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Feeling the Blues
08Opt-In Divisions
INSIDE
06
REPORTING POINT : : THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PILOTS’ ASSOCIATION : : VOLUME 15 + NO. 8 + AUGUST 2015
PAGE 04 :: DID YOU KNOW?
MAKING A DIFFERENCEPaul Jackson | President | [email protected]
A recent statement made by one of
our committee chairs rocked me back
on my heels. He said, “Paul, from the
outside, it looks like SWAPA is frozen
in time until the contract is passed.”
He’s right. We’ve been so focused
on achieving a contract, we’ve done
poorly in communicating the other
functions at which the folks at SWAPA
work tirelessly. The contract is the most
important item to our membership, but
there are services and changes SWAPA
has undertaken in recent months and
I’d like to talk about some of them.
First, let’s look at the day-to-day
services our Contract Administration
department provides. Since I took office
we have transitioned to a 24/7 model
of customer service with our talented
staff. Our pilots are facing a tough
environment out on the line and you
deserve an answer whenever a question
arises. Our capable contract experts
are on the line ready to help get you the
critical information you need to stay
legal and ensure that the Company
abides by the contract. If you have a
question or don’t think an audited trip
paid correctly, give the Contract Admin
staff a call. They are there for you.
To step up and increase our level
of service SWAPA has just made a
critical addition to the staff. Here we
are looking to aid in lending a helping
hand to our pilots facing addiction and
mental health challenges. Our HIMS
program is now under the capable
leadership of Clark Vinson who brings
years of experience in dealing with
chemical dependency, mental health,
and employee assistance to our pilot
group. He replaces retiring former
Captain Dan Lipperman in this role.
Clark will manage the critical HIMS
program and also reach out to our
members in their time of need through
other programs. He will work with our
Aeromedical Committee to help pilots
return to the line and maintain their
career while coping with addiction
or a mental health issue. Many of you
believe you will never require help for a
chemical addiction or a mental health
concern but much like an alternate
on your flight plan, it is a service that
our membership must have in place.
DEPENDENT SCHOLARSHIPF U N D
A UNIFIED VISION
Photo taken on the jetway while changing crew in PDX on August 4.
From left to right, FO “Chip” Nifong (BWI/#61834), CA Luis Felipe Encarnación (BWI/#66202),
and FO Jeremy Keck (OAK/#85296)
We love the show of unity! Please send any photos of crews sporting dark ties and SWAPA pins
Helping our fellow pilots in their time
of need also has a financial component.
We are now doing this through our
funding of COBRA payments for pilots
out on extended medical leave. For those
of us lucky enough to never have gone
out on extended medical you might not
be aware that the high rates of COBRA
insurance are the only way to keep
medical coverage. Those of us who
2 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
have felt the sting of the dreaded “green
bars” across our screen, and watched
our sick leave balance decline each
month know full well how important
maintaining health coverage is, even
at expensive Cobra rates. I’m not going
to go into the details, but those who go
out on medical will go on COBRA …then
off COBRA …then on again…then off
again. The “on” parts have financially
threatened those who can only keep
their medical for short periods of time.
Through good stewardship, SWAPA has
amassed enough equity in our VEBA
Trust to fund the COBRA payment when
our pilots need it most. I worked hard on
this project before I became president
and now our pilot group covers the cost
of COBRA for each and every one of our
pilots going out on medical. It’s not a
widely known benefit of your Union, but
SWAPA pilots are helping our brothers
and sisters in their time of need.
We also have a new charitable
support arm to go with our already
successful Dependent Scholarship
fund. We have some seed money from
a donor to begin a Pilot Catastrophic
Fund. While the Company has a
fund it rarely pays out to pilots facing
hardship. This fund is designed to
be run by pilots for pilots. While the
Catastrophic Fund is in its infancy,
please stay tuned as we focus on
fundraising for both of these charitable
efforts to help pilots and their families.
In the “working smarter”
department, I am pushing hard to put
a budget in front of the membership
that reflects a wise use of your dues.
We have added in-house counsel to
move our system’s board arbitrations
away from high billing outside counsel.
We are excited to lower the cost and
increase the services available to our
members in contract disputes and
terminations. In our IT department we
have added a new director and project
manager who will measure and weigh
the cost versus the value of our many
ongoing projects. I have pushed to have
pilots move from “production” roles to
consulting and SME roles where their
skills and experience are balanced
with their high cost in trip pull to the
Association. This push is ongoing and
will be visible in committee budgets
for 2016. Where it makes sense to use
staff, my directive is to do so for cost
and continuity for the membership.
The contract talks are ongoing as of
this writing and I invite you to check the
latest from SWAPA Communications on
your iPad or in your email. Obviously
the contract is job number one at
SWAPA but while talks move on we
can’t put the services and needs of our
membership on the back burner. Stay
informed, unified, and enthusiastic
as we continue to press for a contract.
Know that as focused as your Union is on
obtaining a fair and equitable deal, we
are still maintaining and adding to the
services available to the membership
and support for our pilots in their time of
need and support. You deserve nothing
less for your hard earned dues money.
DEPENDENT SCHOLARSHIPF U N D
DID YOU KNOW?
That SWAPA has a fund to help defray college costs for the dependents of
deceased or disabled pilots?
One common fear many pilots share is how to take care of their family in the event
of their death or even a disability. In May of 1999, the SWAPA Board of Directors
voted to establish a scholarship fund for eligible children of deceased or disabled
pilots. Pilots can contribute $2 per month or more to the Dependent Scholarship
Fund via payroll deductions.
The plan was designed to help the dependents of disabled or deceased pilots
continue their college education. The maximum scholarship is $7,000 per year.
Half of the scholarship award ($3,500) is paid to the attending university in the fall
semester and the remaining $3,500 is paid to the university in the spring semester.
SWAPA relies on our pilots’ generosity to keep the fund alive, as the donation is
voluntary. Participants must contribute a minimum of $2 per month, which is taken
out on the 20th pay period. You can enroll or change your contribution level at beta.
swapa.org under “My Stuff” and “Dependent Scholarship Fund.”
In 2014, SWAPA funded $78,000 in college scholarships, and to date in 2015,
$42,500 has been paid out from generous funds contributed by our pilots. In
comparison, Southwest Airlines paid out two $5,000 scholarships in that same
timeframe. We are extremely proud of the continued generosity of our pilot group!
Continued from Page 1
3REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
GATE SERVICES REPORTSAs we move into August, we are
still months away from the cool
temperatures of fall. The proper cooling
of the aircraft at the gate is an issue
we must deal with for the foreseeable
future. When the gate services are
not effectively cooling the aircraft,
start the APU and use it to cool the
cabin. But what if the APU is MEL’d?
The FOM states that “The
conscientious pilot is expected to have at
least a ‘two-flight vision’ of operations.”
Use that vision to minimize operations
at hot weather locations. Some stations
can be assumed to be hot weather
locations (PHX, LAS, TUS). At others you
may need to check the weather early
to see if the temperature is suitable for
operation with an inoperative APU or
pack. Or we may get word of insufficient
cooling of gate services in other ways.
For example, this week there was a
note on the front of the weather packet
stating the air conditioning at the gate
was insufficient for operations in St.
Louis and the high temperatures were
forecast to be in the upper 90s. If the
weather isn’t suitable, coordinate an
aircraft swap with dispatch. Nobody
enjoys unscheduled swaps but I think
we all agree that no one likes an
uncomfortably hot aircraft even more.
We all work to provide a comfortable
environment for our passengers
and crew. But we also have a role in
providing a comfortable environment
for the passengers and crew of our
fellow pilots. If you have a situation
where the gate services are listed as
operational but are not sufficiently
cooling the aircraft, report the issue
via ACARS. You can find the report at
Ops Reports >Ground Reports >Gate
Services. On the ACARS Gate Services
Report page, fill out the gate, station,
and flight number. Select “NO” (LSK
R2) for AIR. You have two lines for
Free Text information to describe the
problem with gate services (no airflow,
air pulled early, air not cold, etc).
When you submit this report, an
email is sent to the Manager Command
Center (MCC) in the NOC. The MCC is
a ground operations manager on the
bridge of the NOC whose function is
to handle ground operations issues.
This manager forwards every single
report to the named station so that
station can investigate and solve the
gate services issue. Since June 12, 2015,
more than 5,700 reports have been
submitted to the MCC. These reports
have allowed ground operations to track
cooling issues at specific gates and have
allowed maintenance to investigate
the cooling abilities of specific aircraft.
Those 5,700 reports are a good start
but we need every one of us to send the
message when the station cooling is not
functioning properly. The only way the
system can get better is by reporting the
problems. This report can be made via
ACARS at any time during the day. Since
you input the gate, station, and flight
number; if you wish, you can make the
report en route to your next destination.
Most of this article discusses cooling
the aircraft during a through flight.
Now I would like to remind you to be
cautious of those mid-day scheduled
plane swaps. Usually when the aircraft
remains at the gate, the ground services
have been cooling the aircraft. But there
are times when you will swap into an
aircraft that has been sitting at a remote
location, baking in the sun. Either
way, if you arrive at an aircraft that is
uncomfortably hot, delay boarding
until the aircraft has adequately cooled
down. Your preboards can be in their
seats for 20 minutes or more before
push. If the interior temperature is
in the 90s or even greater, that can
be a very miserable 20 minutes.
Jeff Hoyt | Chair, Operations Committee | [email protected]
The Reporting Point‘s mission is to unify, educate, and communicate with the pilots of Southwest Airlines.
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE | [email protected] FO Mike Frier, Chair #91075CA Kurt Heidemann, Member #74447FO Michael Weisser, Member #106641FO Kris Takle, Member #90153
STAFF | [email protected] Neal Hanks, Director of CommunicationsBrad Holmes, Graphic DesignerAmy Robinson, Communications EditorRet. Capt. Tom McKnight, Proofreader
The Reporting Point is the official monthly publication of the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association. Editions will be published on the 15th of each month. The Communications Committee will imple-ment the SWAPA Publications Policy. A review of the publications policy will be conducted annually.
POLICIES & STANDARDSAll articles are published for the interest and education of our readers and as such must be consistent with Association policies and standards. The Communications Committee has authority over all content with the exception of domicile columns as noted in the domicile column section of this policy. Personal attacks or the use of profanity are prohibited. Constructive disagreement is allowed but disparaging or insulting remarks, or promoting hostility toward individuals is prohibited. We will not publish articles or letters that advocate the abuse of the sick leave policy or that could be con-strued as a reference to illegal job actions — either for or against.
LETTERS TO THE MEMBERSHIPThe Letters to the Membership section is intended as an open forum where a wide range of opinions can be expressed. Letters must pertain to the issues of the Association and should be guided by respect for one’s fellow pilot and Association and must conform to policies and standards. The final determination to include a letter will be made by the Communications Committee. In the event that an Association member is dissatisfied with decisions of the Communications Committee they may appeal to the SWAPA BOD. Letters are limited to 600 words in length per pilot per publication. Members may not have more than one letter printed in the same edition. Letters will be published in the order they are received. Members may submit a title for the letter and it will be used. If no title is submitted, the Communications Committee will choose one.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS• Email all submissions to: [email protected]. • Submissions must state “For Inclusion in the Reporting Point.”• Include: Author’s name, employee number, base, and highest seat position.• Anonymous letters will not be published.
EDITING All submissions are subject to editing for clarity, content, accuracy, and length. All attempts will be made to contact the author, on revisions (except layout style, typos, or grammar) for approval prior to publication.
DEADLINE• Monthly issue: 30th at 12 p.m. CT (Feb. 28/29 as applicable)• No exceptions will be made to these deadlines.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PILOTS’ ASSOCIATION
1450 Empire CentralBrookview Plaza Suite 737Dallas, Texas 75247800.969.7972www.swapa.org
All rights reserved © 2015 Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association
PRESIDENT
Capt. Paul Jackson #23742
VICE PRESIDENT
Capt. Mike Panebianco #58448
2ND VICE PRESIDENT
Capt. Tom Gasparolo #35673
Since June 12, 2015, more than 5,700 reports have been submitted
to the MCC. These reports have allowed ground operations to track
cooling issues at specific gates and have allowed maintenance
to investigate the cooling abilities of specific aircraft.
4 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015 CONTRACT ADMIN
CONTRACT TOP FIVEDAILY REASSIGNMENT PAY
Q. How is Daily Reassignment
Pay calculated?
A. Daily Reassignment Pay (DRP)
is calculated per duty period and is
the greater of your original pairing
(as awarded) or what you actually
fly. Section 4.R.1.a. & b. states DRP
will be the greater of the following:
a. Original TFP as awarded
(including all applicable premium
pay) for that duty period.
b. Actual TFP (including
all premium, double time, and
overfly pay) for that duty period.
DRP for reserve assignments is
covered in section 4.M.8. For
reserve assignments, DRP applies to
cancellations or reassignments for the
current duty period only. Future days
in the pairing will pay as scheduled.
JA/GIVEAWAY
Q. I have been assigned a 2-day
unless you bid outside your domicile
again. For example: If you bid out of
domicile for the 1 p.m. close, you are
subordinating your seniority for that
close. If you bid in the 5 p.m. close,
your domicile seniority is restored.
However, if you bid out-of-domicile
trips ahead of any in-domicile trips in
the 5 p.m. close, your seniority will be
subordinated in that close as well.
