PowerShift

That’s not what GK said, or implied. It was concessions TO NOT FURLOUGH. I would assume if it came to concessions, an understanding that pilots would not be furloughed for X amount of time (say, 2021).

The idea that we would concede, then a month later GK would (with a sinister laugh) furlough anyway Is being paranoid.
The industry as a whole may be like that, but not SWA. If Gary makes a public promise, he will keep it.

putzin

Outsider here.

That's just a flight attendant being lazy. There are zero reasons for a blocked middle seat and zero reasons for them not to provide service.

To subsidize the company while leaving money and passengers behind is just plain foolish.

RJSAviator76

This happened before the masks were made mandatory. Lots has changed since then.

Zero reason to not sell booze today; zero reason for losing that revenue.

Not even entertaining concessions.

SWAFA

That flight attendant is saying exactly what the company has told him or her.

When beverage service was first completely suspended and when the modified water-only service started, the company explained it to the flight attendants as JUST THAT - to limit the amount of contact with customers.

Whether you or I or anyone else accept that explanation, it is the company's explanation so it's pretty rude of you, as an outsider, to call one of our flight attendants lazy for quoting it.

I don't even think the company is stocking alcohol on the aircraft right now.

Furthermore, I don't think any of the other U.S. major carriers are serving alcohol in coach right now for the same reason. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on that point.

RJSAviator76

Like with the -800 side letter? Right...

Gone Flying

DL is not serving snack boxes or alcohol. I can agree with blocking middle seats but I am somewhat perplexed by airlines not chasing ancillary revenue right now WRT selling food boxes and liquor in a revenue crunch. Especially since airports have limited selection of both those right now. Then again I just fly planes, they have access to better data than me

hoover

I wonder what the break even is on selling alcohol on flights wrt the cost in fuel to haul the weight?
maybe at covid levels there wouldnt be enough sales to cover the costs of buying, distributing, hauling etc. IDK

Lewbronski

Yes, exactly. Or how about GK’a 15% ROIC promise? Not trusting GK is not “paranoid”, it’s realistic. Trusting GK has proven to be foolish.

Far more maddening to me than the middle seat and alcohol issue is the $9.9 billion in stock buybacks and dividends since 2014. If the company wants to play the Wall St game and if they want to tie executive compensation to stock performance, that’s their call but DO NOT come to us seeking concessions when they blew that amount of cash. If I couldn’t pay me mortgage because I failed to save for a rainy day and instead frittered it away day trading or handing it out to my rich friends no one would bail me out even if my kids and I had to move into low income housing.

And again, concessions don’t prevent furloughs. Wasn’t one of the selling points of ExTO/VSP (a form of concession) that if enough people pulled the trigger furloughs would be able to be prevented? And now they want more concessions or they’re going to furlough? What’s next if we agree to this round of concessions?

We’ve already helped this company out enough for the foolhardy choice they made to hire 2,000 more pilots than we need to operate the airline. My 2019 W2 pay was 10% lower than 2018 despite receiving our negotiated yearly pay raise.

No more concessions.

pangolin

no booze to allow the fa to social distance.

RJSAviator76

It may have made sense in April when the masks weren’t mandatory. They’re passing water and snacks today. How much revenue do we miss out on by not selling booze?