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Southwest also operates a flight network that relies on flights making multiple stops along the way, whereas many other airlines may have more direct flights th

Southwest also operates a flight network that relies on flights making multiple stops along the way, whereas many other airlines may have more direct flights that aren’t impacted as much by distant flights being delayed. Here’s an article from the AP that mentions the “point-to-point route network” as a contributing factor in terms of a cascading failure: https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-travel-8abd4e0541a0a2d6d58f99cc62209a37 https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-travel-8abd4e0...

hnburnsy 5y ago
To counteract this Southwest does not do red eye flights which theoretically should allow them to reset operations overnight. This does not seem to be working for some reason.
- snowwrestler 5y ago
  Because to reset the whole network, they need a lot more pilots than they actually have. Someone would have to fly all the planes around at night, but it can’t be the pilots who flew during the day (they need to sleep at night). Like any airline, Southwest does not keep many more pilots on the payroll than they need under normal operations.
- ashtonkem 5y ago
  Often the limiting factors for an airline aren't the planes, but the humans to operate them. If the pilots aren't in the right place and available to fly, then an overnight to reset the positions of the planes does nothing. Nevermind the fact that resetting the network would in fact burn up flight time which seems to be in short supply.
  - hnburnsy 5y ago
    Agreed, SWA canceled 2000 flights over the weekend, seems like they should enough rested crew to reset. I did see in the Dallas Morning News that SWA had schedule the most flights today since the start of the Covid. >Dallas-based Southwest planned more than 3,600 flights on Sunday, the most of any day since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but nearly one-third of those were canceled. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2021/10/10/southwest-airlines-cancels-more-than-1000-flights-sunday-in-another-weekend-of-chaos/ https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2021/10/10/sout...

hnburnsy 5y ago

To counteract this Southwest does not do red eye flights which theoretically should allow them to reset operations overnight. This does not seem to be working for some reason.

snowwrestler 5y ago
Because to reset the whole network, they need a lot more pilots than they actually have. Someone would have to fly all the planes around at night, but it can’t be the pilots who flew during the day (they need to sleep at night). Like any airline, Southwest does not keep many more pilots on the payroll than they need under normal operations.
ashtonkem 5y ago
Often the limiting factors for an airline aren't the planes, but the humans to operate them. If the pilots aren't in the right place and available to fly, then an overnight to reset the positions of the planes does nothing. Nevermind the fact that resetting the network would in fact burn up flight time which seems to be in short supply.
- hnburnsy 5y ago
  Agreed, SWA canceled 2000 flights over the weekend, seems like they should enough rested crew to reset. I did see in the Dallas Morning News that SWA had schedule the most flights today since the start of the Covid. >Dallas-based Southwest planned more than 3,600 flights on Sunday, the most of any day since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but nearly one-third of those were canceled. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2021/10/10/southwest-airlines-cancels-more-than-1000-flights-sunday-in-another-weekend-of-chaos/ https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2021/10/10/sout...