shiftwork

Aint that the truth....

JDFlyer

According to my understanding this is the way a furlough would go, from 1st to furlough to last:

1. AirTran FOs date of hire AFTER the acquisition announcement. (maybe 50 to 100 pilots??)

2. SWA FOs date of hire AFTER the acquisition announcement. (I am one of these) (approximately 220 pilots)

3. AirTran FO's on AirTran property BEFORE the acquisition announcement.

4. SWA FOs on SWA property BEFORE the announcement.

5. Blended list of SWA CAs and AirTran CAs from date of announcement to some date in 1993.

6. SWA CAs hired prior to the date in 1993 referred to above. As I call them, the "untouchables".

I will fully fess up, I did this list from memory, I did not get out the actual contract. If I got any of this wrong I apologize in advance.

My wife gave birth to twin girls just over a month ago, between the sleepless nights and juggling our two year old son as well, I don't have much time for anything else. A furlough is not something I worry about because it is not something I can control. The blending of our two companies is also not anything I can directly control, so as well I don't spend much time worrying about it.

I fully welcome any and all pilots into SWA who simply want to provide the highest level of customer service for ALL our customers (internal and external), fly safe, have a little fun in the process, and retire uneventfully sometime in the future from a company who is still in business.

Dang, a baby is crying!! Gotta go make a bottle.

80ktsClamp

From the horse's mouth... yikes!

Gary Kelly talks about reservations and technology | Airline Biz Blog | dallasnews.com

We've had several readers write us after we noted that Southwest Airlines wouldn't be able to offer code-sharing with AirTran Airways until 2013 at the earliest. Their point: It's because Southwest doesn't have the technological capabilty to do it.

To which we say: Well, that's obvious, isn't it?

We talked last week to Southwest chairman and CEO Gary Kelly about the company's plans, and Kelly freely acknowledges that the carrier has higher priorities right now -- considering its resources -- than throwing a lot of manpower and money at the technological issues involved in being able to make international bookings and code-share with other airlines.

In a speech to Aviation Week's Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Convention and Exhibition, Kelly said the carrier hopes to add the capability of selling tickets to non-U.S. cities within 18 months. We caught up with him after his speech.

Here's the Q&A that ran in Monday's Dallas Morning News:

Why will it take so long to have the ability for Southwest and AirTran to code-share, so that Southwest and AirTran passengers can connect between each other's flights?

It's a work effort, a prioritization thing. We have other things that have a higher priority, like creating international capabilities. We've already implemented a new maintenance system, which is a huge effort. So there is a lot of work that is being accomplished.

That will need to be done at some point, mainly so we can facilitate the integration of their flights over to ours. It's really hard to flip the switch -- one day it's an AirTran flight, the next day it shows up as a Southwest flight. That's really hard.

We need that code-share to facilitate that and kind of ease customers into that. [So] I can either look at the AirTran website or the Southwest website and it's going to be the same flight. At some point, we're going to need that.

In your speech, you mentioned that it would be probably 18 months before Southwest will have the capability of selling tickets to international destinations. Isn't that the same as code-sharing?

It is not. The international functionality is a different work effort. There are obviously things that bleed together between the two. But that's our priority, to be sure we have the international functionality.

Will it come before code-sharing?

It is coincident. But if you run into testing, implementing into production, all those things that have to ultimately happen, the nod is going to have to go to international.

Has Southwest given any thought to increasing its effort on technology to make international bookings and code-sharing become possible more quickly?

In a sense, it's a really simple problem. We have this many things that we want to do. We have this many things that we've committed to do. And we have this many resources. It's really no different than thinking about what you can accomplish yourself or what you can do at your home. There are only so many things that you can do simultaneously.

The short answer is we've already done that, and we really feel like we have it prioritized well. It's something we can manage effectively. So in terms of pushing the throughput of our technology efforts, I think we've done all we can. And I'm pleased with it.

It's just a lot of work that has been committed to, that we'll get it done. It'll be phased in over time. You know and we know that we're transforming ourselves from what we were into what we want to be. It's just going to take some time and effort.

At what point do you see that you'll have an all-new reservations system that can do all the other tasks you'd like it to do as well -- handle service disruptions, optimize pricing, etc.?

It's probably best for me to answer that in a "no-earlier-than" mode. It's not a priority right now, so it really is on the to-do list. I think we can probably start that work next year, and it's got to take at least a couple of years. So it kind of puts you out no earlier than 2015, would be a guess.

But until we actually start the project, scope it, figure all the changes that are going to be made, I don't know, in all fairness. But it needs to be done. We know that. At the appropriate time, we'll get started on that and I'm sure we'll do well when we tackle it.

MatthewAMEL

Nope.

ALL furloughs would come from the ATN side of the partition first until there are no ATN pilots left to furlough before the 1st SWAPA pilot gets furloughed.

• In the event of furloughs, Southwest pilots may displace and bid to the B717 prior to the January 2015 bid period.

That was one of the changes between SL9 and SL10.

newKnow

Congrats on the new baby, JD! New baby's and furlough talk do not go not go hand in hand. So, let's nip this conversation in the bud. Enjoy those midnight feedings. When they start to sleep through the night, you will think you hit the lottery.

JDFlyer

Thanks newKnow! I truly appreciate the kind words. Furlough scenarios are bad for everybody.

Matthew -

. . . . so please explain the furlough order after the January 2015 bid period. I know my seniority number on the Master List.

Believe me when I say I am not trying to be a thorn here, but in the near term, I suggest all the AirTran pilots show up to work with a smile, a great attitude, provide the best customer service they know how to provide, always looks for ways to increase efficiencies, with the goal of NOT being furloughed lest the company financials take a nose-dive.

paxhauler85

What planet are you from? Are your RA's kid or his mistress?

USN C9B

JD,

Congrats on the twins. Twins...yikes! I am glad my kids are teenagers.

Only a semi-educated guess but it would be those still on the FL partition followed by the bottom at SWA. Like I wrote earlier,these upcoming YEARS of wearing a furlough noose sure puts a damper on team spirit.

We already do that. It is called professionalism and in case you haven't checked your company email lately, here is a link for ya.

AirTran No. 1 in Airline Quality Rating *| ajc.com

C9

blakman7

+1 for USN C9B

USN C9B

JD,

I did a little light reading of Side Ltr 10 this morning and all pilots will fall under the SWAPA CBA on 1/1/2015 so you'd have to read that to get the answer to your last question.