FNGFO

The argument is lost when you ask who are you instead of are you right.

BTW, overworked? YES. Low pay? It's no longer competitive with the majors, but that wasn't always the case. And yes, currently at Spirit which is why I question the notion of passengers wanting their travel to be part of the experience of a Hawaiian vacation. Particularly given SWA's targeted market segment.

Interesting times ahead.

Skyward

A little background about the new hire class wearing leis...

The day before class starts, SWA flys you and your spouse to Dallas. You check into a fantastic hotel and are bussed to an aviation museum where they host a private dinner for your class and spouses. It’s also a meet and great with some management and other company people. They provide dinner and drinks and issue you your wings. During the course of the night it is tradition for the previous class to develop and execute a skit honoring the new class with a shot of Wild Turkey (Herb’s favorite ). The Hawiian themed skit probably had something to do with the new service to HI and has nothing to do with making fun of anyone. I am confident there was no disrespect intended and it was a private function. Each skit is different and is not directed by the company. It’s all just in fun, and I think probably meant to build relationships among class mates.

SW is not without faults, but most of the people here would bend over backwards to help someone else. Arrogant is not how I would discribe my coworkers. I think you’re right about just a few bad apples giving you the wrong impression.

WindWalker999

https://www.fool.com/amp/investing/2019/03/06/hawaiian-airlines-stock-crashes-why-it-will-bounce.aspx

Hm....

RJSAviator76

First off, I'm sorry you have that opinion of Southwest and our pilot group. I'll also join the chorus and say that you shouldn't base your opinion on account of 5%'ers, which at least in my short 3 years here so far, has been less than a handful that I've encountered.

Speaking of our "culture", here's how I see it... when we see a fellow Southwest pilot, we acknowledge each other or say hello in passing even if we've never seen each other. When we see a Southwest flight attendant, we say hello to them. CULTish? No, I'd call it more along the lines of having respect for your fellow crew. Is that a bad thing? It's sad how many other airline crews just walk right past each other, from the same airline no less, not even acknowledging each other and just keeping on walking. It's sad.

I will also echo others about how I've been treated from day 1 of my interview, how the company has treated us from day 1 in class, to my wife being in the hospital while I was still in initial and the flight ops team sending her a care package wishing her a speedy recovery... and I was just a new hire! Mind you, they also sent me home to be with her and worked out a plan to get me back so I can be done on schedule, but with zero pressure to stick to it because "family always comes first."

Or when I got ill during my probationary year causing me to go out on medical, my chief taking an active interest in helping me and giving me advice on how to proceed, putting me in touch with SWAPA people who would subsequently help me and reassuring me not to worry about the job because it'll be waiting for me, or another chief writing passes for my kid when he was stuck going home as my travel benefits were suspended after my sick leave depletion during that period - go figure I was a newhire.

I have my gripes with Southwest in so many ways. I'm a line pilot and I b*tch just like the next guy. But one thing you won't see me b*tch about is our culture and about our people, and it has nothing to do with koolaid or management, but the highest respect for my almost 10,000 brothers and sisters I share the cockpit with here and our flight attendants. Now, it's not a slam or a throw against any other airline or pilot group. My true hope is that others get treated better than I do here and treat each other better than we treat each other here because that would be truly setting the bar even higher. One thing for sure, since this isn't my first rodeo, or the second, or the fifth, I can say that I have never been treated better at any airline or outfit.

As for you being offended at the silliness displayed by one of our new newhire classes, I can't help you. If you are offended by someone having a good time, perhaps you aren't a good ambassador for Hawaii because people generally tend to go there to have a good time, be silly, do silly, light-hearted things, have a few laughs and then return to their grind. You may need to tweak your 'e komo mai' a little better.

As to how we "treated" AirTran, it's over and it's been over for years. For every bitter coot like Whack, there are multitude of Trannies who are realistic and know that long-term they're far better off and as a result, they're happy they're here. But to each their own. They are now my Southwest Airlines brothers and sisters... period. End of story.

As for where you'd rather work, that's all a personal choice and I respect your opinion. But judging an airline with 10,000 pilots and over 56,000 employees because of actions of the very few shows a complete lack of maturity, character, and levelheadedness, and given that I know quite a few people on your seniority list and your management, I know you're a very small minority and I share your sentiment in truly hoping you don't end up on the same seniority list as me.

I appreciate your honesty. Remember, it goes both ways and please don't take it as a personal attack because it's not.

at6d

Thanks for the honest answer.

I’m a little bit at a loss though; we do skits now?!

av8tor55

HA is a great airline to work for. Sure we have our own internal issues, but what family doesn’t? AQ was great as well, and fortunately a majority eventually made their way over here as well. I would sadden me if we are merged/acquired. Not because I think any of the other majors are bad places to work, but because we would be losing the last “hometown” airline in Hawaii. I have friends at all of the majors, even some who left HA during furlough, and they share the same sentiment. Although the pilot group has almost tripled since AQ went under, I think we still have the small airline feel.

Sentiments aside, the only way that airlines seem to really grow now are through M&As. My last business class was many moons ago. But if I were to haphazard a guess of potential suitors, I would say DL, B6, AA and UA, in that order.

Hawaiian 5O

RE: Gate space.

This is in no way shape or form a hit on you, but you obviously have NO idea how things work in HI.

Out here, even if Southwest has the budget of our national defense, and all of the concrete in the world, everything out here moves at the speed of smell. You were talking YEARS to get something built.

You just have to live here to see it and understand it. Southwest could throw a couple BILLION dollars of capital into the mix, end it would still take years to get something done. The more pressure that is placed just to speed things up, the slower things go...

Hawaiian 5O

“Gouging”... WTF? Let’s just call it what it is, there was too much capacity and prices were too low. Waaay too low. The inter-island fairs out here were never market value based on a profitable airline business model.

The distance between HNL and KOA Is roughly the same distance as between Houston and San Antonio, or Newark and Washington DC. The HNL-KOA rates are right in there for the same type of distance flown anywhere in the United States. It’s a fair market value ticket price. Get over it.

This, unless you’re saying the rate should be 50% less just because it’s Hawaii. Come on, you’re on a roll, keep spewing.

Your hate and contempt has blinded you. You do realize that most of your fellow coworkers are employed at HAL now. Your vile post is basically hoping that all of your fellow former coworkers are condemned to being unemployed. Now, please understand that almost half of this pilot group was not on property when that mixup happened.

Your blind hate and contempt is really directed at the wrong people here. It was Mesa that did you guys in, not HAL. Wow...

FNGFO

Island time is island time whether it’s Kauai or St. Kitts.

Still SWA tends to grease the wheels to make things move in their favor. It’s all half a**ed conjecture at this point anyway.

kingairfun

I was at Netjets, I know all about it.