southwest airlines

Tag Archives for southwest airlines.

Southwest Airlines Looks To Become Much Bigger Than Other U.S. Airlines By End Of Year

by Gary Leff on June 4, 2020

Jun 04 2020

While it makes tremendous sense for airlines to cut back their operations significantly in the face of reduced demand, if there was one airline that didn’t do this to nearly the same extent they could benefit in an outsized manner as travel began to return.

Since they’re still paying employees anyway, still making lease payments on planes (or own them), and fuel is cheap the variable costs of flights are fairly low. If one carrier could aggregate the bulk of demand it could be a better financial strategy than shrinking.

Southwest Lays Out Really Generous Offers For Employees To Take Leave Or Retire Early

by Gary Leff on June 1, 2020

Jun 01 2020

Last week word broke that American was targeting letting go 30% of management and support staff. They were being offered voluntary departure packages, at 3 to 6 months at one-third pay. Hanging around and being terminated later wouldn’t be as good a deal. United meanwhile changed its internal rules so that laid off employees receive no severance.

Southwest Airlines, by contrast, is being really generous with its employees.

Doug Parker Flies Southwest Airlines And Gets Into A Conversation About Race

by Gary Leff on May 31, 2020

May 31 2020

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker was flying Southwest Airlines out of Dallas to end the week, an airline he’s called ‘the cattle car’. A flight attendant notices the book he brought on board, but not who he is. He’s not her CEO, after all.

Parker was reading White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism. During the trip the flight attendant sat down next to him, he was in an empty row, and she asked him how the book is.

Southwest Airlines Shares Internal Plan To Voluntarily Reduce Workforce

by Gary Leff on May 21, 2020

May 21 2020

The late co-founder of the airline Herb Kelleher wrote in 2011 about the airline’s legacy of never having to furlough an employee, saying it was because their employees work hard and never forget the customers paying the bills. In the early 1970s they had to return one of their Boeing 737s due to financial challenges, but they kept their employees on.

Of course we’ve never seen travel demand collapse the way we have with the coronavirus pandemic though Southwest Airlines is actually well-positioned relative to its peers to recover.

Southwest Offering Double Points Through August 31

by Gary Leff on May 12, 2020

May 12 2020

Southwest has made earning elite status and a companion pass easier and also made credit card spend more lucrative for earning elite status too. Adding double points for flights into the mix makes it an especially rewarding time to travel. I suspect this is only the beginning.

Mystery: Man Struck By Southwest Plane Landing in Austin Airport Last Night

by Gary Leff on May 8, 2020

May 08 2020

Southwest Airlines flight WN1392 from Dallas Love Field with 53 passengers and 5 crew on board landed in Austin Thursday night at 8:12 p.m. The plane struck and killed a man on runway 17R, despite seeing him there and – according to the airline – maneuvering to avoid him, though air traffic control audio doesn’t seem to support that explanation.

Southwest Asks For Labor Concessions, Their Biggest Union Responds ‘Full Pay Until The Last Day’

by Gary Leff on April 17, 2020

Apr 17 2020

United Airlines took a public approach telling all employees they expect to need fewer staff going forward and releasing the letter to media.

Southwest was more circumspect, holding private discussions with union leaders about how to avoid layoffs in the fall. They told unions that without concessions they expect to have to furlough employees. Southwest’s biggest union has gone public with a loud rejection.

Southwest Extends – And Makes It Easier To Earn – Status And Companion Pass

by Gary Leff on April 16, 2020

Apr 16 2020

Southwest Airlines announced an extension of members’ elite status, Companion Pass benefits, and the validity of travel vouchers.

They’re also making it easier to earn elite status this year, as well as to earn a Companion Pass and extending the life of travel credits, in some cases giving up to an additional 2.5 years to use those credits.

Plane Full Of Heroes Flies INTO New York To Help COVID-19 Patients At Great Personal Risk

by Gary Leff on March 29, 2020

Mar 29 2020

The saying ‘not all heroes wear capes’ has become trite and is frequently used ironically. But how else are you supposed to describe a Southwest Airlines plane full of doctors and nurses flying into the hardest hit region for the novel coronavirus?

Each of these women and men are taking on real personal risk to help the people of New York. There’s not enough personal protective gear. Over 50 doctors have died of COVID-19 in Italy so far. And yet they’re all smiling, even knowing what’s in store.

Southwest Airlines New Elite Benefit: Priority Boarding For Companions

by Gary Leff on March 12, 2020

Mar 12 2020

Effective March 12 Southwest will let companions on the same reservation as an elite member board with the elite. Companions on the same booking will be assigned boarding numbers at the same time as the elite.