SWAPA Podcasts

Today's SWAPA Number is 892. That's the number of planned CQT move-ups from August and September to June of this year. As you can imagine, this will have a definite impact on flying for the month. So on today's show, we spoke with SRC Chair, Scott Plyler, member, Dan O'Connor, and analyst manager, Meagan Nelan, about how the schedule might be affec…

Today's SWAPA Number is 99.2. That's the percentage of pilots who voted yes to the strike authorization vote. That number was very impressive and clearly showed our pilots' resolve. Because of that historic vote, on today's show, we spoke with SWAPA President, Casey Murray, about those numbers and what they mean for our pilot group as well as what …

Today's SWAPA Number is 11.9 million. That's the amount of money lost in pure training costs alone from the pilots who have left Southwest since December of 2021. That's a lot of money being lost to attrition, and it doesn't take into account the lost revenue from those pilots no longer being here to fly the schedule as published. So on today's sho…

Today's SWAPA Number is 1380. That's the Southwest flight number that had an uncontained engine failure with an emergency landing into Philadelphia five years ago today on April 17th, 2018. Today, on the anniversary of that date, we talk with Houston Captain, Darren Ellisor, who was the FO on Flight 1380, about what happened that day, the investiga…

Today's SWAPA number is 5, that's how many unions, including SWAPA that have chosen to call a Strike Authorization Vote during their negotiation cycle while we have been in the middle of ours. The other four are Delta, Alaska, American and FedEx. Southwest isn't alone nor unique in their struggle to achieve a contract that attracts and retains the …

As we approach 100 episodes of the SWAPA Number podcast, we're going to look back on some highlights including some never before heard clips that will give you, our listeners, some insight into the process it takes to bring you information directly from the source- our SWAPA subject matter experts and leaders - since August 2019. If you have any fe…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 45. That’s the number of years since the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association was formally recognized by the National Labor Relations Board on March 27, 1978. You’ve heard the expression that history repeats itself, so for the SWAPA anniversary, we wanted look back at some of the events that have happened at our Union and s…

Todays SWAPA Number is 89, thats the number of days Contract Admin Chair Seth Kornblum was on strike, when he was with his former carrier Comair. With the Strike Authorization Vote coming up and the Strike Prep Booklet having been mailed to homes, we felt that the time was right to sit down and talk with him about what that time in life was like, w…

Today's SWAPA Number is 2.07, that's the percentage of 2022 profit sharing that will be funded next month. February is a busy time for our EFA Committee every year with full year earnings across the industry coming in and Southwest Profit Sharing getting announced. But this year it's especially busy with the fallout from the Christmas meltdown, a r…

Today's SWAPA Number is 27. That's the number of Senators on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. This week, that committee held a hearing to investigate the airline industry and invited SWAPA President Casey Murray to testify. If you had any doubt about the value of SWAPA’s Government Affairs Committee, this hearing shoul…

Today's SWAPA number is 33. That's the percentage of pilots who have joined Southwest Airlines since our last contract cycle between 2012 and 2016, which led to our current CBA and ended our last trip through mediation. So on today's show, we're talking to SWAPA's Communications Committee Chair, Mike Panebianco, about SWAPA's message moving forward…

Today's SWAPA Number is 99. That's the percentage of voting pilots who backed ALPA's strike authorization vote at Delta Airlines back in October. Pilots at Alaska voted in May with the same outcome. Those incredible numbers are the target SWAPA pilots need to aim for in our recently announced strike authorization vote. On today's show we're going t…

Today's SWAPA Number is 825 million. That's the negative impact the meltdown will have to our fourth quarter earnings according to an 8-K, the Company filed on January 6th. I don't have to tell you that SWAPA has been super busy communicating with our members over the last couple of weeks. Our reps and our execs have written extensively about the l…

Amy Robinson: Today's SWAPA number is 3,025. That's the total number of aircraft mechanics and related professionals at Southwest Airlines, which are represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. AMFA and SWAPA have worked closely together over the last few years to help one another out during contract negotiations. So on today's sho…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 1 in 10. That’s the estimated number of American’s who have addiction issues. That means that with 10,000 Pilots as many as 1,000 of them might be dealing with some form of addiction. So today we are talking to SWAPA HIMS Chair, Tom Stanley about the upcoming holidays and what you can do to help mitigate risk, and who to cal…

Today’s SWAPA number is 25,000. That’s the number of days off our pilots have involuntarily given up since the beginning of the pandemic. On today’s show we decided to talk to SRC Chair Scott Plyler and member Dan O’Connor about this troubling trend as well as getting some other scheduling updates. We’re recording this show in Austin while the NC i…

Today’s SWAPA number is 12/7. That’s the date of the next SWAPA Informational Picket that will be held on Wall Street in New York City. So on today’s show we talked to President Casey Murray about the state of the operation, last quarter’s financial results, and the relationship between SWAPA and the Company's new leadership. If you have any feedba…