MONTH-TO-MONTH OVERLAP AND PART 117
Q. During the month-to-month
overlap period, the Company
pulled legs from my board on the
19th of the new month. Is it legal
to pull flying that far ahead?
A. Yes. FAR part 117 has a rolling
look back of 678 consecutive hours.
If you were illegal as of April 25, the
look back is 678 hours from that date.
In this example your date range
would be March 29–April 25. The
Company is required to adjust your
overlap inside that time period.
OPEN TIME PRIORITY RULES
Q. After the Company adjusted my
month-to-month overlap legality, my
JA trip that I have posted in
giveaway. Will the JA rate for the
trip be applied to the giveaway?
A. Yes, the double time on the legs or
the rig, whichever is greater, will apply
to the giveaway. The JA credit will stay
with the original pilot that was JA’d.
The trip will then be coded as a V for
the pilot that now has the giveaway.
OUT-OF-BASE OPEN TIME BIDS
Q. I am based in MDW and bidding for
DOT. The order of my bid was MDW,
BWI, MDW, MDW. I was not awarded
my first or second choice. My third
choice was awarded to someone
junior to me in MDW. Should I have
been awarded my third choice?
A. No, not in this scenario. Per section
6.B.3.b., once you bid outside your
domicile you are then placed in
system seniority for the BWI bid and
all remaining bids during that specific
open-time bid cycle. Subsequent
bid processes are not affected,
bid line total reduced by 15.0 TFP to
less than schedule line guarantee.
How do I exercise Open Time
Priority to increase my bid line?
A. Section 5.J. discusses Open Time
Priority (OTP). OTP is posted on the
17th of each month at 12 p.m. CT.
The Company publishes a list on
CWA of all pilots eligible and their
TFP range. Eligible pilots are pilots
with a monthly bid line projected
credit below schedule line guarantee
due to monthly overlap corrections.
This list is under “Reports,” “Open
Time Priority,” and is sorted by
domicile and seat. A pilot then has
until MOT closes on the 24th of each
month at 12 p.m. CT to contact the
Company for an OTP award. Requests
are handled on a first-come-first-
serve basis, and the pairing offered
must fall within the pilot’s TFP
range. The Company must offer one
pairing but the pilot may choose
two pairings to recover within
the pilot’s TFP range. In-domicile
awards will be assigned first. If the
pilot complies with the provisions
of OTP and has not recovered
to the schedule line guarantee,
the difference will be paid.
BWI is holding a special election for the remainder of Mike Panebianco’s 2015-2016 term.
Nominations closed Tuesday, August 18 at noon CT.
Candidates’ platform to BWI and posted to website: August 24
Voting Opens: September 1
Voting Closes: September 15
BWI SPECIAL ELECTION
5REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
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6 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015 NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE
OPT-IN DIVISIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL, CLASSIC, AND MAX FLYING
In negotiations, the Company has
been seeking the ability to separate
near-international flying and 737 Classic
and 737 MAX flying into separate
domiciles or divisions. Their initial
proposals involved separate vacancy
bids for each of these categories —
multiple domiciles by type of flying
within the same geographic city — as
well as relief from line writing parity
parameters and paid move language.
Base and/or qualification locks and
trading restrictions based on the
type of mission (Classic/MAX/near
international) were also proposed.
CLASSIC/MAXThe FAA has informed the Company
that we will not be able to fly the
MAX and the Classics with the same
set of pilots. A pilot could either fly
Classic/Next Gen or they could fly
Next Gen/MAX but not Classic/
Next Gen/MAX. The Company also
has currency concerns for pilots as
the number of Classics draws down
through 2023 while the MAX aircraft
is introduced in 2017-2018 and its
numbers slowly start to build up.
Southwest has used a type of
subset in the past but within an opt-
in framework. When the -200s were
phased out in 2002-2004 (’94 contract,
SL 25), they were drawn down to just
two domiciles, then one, and pilots in
and out of those domiciles opted in
to whether they wanted to maintain
their currency to fly them. Maintaining
the -200 qualification was done with
a simple 90 day currency and annual
sim training; captains and FOs could
be requalified from 91 to 180 days by
flying with a check airman or qualified
captain. Pilots were paid a 7 percent
override for -200 legs and the .74 DHR
was instituted on all flying to even
out the significant disparity in TFP/
duty hour between medium-to-longer
haul non-200 flying and the shorter-
haul, two-stepping -200 flying.
INTERNATIONALThe Company also has raised
concerns regarding international flying,
including what they classify as higher
risk international airports (MEX, SJO
for example). They have cited the fact
that all major carriers have had an
international hull loss within five years
of starting service to South America.
And the Company has raised currency
concerns for pilots going into medium to
high-risk international airports — they
would like to have pilots flying these
routes seeing those airports more than
“once a year.” They also have cited data
collected from international trained
observers showing increased error rates
over domestic flying. The Company has
recently announced to international
TOs that they will be conducting a new
data collection in an effort to reconfirm
their initial assessment. Of note: All
other major U.S. carriers no longer split
a single fleet into near international and
domestic. American was the last one
and they are reverting back to single
mission fleets as indicated in their
contract, which was ratified in January.
SWAPA’S RESPONSESWAPA has a series of concerns
with divisions of pilots including
line and pairing quality, reduction
of TTGA and ELITT flexibility within
smaller division of pilots, reduced
open time opportunities for non-
qualified pilots, increased reserve
requirements, and reserve utilization
balance. With these concerns in
mind, SWAPA has counter-proposed
within the following framework:
• Classic/MAX or near
international should be opt-in
divisions within specific domiciles
• Divisions need to be of a minimum
size to preserve some TTGA/ELITT
trading quality while still providing
sufficient currency opportunities
to remain qualified and address
flight ops’ safety concerns.
• Divisions need to have a MAXimum
size above which the entire domicile
is required to be qualified (improves
all pilots’ schedule quality, trading,
and open time opportunities and
allows reduced reserve manning which
offsets any additional training costs).
• SWAPA acknowledges that there
will have to be some restrictions on
trading based on pilot qualifications
and there should be compensation
to offset those restrictions.
• New hire, displaced, and
involuntarily opted-in pilots
cannot be locked into a division or
domicile just because they become
part of an opt-in division.
• Division locks need to be
commensurate with the amount of
training required. For example, training
for six to eight weeks into a completely
new airframe at other carriers only
costs a two-year lock, so three days
of opt-in division training involving
simulators should only warrant a
few months lock, while doing a one-
hour DL does not warrant any lock.
• Pilots can remain qualified for
near international and special near-
international airports, even if they bid
a line of domestic flying or bid out of a
near-international domicile, so long as
they maintain the required currencies.
• Since the Company openly
acknowledges that near international
has more inherent risks and near
international divisions based on
qualifications that will restrict trading/
ELITT opportunities, near-international
flying should pay a near international
override on those legs above any rigs.
Higher risk and special qualification
near international airports should
pay an even higher override.
• If a Classic division is
implemented during the drawdown
of the -300/500, Classic flying should
pay an override on the legs flown.
• If divisions are implemented, the
structure of the divisions must enable
the Company to easily transition
from divisions back to full-domicile
and full-pilot group qualification,
just like every other carrier.
These concepts are still being
worked on during negotiations and
there has been significant movement
by the Company to keep the division
concepts as open and flexible for pilots
while still meeting flight operations’
qualifications and currency asks. While
the FAA and Safety are the primary
drivers for the Company to create
divisions, SWAPA’s primary objective
is to protect pilots’ schedule quality
and pay from any limitations that may
be caused by these divisions.
Scott Plyler | Negotiating Committee | [email protected]
7REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE
If a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) is not created in a particular Section 9a or Section 10 dispute situation, the parties may exercise Self Help when the 30-day cooling-off period expires.
Parties are released from mediation by the Board and a 30-day cooling-off (status-quo) period begins
NMB determines further mediation will not help the parties reach agreement and proffers voluntary-but-binding arbitration to the parties
If the bargaining conferences are terminated by one of the parties and neither the parties nor the NMB invokes mediation w/i 10 days, the parties may exercise Self Help.
Either or both parties request NMB mediation or NMB invokes Public Interest Mediation
Parties reach Agreement
Parties exchange Section 6 Notices
Parties negotiate w/o NMB participation (known as Direct Negotiations)
Either party or both decline binding Arbitration
Arbitration Board convenes, holds a hearing, and issues a Binding Decision
Parties reach Agreement
Both parties agree to binding arbitration
Parties reach Agreement
Under Section 10 of the RLA, if a dispute substantially threatens essential transportation in any section of the country, the NMB notifies the President who may establish a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB). If so created, the PEB has 30 days in which to investigate the dispute and report to the President during which the status-quo remains in effect. The parties may choose to accept the recommendations of the PEB, negotiate their own agreement, or, after 30 days from the issuance of the PEB report to the President exercise Self Help, unless Congress takes action.
Under Section 9a of the RLA, which applies only to certain publicly funded and operated commuter railroads, if the President does not establish a Section 10 PEB, either party to a dispute, or the Governor of any affected state, may request the President to establish up to two (2) Presidential Emergency Boards (PEBs) including a mandatory NMB hearing. Absent agreement, these procedures would delay Self Help for 240 days from the date of creation of the first PEB, unless Congress takes action.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS UNDER THE RAILWAY LABOR ACT (RLA)
CA FO TOTAL
ATL 213 208 421
BWI 497 485 982
DAL 495 452 947
DEN 340 321 661
HOU 459 423 882
LAS 382 356 738
MCO 350 325 675
MDW 559 537 1096
OAK 363 323 686
PHX 416 349 7654074 3779 7853
SEPTEMBER 2015 DOMICILE COUNTS
8 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
FEELING THE BLUES
Everyone occasionally feels blue or
sad. But these feelings are usually short-
lived and pass within a couple of days.
When you have depression, it interferes
with daily life and causes pain for both you
and those who care about you. Depression
is a common but serious illness.
There are several forms of depression.
Major depression has severe symptoms
that interfere with your ability to
work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life.
A persistent depressive disorder is
characterized as a depressed mood that
lasts for at least two years. Some forms
of depression are slightly different,
or they may develop under unique
circumstances. They include: psychotic
depression, postpartum depression, and
seasonal affective disorder. Psychotic
depression occurs when a person has
severe depression plus some form of
psychosis, such as having disturbing false
beliefs that occur from a break with reality,
or hearing or seeing upsetting things that
are not real. Postpartum depression is
much more serious than the “baby blues”
that women experience after giving birth.
It is estimated that 10 to 15 percent of
women who have given birth experience
postpartum depression. Seasonal affective
disorder is characterized by the onset of
depression during the winter months,
when there is less natural sunlight.
There are a number of signs and
symptoms of depression. As pilots, it is
our job to take care of one another. Below
is a list of common signs and symptoms:
• Persistent sad, anxious,
or “empty” feelings
• Feelings of hopelessness
or pessimism
• Feelings of guilt,
worthlessness, or helplessness
• Irritability, restlessness
• Loss of interest in
activities or hobbies once
pleasurable, including sex
• Fatigue and decreased energy
• Difficulty concentrating,
remembering details, and
making decisions
• Insomnia, early-morning
wakefulness, or excessive sleeping
• Overeating or appetite loss
• Thoughts of suicide,
suicide attempts
• Aches, pains, headaches,
cramps, or digestive problems that
do not ease, even with treatment
The FAA has determined that airmen
requesting first, second, or third class
medical certificates while being treated
with one of four specific selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
may be considered. The authorization
decision is made on a case-by-case basis.
The FAA makes their determination
for a pilot’s status based on three
general things: the official diagnosis,
treatment required, and fitness for duty
status. Any one of those three things
could be considered disqualifying.
And the Examiner may not issue.
Regarding treatment, it’s helpful
to understand that there are short-
and long-term treatment protocols
for the FAA. All of the antidepressant
medications are FAA disqualifying, but
some of them (currently four) may be
considered for a Special Issuance (SI).
If the applicant opts to discontinue
use of the SSRI, the Examiner must
notate in Block 60, Comments on
History and Findings, on FAA Form
8500-8 and defer issuance. To reapply
for regular issuance, the applicant
must be off the SSRI for a minimum
of 60 days with a favorable report
from the treating physician indicating
stable mood and no aeromedically
significant side effects. (See Figure 1.)
An applicant may be considered
for an FAA Authorization of a SI of a
Medical Certificate (Authorization) if:
1. The applicant has one of the
following diagnoses:
• Major depressive disorder
(mild to moderate) either single
episode or recurrent episode
• Dysthymic disorder
• Adjustment disorder
with depressed mood
• Any non-depression-
related condition for
which the SSRI is used
2. For a minimum of six continuous
months prior, the applicant has
been clinically stable as well as on
a stable dose of medication without
any aeromedical significant side
effects and/or an increase in
symptoms. If the applicant has
been on the medication under six
months, the Examiner must advise
Chris Evans | Benefits | [email protected]
that six months of continuous use
is required before SI consideration.
3. The SSRI used is one the
following (single use only):
• Fluoxetine (Prozac)
• Sertraline (Zoloft)
• Citalopram (Celexa)
• Escitalopram (Lexapro)
If the applicant is on a SSRI that is
not listed above, the Examiner must
advise that the medication is not
acceptable for SI consideration.
