Southwest's corporate masters are systematically dismantling the very things that once made the airline great. It used to be a different airline, special. All one class, open seating worked well, and quirky, funny, positive flight crews was a positive tradition. Free bags are still a huge plus, for now. Oh, and it's no longer "low cost". Most of the time their ticket prices are similar to everyone else's.
I fly open seating in every airline nowadays. That's because, if you had not noticed, all the domestic airlines want you to pay to pick your seat. Since they can't yet make me fly standing because of regulations, I have stopped booking a seat after I purchased my ticket. United Airlines attempted to make the experience as worse as possible, only assigning my seat at the gate, during boarding time. Other airlines at least assign you a seat when you check in at the kiosk. I can confirm, since I stopped booking my seats, I always fly in the middle, which I am fine with. I still get to my destination, and a cost saving on my side for a few hours of flight. As for ticket costs, I frequently fly to Europe, and the cheapest flights always start from JFK or Newark airports. My last trip, I paid more to fly from Houston to JFK, than from JFK to London!!!!
Honestly as a frequent flyer with WN what pissed me off about open seating was everybody that took advantage of the somewhat lenient requirements for pre boarding privileges or having 5-10 people board with pre boarders They didn’t need to remove open seating but they should’ve been more strict about this. It’s a grievance with most people who fly them
I'm going to say, DJ? If Lufthansa retires an old airplane? It has too many cycles. Time to go. The fuselage can be repurposed into a training device. A Continental Airlines crew once landed a DC-9 gear up in Houston. That fuselage was later turned into a Flight Attendant training device. And no, I was NOT the pilot involved.
Everything happening at Southwest right now can be traced back to one investor who just wants to make far more money because Southwest operates not like any other business.
Southwests plans are great and I love their overnight service they are starting. One takeaway though, open seating will not be an option anymore. Their new maxes will have a new layout and actual seating options which may cost a lot. All the while Lufthansa retiring its oldest a320 is definitely heartbreaking. It was cool to hear the words “oldest a320’s in the air” really Made me think about D-AIQS’s life and story. I hope Lufthansa continues to fly the 320 and many other aircraft for years to come.
Southwest "relies heavily" on the B737? That is the only equipment they operate! I have thousands of hours on the B737, also the B757/767 and B727. In addition? The DC-10 and the old A-300
I bet at Southwest nothing in the upper management pay will change !!! They will still receive their multimillion $ salaries and Bonuses, but the workers will not be promoted or get a tiny pay raise. Its all about paying the top bean counters their ridiculous salaries !!!!
We’re union on the ramp at southwest, also the pilots, mechanics, and flight attendants are union. Our pay scales increase per our union contract. This only affects mostly non union employees like supervisors, managers, etc….
Hi Dan, Just curious, where are you based? My guess would be Australia or New Zealand. Also, what are your video sources? They are very top notch quality. Thanks.
Open seating on Southwest is, in my opinion, their top draw. They might cut operating costs by the CEO and top management taking pay cuts. Their salaries are exorbitant and uncalled for. This may very well catch up to them big time as they review their bottom line.
Perhaps the $2.5 billion set aside for stock buybacks would be better spent in technology and capital investments internally. But that isn't attractive to the C-suite since it gets in the way of using the company ledger as an ATM cash machine.
Southwest executives took multimillion dollar bonuses after the Christmas of 2022 debacle that left millions stranded. How do you reward yourself after the company lost close to a billion dollars because of the meltdown. If Herb was at the helm I promise you not one of them would have gotten a nickel. The corporate greed needs to stop. It’s sickening.
Maybe if Southwest, Delta, Spirit, United and the other airlines would drop their DEI bullcrap, hire based on MERIT, and start providing CUSTOMER SERVICE they would not be struggling?
Hi, I have a Lufthansa story you might be interested in. Lufthansa have misinterpreted the United States Centers for Disease Control rules on importing dogs into the country. They have limited all dogs to only 6 airports of entry, cutting off 15 valid airports and inconveniencing loyal passengers. I have communicate by letter with Lufthansa to no avail, even reaching out to Mr. Tamur Goudarzi Pour, a senior executive in Frankfurt. Lufthansa is the only international carrier serving the US that has implemented these restrictions.
What? It started here with Southwest Airlines. How long have they been in operation ? 57 years and still going. Low cost carriers work well here. There just are too many of them.
