Southwest Airline - what 737 Models?

[ready2fly]

[ QUOTE ]
So, here's the deal, RTF : Whoever gets a job there first talks the other of us up enough to the chief pilot that either he interviews, or gets tired of hearing our names....

[/ QUOTE ]
Deal and DOUBLE deal!!!

I'm all over that like white on..... ummm..... nevermind.

What you said.

The challenge is going to be (a) meeting their minimums (b) affording the 737 rating (c) getting the interview, and (d) making myself stand out once I get through the door...

...after that... piece of cake.

 

[kellwolf]

We see the -200 twice here in MCO. Once it comes from LBB-HOU-MSY-MCO. We off-load it and send it merrily on to FLL. Then it comes back (normally all jacked up as far as the loading goes), and we send it back to MSY-HOU. So, the -200s are ONLY flying in Texas. ALTHOUGH, the other night the plane on that route was a -300. Maybe they finally got around to phasing that one out. There won't be any -200s left by 2005.

-800/-900s won't happen probably. The -700s are plenty big enough, and they are considered 737NGs. The winglets are super cool. Right now, the ones I can remember are 444WN, 445WN, 446WN, 400WN, 401WN, 404WN, and 406WN. There's a 7**SW in there somewhere, but I can't remember which one. It's weird seeing the old colors with winglets, though. I wasn't sure if they were going to do that. MCO has more planes than gates at the end of the night, so we have to tow some off to the side. I had to park two winglet planes next to each other Mon night, and I was scared I was going to take one of the wings out. Turns out I had about 10 feet to play with.

 

[montanapilot]

ok i might sound like i m really from the backwoods but....

i ve never been on southwest. what do they do that is so "fun"? what is better about flying them versus the other carriers.besides the price (i dont even think they fly to montana)

thanks

 

[EatSleepFly]

Don't worry, I haven't either.

 

[FL270]

They don't fly to Montana. No food, no assigned seats, FAs in golf shirts, shorts and sneakers, lots of peanuts and coke. Only airline I've ever flown where the safety lecture is laugh-out-loud funny and the FAs sing a little song when you land.

"We love you, you love us
we're much faster than the bus
we love having fun you see
marry one of us and you'll fly free"

One of the FAs singing that little ditty was our "deplaning music" the last time I rode them.

FL270

 

[Maximilian_Jenius]

[ QUOTE ]
Actually, here's an alternative viewpoint on the whole Song/Jetblue/SWA/Ted thingy.

I pretty much blame the passengers. They assume that SWA has the lowest price, head to the SWA website and book a ticket under the assumption that Delta, American, United, etc have unreasonable prices.

So the industry is doing dumb stuff like Song/Ted/etc as a marketing tool to drive some traffic back to the carrier.

Now the real threat to domestic aviation isn't SWA or JBLU, it's cabotage laws and foreign ownership rules. If we enable Sir Richard Branson and his bevvy of cutsey-euro LPCAAC's (low price carriers at all costs), you're probably going to be happier and better paid driving a school bus.

[/ QUOTE ]



Always remember Doug that with humans that "perception is always far greater then reality".



Matthew

formerly Zen~Aku

 

[Maximilian_Jenius]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd have to agree with RTF on this one.

I've never had "fun" riding on a Delta, Continental or United aircraft. Period. It's a means to an end. But Southwest....it's a traveling experience

. And that's not limited to times when the FAs aren't striking, and the pilots complaining about pay.

I REALLY WANT SOUTHWEST TO DO WELL. I purposely fly them, even if it costs $20 more!!! They're the only airline trying to make it fun!!! Don't get me wrong...I'll fly for anybody that'll give me a job ; I'm not limiting myself to only Southwest. But they are a fun company!!

First class seats? Don't interest me - I can't afford them. Non-stop flights from coast to coast? Well, Southwest is getting more and more long-range flights all the time. Granted, if you're flying from Jackson Hole, WY to Greenville, NC, you're not going to fly Southwest. They can't fill every travel need.

But Southwest is doing something right..... I'm a supporter!!

So, here's the deal, RTF : Whoever gets a job there first talks the other of us up enough to the chief pilot that either he interviews, or gets tired of hearing our names....

[/ QUOTE ]


I have no ill toward Southwest really I don't. There a really great airline. I do however think that flying only one type of airplane for 20-30 years would bore the hell outa me.

But the last time that I flew WN from TUS-LAX-SEA. From TUS to LAX I was next to a mother and her crying screaming infant (the whole damn trip).

And her two older children were in the seats in front of me throwing toys and stuff at me and there cousins were behind me poking me with pencils and crayons and touching my ears and head from behind and taking my headphones off.

Seems they were all goin to Disneyland.

The mother simply had her hands full with the screaming crying infant and couldn't control the other kids. And the aunt and uncle were clear in the back of the plane so the mother was left to deal with them all.

I'm not a tattletell I stopped that in elementary school. So didn't want to involve the F/A's. But on deboarding the male F/A commented that I must have alot of patience.

Dear lord that was the trip from hell...100% truth no lies no exagerations.

Point blank that woulda never happened on Delta or Continental or American.


Matthew

formerly Zen~Aku

 

[ready2fly]

[ QUOTE ]
i ve never been on southwest. what do they do that is so "fun"? what is better about flying them versus the other carriers.besides the price

[/ QUOTE ]
I flew SWA for the first time last month, and, frankly, it was just a laid back experience.

We didn't get any crazy comedy routines or songs on our short hop from TPA to FLL. We got the complimentary peanuts and cola/coffee - that kind of thing.