4. The applicant DOES NOT have
symptoms or history of:
• Psychosis
• Suicidal ideation
• Electro-convulsive therapy
• Treatment with multiple
SSRIs concurrently
• Multi-agent drug protocol
use (prior use of other
psychiatric drugs in
conjunction with SSRIs)
If applicant meets the all of the
FIGURE 1
BENEFITS COMMITTEE
9REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
above criteria and wishes to continue
use of the SSRI, advise the applicant
that he/she must be further evaluated
by a Human Intervention Motivation
Study (HIMS) AME. (See Figure 2.)
The HIMS AME will also conduct
the follow-up evaluation after
initial issuance. (See Figure 3.)
ClearSkies Employee Assistance
Program is a confidential program
available to all Southwest employees
and family members from the day you
join the Company, regardless of whether
you enroll in any other benefits. You
do not have to be covered through one
of the medical programs to be eligible.
Southwest offers you the ClearSkies
program so that you have a confidential
resource to help you and your family
deal with any personal problem that
may affect your health, family life, or
work, including relationships, alcohol,
drugs, stress, depression, and emotional
distress. When you contact ClearSkies
at 800.742.8911, a licensed counselor
will assess your situation, determine
what assistance is needed, and provide
you possible resources for treatment.
You may also access ClearSkies via
the web at liveandworkwell.com
and use pin number: swa737.
There are no visit limits, however,
all treatments will still be subject to
the annual out-of-pocket maximums,
deductibles, and copayments that
apply to the medical program option
that you selected. If short-term
counseling is appropriate, you may
be eligible for up to five free sessions
with an in-network provider.
If you, or anyone you know
is suffering from depression,
please contact a SWAPA rep or
someone within SWAPA before
contacting the Company.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 3
BENEFITS COMMITTEE
10 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015 SCHEDULE RESEARCH
SPLIT TO COVER PART II
The previous article on Split To
Cover (STC) back in April generated
quite a few great emails and comments.
Your SRC greatly appreciates your
input, as we were able to identify
some areas of misunderstanding
among our readership. In this article,
we’ll clear up a few misconceptions
about the differences between
STC and contractual split points,
and then we’ll dig a little deeper
into some of the staffing problems
that are at play this summer.
Section 6: Sub-section B: Voluntary
Additional Flying, para 13.d.i Daily Open
Time (DOT) Pairing Splits defines the
agreed upon contractual split points.
DOT Pairing Splits happen after
uncovered trips are released from ELITT
and BEFORE they are placed in DOT.
This part of the contract was added many
years ago in order to help pilots pick up
OT and avoid the 30 in 7 FAA limitation.
It was designed to break the 3- and 4-day
trips into smaller pieces so that the open
inventory would match pilot preferences
and legality for shorter pairings. This
adjustment helped increase the OT
Alan Rosebrock | Schedule Research Committee | [email protected]
pickup rate. Unfortunately, there
were side effects. We will talk about
those side effects in another article.
STC is NOT the same thing as
contractually mandated splits, it
is a choice made by scheduling to
solve problems. Unlike contractually
mandated splits, the STC process
happens AFTER DOT closes at 9
a.m. The SRC has focused on what
happens to these trips. If the uncovered
pairings are not awarded in straight
DOT, then SWA has several choices.
1. The trip can be assigned whole
to a reserve/multiple reserves.
2. The trip can be awarded whole to
the senior available POT bidder
according to order of award.
3. The trip can be split for a local
reserve(s) and the other portion
for OT (both portions must
be offered for bid through
respective OT processes).
4. The trip can be split/modified
for export to another domicile
reserve(s) and other OTs (both
portions must be offered for bid
through respective OT processes).
Past analysis of pairings that were
labelled “STC” (those that were not
labelled were not included due to
difficulties in properly identifying them)
showed us that most often these trips
went to multiple reserve pilots. While
seeking to combine STC portions onto
multiple reserves might seem to be a
tidy way to reduce costs by avoiding POT
and increasing reserve utilization, there
are always trade-offs. For example:
• Splitting trips inflates the duty
period inventory, reduces the
supply of available pilots to solve
last-minute problems, and over the
long term generates self-induced
demand for additional reserves.
• Because the newly split trips
must be offered through the next
OT process, more inventory gets
“pushed” to the wee hours when
fewer bidders are available and less
time is available for adequate rest.
• Trips split in this manner can
often be spotted because they do
not meet contractual minimum
pay for their length and as a
result, receive few bids (if any)
and rarely at straight time.
• Lastly, it is contractually required
that if the pairing is exported, it
may not be awarded outside of the
original domicile for premium
without first being returned to
and re-run in the subsequent OT
process — a very complicated
and error-prone requirement.
SWAPA SRC contends that awarding
more POT bids earlier instead of
STC’ing those un-awarded DOT
trips may be more cost-effective
on an annual basis than splitting
those trips to parcel out to multiple
reserves. Following a more liberal POT
assignment plan could allow SWA to
realize a reduction in reserve manning,
decreased involuntary assignment
rates, and improved ability to handle
true emergencies with reserves.
A great example of how leaning
toward POT before STC can make the
operation more cost-effective was
observed during the July POT versus
reserve assignment test. The initial data
analysis shows that involuntary flying
events were dramatically reduced as
more POT was awarded to pilots. These
are two areas that the pilot group has
asked SWAPA to improve upon. Our
goal is to realize improved productivity
through a more “free market” approach.
Every time a post-DOT, uncovered trip
is split it adds at least one additional
duty period. This is especially critical
during the high flight time months
of Spring Break (March and April),
the summer months (June, July, and
August), and the holiday period (the
“The difference in Southwest Airlines’ January 2015 schedule to our Summer 2015 schedule is MORE than the entire Spirit Airlines schedule.” — Mark G. Sutcliffe, Mgr. Flight Ops Crew Planning, Southwest Airlines
11REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015SCHEDULE RESEARCH
last part of November and December).
The April STC article showed that
in 2014 almost 66 percent of the STC
trips that had valid POT bids ended up
being flown by reserves. Using reserves
to cover STC trips during peak flying
months utilizes their time unnecessarily
and exposes our operation to increased
risk should a significant operational
disruption occur. We acknowledge that
the low flight time months have higher
pickup rates and that it is cost efficient
to use reserves on that uncovered
DOT flying instead of letting them sit
unused all month. However, the data
is VERY CLEAR that a measurable
portion of the reserve staffing increases
since 2011 can be attributed to self-
induced demand due to STC.
To be fair, pilot staffing is a very
difficult variable to get right. Some
months it is too high (not enough flying),
some months it is too low (too much
flying). The ideal months that have
around a mid 90s TFP bid line average
have better OT pickup rates, and low
to zero JA. Some food for thought:
did you know that according to the
manager of flight ops crew planning
at Southwest, the difference between
Southwest Airlines’ January 2015 and
Summer 2015 schedules is MORE than
the entire Spirit Airlines schedule?
Additionally, the fact that our pilot group
is able to absorb that much schedule
variation with only a fractional change
in manning is astounding. The chart
to the left shows the spikes of some
previous years of scheduled flying.
We all know that SWA does this to
maximize revenue by offering more
flying when the public wants to travel.
Unfortunately, the large amount of
variation in scheduled flying throughout
the months results in an even greater
variation in the amount of open
time offered via MOT, ELITT, DOT,
etc. If SWA would like to see greater
participation in these OT processes,
awarding more brings out more bidders.
A “free market” always outperforms a
command economy over time. A more
junior or out-of-category pilot who
desires a trip badly enough is free and
maybe even incentivized to bid straight
time — increasing competition in the
marketplace and helping to control
costs. An analysis of the number of
bidders in several categories appears
above. The graph above shows the
number of bidders for the first four
months of the year over the last three
years. There are four results for each
month/year because we wanted you
to see the number and type of bids on
turns, 2-day, 3-day, and 4-day pairings.
Notice there are significantly more
POT bidders this year than last. This
is a good thing for SWA as well as for
SWAPA pilots. Pilots are willing to
fly more than their scheduled lines
and sign up for all types of flying.
So how can STC and the various
issues it creates be controlled? The
history of heavy scheduling and
heavy use of reserves during the
summer creates an opportunity to
apply more “free market” approaches
to avoid the JA spikes. Some ideas:
• Award POT before using reserves
in months when scheduled flying
exceeds six block hours per
duty period or in months when
SWA wants an ELITT Duties
to Cover (DTC) restriction
• In every month, hold back
more reserves to cover
emergencies and prevent JA
• Award POT before using reserves
in other specific days or clusters
of days when increased open
duty period demand, low reserve
coverage, reduced pilot availability,
and reduced historical pickup
rates indicate covering those
duty periods will be a challenge
The JA numbers in 2015 are
significantly higher than those of 2014.
We track all JA events but we especially
pay attention to the JA assignments
on a scheduled day off. The number
of JA events on a scheduled day off in
2015 are listed in the chart below.
The numbers are for day off JA trips
only — they do not include add-on
into an unscheduled overnight (aka
reroute JA). The total number of July
reroute JAs are greater than 700 — many
more than appear on the CWA Open
Time Awards report. (This is material
for a future article and an upcoming
SWAPA SRC data product to finally
address this bug of which SRC and
SWA have been aware for years.)
Increasing reserve manning to
reduce JA is not the most efficient use
of our pilots. This is especially true
when many of those reserves are flying
trips that have come from SWA’s STC
process. Trying to minimize reserve
guarantee payout in the months where
flying is heavy creates the conditions
for increased JA. During the months of
maximum flights and dense schedules,
we should be saving reserves for the
late night illegalities, busted FDPs,
and last-minute fatigue calls instead
of having them fly the majority of
the STC trips. There are more cost-
efficient and less disruptive solutions
than adding reserves and increasing
the use of involuntary flying.
Stay engaged.
SEAT JANUARY JAs FEB JAs MARCH JAs APRIL JAs MAY JAs JUNE JAs JULY JAs
FO 5 1 11 104 105 290 180
CA 1 1 9 46 38 98 73
12 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
THE HUMAN FACTOR: ACCELERATING THROUGH THE FUNNEL
By now, all of us should have
completed Ops Day. One of the
intentions of Ops Day was to open
a dialog between pilots about risk
management and making quality
choices. Something that I noticed
consistently throughout the scenarios
was plan continuation bias. Plan
continuation bias is the tendency
to continue with a plan even when
conditions warrant a change to a
safer option. I think we all can agree
that we, as a profession, demonstrate
this tendency. I think there are some
interesting features within the concept
of plan continuation bias that warrant
additional thought. Let’s look at a few.
ACCELERATING THROUGH THE FUNNELMost of the events occurred during
the takeoff and landing phases. Within
these phases, the pace of changes
seems to accelerate while available
options fade. It happens much like
water moving down a funnel. It is slow
at the top and quickly accelerates until
it shoots out the bottom. Using this
metaphor, I think we can gain a greater
understanding of the dynamics at work.
Decreasing time and options
One characteristic of these phases
is that we perceive that our time-to-
react and number of available options
rapidly decreases as we progress. For
example, at 1,000 feet on final, we
can easily detect that an approach is
unstabilized and easily transition to
a go-around. As we move down the
funnel to short final, our reaction time
and options seem to vanish. The same
quickening occurs during takeoff. A
rejected takeoff initiated at 20 knots
is easy. One started at V1 is not.
Continue with the intended plan
As we accelerate down the funnel,
we really don’t have time to evaluate
and discuss options as a crew. It just
seems to make sense to continue
with the original plan. If an approach
becomes unstabilized in the final
seconds before touchdown, it looks less
like something requiring a go-around
and more like something to correct-
and-continue. For landings, it seems to
make more sense to continue — we just
need to make the necessary correction
and accept the long or fast landing.
Take the familiar course
We also see a very strong tendency
to select the familiar course of action.
Face it: go-arounds are rare, and
rejected takeoffs are even rarer. We
may go an entire year and never see
either during line flying. They feel like
events that we only practice in the
simulator. As we accelerate down the
funnel, we have a natural tendency to
keep the picture familiar-looking. This
seems to explain why most pilots who
hear a takeoff warning horn as they
advance power reset the flaps on-the-
roll instead of rejecting the takeoff.
Deviations viewed as error correction
There also seems to be a tendency
to view problems encountered in the
funnel as errors to correct instead
of reasons to abandon the path. For
example, if a strong gust hits you on
short final, the strongest inclination
is to push up some power, correct the
path, and land a bit long. For the vast
majority of cases, that is exactly what
we should do. When does that wind
gust become so significant that the
best course becomes a go-around, or
a rejected takeoff? Where that line is
drawn depends on too many conditions
to consider in the moments we have to
weigh them. The default choice becomes
to continue. As we look at significant
events and accidents, we see crews
very often choosing to continue.
Problems viewed as transient and small
We seem to equate the amount of
time available with the magnitude
of the problem. A strong gust hitting
us well out on final may trigger our
windshear go-around decision. That
same gust during the flare or late
during the takeoff roll is often viewed
as quick and transient — something
that will quickly subside — as opposed
to an increasing problem that indicates
that a go-around is necessary. Thus,
we are more inclined to continue.
Alternatives viewed as more hazardous
As we accelerate down the funnel,
the “safe alternatives” seem to become
rated as more hazardous. Clearly a
rejected takeoff just before V1 is viewed
as more hazardous than continuing the
takeoff. A go-around from the flare or
just after touchdown during landing
is viewed the same way. We are far
more likely to continue the takeoff or
continue the landing in the final stages.
Human psychology
Clearly, we are goal-oriented people.
