U.S. Department of Transportation Fines Southwest $1.6 Million for Violating Tarmac Delay Rule

[Kev3188]

if you "get it," then stop fixating on historic staffing levels as a sole cause.

 

[WorldTraveler]

thus my question to an ACTUAL WN employee if WN has improved staffing or if they have simply reworked the schedule to reduce the pressure on the existing employee base they have.

more and more 738s, no bag fees, and the same rampers means something has to move.

I hope WN realizes they were at fault and improves the staffing.

 

[Kev3188]

I'm all for increased staffing, but absent anything other changes, it just means that many more people calling off next time...

 

[eolesen]

Yep, more headcount won't get the streets plowed faster or make the trains and buses run more efficiently, unless that headcount is for CPW and/or the CTA.

Maybe 555 can explain how WN gets away with using a different staffing formula for MDW than they do at any other airport served? The TWU isn't doing their job if management is getting away with maintaining staffing levels that aren't contractual.

Or does WN simply not have staffing levels included in their contract? I'd think that they would by now, given they've been at MDW for over 20 years, and this certainly wasn't their first snow rodeo.

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

it was a winter storm, Kev. we get it.
 

Are you sure you get it?  Or dare I say, are you sure you grasp it?
Because it that was the case, you wouldn't be posting > dozen pointless diatribes about the issue.
 
BTW:  I can't wait to hear your spin if a winter storm should disrupts DL ops in JFK or DTW, for example.

 

[WorldTraveler]

there have been plenty of winter storms that have affected DL ops.

there was the great ice storm of 2014 (all of 2 inches but sans salt and snow plows) that shut down the city of Atlanta but DL cut 50% or more of its domestic ops - and, guess what, they didn't get a single tarmac delay.

I happened to be on a DL jet during that storm in ATL and they were extraordinarily careful to watch the clock to make sure we got deiced and in the air in time.

and there were a whole lot fewer DL employees around.

so, DL did adjust the operation to the staffing it could obtain.


but DL at both JFK, MSP, and DTW which regularly see winter IROPS - and ATL which does not - are staffed sufficiently on normal days.

AA and UA regularly cancel flights at their hubs when winter weather affects their hubs including at DFW where the city and residents are far less capable of responding to winter weather than normal ops.

MDW was not as well staffed from the beginning and that is obvious from WN's performance stats even during normal ops and WN did not cancel enough flights when IROPS began.

and it has nothing to do with that WN has a different staffing formula for MDW vs. other stations. It has to do with the fact that WN pushes more aircraft thru MDW and has had a "more tightly wound" operation than they do at other stations.

WN won't make the mistake again. B6 learned from its lesson. nearly every legacy has had a winter weather operational meltdown at one time or another and they learned.

 

[DL2WN]

.

 

[swamt]

there have been plenty of winter storms that have affected DL ops.

there was the great ice storm of 2014 (all of 2 inches but sans salt and snow plows) that shut down the city of Atlanta but DL cut 50% or more of its domestic ops - and, guess what, they didn't get a single tarmac delay.

I happened to be on a DL jet during that storm in ATL and they were extraordinarily careful to watch the clock to make sure we got deiced and in the air in time.

and there were a whole lot fewer DL employees around.

so, DL did adjust the operation to the staffing it could obtain.


but DL at both JFK, MSP, and DTW which regularly see winter IROPS - and ATL which does not - are staffed sufficiently on normal days.

AA and UA regularly cancel flights at their hubs when winter weather affects their hubs including at DFW where the city and residents are far less capable of responding to winter weather than normal ops.

MDW was not as well staffed from the beginning and that is obvious from WN's performance stats even during normal ops and WN did not cancel enough flights when IROPS began.

and it has nothing to do with that WN has a different staffing formula for MDW vs. other stations. It has to do with the fact that WN pushes more aircraft thru MDW and has had a "more tightly wound" operation than they do at other stations.

WN won't make the mistake again. B6 learned from its lesson. nearly every legacy has had a winter weather operational meltdown at one time or another and they learned.

Sounds like an operation disaster for Delta in 2014 to me...

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

Sounds like an operation disaster for Delta in 2014 to me...

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
For DL, it was a strategic operational adjustment resulting in retaining the same, if not a higher percentage of quality revenue than during regular ops.  That is called winning in all kinds of weather conditions, something Southwest clearly cannot accomplish.

 

[WorldTraveler]

Sounds like an operation disaster for Delta in 2014 to me...

no, the City of Atlanta was an operational disaster.

DL cancelled down to what they and the airport could handle and survived.

that is precisely what AA and UA regularly do at ORD, B6 has learned to do at JFK, and WN will figure out they have to do at MDW.

and WN, on EVERY day, will have to build a schedule that is reflective of the manpower it has or else hire more people. the indications so far are that WN has made major steps toward fixing the schedule problem

 

[robbedagain]

love that one Frugal    That is exactly what one clown would truly say   and has said so even if his posts don't have the actual words in it 

 

[Kev3188]

Great to hear WN has hired more people. More FT/benefitted union jobs is a good news story.

Now; can anyone here share what other changes they've made to lower the odds of a repeat?

Also, how will they overcome some of the uncontrollable factors already mentioned, such as poor road/rail conditions? Is there a plan to avoid airport workers using WN gates to pile snow?

 

[WorldTraveler]

they've increased ground time dramatically across their system.

every airline has to deal with the difficulty of employees getting to work. Having more employees to start with, an operations control center that is connected with the operational people on the ground who is getting call-ins, and increased ground time day in and day out will mitigate a repeat

 

[swamt]

no, the City of Atlanta was an operational disaster.

DL cancelled down to what they and the airport could handle and survived.

that is precisely what AA and UA regularly do at ORD, B6 has learned to do at JFK, and WN will figure out they have to do at MDW.

and WN, on EVERY day, will have to build a schedule that is reflective of the manpower it has or else hire more people. the indications so far are that WN has made major steps toward fixing the schedule problem

OH, I see.  So let me get this straight.  It's ok if Delta has an operational disaster and YOU reword everything, but not good if any other airline has a hick-ups and delays.  Got it.  Your such a Dumb-A$$...

 

[swamt]

they've increased ground time dramatically across their system.

every airline has to deal with the difficulty of employees getting to work. Having more employees to start with, an operations control center that is connected with the operational people on the ground who is getting call-ins, and increased ground time day in and day out will mitigate a repeat

You obviously do not know how SWA operates.  SWA will NEVER, NEVER, did I say NEVER over hire to cover what you just described. Only all the "other" airlines do that, and they will lay-off and fire, and relocate those "extra employees" as they see fit.  Lean and mean is how SWA will operate, and the employees will step up and fill the voids when they can, and when they can get to work.  Geess, where you been?