@chillinginthefrozennorth what's a "good" low cost carrier? What you are really saying is that people are more willing to pay for the cheapest flight even if their service is not as good. So a " good " low cost carrier isn't a profitable business. Southwest started our as a low cost carrier but it's closer to being a legacy carrier. Bags fly free alone has cost them dearly. Ultra Low cost carriers made such a fortune on checked baggage and carry on that the legacy carriers copied them. Southwest didn't and left millions on the table.
Southwest is cutting costs. BFD. So I skipped forward to the Lufthansa story. The airline "said goodbye to its oldest plane." Damn, I'm grief stricken. What ever will I do? Give me a minute, I think I might cry... Wait... Nope. Not crying. Who TF actually cares?
22 years for an Airbus is not a big deal. They can fly up to 30 and more. Depends on the cycles. Look at air canada. Looks like a slow news day!! And lately lots of click baits on this channel😢
Southwest's corporate masters are systematically dismantling the very things that once made the airline great. It used to be a different airline, special. All one class, open seating worked well, and quirky, funny, positive flight crews was a positive tradition. Free bags are still a huge plus, for now. Oh, and it's no longer "low cost". Most of the time their ticket prices are similar to everyone else's.
I am really surprised how much their tickets have gone up. Fees like double in most areas.
Gary Kelley fucked everything up. He was the beginning of the decline. Cared more about the numbers than anything else.
Swa hasn't been low cost in 20 years. The general public still remembers the marketing from way back when!
I fly open seating in every airline nowadays. That's because, if you had not noticed, all the domestic airlines want you to pay to pick your seat. Since they can't yet make me fly standing because of regulations, I have stopped booking a seat after I purchased my ticket.
United Airlines attempted to make the experience as worse as possible, only assigning my seat at the gate, during boarding time. Other airlines at least assign you a seat when you check in at the kiosk. I can confirm, since I stopped booking my seats, I always fly in the middle, which I am fine with. I still get to my destination, and a cost saving on my side for a few hours of flight.
As for ticket costs, I frequently fly to Europe, and the cheapest flights always start from JFK or Newark airports.
My last trip, I paid more to fly from Houston to JFK, than from JFK to London!!!!
Troll?
Honestly as a frequent flyer with WN what pissed me off about open seating was everybody that took advantage of the somewhat lenient requirements for pre boarding privileges or having 5-10 people board with pre boarders They didn’t need to remove open seating but they should’ve been more strict about this. It’s a grievance with most people who fly them
Perhaps the annual CEO salary of $3.97 million could be reduced to help Southwest Airlines?? 😮
I'm going to say, DJ? If Lufthansa retires an old airplane? It has too many cycles. Time to go.
The fuselage can be repurposed into a training device. A Continental Airlines crew once landed a DC-9 gear up in Houston. That fuselage was later turned into a Flight Attendant training device. And no, I was NOT the pilot involved.
Yea, esp. many of Lufthansa fleet are quad-jet which has poor fuel efficiency.
SouthWest. When I was a working pilot (UA) and had JumpSeat privileges, Southwest was ALWAYS great. Always.
Everything happening at Southwest right now can be traced back to one investor who just wants to make far more money because Southwest operates not like any other business.
This is not true. It can be traced to the arrogance of its leadership for years.
Pausing internal promotions is how you lose your best workers. Well done Southwest!
Southwest’s CEO could take a pay cut. Oh, that WILL NEVER HAPPEN
Their pilots just hot a massive raise. Their new contract is absolute extortion.
Southwests plans are great and I love their overnight service they are starting. One takeaway though, open seating will not be an option anymore. Their new maxes will have a new layout and actual seating options which may cost a lot. All the while Lufthansa retiring its oldest a320 is definitely heartbreaking. It was cool to hear the words “oldest a320’s in the air” really Made me think about D-AIQS’s life and story. I hope Lufthansa continues to fly the 320 and many other aircraft for years to come.
Thanks Dj!!
Enjoy your updates.. if you could only edit and reduce the word count by about half
Good think I flew D-AIRH a couple of years ago. That might be the only 321-100 I get to fly in my life
SouthWest Airlines have an employee base that are exceptional.
Safety will be perhaps put as priority before the profit e for stocks holders…
Wow. What an amazing Airbus ❤
Let's hope Southwest's cost cutting doesn't affect Safety. 😮
Southwest "relies heavily" on the B737? That is the only equipment they operate! I have thousands of hours on the B737, also the B757/767 and B727.
In addition? The DC-10 and the old A-300
Ok, calm down Karen
Continental?
At least it's not HUGE news
I have no idea why it takes decades to have good fiscal controls for the airline. Someone just woke up on morning and said "we should be profitable"?
