ZapBrannigan

There is a persistent rumor that all WN trips are 5-6 leg days hopping around TX.

The reality is that the vast majority are 2-4 legs per day. Rarely there is a single leg day or 5+ leg day.

It is not unusual to fly a transcon followed by a short turn. I rarely see an overnight fewer than about 12 hours or greater than about 21 hours.

The majority of trips are 3 days. There are a handful of 1,2, and 4 day trips. They are rigged at around 6.5 per day so a min paying 3 day pays 19.5 - however there are plenty that pay 22-24. The days can be tough, but compared to other airlines you get your work for the month done with fewer days away from home.

That frees you up to enjoy either more days off at home, or more days to pick up additional flying if you need a little extra money.

Unlike most other airlines we do very little airport appreciation time. It is rare to spend more than about 1.5 hours on the ground. Most turns are :35-:45. Maybe closer to an hour in the 800.

Just setting the record straight.

ANGFlight81

Thanks Zap. I have this convo all the time with others; as soon as I say Southwest I hear "oh god you guys fly so many legs"

The look on their face is priceless when I pull out my schedule...easily getting 5 more days off a month over other legacies and average credit monthly is 118-122.

ZapBrannigan

I shoot for 100-110 per month. I can usually do that without flying any extra days. Occasionally it means an extra day or so of flying. Last month I deadheaded one leg and ferried an airplane back on a day off for 6.5

Unlike some other legacies there are no caps here. So if money is your thing, it's easy to add flying. If time off is your thing, there are lines with 18-19 days off per month. It is, however, challenging to get rid of flying as there is no ability to 'drop' trips.

Just got tired of the misinformation about trips. Hopefully we can address rumors such as those here.


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BeeWatcher

Prefer my legacy lifestyle with a lot of soft time...I can work hard when I'm on a premium trip making double time...

ANGFlight81

So at your legacy you're awarded 17-19 off a month averaging 100+ credit?

ZapBrannigan

This isn't a johnson measuring contest. It is addressing some misinformation about WN. Whether that is better or worse than the other legacies is a different conversation entirely.


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PowerShift

What kind of trips are favored, i.e. The type of trips that usually go senior? AM or PM? The Texas 3 step or transcons?

Smooth at FL450

The SEA-PAE-SEA mx runs that pay 13...

ZapBrannigan

Just depends on the individual. There is a variety of flying that suits every personality. Morning person? Fly AM trips. Night owl? Fly PM trips. Like lots of legs? We got that. Just a few legs? We have some of that too. International? Most domiciles have some. Want to stay domestic? It's still the vast majority of what we do.

The only thing that is hard to avoid is the mix of long/short legs. For example. I HATE anything over 4 hours. The only thing I hate more than that, is anything over 4 hours followed by a 30 minute turn. After 4 hours I want OFF the airplane, use a real bathroom, get some blood flow in my legs again. Maybe get a bite to eat.

Unfortunately, it is hard to avoid here. Even if I bid trips with lots of legs (which usually means shorter leg length) they sometimes have one or two longer haul flights. I have a tough time avoiding them unless I want to trade into much lower paying trips. Usually I just grin and take it.

Bottom line though is, once you're off reserve it is pretty easy to trade around to the type of flying that you prefer to do. I'm about to leave on a 3 day trip. 3 legs on day one (one of them just under my 4 hour limit), 2 legs on day 2 (both close to that limit), and 4 shorter legs on day 3. It pays a little over 24 so even if I wanted to trade out it - that would result in substantially lower pay for the same days work. So as the missus tells me, "toughen up buttercup"


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mainlineAF

When you guys are talking about how much you credit is that in "trips" or converted hours other airlines use? thx