Our goal is to successfully take off,
proceed to a destination, land, and
deliver our passengers to the gate.
Anything that impedes these goals is
viewed as an obstruction or obstacle that
we need to overcome. In some ways, a
gate hold or mechanical at the gate has
the same characteristics as a storm cell
near the intended landing runway. Our
goal is to land on that runway. The storm
cell is just another obstacle interfering
with our landing goal. From psychology,
we know that the weight we assign to
each obstacle changes as we progress
down the funnel. Human psychology
influences us to progressively minimize
the severity of the threat as we move
closer to the goal. A strong gust well
out on final may be enough to trigger
a go-around. If that same gust hit us
as we were transitioning to the flare,
we are far more likely to continue
the landing. The pull of the goal
overpowers the push of the obstacle.
Few would consider going around.
Overloading
As we experience a significant
problem accelerating down the funnel,
we can quickly become overloaded.
As we become overloaded, we begin
to load-shed details and analysis. We
just start reacting. Since our thinking
brain needs time to analyze and
weigh information, we effectively shut
it down, select one or two primary
factors to focus on, and continue. On
a majority of unstabilized approach
landings, pilots report focusing on a
single thing, like touchdown point,
and ignore everything else — airspeed,
configuration, correct runway, etc.
Steve Swauger | Human Factors | [email protected]
SAFETY COMMITTEE
13REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
Ego
Face it, we are experienced
professionals. Experienced professionals
complete the job — and the job is to
take off, fly to a destination, and land.
If we break that chain, most of us view
it as a failure. How many times do we
continue a poor approach because we
don’t want to admit that we gaffed our
energy management on the way down?
THE FUNNEL AND PLAN CONTINUATION BIASAt Ops Day, we saw a number of
scenarios where pilots made some
questionable decisions in the fast-
moving, fast changing funnel of takeoff
and landing events. We even saw pilots
report on their thinking and their
clear surprise that they continued
those takeoffs or landings when
viewed in hindsight. The reasonable
conclusion we should all draw is that
plan continuation bias is a very strong
force that affects us in the funnel. We
should all recognize that we don’t
make balanced, thoughtful, quality
decisions in the funnel. We react
— sometimes poorly. We continue
— sometimes inappropriately.
Quality decision making in the funnel
I have given you a number of factors
that seem to explain our degraded
decision making during the takeoff
and landing phases. How do we
improve our actions when things go
wrong during takeoff and landing?
Acknowledge the effect
First, we need to acknowledge that
we don’t have the time or information to
make high-quality, balanced decisions
during fast-moving, fast-changing
events. None of us has. Every one of us
has a point at which we will become
overloaded to the point where we will
make poor decisions — and none of us
knows where that point is. Too often,
pilots report spending precious seconds
trying to understand why something
was happening, rather than choosing
a safer path, getting out of the funnel,
SAFETY COMMITTEE
and sorting it out later. The funnel is
no place for refined decision making.
Perform the trained safety maneuver
There is never enough time to
understand why your approach is
suddenly unstabilized or what caused
it to become unstabilized. The best
course is to execute the safe maneuvers
we practice in training. If we push
up the thrust levers for takeoff and
the takeoff warning horn sounds,
the trained procedure is to reject the
takeoff, not to investigate the cause, or
correct the condition. The same goes
for landing. If your approach becomes
unstabilized from a strong gust, the
trained procedure is to execute a
go-around and prepare for a possible
windshear escape maneuver, not to
investigate and correct the cause.
SUCCESS IN THE FUNNELWe go through at least two of
these funnels each flight. We need
to be successful every time.
Enter safely and predictably
The key is to enter the funnel safely
and predictably every single time. For
takeoff, it means accurately performing
all of our pre-takeoff tasks and checklists
and getting everything lined up in our
favor. Events will conspire to upset
that preparation (rushing, runway
changes, fatigue), but we need to take
the time to ensure that everything is
ready before taking the runway. The
same goes for approach and landing. We
need to enter the slot stabilized, with a
favorable runway landing environment.
Events will conspire to upset that
preparation (weather, ATC, poor energy
management), but we need to take the
time to ensure that everything is ready
before entering the final approach.
Be ready for the safe escape maneuver
Mentally rehearse the rejected
takeoff and go-around maneuvers and
be ready to execute them when needed.
Have your trigger conditions clearly
ready in your mind. If the condition
occurs, execute the trained maneuver
without devoting any brain power to
trying to understand why it happened
or what went wrong. There is time for
analysis, but it is not during the takeoff
roll or on short final. When our mind is
unclear on our trigger conditions, we
tend to waffle, freeze, or analyze. There
is no time for any of this in the funnel.
WRAP-UPOps Day was a wake-up call for
all of us to evaluate the quality of our
own decision making in fast-changing
scenarios. The Ops Day events contained
elements that would have overloaded
any one of us. As I viewed the events, I
tried to place myself in that scenario at
the actual rate of speed under which it
was unfolding. At what point would I
have gone around? At what point would
I have stopped and set the brakes?
In what ways have I done something
close to that crew, but my event just
worked out when theirs didn’t? Every
day is an opportunity to learn and
improve our skills as professional pilots.
What will you work on today?
14 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015 SAFETY COMMITTEE
The Scorecard provides pilots with timely feedback on our performance as a group
and highlights particular issues in a standardized format on a regular basis in order
to promote a better informed decision-making process. The Scorecard complements
the information provided on SWALife and through other publications. More detailed
information from our safety programs is available on SWALIfe>>FlightOps>>Safety.
Data from our safety programs is “confidential,” not secret; it must be shared to be
the most effective. That said, some of the data presented in the Safety Scorecard is
sensitive and may even be considered SWA Internal or SWA Confidential. Please treat
this information in the same manner as you would a Company manual such as the
OPS Binder.
If there is particular information you would like to see include in the Scorecard, email
your suggestions to [email protected].
SWAPA SAFETY SCORECARD
WHO YOU GONNA CALL?Your Safety Committee is here to assist you. If you are involved in an incident
or accident, call SWAPA Safety at 800.969.7972 or 214.722.4200 and press
1 for an accident or 2 for an incident BEFORE making statements to anyone
(Company, FAA, law enforcement, etc.). You are also encouraged to call your
Safety Committee at the contact numbers below, or email us at Safety@
SWAPA.org with any safety concerns you have or if you receive an FAA Letter
of Investigation (LOI) before responding to the LOI.
David Eiser
Safety Committee
Chair
(O) 214.722.4233
(C) 678.938.3630
Matt Cain
Investigations/
Coordination
(O) 214.722.4200
(C) 404.610.6855
Craig Jakubowski
Investigations/
Coordination
ASAP HOTLINE 877.377.8338
(O) 214.722.4200
(C) 480.650.8579
Arrival Departure
DCA 19
SAN 27
SFO 28L
HOU 04
DAL 13L
LAS 07R
MCI 01L
EWR 22L
DEN 16R
DEN 34R
JUNE 2015 TOP 10 UNSTABLE APPROACH RATE AT 500 FEET
FDAP
JAN
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15
JU
N, 20
15
CLASSIC FLAP EXCEEDANCE RATE BY PHASE OF FLIGHT
The following are two synopsis of a recent crew contact involving a flap overspeed:
That was the trip from hell. We had a gate return for bad weather among other things. It happened really fast. Essentially there was a cell between us and the field and we were trying to circumvent it and still get down and maintain our energy. At localizer intercept we realized there was no way we were going to get down to intercept the glideslope so I went around. In the ensuing go-around from landing gear down and flaps 1, we just missed getting the flaps up — all my fault. When we got on the ground, I contacted maintenance to tell them we’d oversped the flaps. He asked me did I think we got past 245 knots, because if we did that airplane was going to be grounded for 10 days minimum. I told him I really wasn’t sure because I just saw it for a second and I thought it was closer to 240 knots. We wrote it up in the logbook as 240 knots.
Very turbulent air. We thought we had oversped by one knot but did not get an ACARS message so we did not write it up. I had no idea we oversped the flaps by that margin.
* Phase 2 Exceedances
Confidentiality: Not for public dissemination. Because of the nature of the information in this publication, please use discretion when handling and discarding it. Misplacing this communication in public places, such as hotels and aircraft seat back pockets, as well as disposing of such communication in a public place, could compromise the confidential nature of the information contained herein. The information in this document may be protected from disclosure under 49 U.S.C., section 40123 and 14 CFR Part 19.
15REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
FLAP MOVEMENT DURING TAXI :: RATE PER 10,000 FLIGHTS
142% increase since May
JU
N 2
014
JU
L 2
014
AU
G 2
014
SE
P 2
014
OC
T 2
014
NO
V 2
014
DE
C 2
014
JAN
20
15
FE
B 2
015
MA
R 2
015
AP
R 2
015
MA
Y 2
015
JU
NE
20
15
TAKEOFF HAZARDS
2011
J F M A M J J A S O N D
2012 2013 2014 2015
The graphs to the left show that, with our new procedures, June 2015 data shows there was a 142 percent increase in flap movement while taxiing as compared to May 2015 while at the same time there was 88 percent decrease in events where flaps were not set in the takeoff position as compared to June 2014. While this shows that the new procedures look promising in fixing the issue, FDAP will continue to monitor it.The following is a synopsis of a recent crew contact involving an incorrect flap setting during taxi:
We also oversped the flaps on this trip. Have you seen that come through yet? He would call for the flaps above placard all the time. It was really kind of frustrating in that a new guy like me shouldn’t be giving an IOE to somebody you know?CA- It was our first flight together for this sequence and the FO was a new guy to our operation. I made a call something like, “okay, let’s get going” to the FO which put him out of his flow. It was my fault taking him out of his flow, in that he’s really just getting used to the way we do things around here.
FATIGUE
Fatigue rates have skyrocketed recently. June numbers totaled 256 calls.* Hidden behind these numbers are a RECORD number of re-routes, add-ons, and JA events within an extremely demanding SWA flying schedule. Disguised even further is that some of the June fatigue calls represent DECLINED flying that was not originally scheduled. Many of these “calls” are pilots simply refusing to accept the additional flying attempting to be given to them by scheduling — most times with no notice to prepare. The Fatigue Working Group (FWG) realizes these “declinations” are being logged as Fatigue Calls therefore please fill out a Fatigue Worksheet for each event.
It is not easy to decline flying or to walk away from a flight. The pressure to get our customers to their destinations and our mission-oriented mindset often compels pilots to continue when they shouldn’t. The increased numbers illustrate that our pilots are often making the responsible decision. Your decision is jointly supported by both SWA and SWAPA.
While not mandatory, you are strongly encouraged to fill out a Fatigue Worksheet on SWALife when you call in fatigued. The worksheet is de-identified and provides the FWG with a clearer picture of what happened, better enabling them to make data-informed recommendations.
*Because SWA policy requires a pilot to call in fatigued in order to refuse an extension, these numbers include pilots who declined an extension. However, due to limitations in the CWA software, an extension where the pilot was never ultimately assigned the flying (a “CC” code was not needed as the pilot did complete the original pairing) may not show the “fatigue” call. Better coding to ensure more accurate tracking will be available with future CWA updates. A Fatigue Worksheet filled out by the pilot will better enable tracking and auditing of these events.
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (est.)
TOTAL ANNUAL FATIGUE CALLS 2009-2015
MONTH-TO-MONTH CALL NUMBER COMPARISON 2012–2015
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
2012
2013
2014
2015
16 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015 SAFETY COMMITTEESWAPA SAFETY SCORECARD
ASAPThe month of June saw a large increase in ATL speed deviation reports. The ERT worked on 17 ATL speed-related pilot deviation events in ASAP. The Company is aware of these issues and made a trip to ATL TRACON in July. We will continue to share de-identified information to help develop strategies to limit these deviations. If you fly through ATL and experience any issues with ATC, please consider filing an ASAP report
ATC
• ATL Approach issued a speed reduction to 250 knots above 10,000 feet and then a descent to 7,000 feet. The crew was handed off to the next controller and they began slowing. Their perception was being high on a profile for a short approach. The controller issued a Brasher warning for slowing without clearance.
• ATL Approach issued an “expedited descent” from 7,000 feet to 4,000 feet. The crew elected to slow to 230 knots and extend flaps 5. The crew thought
RRM PERSPECTIVE ON ATL SPEED DEVIATION REPORTS
ATL airspace is home to the busiest airport in the world, resulting in high task loading for pilots and controllers. It is very common to have a speed assigned early on the STAR and then receive multiple changes on the arrival when handed off to different controllers. ATC may reduce separation to 2.5 miles when crews call the preceding aircraft in sight. This requires strict airspeed adherence by all flights into ATL.
Consider this excerpt from a recent ASAP report where a crew slowed beyond their assigned speed while configuring to accommodate an expedited descent request.
We were on the WARRR 1 Arrival. ATL Center assigned us a speed of 310 knots in the descent, and to cross HONIE at 14,000 feet. Upon reaching 14,000 feet, we were handed off to ATL Approach. Approach slowed us to 210 knots and gave us a descent to 7,000 feet and to expect the visual approach to Runway 28. We were turning downwind and passing through 10,000 feet. When we were handed off to the final controller, we were told to increase our rate of descent. I was already at 210 knots with flaps 5 and had been in that configuration since leaving 14,000 feet. I called for landing gear down and flaps 15 at 190 knots. The final controller gave us further descent to 4,000 feet and turned us on a seven mile base. We were descending at 190 knots trying to expedite the descent and the controller repeated we were assigned 210 knots. He then added, maintain at least 180 to the FAF, which was not a problem since I was doing 190 anyway. We were handed off to Tower.