Today's SWAPA Number is $1.2 billion. That's the dollar figure increase from TA1 to TA2 during our last round of contract negotiations. The analysis and costing that went into that increase was calculated by SWAPA's EFA committee. But assisting us at the time was industry analyst and former ALPA Chief of Staff, Jalmer Johnson. Today on the show, we…

Today's SWAPA number is $3.5 million. That's the amount of money Resolute Healthcare Advisors have recovered for pilots since 2012 when they began working with SWAPA. This is a benefit that SWAPA provides for all of our pilots and is available for anyone to use regardless of their healthcare benefit plan. On today's show, we spoke with Kerrey Hunt …

Today's SWAPA Number is 50. That's the number of recently hired pilots who have voluntarily left Southwest Airlines so far in 2022. This record number shows that without an industry leading contract, Southwest Airlines cannot attract and retain the pilots needed to grow and sustain this network. SWAPA has been in formal negotiations for more than t…

Today’s SWAPA number is 1.31. That’s the new temporary dues structure that SWAPA is proposing on the fall general election ballot. This marks the first time the board has voted to increase dues during times of negotiations. So on today’s show, we spoke with SWAPA's 2nd Vice President, Tom Nekouei, and Executive Operating Committee Member, Hank Ketc…

Today’s SWAPA number is 2,160. That’s the number of new pilots Southwest is projecting they will hire in 2023. It's the largest they’ve ever hired. That volume of new pilots means a lot of training, so on today’s show we talked with Training Committee Chair Greg Bowen and committee member Rob Myers, not only about new hire training but also all oth…

Today's SWAPA number is 6. That's the number of months since Bob Jordan became CEO of Southwest Airlines. So on today's show, we talked to SWAPA president, Casey Murray, about how he feels things have changed, or not, since Bob took the job back on February 1st. If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org Follow …

Today's SWAPA Number is 19. That's the 19th grievance filed in 2021 which they recently got a settlement on. On today's show we chat with Contract Admin Chair, Seth Kornblum, about that settlement, and some other issues his group is working on. If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org Follow us online: Twitter…

Today's SWAPA number is 802. That's the number of pilots, spouses, volunteers, other Southwest employees, and SWAPA staff who attended the pre-picket party at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas on June 20th. As you might expect, anytime you get a large group of pilots in one room, it was a festive atmosphere, but there was also a serious tone…

Today’s SWAPA number is 7,730. That’s the number of pilots projected to be hired at just the Big 4 airlines in 2022. The competition for qualified and experienced aviators is just starting to heat up. On today’s show we will talk to a couple of regular podcast guests- EFA Committee Chair Erich Schnitzler and member Damian Jennette. They’re going to…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 1,654. That’s the number of pilots Aviation Medicine Advisory Services or AMAS, has talked to since they became our vendor in January of 2021. AMAS is one of many services SWAPA provides and since it helps us maintain our medicals, it’s one we all should be very familiar with. On today’s show we talked to SWAPA Benefits Chai…

Today’s SWAPA number is 43. That’s the number of SPC Committee members and Pilot volunteers who will be overseeing nearly 1,000 SWAPA pilots during the June 21 Informational Picket. They will be instrumental in ensuring a successfully executed event. On today’s show we talked to SWAPA Strike Preparedness Vice Chair John Murphy and committee member …

Today's SWAPA Number is 30. That's the number of days required for each of a series of three individual cooling off periods, according to the Railway Labor Act, under which our pilot group operates. Those periods come at the end of a very detailed process. So on today's show, we talked to SWAPA General Counsel, Stella Dulanya about some of the intr…

Today's SWAPA Number is 706. That's the number of pilots currently signed up for the picket in Dallas on June 21st, and that's just a mere two weeks after we announced it. So on today's show, we talk to SWAPA president, Casey Murray, and second Vice President, Tom Nekouei, about pilot sentiment, Bob Jordan's recent visit to SWAPA, and what's coming…

Today’s SWAPA number is 845. That’s the number of days Southwest has had SWAPA’s Contract 2020 proposal. On today’s show I have a guest host, Lexi Taylor. Lexi is on our legal staff and is in the room for every negotiation. Today we are interviewing Jody Reven as well as turning the tables on regular podcast host Kurt Heidemann and making him answe…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 5. That’s the number of SWAPA pilots who have taken their lives over the past two years. Every one of those losses is a tragedy, so on today’s podcast we address this difficult but important topic among our pilot group. ProjectLift is available to all Pilots who may be suffering from suicidal thoughts or any thoughts of self…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 35. That's the number of member questions we weren't able to answer during the SWAPA virtual call in March. Most of those questions related to the operation and probably best suited for our Schedule Research Committee. So today on the show, we've asked SRC committee member Dan O'Connor and Senior Analyst Meagan Nelan to answ…

