The SWAPA Ride Report: Red-Eye CQT Pulls, VA Shift Strategies & The China Airlines Partnership

Today's SWAPA Number is 721. That's the number of cases your critical incident response team, or CIRT, fielded in 2024. Now, that's a lot. Almost to a day, but they range in subject matters when it comes to what happened to trigger a call to CIRT, from incidents in the aircraft to traumatic incidents at home.So today we're sitting down with CIRT chairman, Captain Dave West. Dave has been our chair for six years now, and while you may never have received a call from his team or called them, what they have to offer might surprise you.If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

In this week’s show, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants walks the membership through the upcoming opportunity to transfer your Profit Sharing Account at Empower to the Southwest Airlines Pilots Retirement Savings Plan at Schwab. He also teases the upcoming 401(k) production coming in early August – from how your retirement dollars flow to frequently asked questions that the committee receives, be on the lookout for this evergreen resource in the coming weeks. He also talks about the multiple projects that the SAC is handling, including the feedback and guidance we give to the Company with line and pairing quality. The Contract Q&A this week covers LCO on reserve, picking up flying over non-fly bars, and travel before CQ training. There’s also a great question about rest between duty period legality. You’ll want to hear the details on this one- you might have more room to move your schedule around.  If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

Today's SWAPA Number is 42. That's how many events SWAPAfamily has held over the last 10 years. So on today's show we talked to Outreach Chair Jean Peck and committee member Caitlin Bute about the genesis for the committee, what's on the immediate horizon, and what are the goals for the future.If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

In this week’s edition, Communications Committee Member Tony Mulhare takes the membership through the connection between the Reserve Proffer Process and Premium Before Reserve. He also gives an update on the addition of the SWAPA Pay Audit Tool to the SWAPA app and covers several questions Contract Admin fielded about Golden Days Off, Late Return Override, Domicile Right of Return, Holiday Override pay for deadhead only duty periods, and how to update your medical on your EFB.  If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

Today's SWAPA Number is 11. That's the number of pilots we've lost to suicide since 2019. And while that's not an easy thing to say out loud, ignoring it won't make the number smaller. Mental health just isn't at the forefront of the greater national healthcare conversation. It's an ongoing discussion in the aviation community as well.So today we're sitting down with Project LIFT chair, Captain Ty Dimeff. LIFT, which stands for Life Incident Family Team, provides peer-to-peer support for SWAPA pilots and their families. There's a lot to cover when it comes to mental health and wellness and unfortunately there's several stigmas surrounding it. Let's hear from Ty on how to break those stigmas down and discuss ways to stay mentally fit to fly.If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

In this week’s show, Communications Director Amy Robinson hits the high points of new scheduling features like Open Time Priority (OTP) self service, the upcoming ability to participate in Reserve Voluntary Double Time (VDT), and ELITT across bid periods. She also points to the Schwab Retirement Savings Plan brochure, and gives some quick tips from Professional Standards on staying cool in and out of the jet as we enter the summer months. A lot of pilots have been participating in Reserve Release to Check In (RTCI) and this week’s Q&A has some excellent examples of when you may (or may not) want to utilize this C2020 gain. Listen in so you can make the right call!If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

Today's SWAPA number is 49-114. That's the section of US Code that guides the operations of the TSA. Today, we are sitting down with Brian Hagedorn and John Nolan from the Security and Cockpit Defense Committee to talk about upcoming changes to the TSA screening process for flight crew, as well as an update for our Federal Flight Deck Officers, or FFDOs.If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

In this week’s extended episode, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants explains the new expectations for red-eye pairings when it comes to QOL TR pulls during a CQT month. He also goes deep on all things vacation shifting and how shifts have performed since being implemented last year. What is the average increase in pay per pilot vacation week? How does shifting put a new spin on month to month vacation weeks? Maybe there’s TFP on the table for you to pick up. He also adds key context and backstory to the announcement of the China Airlines partnership. What’s changed behind the scenes to finally kick airline partnerships into gear? What’s the connection between your CBA’s Section 1 language and the Company’s push for low-cost revenue?  And most importantly, what does this mean to you as a Southwest Pilot? Listen in and find out.If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

Today's SWAPA Number is 537. That's the number of pilots that have used Release to Check-in since it was implemented on April 1st. So today we are sitting down with Scott Plyler and Meagan Nelan from the Scheduling and Analytics committee to discuss recently implemented items, the upcoming implementation schedule and how that's going, along with a look at some other scheduling hot topics.If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

In this week’s episode, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants points back to highlights in the bevvy of information we covered in the BOD meeting recap and teases the upcoming deep dive with the SAC. Also in this episode: a heads-up on the SWAPA Constitution modernization, and a call to action for those interested in serving as a representative in this fall’s elections—these reps will help shape the platform for our next contract.What happens if your flight is delayed while on your overnight—can you stay at the hotel longer? Does it affect your pay?  Is an early call from Scheduling during a delay an interruption of rest? What’s the difference between LIMO-only duty periods and CX pairings? The answers to these questions and more are in this week’s Contract Q&A.If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at [email protected] or tap here to send us a text.Follow us online:Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737