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My family has been flying SW almost exclusively for 10 years and this Christmas was the first problem we’ve encountered. Something definitely changed with the

by jkmcf 4y ago

My family has been flying SW almost exclusively for 10 years and this Christmas was the first problem we’ve encountered. Something definitely changed with the new CEO because the usually happy workers were much less so. For instance, they used to have somewhat unique and entertaining scripts for the flight education before takeoff, but for the past few years they stick to the boring version the other airlines deliver. Maybe there’s something else going on, and my observation is wrong, and it’s all a combination of shitty managers and outdated software

jamie_ca 4y ago
There was a Reddit post two days back from a SWA pilot that covers some of that - https://www.reddit.com/r/SouthwestAirlines/comments/zxg6op/the_history_of_swa_destruction_from_within/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SouthwestAirlines/comments/zxg6op/t... The summary is that Herb Kelleher (CEO until 2004) was operations-focused, he was replaced by Gary Kelly who had a finance background and appointed as COO someone with a similar background. Kelly retired early 2022 and was replaced by Bob Jordan, getting back to an operations focused leader. Alas, the operational neglect of Kelly's tenure wasn't quickly overcome.
JBlue42 4y ago
I didn't think what happened with Southwest could get so bad but my last flight with them was in 2021. Post-early COVID, it was pretty obvious every airline was struggling with reduced and/or ill staff. I flew from the East Coast with a 1 hr layover in Las Vegas that turned into multiple hours, at night, with everything outside of the gambling areas closed down. Kids crying for food, all that. Finally, the staff for the flight from Vegas to LA showed up. They had to call them in and specially ask them to take this last flight of ours. I've also sat next to a Southwest pilot on a flight transferring to another city. They haven't had "cheap" fares for a while nor have their staff had the quirky friendliness I had seen on flights when I started flying with them some 15 years ago. The US domestic airline industry a patient that's always on life-support and pretty much upheld by government bailouts and bankruptcies at this point. I've probably mentioned it here before but the first chapter of David Dayen's "Monopolized" covers some of the sources of the issues going on there. It's a bad mix for something that has become important infrastructure, especially since we have no redundancy on the ground with something like rail traffic.

by jkmcf 4y ago

jamie_ca 4y ago

There was a Reddit post two days back from a SWA pilot that covers some of that - https://www.reddit.com/r/SouthwestAirlines/comments/zxg6op/the_history_of_swa_destruction_from_within/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SouthwestAirlines/comments/zxg6op/t... The summary is that Herb Kelleher (CEO until 2004) was operations-focused, he was replaced by Gary Kelly who had a finance background and appointed as COO someone with a similar background. Kelly retired early 2022 and was replaced by Bob Jordan, getting back to an operations focused leader. Alas, the operational neglect of Kelly's tenure wasn't quickly overcome.

JBlue42 4y ago

I didn't think what happened with Southwest could get so bad but my last flight with them was in 2021. Post-early COVID, it was pretty obvious every airline was struggling with reduced and/or ill staff. I flew from the East Coast with a 1 hr layover in Las Vegas that turned into multiple hours, at night, with everything outside of the gambling areas closed down. Kids crying for food, all that. Finally, the staff for the flight from Vegas to LA showed up. They had to call them in and specially ask them to take this last flight of ours. I've also sat next to a Southwest pilot on a flight transferring to another city. They haven't had "cheap" fares for a while nor have their staff had the quirky friendliness I had seen on flights when I started flying with them some 15 years ago. The US domestic airline industry a patient that's always on life-support and pretty much upheld by government bailouts and bankruptcies at this point. I've probably mentioned it here before but the first chapter of David Dayen's "Monopolized" covers some of the sources of the issues going on there. It's a bad mix for something that has become important infrastructure, especially since we have no redundancy on the ground with something like rail traffic.