One thing that I liked was that the F/A came around and took everyone's drink order before we even left the gate, so that they would be able to serve right away on such a short flight. That, I liked.

Admittedly, I haven't flown commercial in quite some times - certainly not a frequent flyer by any stretch of the imagination, but I found everything from ticketing, boarding to the trip extremely non-eventful.... as it should be.

 

[sbe]

[ QUOTE ]
Point blank that woulda never happened on Delta or Continental or American.


[/ QUOTE ]

Matthew, it coulda woulda happened on any airline. The worst flight I ever was on was a Sunday afternoon flight MCO-ORD on UAL. Chock full o'kids coming back from Disney World, right before Christmas, plane was jammed, it was noisy, kids crying everywhere including right next to me, parents letting kids stand on seat across the aisle from me and hit the person behind them with safety card...you name it. I've had horribly behaved pax (children AND adults) sitting around me on about every kind of airline there is.

I travel a moderate amount for work, and I travel on whatever airline gets me there most quickly and then most inexpensively. If I'm going to ATL, I don't take an airline that requires me to make a connection when I can go nonstop on DL. Southwest is almost always NOT the cheapest, that is a definite. But if they get me there a bit more quickly, I'll fly 'em. I really don't have any favorites. Now as far as working for one someday, yes I do have my favorites but that's a nonfactor...when you're offered a job, you're offered a job.

Sarah

 

[Acadia]

[ QUOTE ]
Point blank that woulda never happened on Delta or Continental or American.


[/ QUOTE ]

I pretty much had a duplicate flight on Delta PHL - FLL. Kid chaos. That can happen anywhere on or off the ground. Zip to do with the airline.

 

[tonyw]

[ QUOTE ]
Point blank that woulda never happened on Delta or Continental or American.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, it would have. Sometimes, you just get stuck with it. I flew out to LA for a job interview a few months ago on United. The flight out there was fine, the flight from SNA to ORD was fine. But on the last leg of my trip, from ORD to BWI, I got stuck next to a kid who wouldn't stop screaming and crying, and a kid behind me kept on kicking my seat.

The crew was very sympathetic, and they tried to get me a seat up in first but the flight was completely full and there was nothing they could do.

The funniest thing was the mother saying to her child as we're taxing to the terminal, if you're not quiet, he's going to get mad. I'm like, oh, like I wasn't annoyed the whole time I've been stuck next to your screaming child?

 

[pilot602]

Would it have been evil if you had told the kid that screaming makes airplanes crash?

I'm going to make a great dad one day, eh?

 

[EatSleepFly]

[ QUOTE ]
Would it have been evil if you had told the kid that screaming makes airplanes crash?

[/ QUOTE ]

Oooh, thats a good one!

I might have to use that next time I get stuck next to one...

 

[Tired]

[ QUOTE ]
ok i might sound like i m really from the backwoods but....

i ve never been on southwest. what do they do that is so "fun"? what is better about flying them versus the other carriers.besides the price (i dont even think they fly to montana)

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand either what is so great about Southwest. At my company we have to take whatever the lowest fare is so that means I have to fly Southwest alot. What is iritating at Southwest is it's open seating, so people get there three hours before boarding in order to be first in the airplane. And then when the airplane pulls up everyone lines up for thirty minutes waiting to get on. As a full-fare passenger I'd rather fly on a full-service airline. For example, on United I usually can get into the first of second row and get the extra legroom (Economy Plus). Moreover, it doesn't feel like Ellis Island at boarding time. Also, since I'm sitting up front I get to board first and my carryon never gets gate checked.

Anyways, SW is great for their pilots and investors, but as far as passengers I don't see how they love SW so much. A 737 is the same no matter what airline (I'd rather ride an A320), and so is the Coke. And I don't care if the FAs sing to me. It's the same with the people that love their Saturn cars, I just don't understand what is so great about those cars or SW.

 

[sixpack]

Why not make every seat a good seat?

If a plane has 90 passengers, there are approximately 180 arms wanting 180 arm-rests. Why does the plane only have 120 arm rests?

The distance from the small of my back to the tip of my knee, while in a sitting position is about 25". Why is the distance from the rear cushion of my seat to the tray table hardware in front of me only 23"?

Are those last few inches really too expensive? Try making EVERY seat a good seat, and then charging 10% more. I'll bet people would figure it out and start patronizing that airline.

 

[mtsu_av8er]

[ QUOTE ]
Southwest is almost always NOT the cheapest, that is a definite.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here are three fares on two seperate airlines, just pulled them up about 5 minutes ago.

I compared three trips, using a typical "My boss said that I need to fly from xyz to abc Monday, and back on Tuesday night" trip. The first fare is SW, and the second is for an airline that we won't name, but let's just say that it's a major, has been around forever, and many people love it.

Trip LUV Super-Mega-Airways
***************************************
LAX-MDW $398 $666
PHX-OAK $118 $239
BNA-OAK $598 $626

Southwest has De...I mean Super-Mega-Airways beat on each trip, and on two of them by a pretty big amount.

Remember, most of the major airlines are trying to compete with SW in their 14-day advanced purchases, but on those last minute trips, they can't even come close most of the time.

And remember, the whole idea behind having open seating is so that the lazy bum that want's to get to the gate 5 minutes before departure has a little bit of incentive to get there early, and maybe we can fewer flights leaving late.

Oh, and FL270, Southwest isn't making fun of the safety briefing...they're just making fun of the fact that they're safety record is sooo good compared to EVERY other major airline.....