Good Morning Coffee Question For You...

[daybeforecommuter]

If you were to start an airline tomorrow would you?

A. Offer USAirways contracts of 15 years ago?
B. Offer USAirways contracts of 10 years ago?
C. Offer USAirways contracts of 05 years ago?
D. Offer USAirways contracts of 06 months ago?
E. None of the Above. (realizing of course that it is neither 15 years nor 6 months ago...and knowing that the economics and dynamics of the industry are fluid e.g. Fuel prices)

A good few of you learned folks might have gotten the best of 1600 on your SATs but I bet quite a few of those at least WISH the correct answer were not what you know it is.

 

[700UW]

Then how does the #1 LCC WN pay more then any other airline?

 

[Boomer]

700,

You know you're not supposed to ask THAT question!

 

[vc10]

Southwest's employees are more productive than those of any other airline.

How many US Airways (mainline) employees are there per aircraft? How many Southwest employees are there per aircraft?

Then how does the #1 LCC WN pay more then any other airline?

[post="184991"][/post]​

 

[insp89]

Piney, You don't have a clue... What do YOU know about work ?? That 83 workers vs. 103 example, Does that include OTHER companies employees that do Southwest's work for them ???...... For example, Aircraft maintence ???..... About the "one aircraft fleet type",Is this why Jetblue is adding another fleet type to their fleet next year, the Emb 190 ??...While it's true Usairways could use some work rule changes, [which should of been adressed in the FIRST bankrupcy], The example you state is bogus, and just the usual kind of decietful drivel that the company spews out...... Come back with your Math when you add up ALL the workers that do Southwest's work for them. [BOTH SOUTHWEST employees AND OUTSOURCED employees]....

 

[NeedForSpeedNFS]

Then how does the #1 LCC WN pay more then any other airline?

[post="184991"][/post]​

Less workers per plane, and less restrictive work rules. It really is quite simple

 

[Hope777]

And Piney, lets look at other areas where better SWA Management saves the company money. I wont even go into fuel hedging, but look more into Facilities. At our station alone, we PAY for rent on four gates and only need two. We operate 11 flights a day from four gates, how many would SWA operate with the same size station? Over 30 I'm sure. The cost savings over the last several years is huge and that is just one station. Also property, which is also a group within facilities, we purchased a electric lift for Express Aircraft almost THREE years ago. Guess what, it did not work when we took delivery of it and it still does not work. Why hasnt our local manager done something about it? Simply because they dont care...................

 

[Rico]

Then how does the #1 LCC WN pay more then any other airline?

[post="184991"][/post]​

Because it takes fewer SWA people to do the same job, that the larger amount of US Airways employees do.

Not being mean about it, just the truth. They have a smaller ratio of employees to aircraft than we do. Period.

Higher overall productivity = higher overall pay

 

[airlineorphan]

To say LUV workers work harder is a simplistic interpretation of the workers/plane statistics. The fact is that both US Airways and LUV employees bust their keisters every day.

The big reason there is a difference in the number of workers/plane is the difference between the efficiencies of the point to point model LUV uses and the hub and spoke model US Airways and the other legacy carriers use. Sorry, but you cannot pin this difference on work rules.

F/A' and pilots contracts are not what dictate 3.5hr "productivity breaks" between legs. Those are dictated by the problems in maintaining efficiency in a hub and spoke system.

LUV keeps their planes in the air more hours in the day, thus bringing in revenue more of the time, even in the event of lower load factors. US Airways is way behind on this. These are operational problems that flow from above. They do not derive from US Airways employees not working or burdensome work rules.

Think. Then Type.

-Airlineorphan

P.S. My hat is off to the LUV F/A's for the fight they put up for a better contract!

 

[Rico]

Ahhh, no, I did not say WN employees worked harder. I said there is a smaller ratio of employees to aircraft.

That translates into a more productive employee because of product produced, not a comparison of the amount of work done by an Airways or WN worker.

 

[Bear96]

Another flaw with the simple "# of employees per plane" equation when comparing with WN is the fact that WN ONLY flies 737s. I remember seeing this comparison for WN vs. UA, and I sure won't try to argue that UA is as efficient as WN, but 737s are the SMALLEST plane UA flies. Certainly if WN has 83 worker per 737, and another airline has 93 workers per 767 or 747, that doesn't automatically mean WN is "more efficient" because WN has fewer employees per plane.

It would be better to compaure # of employees per ASM or something like that. Although I am sure WN would still come out ahead, it wouldn't be as misleading and serve as a convenient soundbite for those who think they know everything about the airline industry by looking in from the outside.

 

[X-U]

WN also keeps costs low by keeping it simple and focusing on their product: transportation from A to B. No airport clubs, simple FF program, no special agents for differing classes of customer, no meal service... WN is a populist airline offering air transportation to the widest segment possible. While US and the other legacy carriers try to please all of the people all of the time (an impossibility), WN tries to please most of the people all of the time.

 

[AAviator]

So, in essence USAirways, has to change nothing. It just has to pay its employees less.

Got it.

 

[unit4clt]

Keep in mind also Wn does not have any wide bodies or trans-atlantic flights. But the biggest difference is WN does not have any COST IN-EFFECIENT affiliate flying of RJS. BECAUSE, WN is run by a capable management team.

 

[Rico]

Well, flaw or otherwise, the simple matter is that it takes fewer employees at SWA to produce more or less the same product, hence they can pay a higher wage to those fewer employees and remain cost competitive.

Now, we can talk all day about the fact that SWA does this or does that, but it is just talk . All we can actaully do is adjust our own operation as much as possible to match their level of productivity.

Thing is, that you cannot have it both ways and expect to remain competitive. 700UW was defending some kind of "Paid Rest" crap the other night as a contractually sancitoned affair...

Paid Rest...? <_<

Stuff like that has to go if we are to remain competitive. But I hear people slam management alone for not running a tight ship, while at the same time defending wasteful featherbedding like "paid rest" being a contractual right (God forbid they look at themselves to blame).

You have to make a choice, have a lot of low payed people doing the job, or a fewer amount of people making a higher wage doing the same work. Economic reality will no longer allow you to get away with anything else, face it. -_-