The SWAPA Number

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The SWAPA Number

SWAPA

248 episodes

2 weeks ago

Today's SWAPA Number is 400. That's the number of new hires we expect on property during the first half of 2026. We're always happy to welcome new pilots to this airline, and these new hires will experience a training program that has gone through a lot of changes in the last couple of years. So today, we're sitting down with Greg Bowen and Willie Bishop from the Training and Standards Committee to talk about the state of AQP, where training is going in 2026, and a lot about VVMI. If you hav...

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Today's SWAPA Number is 400. That's the number of new hires we expect on property during the first half of 2026. We're always happy to welcome new pilots to this airline, and these new hires will experience a training program that has gone through a lot of changes in the last couple of years. So today, we're sitting down with Greg Bowen and Willie Bishop from the Training and Standards Committee to talk about the state of AQP, where training is going in 2026, and a lot about VVMI. If you hav...

Show more...

Episodes (20/248)

The SWAPA Number

400 ( Training & Standards, Greg Bowen, William Bishop)

Today's SWAPA Number is 400. That's the number of new hires we expect on property during the first half of 2026. We're always happy to welcome new pilots to this airline, and these new hires will experience a training program that has gone through a lot of changes in the last couple of years. So today, we're sitting down with Greg Bowen and Willie Bishop from the Training and Standards Committee to talk about the state of AQP, where training is going in 2026, and a lot about VVMI. If you hav...

2 weeks ago

37 minutes

The SWAPA Number

The SWAPA Ride Report: AUS & DRR, 401(k) Plan Changes, and the Road Ahead

The latest (and last) episode of the SWAPA Ride Report is up! To be clear, the regularly scheduled programming that is the SWAPA Number podcast will still continue. In fact, we will air our conversation with the SWAPA Training and Standards Committee on Monday, December 22. With all the procedures changes coming next month, this is one you don't want to miss. In today's Ride Report, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants reviews the relationship between the new Austin domicile and ...

3 weeks ago

12 minutes

The SWAPA Number

10 (HIMS, Tom Stanley)

Today's SWAPA Number is 10. That's the percentage of the population that suffers from substance use disorder, and pilots are not an exception to that. So today we're talking to Tom Stanley, chair of the Human Intervention Motivation Study, or HIMS, to get an update on the work his committee does and to remind our pilots of this important resource that can save your career as a pilot at Southwest Airlines. If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org or tap...

1 month ago

30 minutes

The SWAPA Number

The SWAPA Ride Report: Deadhead Self-Release, Training Move Up Preference and Contract Q&A

In this week’s edition, SWAPA Communication Committee Member Tony Mulhare discusses the recently implemented Deadhead Self-Release functionality in CrewHub and how to set your training move up preference on either your EFB or via SWALife. He also provides a timely reminder on where to find Holiday Pay Override information on the payroll report. This week’s Contract Q&A discusses timelines for when scheduling has to run uncovered flying through the open time process befor...

1 month ago

7 minutes

The SWAPA Number

112 (Scheduling and Analytics Committee, Meagan Nelan, Scott Plyler)

Today's SWAPA Number is 112. That's the average TFP per active pilot since contract ratification in January, 2024. Even with low density schedules and low levels of reroute, the new contract pay structure has boosted the 108 average TFP historically used. In fact, we had the second highest monthly TFP ever this past July, 135 TFP average, second only to the January, 2023, immediately post-meltdown average of 139 TFP. It's been a whirlwind on the scheduling front this year with multiple imple...

1 month ago

58 minutes

The SWAPA Number

The SWAPA Ride Report: Coming Attractions – Scheduling and 401(k) plus Contract Q&A

The theme of this week’s episode is “coming soon” as Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants points to near targets for a number of new scheduling features and 401(k) Plan changes. This means deadhead self-release, reserve ELITT, and footprint protection, to name a few, along with new max deferral percentages and Roth touches on your 401(k). The Q&A this week has some great information on holiday ELITT and deadhead release, along with what happens to your pairing code when you select ...

1 month ago

9 minutes

The SWAPA Number

14 (Contract Admin Committee, David Kudish, Rob Odom, Dan O'Connor)

Today's SWAPA Number is 14. That's the number of outstanding grievances that are in process relating to contract interpretations. Defending our contract is one of the biggest pillars of what we do at SWAPA when Contract Admin is on the front line of that defense. Without a doubt, there are discussions or questions just about every hour of every day that we're having about this document and how it's impacting our quality of life. So today we're sitting down with several folks from our Contract...

2 months ago

48 minutes

The SWAPA Number

The SWAPA Ride Report: Runoff Elections, RCO & Training Preference Errors and Q&A

In this week’s edition, Committee Member Tony Mulhare discusses the runoff election for SWAPA Vice President and for the BNA & BWI Domicile Reps. He also discusses recent errors found with training preferences and RCO due to company IT changes to the VDT and reserve preference selections. The weekly contract Q&A focuses on several reserve related questions including how Release to Check In affects Leg Change Override and monthly reserve block overlap corrections.&nbs...

2 months ago

5 minutes

The SWAPA Number

73 (Jumpseat, Brian Ross, Caitlin Bute)

Today's SWAPA Number is 73. That's the current number of reciprocal agreements SWAPA has with other carriers. So today we're sitting down with Brian Ross, chair of the Jumpseat Committee, and committee member Caitlin Bute for an update on the state of our partnerships with other carriers and the hot topics in the industry. If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org or tap here to send us a text. Follow us online: Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilots F...