The pilots suggested communicating their limitations and need to slow with the controller as a way to avoid this deviation in the future. What resources do you have available to improve performance and reduce risk if you find yourself in a similar situation?
Policies, Procedures, and Flows: ATL Safety Alert (Jeppesen 10-7C) provides guidance on flying “180 knots to the marker.”
Automation: Use of the autopilot to decrease task loading may increase the crew’s ability to assess their situation.
Briefings and External Resources: Ask for speed relief or a longer final to ensure stabilized approach criteria. Notify ATC if unable to turn base and maintain assigned speed.
Knowledge, Skills and Techniques: Was slowing below 210 knots required? Crews can use the FMC to increase situational awareness and assist in energy management.
COORD & COMM ERRORS
ALT DEVS & CROSSING
CROSSING RESTRICTIONS ONLY
NAVIGATION DEVIATIONS
RUNWAY INCURSIONS
TAXIWAY INCURSIONS
RAMP INCURSIONS
LANDING W/O CLEARANCE
MAY 2015 ASAP EVENTS
Corporate facilities has now sent the necessary chains and parts to fix the cradles.
PROCEDURES
• At approximately 75 knots, the captain rejected the takeoff for a door light. The crew coordinated with the A flight attendant to push on the door handle to ensure it was closed. The light went out and the crew completed the new departure plan checklist. The crew noted the QRH and departure plan checklists do not have a step to confirm the RTO setting after a rejected takeoff.
• The crew received multiple step-down clearances prior to joining the STAR. Each time the crew recruised the FMC. The crew did not see the STAR note directing a 280-knot descent and they did not verify the FMC descent speed after recruising. At the TOD, the FMC commanded a 340-knot descent placing them high and fast.
NAVIGATION ERROR
• The flight was planned on NON STD ROUTE. The first officer programmed the FMC from the dispatch release. The PDC amended the route with a new SID and transition. The crew programmed the amended route and briefed the SID through the transition point. Once airborne past the transition waypoint, ATC noticed the flight was not on the filed route. The crew then realized they were focused on the PDC change and did not brief the entire route resulting in a programming error.
• After an aircraft swap, the crew felt the pressure to complete preflight procedures and push on time. The flight plan from the dispatch release was loaded into the FMC. Both crew members failed to note the change in the departure procedure on the PDC. After takeoff, the flight turned the wrong direction resulting in a pilot deviation from ATC.
DISPATCH
• The flight was dispatched with a takeoff alternate. The crew noted the alternate chosen by dispatch had an approach lighting NOTAM for the current landing runway. Based on this NOTAM, the approach minimums increased above the required alternate minimums. The crew was not sure it was legal. After research it was determined the opposite direction approach was still legal because the NOTAM did not apply to the corresponding approach. It was legal but maybe not the best plan considering the complicated airspace and feasibility of an opposite direction approach.
• The pilot was concerned about how International NOTAMs are provided to crews as part of the weather packet. Currently all international NOTAMs are printed with no filtering for specific flights, routes, or regions. An example is Canadian NOTAMs being printed for flights to Punta Cana. This requires a large amount of time for crews to read and find the relevant NOTAMs. Dispatch is looking into future technology updates to filter international NOTAMs.
they needed to further increase the rate of descent and slowed to 210 knots with flaps 10. The crew assumed the high rate of descent was the priority. ATC issued a Brasher warning for slowing.
• ATL Approach issued “180 knots to the marker.” The Pilot Flying (PF) was not comfortable and elected to slow down early. The Pilot Monitoring (PM) forgot about the speed assignment and complied when the PF wanted to lower the gear and extend flaps. ATC noted their speed at 140 knots and issued a Brasher warning for slowing without clearance.
• ATL Approach stated “expedite descent” and then
later again stated, “I need you to expedite your descent.” The crew was descending in idle at 250 knots and elected to slow and extend flaps to increase the rate of descent. They perceived the controller’s comments about descent rate to have cleared them to maneuver as necessary. ATC issued a Brasher warning for slowing without clearance.
• On arrival into LAX after midnight, ATC changed the runway from 24R to 6L. The crew was task loaded changing the arrival, approach runway, and getting on the correct descent path. When the crew listened to the Morse code for ILS 6L, it was still set for Runway 24R. ATC also stated aircraft were departing Runway 25R. Opposite direction parallel runways for noise abatement in the early morning and late night operations is approved at LAX.
COMMUNICATION
• At FL 360 the cabin altitude warning horn sounded. The crew initiated the memory items and began an emergency descent. The first officer experienced communication problems with the microphone in his oxygen mask cutting out. The crew used hand signals and the first officer yelled through his mask. He later discovered pushing the microphone wire stopped the short and they could communicate.
• Crew conducted a flaps 5 reduced-thrust takeoff in an -800 aircraft. At cruise the crew was notified by a jumpseater in the aft cabin he felt a bump on takeoff. The crew discussed the takeoff but did not believe a tailstrike occurred. After landing, maintenance confirmed a tailstrike, complied with the inspections, and returned the aircraft to service. Further analysis showed the pitch rate exceeded three degrees per second and the rotation began approximately 15 knots prior to VR.
FAR 117
• The pilot was unsure of the warnings on his CWA board for exceeding duty day limits. The pilot had a 13+00 FDP (extendable to 15+00 FDP). His FDP ended when he blocked in on his last flight. This resulted in FDP of 14+31, which made his duty day 15+01. Duty day includes 30 minutes after block in and is a contractual exceedance, not FAR 117.
• The crew experienced numerous delays due to weather which included three hours of flight time on the ground waiting for a gate. The crew then sat in the airport for nearly three hours before being sent to a hotel. The crew believed they exceeded a FDP because of the delay getting to the hotel. Time after the last flight segment is not included in FDP. The captain called scheduling to adjust their report time for the next day to ensure a 10 hour rest period.
GROUND OPERATIONS
• At an international airport the operations agent was unable to complete the weight and balance calculations on the computer. The agent completed a manual loading schedule and the crew noted several addition errors. Once corrected the flight departed and the crew realized the center and main tank fuel values were transposed, another error that was not caught prior to flight.
• As the aircraft reached the stop mark, the captain noticed the PC air hose cradle was not secured. The ramp supervisor informed the captain all of the gates had broken chains. The captain made some phone calls and submitted an ASAP report.
17REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
Rockwell Collins is beginning to
consider the strategies, partners and
acquisitions required to make the
avionics and information services
provider a dominant player in the
coming “era of applications and
services” for airliners. Enabled by
connected cockpits and broadband
links, the era will feature efficiency
and safety applications for the
cockpit as well as cabin services
that will give advertisers a direct
link to connected passengers.
Kent Statler, chief operating
officer for the Rockwell Collins’
Commercial Services division, says
the end state is at least five years
out, as two earlier eras of necessary
infrastructure—enabled flight
decks and cabins and broadband
data pipes—are put in place first.
“We’re going through an era
of enablement now, and you’re
seeing many next-gen aircraft being
equipped with routers, aggregation
tools and software architectures
that allow the information to be
both aggregated and dispersed
within the aircraft,” says Statler.
The data pipe era, also underway,
involves the maturation of broadband
connectivity to and from the aircraft.
Key to the evolution, says Statler,
is the transition from Ku-band
services to the faster Ku-band links,
including Inmarsat’s Global Xpress and
OneWeb, for which Rockwell Collins
will be a reseller of services and the
exclusive provider of airborne terminals.
Global Xpress, for which Honeywell
builds the airborne terminals and
is a reseller of services, is expected
to be available next year. OneWeb is
farther out, in the 2020 timeframe.
“First you build the enablement,
then you focus on the speed and how big
the pipe is,” says Statler. “Once you get
that in place, it’s all about the value-
added services that you can put across
the pipe.” Rockwell Collins signaled its
serious intentions in the information
management of those services with
its $1.4 billion acquisition of Arinc in
late 2013, providing the company with
a means to feed data to and from its
connected flight decks and cabins.
“We’re positioning ourselves for that
connectivity piece, and we’re beginning
to look at the strategies related to
what you do internally, who to partner
with and what to acquire for this age
of applications services,” he says.
OneWeb will initially feed the cabin,
where inflight entertainment (IFE)
systems will become “the razor” and
applications and services “the blade,”
says Statler. “In the early days, airlines
really didn’t want IFE on widebody
aircraft—they hated it,” he says. “It was
unreliable, it cost them money to have
it on their aircraft, and they didn’t see
the value. Today we’re seeing different
business models where they will make
money not off of the passenger paying for
a movie, but from an advertiser’s being
able to have a ‘touch’ on the passenger.”
That touch could mean direct concierge
and advertising services that steer the
passenger to goods and services at a
destination. The move could transform
IFE from a cost to a potential revenue
source for airlines, says Statler.
Once the industry gains 5-7 years
of experience with the next-generation
data pipes, Statler says ultra-secure
broadband-enabled evolutions to the
cockpit could come to fruition, allowing
for economy-of-scale multipliers such
as ground-based flight management
systems (in which computations are
made on the ground and uplinked to
the aircraft control system). Cockpit
connections that could support
such high-bandwidth applications
will come about more slowly due to
cybersecurity concerns, however.
Statler says at the same time the third
era comes of age, the next-generation
narrowbody aircraft also will likely
be coming into the marketplace,
signaling what could be a major shift
in the design of the flight deck as
well as the passenger experience.
“There might be a confluence
that allows for [advanced cockpit
architectures] at that time, although
both Airbus and Boeing are saying
they will be going for incremental
improvements versus a ‘home run’
on their future designs,” says Statler.
“Time heals all wounds, though.”
ROCKWELL COLLINS PURSUES PIPELINE FOR APPS AND SERVICESJohn Croft
Reprinted with permission from Aviation Week, August 4, 2015
18 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
Atlanta continues to produce more pilot deviations (FAR violations) for Southwest pilots than any other airport in our system. SWA aircraft are slowing from their assigned speed without notifying ATC or receiving a clearance to do so. Additionally, Atlanta Approach is still expressing concerns with SWA aircraft not descending rapidly when assigned a lower altitude resulting in slowing the entire ATL operation. Recently, one of our aircraft had to be vectored for a 15 mile final due to a slow
descent while the aircraft behind them was vectored inside them for an eight mile final. Failure to maintain your assigned speed may cause the plane behind you to go-around and/or result in a pilot deviation (FAR violation).
Atlanta has had record daily operations for over 20 years (more than 2,500 a day). They are able to maintain a high arrival/departure rate due to a highly tuned system; this system requires the participation of all users. Here are
some “rules of thumb,” and a graphical presentation of how ATL arrivals typically operate to help us (and them) be more in tune at the world’s busiest airport:
• You will always have to intercept final outside the marker (noise abatement)
• Short Approach means 8-10 mile final (working to eliminate this term) — final is usually 10-15 miles
• Maintain 250 knots until assigned slower by ATC — DO NOT SLOW WITHOUT ATC CLEARANCE
• Expect 210 knots assigned 4-5 miles prior to turning downwind (when flying downwind)/inside the STAR named fix (when not flying downwind)
• Expect to be level at 11,000’ MSL (10,000’ AGL) until turning downwind/Inside the STAR named fix (when not flying downwind)
ATL AT A GLANCE
19REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
• Expect 7,000’ on downwind to abeam the numbers/5 miles inside the STAR named fix
• Expect 5,000’ (North side) or 4,000’/3,500’ (South side) “abeam the numbers”
• Expect “180 knots to the marker” on or near the base leg (depending on traffic)
• Maintain last assigned speed until one mile from the Outer Marker (OM) before
slowing (all OMs are 5 miles or greater from the runway)
• Be prepared to slow approaching the OM — add drag rapidly (within limitations) to slow and be stabilized by 1,000’
• If unable to fly the assigned speed — NOTIFY ATC IMMEDIATELY
• Always descend as quickly as possible — if you can’t maintain assigned airspeed and 1,500 FPM or greater
add drag (flaps/gear) or notify ATC you are unable — if you don’t descend fast enough they will extend your downwind and put another arrival in front of you
• South side arrivals cannot turn base till reaching 4,000’ (or lower) due to 5,000’ base on the North side
• If you are unable to comply with ANY ATC instruction or speed assignments, tell ATC as soon as practical
• File an ASAP report if you have ANY issues or concerns even if you talk to the controller and are told everything is okay
• Contact your SWAPA Safety Committee if you have any questions regarding ATL.
20 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
EMPOWERING NEWSIn November, your 401(k) record
keeper will change from Charles Schwab
to Empower. All the specific details will
be sent out in the first week of October.
This will only be the third record keeper
since the 401(k) was started in 1986. Our
record keeper, previously known as the
401k Company and later purchased by
Charles Schwab, has been with us since
2004. This is not something we do lightly
and we hope to be with Empower for a
very long time. So the big question one
might ask is why? The 401(k) Committee
sat down with the Company to do a
record keeping review more than a year
ago to make sure all services were up
to date at a reasonable cost. They were
reasonable and the service and record
keeping at Charles Schwab was very
good. However, when we saw the next-
generation website and software from
Empower, everyone on the Committee
was very impressed. In fact, we had no
intention of changing until everyone saw
what Empower had to offer. In working
with the Company, they also noted that
if we utilized the same software, we
could all use the same website at some
point in the future, but remain separate
entities. This is a great idea, since any
pilot could go to the website for not
only the SWAPA 401(k), but for profit
sharing, the Top Hat, 415 Excess, and
the 401(a)17. As we all try to remember
the passwords and pin numbers for
various websites, this will eventually
be one less you have to memorize.