I bet at Southwest nothing in the upper management pay will change !!! They will still receive their multimillion $ salaries and Bonuses, but the workers will not be promoted or get a tiny pay raise. Its all about paying the top bean counters their ridiculous salaries !!!!
Straight facts
We’re union on the ramp at southwest, also the pilots, mechanics, and flight attendants are union. Our pay scales increase per our union contract. This only affects mostly non union employees like supervisors, managers, etc….
Their new pilot contract was extremely profitable for the pilots. They received a massive raise.
A deserved raise!
@@kmorris8415 Piloots make a ridiculously huge salary for the work they perform. That puts Captains the top 4% of earners. Deserved thst raise..bs.
Hi Dan,
Just curious, where are you based? My guess would be Australia or New Zealand.
Also, what are your video sources? They are very top notch quality. Thanks.
Open seating on Southwest is, in my opinion, their top draw. They might cut operating costs by the CEO and top management taking pay cuts. Their salaries are exorbitant and uncalled for. This may very well catch up to them big time as they review their bottom line.
Perhaps the $2.5 billion set aside for stock buybacks would be better spent in technology and capital investments internally. But that isn't attractive to the C-suite since it gets in the way of using the company ledger as an ATM cash machine.
Southwest executives took multimillion dollar bonuses after the Christmas of 2022 debacle that left millions stranded. How do you reward yourself after the company lost close to a billion dollars because of the meltdown. If Herb was at the helm I promise you not one of them would have gotten a nickel. The corporate greed needs to stop. It’s sickening.
looks like southwest starting going downhill when they announced they would switch to assigned seating
We’ll see…
You made an error. It can be unforgiving at the best of times, let alone the worst...is what you meant to say.
Maybe if Southwest, Delta, Spirit, United and the other airlines would drop their DEI bullcrap, hire based on MERIT, and start providing CUSTOMER SERVICE they would not be struggling?
Hi, I have a Lufthansa story you might be interested in. Lufthansa have misinterpreted the United States Centers for Disease Control rules on importing dogs into the country. They have limited all dogs to only 6 airports of entry, cutting off 15 valid airports and inconveniencing loyal passengers. I have communicate by letter with Lufthansa to no avail, even reaching out to Mr. Tamur Goudarzi Pour, a senior executive in Frankfurt. Lufthansa is the only international carrier serving the US that has implemented these restrictions.
Southwest grew too large and opened too many markets.
Great Info
Is this the beginning of the end of Southwest ?
Why are American low cost carriers so bad at being low cost carriers? 💀
Because in America everyone wants more money including labor ( raises) fuel costs etc.
What? It started here with Southwest Airlines. How long have they been in operation ? 57 years and still going. Low cost carriers work well here. There just are too many of them.
Because there are no consequences at being a bad low cost carriers and no reward for being a good low cost carrier.
@@chillinginthefrozennorth should they hand out prizes for being a “good” low cost airline? I think airline rankings are enough.
@chillinginthefrozennorth what's a "good" low cost carrier? What you are really saying is that people are more willing to pay for the cheapest flight even if their service is not as good. So a " good " low cost carrier isn't a profitable business.
Southwest started our as a low cost carrier but it's closer to being a legacy carrier. Bags fly free alone has cost them dearly. Ultra Low cost carriers made such a fortune on checked baggage and carry on that the legacy carriers copied them. Southwest didn't and left millions on the table.
Southwest is cutting costs. BFD. So I skipped forward to the Lufthansa story. The airline "said goodbye to its oldest plane." Damn, I'm grief stricken. What ever will I do? Give me a minute, I think I might cry... Wait... Nope. Not crying. Who TF actually cares?
wouldn't be surprised if D-AIRA would be retired in the next few months
I’m happy to see it go , it’s the crustiest airbus in the skies
The heading for these vidoes should give a better description , no just 'good news, bad news'' it's borin and unimaginative.
No promotions to anyone but the CEO can take $9.3M in salary, stocks and bonuses..
Oink, Oink... You didn't expect the fattest hogs at the trough to starve did you? /s
Hi dj
The narrative is terrible!
Southwest is a terrible airline.
Wow, and I thought the Yank airlines were the only ones operating geriatric aircraft.
22 years for an Airbus is not a big deal. They can fly up to 30 and more. Depends on the cycles. Look at air canada. Looks like a slow news day!! And lately lots of click baits on this channel😢
southwest is crap
Nah theyre awesome
Well they were
Southwest always did fine with me. Great crews