Southwest actually flies a point-to-point-to-point model. Other large carriers like United and American rely on a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model in which planes typically fly from smaller cities to a hub airport where passengers change planes.” “Point-to-point flights cut travel times by eliminating the intermediate stop - typically a big advantage for travelers who are not flying from major metro areas. The origin and destination are connected via a single non-stop flight. Here is some coverage from the New York Times, “Southwest uses a ‘point-to-point’ route model…” In the point-to-point model, each flight is a single journey. The press has done a good job of reporting the impact on passengers, but they have done a bad job on reporting why Southwest performed so badly. A week after severe winter weather wreaked havoc on holiday air travel across the United States, other major carriers were back up and running. In all, Southwest has canceled about 15,700 flights since winter weather began disrupting air travel on December 22, far more than other airlines. "We must follow the adage “work now, grieve later.Passenger searches for her luggage inside the Southwest terminal at Los Angeles International Airport "No matter how severe the provocation, AMFA asks its members not to be baited into acts of defiance that will be characterized as insubordination,'' Oestreich said in the memo. He said that the "Southwest-created emergency'' will force mechanics who haven't had time to see a doctor to go to work sick and that potential mandatory overtime, another byproduct of the emergency status, will hurt mechanics with child-care obligations or fatigue from their regular shift. "Unfortunately, Southwest’s response has been to increase the level of coercion and further degrade safety,'' he said in a message to members Friday. Oestreich criticized Southwest for declaring the emergency. He also said Southwest is short of aircraft because 22 planes were recently taken out of service for inspections of their engine “O rings.” (Southwest says inspections were completed and the aircraft were returned to service.) He said the airline has had higher numbers of FAA inspections following an CBS report of maintenance deficiencies. Another possible reason for more aircraft out of service, which has surfaced in other industry labor disputes: Mechanics are doing everything by the book, writing up more aircraft issues than usual, which slows down the operation.īret Oestreich, national director of the mechanics' union, disputed that notion, saying Southwest mechanics are working normal schedules and normal overtime. Such operations emergencies are often declared in the wake of high absenteeism. The memo, first reported by the Chicago Business Journal, was sent to employees at Southwest's maintenance bases in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Orlando and Houston. The key sticking point is Southwest's desire to outsource some maintenance. Contract negotiations have been ongoing for several years and currently involve a mediator. ![]() Some were due to fewer aircraft in service, Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King concedes, but the airline did not break out the number and said it has been trying to minimize the impact. Southwest has a weather alert in place in several cities and typically proactively cancels flights so passengers aren't stranded.īut it's the latest shot fired in a bitter contract dispute between Southwest and its mechanics, who are represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. carrier but still just 2 percent of its scheduled flights, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Southwest canceled 100 flights Friday, more than any U.S. ![]() So far, there have not been widespread flight cancellations as the long holiday weekend and February school vacations begin. The situation is not as ominous as it sounds for travelers – the airline plans for about 20 planes a day to be unexpectedly taken out of service, so a doubling would take that to 40 planes out of 750 in its fleet. "This is not the type of communication I (or any leader) want to issue, but it is necessary to get our aircraft back in service in order to serve our customers,'' the memo from Lonnie Warren, senior director of technical operations, said. Vacation requests and shift trades are also on hold unless already approved. Mechanics who call in sick while the emergency status is in place will need a detailed doctor's note upon return, the memo says. The airline, which has been in prolonged and often contentious contract talks with its mechanics, ordered all hands on deck to get the planes back in the air. Southwest Airlines has had to remove an unusually high number of aircraft from service at the last minute this week, forcing the airline to declare an "operational emergency'' in a strongly worded memo to mechanics Friday.
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