So what did we like about the
website? We feel that the Empower
website will provide you all your needed
record keeping information. The site will
also assist you in reaching your goals to
retirement and help bridge the gap from
work through retirement to the end of
your days. Everyone wants to know how
close they are tracking toward their goal
and if they need to save more. What are
the consequences of saving more or less?
This software will allow you to see what
type of income to expect in retirement
with your present contribution rates and
the age at which you wish to retire while
meeting your goals. If the inputs change,
so will the results. This software is down-
to-earth and easy to use. Eventually, it
will also aggregate the profit sharing,
the Top Hat, the 415 Excess, and the
401(a)17 plans on the same website.
It can, with your input, also include
projected income from other assets,
such as a military retirement, a spouse’s
retirement, or just savings. If you are
running short of your goal, it will help
you analyze whether you need to save
more inside or outside the 401(k) Plan.
There is also a Healthcare Estimator,
with the latest statistics, to help you
understand what your healthcare
costs might look like in retirement.
As you may have suspected they are
forecast to be more expensive than
we might think. Empower is also
working on a Social Security tool to
get the maximum benefit from this
wonderful inflation adjusted annuity
for you and your spouse. In recent
conversations with financial planners,
they shared with me that they spend
more time on healthcare and Social
Security than on selecting securities.
Pilots have been asking for years
for a tool to compare pilot balances,
which we used to have long ago when
the Company and SWAPA were with
the same record keeper. Empower’s
website has a tool to compare your
balance with other pilots based on your
age group, as well as salary. It is called
“How do I compare to others like me.”
The Personal Choice Retirement
Account PCRA will still remain with
Charles Schwab, so that won’t change.
However, Empower will separate your
Roth monies from your non-Roth
monies, which will make it much
easier to track. Loan processing will
be enhanced. Empower’s website
will also have a library of education,
online calculators, and other tips.
Of course, we haven’t forgotten
about costs. The annual participant
administrative fee will drop from $50
John Nordin | 401(k) Committee | [email protected]
per year to $34.48 per year. In your
Charles Schwab PCRA, you still get
$6.95 electronic trades for stocks and
ETF’s. However, the transaction fee
for buying and selling mutual funds
within PCRA will decrease from
$25 to $15 per electronic trade.
After an extensive and well-thought-
out review of record keeping providers,
we arrived at this point. The crucial
part will be the upcoming transfer of
the $3.3 billion in 401(k) Plan assets
this November to Empower. Although
this is easier today than in years
past, there will still be several days
where your 401(k) account will not be
available to transact or view, which
is known as a blackout period. Again,
we will communicate more detailed
information during the first week of
October. We expect the AirTran pilot’s
401(k) plan to merge into the SWAPA
401(k) Plan at the end of the year with
more information and directions to
come from the Company. The SWAPA
401(k) Committee is excited about the
future enhancements at Empower and
believes the change in recordkeeping
will benefit everyone going forward. The
securities industry and 401(k)s continue
to evolve in this high tech world and
we will continue to evolve as well. As
always, thanks for your support.
401(k) COMMITTEE
Your employees come first. And if you treat your
employees right, guess what? Your customers come back,
and that makes your shareholders happy. Start with
employees and the rest follows from that.
HerbTime
21REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015MEMBERSHIP LETTERS
I hope everyone enjoyed last month’s workout recommendation. If you missed it, I highly recommend you go and find an old Reporting Point or find it on the SWAPA website. Last month I gave three types of HIIT workouts that would allow the novice, the intermediate, and the advanced athlete to get a fantastic and fun workout on the road.
I recently had the pleasure of flying with a fellow pilot who had lost a significant amount of weight. His humility was impressive but even more impressive was his ability to keep the weight off years later. I asked him to write a short summary of how he accomplished this feat so that the rest of the pilot body can learn from it. Initially he replied that his story was nothing special and that anyone can do it. Of course this is why I wanted him to submit his story, as most of us can relate to it. Please enjoy fellow pilot Pat Gram’s description of his weight gain and subsequent weight loss.
Hi, everyone!I had the opportunity to sit down with
Ilan on an overnight. I have enjoyed the “FLY Healthy” column in the RP, and I thanked him for volunteering the information that he provides each issue as I always get something out of it. However, with this job and two others on my days off, a wife, and three kids, I explained that I just don’t have the time to be as dedicated to health and fitness as I’d like to be, although I did share a story of personal experience that he asked me to pass along, so here goes.
First, a couple things:I am NOT a fitness fanatic. I am NOT a food and diet fanatic.I am simply a former fat guy that decided
to make a meaningful lifestyle change. In the early 2000s, my dad had just survived his second minor heart attack and been diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes due to his poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. Later, I went in for my medical and topped the scales at 6 foot 3 inches and 252 pounds. It hit home: I’m officially fat, I’m following
in his footsteps, and for the sake of my family, my career, and myself, it’s time to make a change. I focused on the two areas that we all learned as kids were responsible for a healthy lifestyle: a balance between food and exercise. Nothing new.
On the food end, I changed a few things. First, I found I was a “preventative” eater, eating a full meal because “I might get hungry before we complete this next leg.” Better food planning and carrying some healthy snacks solved that problem with very little effort, and the weight started coming off.
I was also the guy, who on overnights, would have a few beers and a dozen wings, fries, nachos, etc. when we got in late at night. Not to worry, I didn’t cut out the beer (a guy’s still got to live, right?) I just stopped eating within four hours of going to bed. This took a little willpower, but more weight came off.
As far as diet goes, I primarily ate fast, prepared, or highly processed foods. So, as a family, we joined a CSA (crop share) and got a box of fresh, mostly organic fruits and vegetables every week. It forced us to find different and creative ways to work our way through the box every week with the side benefit of much healthier eating, and more weight came off.
So how about exercise? I was always an active kid, but my activity seemed to drop off somewhere in my 20s, while my internal TV channel flow chart for each day of the week was a highly refined piece of mental magic. I cut out most of the TV (still the best decision so far), got off the couch, and got active.
I played hockey as a kid (as all good Minnesota kids do), and with a little research found a ton of pick-up leagues and games going on year-round in my area. Yup, it was brutal at first, but I enjoyed the game enough that the high intensity interval workout didn’t seem so bad at the time. Plus, the weight kept coming off.
I also took to jogging at the advice of many of my peers at the time. I was coached by those “in the know” on how
to run effectively, increase distance and endurance, and choose the right equipment to do it in a healthy and safe manner. I took to it right away because it was easy to pack for trips, it was (and still is) a great way to explore the city I’m overnighting in. The cardio helped my hockey game, and of course, the weight kept coming off.
Now, I quit baseball when I was a kid because we were required to do weight training. “I have no desire to be Hanz and Franz, so why bother?” I thought. Well in the midst of my life change, I flew with a guy who taught me the benefits of adding weights for what I was doing. Actually, he said, “Come lift with me. I’ll show you what you need to do, then I’ll buy the beer later.” His advice helped my running and the hockey, and yes, the weight continued coming off.
All said and done, I started exercising for three to five days a week. Along with the minor changes in eating habits, I lost 42 pounds in roughly eight months and am now hovering around 210. My blood pressure has dropped to 116/76, and my resting pulse dropped to around 50. My energy level skyrocketed and I’ve never felt better!
The only negative to my experience was the expense of having to buy new clothes. My old 44 inch waist pants fell off my new 38 inch body, my XL and XXL shirts changed to a L.
As I said in the beginning, I’m just a regular guy who took responsibility for my bad behaviors, changed about half of them, and it paid off. I’m always happy to share if it inspires anyone else to do the same!
Lastly, I’m on the Fire Department in my hometown. The gear we wear on a fire scene weighs about 45 pounds, and every time I don it, I am reminded of what I once weighed.
SUMMARYPat’s weight loss gives us a vital
understanding of what it takes to consistently eat healthy and exercise. Pat’s familial health history was his catalyst
to begin exercising and eating healthy. However, had he not found something to motivate him on a daily basis, he would have easily quit soon after he started.
Pat joined a hockey league, something that he enjoyed from his youth. Hockey is a great sport, but he knew that he would enjoy it more and be a better teammate if he increased his cardio by adding running and increased his strength by including weightlifting. These side-motivators, if you will, kept him on a consistent workout schedule and improved his hockey game. Pat also recognized that if he kept junk food out of his home, and instead purchased healthy foods (via a crop-share program), he would limit his cheating. On the road, he knew eliminating beer would be unrealistic, so instead he made a commitment to not eat close to bedtime. These small tweaks are immensely effective, since minor changes are much easier to implement than a drastic lifestyle change.
Pat successfully lost weight not by working out like a madman or trying out the latest fad diet. Instead he made small changes to his life that gave instant feedback: weight loss, more energy, and a better hockey game. He is able to maintain his weight loss because his lifestyle changes were not extreme; they actually add to his life enjoyment and are sustainable for the long term.
I thank Pat for sharing his story and would love to hear from other pilots who would like to share their success stories.
As always, I would love to hear your suggestions or critiques!
FLY Healthy [email protected]
Ilan “Eli” Berko
22 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
IT'S HERE: SENNHEISER DISCOUNT
From your SWAPA Safety Committee:
SWAPA announces a partnership
discount program for Sennheiser
headsets. The discount program is
administered through a Web-based
partner store only and is not available
through outside vendors. Each
pilot who wants to take advantage
of the discount will be required to
register and will then manage their
own account in regard to order and
payment through the partner store. As
requested by Sennheiser, registration
will require the use of your @
wnco email account, i.e. Firstname.
The discount being offered is 15
percent off the retail rates for three
versions of the HMEC-26 headset. The
website will automatically calculate
the discount.
Follow this link http://en-us.
sennheiser.com/southwest to access
the partner store. Then follow the
onscreen instructions to register for
the discount program.CONTEST RULES
1. The photo must be the original work of the
active SWA pilot submitting the photo.
Remember all works of art including photos
are copyrighted at the moment of creation.
2. The photo must be related to aviation. Yes,
photos of full scale aircraft can be submitted.
3. The photo can only be entered in one monthly
contest. If you have submitted it in one contest,
submit a different photo in later contests.
4. The photo must be less than five years old.
5. By submitting a photo you give Southwest
Airlines Pilots’ Association permission to use
the photo in the Reporting Point, the website,
forums, or any other SWAPA publication.
6. Please send any aviation related photos
to [email protected] with the subject “photo
of the month.” Don’t forget to include
your name and employee number.
AUGPHOTO OF THE MONTH
CA BOB RYANMCO/#4051
23REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015
A STATEMENT ABOUT MY PROFESSIONI have over 16,000 flight hours in
the air. Countless hours of studying,
training, hours building knowledge,
skills, and experience. As a Southwest
pilot I am professional, dedicated to
safety, and to serving our customers.
Make no mistake I can do this job, I DO
this job exceeding the standards for the
Company and the industry. I am not a
plumber. I respect plumbers; however,
a commercial airline pilot can complete
complex tasks, compute complex
data, manage energy, people, and the
aircraft all the while staying tested to
handle the most complex of days. Do
you think you can do this job? If you
do, it takes an average of 10-plus years
to qualify for this position. Countless
tests, exams, evaluations, a first class
medical every year. And hundreds of
days away from your home. Make no
mistake, being a pilot is a challenge.
I enjoy it because I am capable. You
want me to be capable. You want me
to choose this job and Company over
another. You want the best people
you can get piloting an aircraft. Not
so-so abilities, you want the best.
I wrote this in response to being
referred to as a plumber. The pilots
here have more responsibility in
a single flight than the average
tradesman has in their whole career.
Fly safe my brothers
and sisters. In unity,
FO Lance Lockhart — PHX/#81196
THE END OF LANCES? Greetings, I hope this letter finds
everyone well. I heard recently that
the lance program might be going
away in your next contract.
SWAPA gave the farm away in
multiple side letters in the past, and
now wants to trade in the lance program
for “gains” for all? There may only be a
few hundred lances system-wide, but
without them the effects would be far
reaching. For our captains, the window
of what the future will look like without
lances is already here. Have you had
much luck getting rid of your trips
lately? For our FOs, the lance program
is a great way to upgrade sooner, and
have more flexibility. Really that’s
what this all comes down to, flexibility.
Why should we allow SWAPA to trade
in this program for fruitless gains?
Maybe you were a lance in the past,
or hope to be on soon, but either way
I suggest that you ask your domicile
reps to keep the program in place.
Thank you for your time,
FO Scott Salaman — MCO/#78180
IMPERATIVE TO IMPROVE RESERVESExcellent points made by Gina
Martyn in the July Reporting Point in
regard to deficiencies in reserve policies
in our current contract that need to be
addressed in the next contract. This is a
significant matter that should be heavily
scrutinized when it finally becomes
time to vote. I am highly unlikely
to vote yes for any TA that does not
rectify the problem of reserves sitting
days for free or being paid less than a
minimum daily guarantee of 6.5 TFP.
