The SWAPA Number

Today's SWAPA Number is 163,649. That's the number of CAS events or times the jumpseat was utilized on Southwest aircraft just by Southwest Pilots in the last 12 months. That's almost 450 per day, illustrating just how highly utilized of a resource our jumpsuit is. Jumpseating will always be a part of being a SWAPA pilot. So today we're sitting down with Jumpseat Committee chai...

In this week’s edition, Communications Assistant Editor Alexis Thomas takes the membership through several highlights regarding open enrollment and the 2024 Fall General Election. She also gives a recap of the latest Contract Admin hot topics, including “Premium before Reserve” bidding, what happens if you call Crew Scheduling back after your 15-minute callback time is up, and commuter rules for w...

Today's SWAPA Number is three. That's the number of avenues that SWAPA has pursued between CBA cycles to address issues that inevitably arise in membership business with the Company. These agreements of the association are brought forward when there is a need for corrective action or clarification, and they are highly dependent on the condition of the events. Whether these are letters of...

In this week’s edition, Communications Committee member Matt McCants takes the membership around the big take aways following last week’s SWAPA Board of Directors meetings. From Aeromedical/Benefits and Safety information, to scheduling tips and where all the 2025 budget resources live, you’ll be up to speed on what’s happening across the committees.     In the Q&A section, topics include rese...

Today's SWAPA number is $37 million. That's the total proposed operating expenses in the budget for 2025. SWAPA pilots will have an opportunity to vote on the budget in the upcoming fall general election. So on today's show we talk to SWAPA second vice President, Hank Ketchum, and our SWAPA Director of Finance, Brian Hickman about all things finance.  If you have any feedback for us...

In this week’s edition, Communications Committee member Tony Mulhare discusses some vacation accrual errors that have been made for Pilots out on a medical leave of absence and how to check that the numbers in CWA are correct. Round 1 of vacation bidding closes tomorrow, so time is of the essence. He also recaps several questions that were fielded by Contract Admin this week, including how LCO wor...

Today's SWAPA Number is 86. That's the percentage of Contract 2020 provisions that will be implemented by the end of the third quarter of 2024.  That said, the remaining 14 percent includes some very big ticket items like a training bid, major changes to ELITT, and a new vacation bidding process. So on today's show, we're going to talk to Scheduling and Analytics Manager Meagan...

In this week’s edition, Captain Matt McCants takes the membership through the high points of the latest update to the Annotated CBA . This revision touches on a lot of sections, so be sure to download the latest version to your mobile device.  He also gives a recap of the latest IT summit between the Scheduling and Analytics Committee and the Company team. Take a listen to find out what percentage...

Today's SWAPA Number is 153. That's the number of emails, education materials, videos, and podcasts you've received from SWAPA in 2024 so far. And each one has passed through the Communications Committee before you saw or heard it. So today's podcast is about exactly that. We're sitting down with Communications Chair, Mike Panebianco and Communications Director, Amy Robins...

This week, Communications Committee member Tony Mulhare takes a deep dive into how your sick bank and vacation accrual are related if you were to go out on disability and the importance of making sure you don’t get awarded a line for a month that you won’t fly in (unless you have vacation, of course). Check the Benefits Committee page on swapa.org for a more in-depth discussion and additional prod...

Today's SWAPA Number is 6,529. That's the number of our pilots who are qualified to participate in this year's profit sharing transfer. A new provision in Contract 2020 allows pilots a one-time transfer of their profit sharing balances into the top ranked SWAPA 401(k) plan. Since it's a one-time benefit, it's important that our pilots understand the process and the details...

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Today's SWAPA Number is 4. That's the number of different generations in Southwest cockpits on any given day around the system. Today we're sitting down with Jon Ross, Chair of the Professional Standards Committee, to talk about how we can keep conflict resolution at the lowest level and safety at the highest. If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swa...