Today’s SWAPA number is 250. That’s the number of attendees at the most recent SWAPAfamily event in Las Vegas back in January. With our next SWAPAfamily event coming up on April 7 in MDW, we invited SWAPAfamily and Outreach Chair Jean Peck back to the show. She’ll give us a feel for how the event went, explain how these events impact our families a…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 4.2%. That’s the profit sharing rate for 2021. After not posting a profit in 2020 due to the pandemic, it’s good to see our airline was back in the black last year, even if we needed some PSP money to do it. This year’s payment is due on March 15, so on today’s show we are talking with 401k committee chair Drew Payne and mem…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 162. That’s the number of open grievances the Contract Admin Committee has on file which are awaiting a resolution. It’s been a while since SWAPA has been able to bring a denied grievance to arbitration, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the reluctance of arbitrators to schedule in-person hearings, and the Company’s refusal t…

Today's SWAPA Number is $85 million. That's Southwest Airlines' net profit for the fourth quarter of 2021. Even with our operational issues, we managed to get back in the black. Today on the show, we're going to talk to two members of our EFA committee, chair, Erich Schnitzler and member Greg Auld, who will put Southwest's financials into perspecti…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 58,014. That’s the number of times the Company has told SWAPA they would circle back on a SWAPA proposal or request for information or solution. Though maybe a little exaggerated, it’s still a frustratingly high number. Today on the show we’re going to talk to SWAPA President Casey Murray and Vice President Mike Santoro abou…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 76. That’s the number of resolutions passed by your Board of Directors in 2021. Many of them are for internal business, such as Pilot committee nominations, and do not normally generate much discussion within the Pilot group. However, the final resolution passed at the December Board meeting surprised a few of our Pilots, be…

Today’s SWAPA Number is $8.7 billion. That’s the amount of money our Pilots have invested in the SWAPA Pilot 401(K). It’s a big chunk of money that our 401K Committee oversees. In addition to two SWAPA staff members, the committee consists of three pilots: Chairman Andrew Payne, Brian August, and Jon Athans. Today on the show, we’re going to talk t…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 3. That’s the number of new board members joining us today to discuss what they’ve learned so far, what they hope to accomplish in their time on the board, their background, and who encouraged them to run for Rep in the first place. With us today are new board members elected to serve as vice-chair in their bases. Mike Pisci…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 450. That’s the number of cases that the Critical Incident Response Team has worked over the last year. With the holiday season approaching, we know that stress levels, both at home, and on the road, tend to increase this time of year. So today we are talking to SWAPA Project Lift committee chair Chess Fulton, and chair of t…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 67. That’s the number of reciprocal jumpseat agreements with other carriers. Many of our Pilots rely on the jumpseat to commute or just travel non-rev. It’s an important part of their lives for both productivity and QOL. Unfortunately, things don’t always go smoothly for our jumpseaters. With changes to our weight and balanc…

Today’s SWAPA number is 68%. That was October’s On Time Performance, the lowest modern record for the month of October. By comparison, the historical average for October is 83%. It’s clear our operation is struggling. So today on the show, we’re going to talk to a couple of regular guests- SRC Chair Scott Plyler and SRC Analyst Meagan Nelan. They’r…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 420. That’s the number of days since our CBA became amendable on September 1, 2020. While things have been slow going thanks to the pandemic, we’re about to reach a major milestone this month when SWAPA finishes presenting it’s full Contract 2020 proposal to the Labor Relations team. By wrapping that up, the focus will shift…

The Company's COVID policies are always changing, so today we're bringing you a quick update with the latest from VP Mike Santoro. If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org Follow us online: Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilots Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737…

Today’s SWAPA Number is 12/8. That’s the date that the federal government expects all Southwest employees to be vaccinated. SWAPA has been engaged with Southwest on this issue for months now, but the pace of things has picked up dramatically in the last week. So today on the show, we’re going to talk to SWAPA President Casey Murray and Vice Preside…

Today’s SWAPA Number is $25.5 million. That’s the total expenses of the 2022 budget which will be voted on by the membership in October’s Fall General Election. Today we’re going to talk to SWAPA 2nd Vice President, Tom Nekouei and Director of Finance Brian Hickman. They are going to talk us through how the final number was achieved, what changes h…

Today’s SWAPA number is $28 million. That’s the amount of money Pilots pay into the SWAPA offered STD and LTD plans per year. With SWAPA Benefits Open Enrollment quickly approaching, we are going to talk to Benefits Chair Brent Weisner and the NC’s benefits expert Damian Jennette about all of the SWAPA-provided Benefits plans, how to pick the optio…

Today’s SWAPA number is 1,000. That’s the number of Pilots who stood shoulder to shoulder at the Dallas picket on August 24, 2016, what ended up being the largest single-site Pilot picket in history. On today’s show we talk to SPC Chair Chad Korb and SPC member (and current BWI rep) Daren Black about that time in history, what the SPC has been doin…