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Airline need permission from attendants?

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by HAWJOHN, Sep 21, 2012.

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  1. HAWJOHN

    HAWJOHN Tourist

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  2. SH0CK

    SH0CK Stylin' and Profilin' Quasi Tech Admin

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    Looks like they would have more job duties, which would mean more training. Just like anything else, if you have a contract to do X and Y, then the employer wants you to be able to do Z, both sides would have to OK the deal.
     
  3. numeno

    numeno VIP Whale

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    Would some of these flights be longer than anything offered right now?
     
  4. theshaah

    theshaah High-Roller

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    As an airline employee and union member myself it basically works like this. SWA's contract includes a side letter that if changes are going to be made that both sides have to agree. Hence they get the option to vote down any changes made. Hawaii would most definitely require a longer duty day especially if they intend to make it a "turn" or "out and back" type of trip.

    Also in order to be able to go to hawaii SWA needs to become "Over Water Certified" which it is not at this time.

    Airtran IS over water certified meaning we've had special training on how to handle emergencies if they occur on the water. SWA has not. So if their FA's don't agree to the sideletter you may see Airtran working these hawaii flights initially. Just as you may see Airtran being the international carrier for SWA.
    Hope this helps guys.


    This post is the opinion only of the poster and NOT that of Southwest Airlines, it's management, or business partners.
     
  5. HAWJOHN

    HAWJOHN Tourist

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    Thanks for the replies. I did not realize there was that much of a fine print with the union when a business wants to expand. I thought that in this case, they could simply go the international/over waters route and obtain the required equipment/training and renegotiate that part with the union.

    Unrelated but it did surprise me that employees voted it down earlier and just barely approved it in this last vote. I would think most would be happy with the expansion. Since Southwest has Air Trans, I do hope Southwest creates an international/over water section with them.
     
  6. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    Southwest basically flies over the continental US. I heard that Hawaii is considered an "international" destination which requires a different set of training and as the Shaah mentioned, requires a different set of certifications since the flight is over water and considered an internation destination. That also means that the flight crew (pilots also) need to be certified over water and for international flights. The pilots approved the move earlier and now the flight attendants approved the move so now it is up to Southwest to get all the permits, certifications and approvals in order to make it happen. The flight attendants will probably have to get more training to get certified to fly to international destinations.

    While the Hawaii/continental US legs are a big draw I think many of us want to see SW fly between islands. Because of the Go/Aloha fiasco many of us only fly hawaiian (refuse to fly Go and now mokulele) so it will be good to have a bona fide competitor flying between the islands. While prices may not drop, we really need to have fare wars again to keep the prices at a reasonable level.



    I'm not affiliated with the travel industry and most of my comments are from what I read and heard recently so I could be mistaken and I am not sure what the reason for the reluctance to fly to hawaii.

    Heard that SW is still about 2 to 3 years away from actually flying to hawaii. Not sure how Allegiant was able to get the Hawaii flights up so quickly but I guess for SW it's a bigger deal to get to Hawaii (maybe real international flights?).
     
  7. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Yes, all kinds of agreements are made that allow the union to try to run the business.

    Someday, somebody will explain to me why a 3rd party can tell a company how they can run their business. Someday.
     
  8. Reston

    Reston VIP Whale

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    Employees are a third party? If we could just have companies without all of pesky employees!
     
  9. gilly from philly

    gilly from philly Low-Roller

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    You do realize it takes BOTH parties to agree on a union contract, right?
     
  10. Quixote

    Quixote Tourist

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    Regardless what anyone thinks of business or labor, they do sign contracts with each other.
     
  11. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Yes, this is true.

    Do you think the folks that own the company sign everything willingly? No, they sign what they finally settle on.
     
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