is available, it might be a good time to go back and revisit some of what was said and done.

I'm a SWA FO (disclaimer) and am not trying to "I told you so" (and not really sure that that argument could be made). Really just trying to go back and think about what might have been.

Interesting as SWAPA and AAI are currently both negotiating for their futures, something almost no one foresaw back in '09.

Very interesting to read some of the old opinions.