FO Laura Smith — OAK/#77198
SWA SOCCER The SWA Soccer Club is still
going strong. We have two upcoming
tournaments planned. The Vegas
Aviation Soccer Invitational (VASI) will
take place in Las Vegas on October 19-21
this year, and the 2nd annual Aviation
Soccer 7s (AS7s) tournament will be held
in Orlando on January 27-29, 2016. If you
have any interest at all I urge you to look
into it. Everyone always has a great time
regardless of skill level or stamina. Check
out the new SWA soccer website. You’ll
find all of the information about the club
and both tournaments on the site. You
can also subscribe to our newsletter.
Fly safe and be social!
FO Dan Walker — MCO/#83134
AFRAIDNineteen years ago my SWA
interviewer wanted to know the
time I was the most scared in an
airplane. If I was asked that question
today, I would say last month when
I read SWAPA’s 12-page Negotiating
Point on airline partnerships while
flying home. I thought times were
pretty good, why are we giving away
future growth, wide body aircraft,
and near/far international flying?
Let me put it in perspective for
you. In the worst of times, just after
9/11, SWAPA’s then-President Jon
Weaks negotiated us a contract with
significant pay raises and industry
leading work rules. Now in the best of
times we have to agree to codeshare in
order to garner a pay raise? When we
turned down TA1 for TA2 in the last
contract we gave up $150 million in
compensation to strengthen Section 1,
our codeshare language. Anyone else
besides me want that $150 million back?
The biggest airline in the world
is not American, Delta, United, or
Southwest — it’s the RJs. All created
by airline partnerships/codeshare.
Codeshare has destroyed more major
airline jobs than any other event in the
history of aviation. Good thing for us
SWAPA will have circuit breakers to
prevent that from happening here.
What could go wrong? Have we
never been bested by the Company
over language in any of our ironclad
contracts before? Two people could
never read the same contract and
interpret it differently — that never
happens here. Oh snap, it does! Over
the life of our last contract we filed
hundreds of grievances, had dozens of
SBOAs, and spent millions of dollars
on Contract and Legal to ensure that
Southwest abides by our “ironclad”
contract — not always successfully.
I’ll bet the Company already has a
dream team of lawyers discovering
ways to circumvent our circuit
breakers and codeshare language.
I filed a grievance in May because
I bid “Quality of Life,” was assigned
four days of training for AQP and the
Company only pulled a 3-day trip.
If they can get away with that, just
imagine what they will do with our
codeshare language. Remember when
we were going to vote on whether we
wanted to keep the new open time
system after a one-year trial period?
At the end of the one-year trial period
Southwest said we could not go back to
the old system — no vote! Regardless of
the language, SWAPA will never be able
to force Southwest to terminate airline
partnerships or reign in codeshare.
When we agreed to fly the -800s for
free, Southwest assured us that would
not affect future growth. Well, five years
later we had five fewer aircraft than
when we started but a whole lot more
seats. Just replacing the rest of the -300s
and -500s with -800s is the equivalent
of another 23 aircraft worth of seats
but does not generate one more new
hire slot or captain upgrade. Airline
partnerships will have the same affect
— more revenue and no cockpits.
Saying we will only interline to
places we can’t or would never go, only
guarantees we will never go to those
places. Ten years ago we would never go
to Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico, and the
Caribbean. Would we be going there
today if we entered into a codeshare
agreement in TA1? I doubt it. For the
next 10 years Asia, South America, and
Europe will experience higher passenger
growth than the United States. Do we
really want to give that business and
our cockpits to competing airlines?
CA Bob Grzywa — MDW/#41139
MEMBERSHIP LETTERS
24 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015 DOMICILE COLUMNS
Jon DavisATL Chair [email protected]
Michael SantoroBWI [email protected]
ATL
BWITHE PILOT PROFESSION GAINS THE MOST WHEN A PILOT WORKS FOR THE UNION
The piloting profession’s number-one
advocate is its unions. The individual’s
number-one supporter is his or her
union. The fact of the matter is that we
have never had a management in the
U.S. industry which took care of the
pilots by recognizing our place and
the important role we play. Managers
know we have a special skill, and maybe
there is some admiration, too, but we
are just the players. Pilots are labor,
plain and simple. That is not a bad
thing. In fact we need to embrace this.
Unions promote their membership.
They protect them from unfair
treatment. They bargain for a contract as
one voice. That one voice has much more
strength in negotiating a better contract.
The Union has resources which aid the
pilots, both individually and collectively.
Those resources would never exist
without the Union. While it is true
that unions would not need to exist if
management was fully supportive of the
pilot profession, that is just not a reality.
If the pilot profession is to grow
and prosper, if it is going to build
the public image it wants, the union
can do it best. The union’s purpose
is to focus on these things.
With all that I have just said, it is
incumbent on each and every one of us
line pilots to strive for a better Union.
Vote in elections, read all information
coming from the Union, participate
by volunteering at some point during
your flying career, and set the example
Hello Baltimore,
Unity - The state of being
united or joint as a whole.
As we near three and a half years of
negotiations with the Company posting
record earnings you have to ask yourself,
“why?” Why do we not have a deal yet?
The answer, I am afraid, lies within us.
The day Randy Babbitt was hired
as a labor consultant I knew we were
in for prolonged negotiations. Babbitt
wrote the playbook when it comes to
pilot union negotiations. He decided to
sell out his fellow pilots and accept a job
with SWA management. He has been
advising Mr. Kelly how to handle us and
I believe will be the one to tell him when
we have been pushed to our limits. You
see, Babbitt knows they can only press
pilots so far before the operation suffers.
The point at which you lose the goodwill
of the pilot group is the point at which
the operation quickly becomes more
expensive. The pilots will instinctively
unify behind their Union because that
is the entity with their best interest
in mind. When the pilots are unified
and abandon the Company line, no
as a pilot both on and off the job. If
we work through our Union, we are
working to better the profession. Not
every job in the transportation industry
is a profession. Being an airline pilot
though is most definitely a profession.
No question about it. The public
knows this, but upper level airline
managements do not necessarily.
compliments you receive daily from
the passengers. I get that, truly I do.
I’m not asking you to wear the dark
tie forever, just wear it for now. Show
management you have had enough
of their Wall Street greed. Show them
you are tired of being taken advantage
of day in and day out. Show them
you are fed up with the nearly four-
year wage freeze. Show them that
three and a half years of negotiations
is beyond a reasonable timeframe.
Show them we are a UNIFIED pilot
group and that enough is enough.
Remember when you get up in the
morning to put your uniform on, the
one you have worked hard for, trained
hard for, and sacrificed for, remember
you are not an electrician or a plumber.
You are a respected airline pilot, with
billions of dollars worth of liability on
your hands EVERY flight. Remember
you are a highly trained commodity that
is of short supply and in high demand.
Remember all those things when you
grab for your tie. Stand up for your
profession, stand beside your brothers
and sisters of SWAPA. Choose the side of
your Union and wear your dark tie.
Ben HustonDAL [email protected]
DAL
Hello Dallas pilots,
As I write this column our
Negotiating Committee is attending
a mediated negotiating session in
California with the Company. So by the
time this letter is published in the RP we
could be close to having a worthy TA to
present to you for your consideration.
longer “going out of their way” to help
the Company, then the cost of doing
business goes up. Eventually, the savings
that came with prolonged negotiations
will be trumped by the cost of a lost pilot
group. What they fail to realize is that at
some point they will have pushed too far
and won’t be able to regain the goodwill
of our pilots. Babbitt doesn’t realize this
because as an ALPA guy he literally grew
up hating management and cultivating
terrible relationships with them. For
some reason Mr. Kelly doesn’t realize
that Babbitt has zero respect for or
knowledge of the Golden Rule or what it
used to mean to be a SWA pilot. We are
dangerously close to the tipping point,
where the point of no return is upon us.
When we reach it, we will have become a
traditional legacy carrier with a broken
labor/management relationship that will
never again return to what it once was.
How do we show them we have a
unified group and the resolve to do
whatever it takes to get a fair Market Rate
contract? The easiest thing you as an
individual can do to show your support
for SWAPA and let the Company know
that “SWAPA speaks for me” is to put that
dark tie on and wear your SWAPA pin.
Let me tell you a story about a pilot who
spoke to me during one of my lounge
visits. He said, “I see some different ties
out there as I walk the various terminals
in our system. I myself used to wear
the flag tie. I am a former military guy
and I get tons of compliments on my
flag tie every day. I got up this morning
to one of your emails asking to wear
the dark tie. I know I have to put my
uniform on every time I go to work and
part of that uniform is my tie. I went
into my closet and got dressed. As I
reached for my flag tie I also saw my
navy blue tie. I thought, ‘what is the
least I can do to help my union out and
show my support?’ At that moment
something clicked and I have been
reaching for my dark tie ever since.”
I know many of you love your flag
ties because they represent something
you swore to protect. For others it’s the
25REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015DOMICILE COLUMNS
Jon WeaksLAS Vice [email protected]
LAS
Hi Vegas,
A couple of quick reminders first:
1. Use your GDOs. Many of
the forced JA events can,
and could, be avoided if you
use the GDOs you have.
2. Please let SWAPA know if you
have a problem getting a hotel
and/or the quality of the hotel is
lacking. The Company is showing
its greed again by not following
their own mission statement.
3. Training scheduling is getting
very creative. Make sure you are
given notice in time to prepare
and that you are not fatigued or ill.
4. Crew scheduling is being
stressed to the max. It is up
to us and them to take a deep
breath and remain calm (why
do I keep having a flashback to
the end of Animal House here?)
Remember, everything is taped
for everyone’s protection. They
have new people as well, so
please be patient and if you have a
problem, let us know ASAP. I have
If we do have one, I will ask of you the
same things I ask every time SWAPA
gives you something to vote on:
1. Please take the time to
read all material presented
thoroughly and consider
every aspect of each issue.
2. Please make sure all of your
questions are answered. Don’t
hesitate to call Carl, me, or any
other SWAPA official that will
have an accurate interpretation
or the answers you seek.
3. Please vote. Yes or no it doesn’t
matter how you vote as long as
you cast an informed ballot.
4. If you see me or any other SWAPA
official either “selling the TA”
or “managing expectations”
call them on it. Trying to
convince you to just vote yes
or no is the last thing any of
us wants to do, we want you
to make up your own mind.
We have all waited long enough
for a fair contract and we deserve it.
Our asks are not unreasonable. If we
do not have a TA soon, SWAPA will
continue to keep you informed of
the progress of negotiations as well
of the continued preparations of our
Strike Preparedness Committee.
I would like to thank Capt. Tom
Ferriso for stepping up as the Dallas
Strike Preparedness Coordinator. Please
get in touch with Tom if you’d like to help
out. Tom’s email is [email protected].
I know it’s hot and patience
is wearing thin with the pace of
negotiations and the Company’s lack
of respect for you and your efforts.
Also, most of us on the line are tired
of continually having to apologize to
our customers for problems caused
by management’s poor running of our
day-to-day operations. Our decline
over the last few years in efficiency and
morale is staggering. So now more than
ever we must remain unified in our
efforts and our support of each other.
never had any pushback from
them when I have called with a
question or needed information
and I sincerely thank them.
5. If you have a problem with ATC,
as of now, DO NOT call them
back on the phone even if you
are given a phone number to
call. Even if they use language
to the effect of “due to a possible
violation,” DO NOT call them
back. There is a new world order
when it comes to the ability of
speaking to a controller directly
to get a problem worked out. In
many instances, they do not have
a choice and the decision on how
to handle the incident or if it is a
“deal” do not apply any longer. In
the past, the correct procedure
was to notify our Company
ATC specialists/liaisons and
have them handle the incident.
In 25 years, I have used them
three times with resoundingly
positive and very quick results.
However, there is some debate
over whether to even do this now
with the advent of ASAP and
the technology in ATC. Look for
more guidance from SWAPA and
SWA to come. This is an issue we
have to work together on to get
you a definitive answer ASAP.
6. Check Airmen, listen up: it
is no secret you are being
scheduled very “creatively” as
well. Please let your base rep,
or any SWAPA official you feel
comfortable with, know about
overuse, scheduling problems,
personnel conflicts, and problems
within the Training Center.
7. The most you can be JA’d for
is a 2-day, however, they can
give you an unscheduled
overnight on the JA. Thank
you sir, may I have another.
So as you are reading the above, you
are probably wondering what the hell is
happening to this place. Join the club.
We told you July would be worse than
June and it was. Remember in Ops Day
when the facilitators gave us the line
that Van de Van admitted last summer
was his fault and it wouldn’t happen
again. Well guess what? This goes along
with how they said they would take our
input to have the summer and the entire
operation run smoother. August, as I
write this in late July, is a crap shoot.
Why did this happen and why does it
continue to happen? Lack of leadership
and vision, plain and simple. Ultimately,
the health and sustainability of an
airline comes down to two things: the
operation and the employees of the
airline. A bad operation can be masked
temporarily when passengers don’t
have a choice on who to fly and the
seats fill up regardless of the airline.
There are no normal days in our
system. Due to the short staffing, the
vast geographical area we cover and
the associated weather therein, more
mechanicals due to the Classics, and
too many passengers for our physical
assets, reduced number of flights
between city pairs, and logistics to
cover, every day has some sort of crisis.
We have to learn how to staff and lead
better before it is too late for all of us.
The operation is being held together by
the rank and file employee and inertia.