2 months ago

23 minutes

The SWAPA Number

The SWAPA Ride Report: Elections/Medical Open Enrollment, Coming Attractions, and Contract Q&A

n this week’s episode, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants has some elections reminders and quick ways to vote if you haven’t cast your ballot for the Fall General Election. He also goes over how to access the options for your Southwest Airlines Medical Open Enrollment, which runs until November 5. This covers your selection of medical, dental, and vision plans along with life insurance, updating your beneficiaries, and Loss of License (LOL) taxable vs non-taxable selection. Check you...

2 months ago

9 minutes

The SWAPA Number

13,561 (2025 Benefits Education, Brent Weisner)

Today's SWAPA Number is 13,561. That's the number of views the Aeromedical and Benefits committee page has received in the last 12 months. So that's roughly each Southwest pilot viewing it once per year, and as we just started open enrollment for 2025, what a better way to rehack that currency than a guided tour of that page and its contents. This is another audio visual presentation. So for those of you listening to this intro on one of our podcast platforms, click the links in the sh...

3 months ago

1 minute

The SWAPA Number

The SWAPA Ride Report: Open Enrollment, Implementation updates and Contract Q&A

In this week’s edition, Communications Committee Member Tony Mulhare discusses the SWAPA STD & LTD open enrollment period that begins next Monday and also points to the recent SWAPA Vice President candidate discussion that can be found on swapa.org. He also gives a summary of upcoming implementation items like Reserve ELITT and deadhead self-release. He provides an overview of the footprint protection preference and how to select your preference to maximize pay or to protect a...

3 months ago

7 minutes

The SWAPA Number

11 (Benefits, Tony Caparella)

Today's SWAPA number is 11. That's the number of days that the SWAPA Open Enrollment period is available. That runs from October 13th to October 24th, and you have several decisions to make if you wish to change your STD and LTD elections. So today we are sitting down with Benefits Committee member, Tony Caparella, to talk about what we've learned after 18 months of the new benefits package from Contract 2020, the open enrollment period, and some recent experiences by our pilots out on loss o...

3 months ago

29 minutes

The SWAPA Number

1.32 Million (Budget, Hank Ketchum, Nia Williams, Andrew Rose)

Today's SWAPA Number is 1.32 million. That's the surplus amount that the 2025 budget should end the year with. And 2026 is also planned to be a surplus budget. So today we're sitting down with SWAPA's Second Vice President, Hank Ketchum, Internal Audit Committee Chair Andrew Rose and Finance Director Nia Williams to get an update on how we will finish 2025 and also give the membership some insight into the 2026 budget, which is up for our membership vote this fall. If you have any feedback fo...

3 months ago

27 minutes

The SWAPA Number

The SWAPA Ride Report: Elections / Open Enrollment Previews and Contract Q&A

In this week’s episode, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants previews what’s coming on the Fall General Election ballot. With nominations closing September 29th, he covers the process for submitting forms, the publication of the candidate list, and release of the full 2026 budget book alongside a budget-focused podcast. Members will also find details on the Constitution Modernization proposal and resources to help navigate the changes. This edition also highlights key dates for t...

3 months ago

9 minutes

The SWAPA Number

12 ( BOD Why We Serve, Mark Powers, Kevin Reece)

If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org or tap here to send us a text. Follow us online: Twitter - https://twitter.com/swapapilots Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

3 months ago

49 minutes

The SWAPA Number

The SWAPA Ride Report: Reserve VDT Implemented, Vacation Bidding and Contract Q&A

In this week’s edition, Casey Casteel from SWAPA Communications discusses implementation of Reserve VDT in CWA and how the Reserve Preferences page has changed. She gives a rundown of Reserve VDT provisions as well as some of the initial limitations with OTA and text bidding. Casey also reminds our listeners that the first round of 2026 Vacation Bidding is open and will close on 14 September. Contract Admin Q&A topics for this week include what happens to a reserve assig...

4 months ago

8 minutes

The SWAPA Number

14 (Constitution Modernization, Michael Santoro, Kevin Reece)

Today's SWAPA Number is 14. That's the number of articles in the SWAPA constitution, all of which will have proposed changes as part of a constitution modernization effort, appearing on the ballot in the fall general election. So today we're sitting down with Baltimore Chair, Mike Santoro, and Phoenix Chair, Kevin Reese, to go over the proposed changes to the SWAPA constitution that the membership will vote on in this fall's general election. While a CBA is the governing document that most ...

4 months ago

38 minutes

The SWAPA Number

The SWAPA Ride Report: Contract Reopener, Partnerships & PDEW, and Contract Admin Q&A

In this week's SWAPA Ride Report, Communications Committee member Tony Mulhare discusses the company request for a contract reopener as they consider adding Far Interntational routes as well as the new interline agreement with Eva Air. Need a refresher on PDEW, listen for the basics or watch the video linked in the notes. He corrects some rumors about GDO usage, and gives a reminder about the 1 September start of vacation bidding. This week's Contract Admin Q&A covers ho...

4 months ago

11 minutes

The SWAPA Number

6 ( EFA, Erich Schnitzler, Greg Auld, Hank Ketchum)

Today's SWAPA number is, six. That's the percent acceleration in RASM or revenue per available seat mile in the fourth quarter that was implied during the second quarter earnings call for Southwest Airlines. Now, that's looking down the road, but a lot has happened in the recent past for both the company and the industry as a whole. It's been continuous light chop during 2025 with impacts from the supply chain, trade agreements, and capacity growths. These effects haven't just been felt South...

4 months ago

43 minutes