This week, Communications Committee member Tony Mulhare updates the membership on the Market Based Cash Balance Plan as well as the upcoming transfer window from Empower to Schwab accounts.  He also continues the deep dive into vacation shifts and the timing required for those shifts. Several pilot questions about Legal Duty, Ground Transportation in lieu of a double deadhead as well as a recurrin...

Today's SWAPA Number is 15. That is the size of the expanded Southwest Airlines Board of Directors, Now that Rakesh Gangwal, a familiar name to those in our ranks with US Air history was added to the board. Two weeks ago, we released a SWAPA Number podcast about Elliot Investment Management's initial 12% equity position in Southwest. But it's been a busy couple of weeks with several...

This week, Captain Matt McCants tells the membership what to look forward to during third quarter implementation. The landscape of the duty day will look different whether you are on reserve or a line holder, so listen in to hear the details and timelines with the coming changes. He also does a deep dive into vacation shifts. From how much more TFP pilots have seen so far, changes in the blank lin...

Today's SWAPA Number is 12. That's the approximate percentage of Southwest Airlines shares that Elliott Investment Management took hold of in early June, challenging the leadership landscape of the company and bringing some uncertainty as to what the future of the airline holds. Today we're sitting down with your SWAPA executive officers, along with economics and financial analysis...

This week, guest host Ella Ziober reviews the most recent versions of the CBA source documents as we near the end of the second quarter. With Q3 around the corner, take a listen to hear about the mountain of IT work being done for the next phase of implementation.  The Q&A has something for everyone this week. Whether you’re contemplating a Nashville move, have some reserve scheduling question...

Today's SWAPA Number is 26. That's 26 fatigue calls per 10,000 duty periods, which is our current fatigue rate. That's less than half of what it was a year ago and one of the lowest since the start of the pandemic. So today on the show, we're going to talk with SWAPA Safety and FSAC member Scott Hutchinson about recent fatigue trends, what's new in Contract 2020, and what...

This week, guest host Alexis Thomas reviews the recent Empower accounts merger, and points to all the resources that Pilots have at their disposal when the ability to move funds to the Schwab 401k becomes available.  It was a big tech week for SWAPA as the Scheduling and Analytics Committee presented at the Flight Ops IT kickoff, and the revamped SWAPA App reached several key milestones. Tune in t...

Today's SWAPA Number is 16. That's the section of the contract that covers hotel standards. So on today's episode, we spoke to Hotels SME, Seth Kornblum, about the Crew Accommodations Board, hotel language, and some of the issues that have arisen since the ratification of the CBA. If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org or tap here to send us...

This week, Casey Casteel from SWAPA Communications discusses upcoming implementation items like the training elections form that will go live soon as well as several items that were clarified or added in Side Letter One to the CBA, including open time pay multiples, open time alert timelines, and document-based training. If you’ve ever had a question on how day rooms and Ground Time Override inter...

Today's SWAPA Number is 4,200. That's how many Southwest pilots will retire by 2035. We may have stopped hiring for now, but those 4,200 pilots will need to be replaced and trained. Today we'll be talking with SWAPA President, Captain Casey Murray, and Training and Standards Committee Chair, Captain Greg Bowen, about how things are going in the training environment, what can be bett...

Today's SWAPA Number is 17.A.2. That's the section of our new CBA that deals with VPTO, or Voluntary Paid Time Off.  On this special episode of The SWAPA Number, we are welcoming NC Chair Jody Reven, EFA Committee Chair Erich Schnitzler, Committee Member Greg Auld, and Scheduling Research Committee Chair, Scott Plyler, to discuss a voluntary paid time off program being offered to the mem...

This week, host Captain Matt McCants gives us the high points of the newly released Scheduling Handbook – a must have in a Pilot’s tool box to resume own navigation through the new CBA. He also covers how much error pay and fixed audit pay have been recovered by SWAPA since date of ratification.  The Q&A this week has topics ranging from online legality changes to some great techniques to maxi...