So why doesn’t the SWA corporate
board of directors do something? Good
damn question. Perhaps they are being
kept in the dark and are somewhat
naive. Also, this appears to be a “you
scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”
corporate board of directors. There is a
crossover and “co-mingling” of board
of director members and executives
of companies serving on each other’s
boards. The data is being compiled and
look for more on this in a future RP.
At the domicile level, things are
proceeding nicely with the exception
of one assistant chief who has been
on the dark side for some time as
a Dodgers fan (you can buy talent
but you can’t buy a team or three
World Series Championships in five
SWAPA will be holding elections
this Fall. There will be races for one
domicile rep in each base as well as Vice
President. Please consider stepping up
and running for one of these positions.
As always, you can contact
Carl or me at any time with any
concerns or questions.
Fly safe, Ben
26 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015 DOMICILE COLUMNS
Seth KornblumMDW [email protected]
MDW
EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.Every single day as record
profits continue to pour in yet
contract negotiations drag on
you all wonder, “why?” and you
grow increasingly frustrated.
Every single day crews commuting
to, or from, work get left behind
at the gate for weight restrictions
that are often not accurate.
Every single day SWAPA pilots
do everything humanly possible
to get their airplanes running
back on time only to arrive at the
destination and find that there is no
available gate at which to park.
Every single day our valuable
customers grow more frustrated with
holding out for a gate and then missing
connecting flights — often with the
door being shut on them when the
airplane is not ready to depart anyway.
Every single day crews get
increasingly frustrated by the lack of
food available to them on international
turns with long duty days.
Sigh. This place has definitely
changed, even in the short span
of time (just shy of a decade)
that I have been here.
It’s July 30 as I write this, and the
Company and your SWAPA Negotiating
Committee are negotiating this week
and next. Senior leadership doesn’t seem
to value the huge contribution that we
make to the operation. It’s ironic that
an airline doesn’t value the very people
that make the airplanes go. Sure, there
are many valuable members of the team,
and we can’t do our job without all of the
other employee groups that work hard
for SWA. But, at the most rudimentary
level, you can’t have a good airline
without hard-working pilots. Not that I
want a tribal war between departments,
but this place has definitely lost
focus on the fact that the way we
serve our customers is by moving
airplanes safely and on time. Period.
Saving a few bucks by splitting trips
to cover them without paying premium
pay is foolish economy, as they often
spend more money in straight pay to
cover the same trip. Saving a few bucks
in the ground ops budget by trimming
ramp staff and letting empty gates go
unstaffed really is foolish economy.
Those engines and APUs turning
every minute while waiting for a gate
definitely don’t help the bottom line.
The angry customers who miss their
connections and won’t come back don’t
help the bottom line. The crew reroutes
that operational delays cause don’t
help the bottom line, or pilot morale
for that matter. The exorbitant bag
delivery fees caused by baggage that
misconnects won’t help the bottom
line. Mr. Kelly is the master accountant
and not me, but those things seem
glaringly obvious to all of us. Labor isn’t
the problem. SWA pilots have always
been willing to be part of the solution.
A Company-loyal pilot I recently
spoke with just couldn’t understand
why senior leadership doesn’t listen
to pilots on some of these issues nor
reward us with a suitable contract. I
felt terrible. I had to break his heart by
saying, “Face it. Gary is just not that
into you.” Only those harsh words made
him come to grips with what he already
knew: that this place has changed and
that pilots here are undervalued and
even marginalized. This is a pilot who
actually has a SWA tattoo that he got
during new hire training … someone
that truly bleeds the old desert gold and
canyon blue. When even a guy like that
is upset, SWA should really take notice.
Rant over. Let’s look forward.
We know that the Company’s
operational deficiencies will eventually
impact our job security, as money is
wasted and angry customers won’t
come back. So, let’s try to help save our
careers. If you see anything that needs
to be documented: needless weight
restrictions, long waits for a gate, etc.
please document the occurrences
not just in an IR, but send a copy to
our SWAPA Operations Committee at
[email protected]. Our Operations
Committee works hard to ensure that
your concerns are brought to the NOC
and to flight ops leadership. Also, be
sure to use the new delay code report
feature in the SWAPA app to feed SWAPA
accurate delay info which we can then
present to the Company. (Instead of
the fiction they get on the DR forms.)
Be sure to ask your ops agents if there
are any weight restrictions affecting
years!) The key to this continuing is
trust and communication and we
don’t anticipate any changes.
We hope there will be progress with
the Company regarding negotiations,
however we are beginning to prepare for
all legal courses of action for whatever
the Company pulls. Remember, the
Company needs a new contract to fly
the MAX and to make it attractive so
pilots will want to work here again. The
pilot shortage over the next 20 years is
a ticking time bomb that the industry
continues to ignore and rationalize.
These negotiations are not based
on good faith from the Company.
This is about greed and arrogance,
ineptitude, a dislike and envy of pilots,
and a step back in time to antagonistic
negotiations. Here is proof:
1. An operation in turmoil.
2. Training for the least
cost, not safety.
3. Healthcare costs that the
Company will not disclose nor
index. In 2009, the contribution
rate for a family was a low $55 per
month. Five years later, the 2014
monthly family contribution has
grown dramatically to $273. This
represents an increase of $218
per month, $2,616 per year or on
a percentage basis, a staggering
increase of 396 percent. The
bottom line is that Southwest
Airlines has been requiring its
employees to absorb a greater
portion of their healthcare
costs. And don’t forget about
the arbitrary and nonsensical
change in formularies for
prescriptions. These are further
examples of the Company eroding
our compensation. Higher
contributions combined with a
degradation of plan benefits are
combining to take money out of
our pockets each month. They
will implement more ways in
the future; think profit sharing.
4. The infamous SWAG program.
The qualifications and sacrifice
to be an airline pilot are
unique; if everyone could do it,
there wouldn’t be a shortage.
The Company loves to lump
everyone together when it
suits their needs and separate
us when it accomplishes the
same. SWAG is discriminatory
to pilots plain and simple.
5. Repeating the same corporate
mistakes over and over.
It can be stressful dealing with the
Company, the operation, contract talks,
other people, and employees at times.
Perhaps one litmus test is whether you
would have a beer and/or be a roommate
with the person with whom you are
dealing. Some people pass both tests,
some pass one, and a few pass neither.
Try to have patience and fly the jet;
don’t hurry, don’t fly sick or fatigued.
Take care of each other; no one else will.
Let us be the bad guys and fight the war
with Dallas. In all cases, remember that
there is an AC/DC or Jimmy Buffett song
that fits the situation. Let’s go get ‘em.
27REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015DOMICILE COLUMNS
Mike VastanoPHX Vice [email protected]
PHX
Hello Phoenix pilots,
I can’t stress enough how important
it is that you stay informed as we go
forward in our negotiations. There
are many ways to do this. The most
direct way is to communicate directly
your flights, so that you can either
adjust fuel load or change runway or
bleed/flap configuration to get a higher
ATOG if safety allows. This is all in an
effort to get your commuters and non
revs on the plane … they are usually
the ones left behind. Remember, those
internal customers we used to hear
about? If you’re commuting and told
that there is a weight restriction, make
sure to shoot the pilots working the
flight a text message or call them so
that they do what they can to make the
numbers work to get you on. Sometimes,
there’s just no getting on and we all
understand that. But it’s silly to let
yourself get left behind needlessly.
I’m not willing to give up on SWA.
I like to believe that the ship can still
be turned. But the first thing that
needs to happen is that SWA needs
to make a contract offer at the table
that is deserving of your contribution
to the Company’s success. That will
be the crucial first step in restoring
this airline’s fabled culture.
Call or drop us an email anytime.
[email protected] or mdw@swapa.
org It’s not my job to tell you what to
think, so keep your feedback coming. I
want to know what’s on your mind.
with Chris or me through email, text,
or phone calls. The Reporting Point
and Negotiating Point are also great
resources. Email blasts are normally
sent to the membership on Tuesday and
Friday with negotiating updates and
other important information. iPilots
get weekly updates and will also solicit
input when you see them on the line.
We respond to every contact, as member
input goes a long way to shaping a deal.
For example, we recently discussed
adjustments to retirement asks and
the potential bonus structure based
on member input. You should know by
now what we expect in a new contract
and if you don’t, please reach out to us.
Retirement ask adjustments were
discussed at the July board meeting due
to polling and member input. SWAPA’s
staff analyst John Pepper had some
interesting data of which you need to
be aware. The information was based
on having enough saved for retirement
income of 70 percent of your final year
earnings using our current 401(k) and
profit sharing set up. The data assumed
a 12-year upgrade and market average
returns. A pilot hired now in their late
30s has a 135 percent chance of reaching
that goal. Pilots with 20 years of service
at SWA and in their mid-50s have just
a 39 percent chance of reaching that
goal. A major reason for the difference
is more money up front in the early part
of your career. The IRS contribution
limit for 401(k)s was $10,000 for many
years. The current limit is $18,000 with
a $6,000 catch up in the year you turn
50 and older. The IRS maximum for
qualified plans (401(k) + profit sharing)
has also gradually more than in the last
18 years and is now $53,000 or $59,000
for pilots in the year you turn 50 and
older. This IRS limit has been increased
each year by congress typically at
$1,000 per year. Your BOD’s goal is to
capture as many retirement dollars as
possible for all of our members with
increases to the Company’s contribution
amounts and changes to the outdated
$25,000 Company contribution cap
The SPC stands ready to do an informational picket or any
other forms of public demonstration that the Union deems
necessary. We are fully staffed and prepared to take action
should talks in negotiations deteriorate. Stay informed and
if you are able to serve in any capacity, please send us an
email at [email protected].
Ray Plummer
Chair, Strike Preparedness Committee
STRIKE PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE UPDATE
limit. The percentages quoted are
assumptions only and our retirement
accounts are subject to market risk.
As I write this our NC is meeting
with the Company and has one more
mediation session planned, if needed
in September. The SPC is standing by
and ready to act if negotiations stall
any further. You can do your part. Stay
informed and get on the SWAPA website
and sign up for the email tree. There
is a groundswell of support from the
membership and many have signed
up to help if needed. The time is now
for a deal. Thanks for reading.
28 REPORTING POINT
AUGUST 2015 MEMBERSHIP LETTERS
Congratulations
FO TROY WILLIAMS (OAK/#106366) and wife, Shannon, had a baby girl. Reese Annalynn was born on July 15, 2015 weighing 8 lbs. 12 oz.
FO JASON SMITH (MDW/#97891) and wife, Jenna, had a baby girl. Claire Jane was born on August 2, 2015 weighing 6 lbs. 7 oz.
Condolences
FO MICHAEL TRACY (BWI/#95806) father, Robert G. Tracy III, passed away.
CA BILL FRANCHI (MDW/#68222) brother, Robert Allan “Bobby” Franchi, passed away.
CA TIM STAATS (BWI/#64385) grandmother, Hellen Monahan, passed away.
CA BRIAN WHITE (MDW/#77474) grandmother, Annie Cecil (Bryant) Green, passed away.
CA DAWN WHITE (MDW/#37118) grandmother-in-law, Annie Cecil (Bryant) Green, passed away.
CA KEVIN SCHEER (BWI/#74534) father, Clarence Scheer, passed away.
FO GEOFF NOYES (DEN/#95468) grandmother-in-law, Sarah, passed away.
CA LIONEL RODRIGUEZ (HOU/#73474) father-in-law, Jesus Reyna, passed away.
FO STEVE COUCH (BWI/#83581) brother, Tony Couch, passed away.
CA JAMES DYE (BWI/#35403) mother, Ann Dye, passed away.
CA DAVE RIGBY (OAK/#41422) mother-in-law, Carolyn Low, passed away.
CA MICHAEL WALDORFF (HOU/#14369), 24 SEPTEMBER
FO TOM SULLIVAN (DEN/#80727), 27 SEPTEMBER
CA RICHARD KRUG (PHX/#6034), 28 SEPTEMBER
CA JIM DUFFY (PHX/#8351), 28 SEPTEMBER
CA BILL TALLON (OAK/#47166), 28 SEPTEMBER
CA ROBERT STEPHENS (BWI/#40129), 30 SEPTEMBER
Scheduled Retirements
CA MICHAEL LO PROTO (ATL/#31251), 3 SEPTEMBER
CA PAUL DONOHUE (MCO/#21802), 4 SEPTEMBER
CA WILLIAM “DUB” SPLAWN (DAL/#28536), 4 SEPTEMBER
CA CHARLES “CHUCK” YOUNGQUIST (MDW/#24846), 6 SEPTEMBER
CA GERALD “KEITH” FENNELL (DAL/#52156), 6 SEPTEMBER
CA RICK DUKE (MCO/#4898), 10 SEPTEMBER
CA BOB “COPE” COPENHAFER (DEN/#28537), 12 SEPTEMBER
CA RANDY HARDY (DAL/#4589), 17 SEPTEMBER
SUBMIT YOUR FAMILY CONNECTIONS
TO [email protected] C O N N E C T I O N S
GOT LOTS OF PHOTOS OF YOUR WEDDING OR NEW BABY?
Send them to [email protected] and we will include them with your announcement.
The best way to keep abreast of contract negotiations, news, and updates is to
ensure that your contact information is accurate on the SWAPA website. If you
haven’t visited the site recently, please log on to beta.swapa.org and update
your email, telephone number, and address.
STAYING INFORMED