hoover

Even if the retirement changes to forever there are only a handful that want to or can fly much past 65. A lot don't even make it till then. I don't see that even slowing down the retirements.

Fr8Master

I am glad they are following the other legacies that have dropped the TPIC requirement. Does TPIC add value? Absolutely. Does someone with 980 hours TPIC have no value? Not at all. Having a hard number costs Southwest well qualified applicants. Place a value on TPIC and give folks credit for it, however refusing to consider someone without an arbitrary number of TPIC hours is short sighted in my opinion.

CaptYoda

Does Southwest require X number of hours flown in the past 12 months?
Anyone without recent experience but B737 time get an invite?

CaptYoda

I know their application mentions 2 years of active flying in the last 5 years, but was wondering if there are specific hours they are looking for.

Jeff Lebowski

On the one hand, I laud this decision if it does in fact happen. On the other, I can't help thinking it bodes ill for those of us of a certain age who well-exceed the turbine PIC mins and have yet to get the call.

ZapBrannigan

If you meet the existing requirements and have yet to get a call, make sure that you have a friend or a professional review your resume and application for errors and/or red flags.


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dawgdriver

Not to worry, SWA's 1000 TPIC will likely go the way of the arrogant type-rating requirement, if it hasn't already. Management finally realized pilots no longer wanted to spend thousands for a type in the hopes of an interview so they dropped it.

SWA may have a few thousand qualified resumes on file but those same resumes are being sent to legacies who pay more, upgrade faster, have wide body equipment, better work rules, less work, etc. Not to say SWA isn't a solid company and good place to work, but if they ntend to compete and attract the numbers required to bolster its ranks by 50% (12,000?) in the same 5 years that massive retirements are occurring at the legacies, it needs to get real. Candidates are well informed as they have access to a wealth of information regarding their options. If SWA had an eye on the ball, it would have dropped the TPIC requirement a long time ago. Furthermore, its latest contract would have done a better job targeting it most vulnerable FO year groups,1-5. The fact that they're STILL behind UAL and DAL is bad enough, but their apples to apples comparison of narrow body pay fails to account for the realities of the market, namely wide bodies and quick upgrades. Not only are they losing potential applicants to legacies and cargo, they are also losing hired and trained FOs. The number I heard was 160 FOs last year. Higher utilization (frequency, red-eyes) might be a part of the increase in hiring, but attrition likely accounts for a sizable portion too.

SW management still lives under the archaic impression that mojo and hot pants will ensure a never-ending supply of fun-seeking pilots kicking their door down. Apparently they don't get out much

flyguy81

To get to 12k pilots would be a 30% increase...not 50%. Of the160 or so that left last year, the majority was before the new contract was signed. It's tapered off quite a bit since....and even DL and UAL are seeing attrition....it's not specific to the LCC's.

Our work rules are better than pretty much every other airline (rigs, vacation, sick time, min days off/mo).

Sure we don't have a 1 yr upgrade to a MD-88 in LGA or a fleet of widebodies to pick from. If that's what you want, don't bother applying because that's not our thing. Yes, you'll actually have to work here and not be able to sit long call for months without touching a plane.

I've got friends at every airline in the country and while each has their unique attribute, I'm happy at SWA. For me this company provides a better QOL than any other. For you it may not....that's for you and your family to figure out.

ZapBrannigan

There are pros and cons. This is my fourth major airline so I feel well qualified to compare and contrast. WN is a great airline, but they are operating with work rules and ancillary benefits that trail the industry. Do your homework and make the best decision you can for you and your family.


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dawgdriver

Well it's not 30% either...whadya say we split the difference and call it 40% (8600 + 40% = ~12000)? Since neither of us appear great at math (humor intended), can we at least agree that 3400 pilots represents a sizable number of the pool of qualified applicants needed at a time when legacy carriers are aggressively competing for those same dwindling numbers?

You appear defensive, my apologies, never intended to strike a nerve or dis on SW, as I said, great company. But the point of this thread was TPIC requirements going forward, not whether you or others like it there. SW needs pilots and 1000 TPIC is a standard many otherwise qualified candidates can't attain that other majors/legacies/cargo don't require. Like pay and benefits, it's is a business decision based on market conditions; all I'm saying is that if I were management (or shareholder), I would be taking a very critical look at this, among other things (pay and benefits). SW is often referred to as a good-paying regional; looking at what is happening to the regional sector, along with dire projections for pilot availability, would be cause for serious consideration given SW's ambitious growth plan. My point was aimed at the means by which SW intends to attract the numbers needed.

"...if it's not what you want, apply elsewhere', yes, and the sizable numbers critical to SW's growth aspirations will likely do just that, because the figures and data available to them dictates that they should. They don't know what you know. We can argue over who has better work rules, (mixed bag) but candidates rarely base career decisions on work rules because it's Chinese to most of them. Tragic but true. Pay, retirement and upgrades are what applicants can decipher and are what drive decisions...'for them and their families to figure out'. Also driving decisions are the barriers to hiring...such as TPIC.

That's all I'm trying to say Fly. It's great that folks like you are happy there, but for management's growth plan to work, they will need to better assess their relative attractiveness based on CURRENT market conditions.