The SWAPA Number

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 how vacation pays out for retiring pilots, how to handle a call from scheduling during the rest period prior to a RAP, how being displaced affects vacation bidding and more.

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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 Southwest, but on the industry worldwide.

So, today we're sitting down with our resident experts in this arena. Joining us are Erich Schnitzler and Greg Auld from the SWAPA Economic and Financial Analysis Committee and Second Vice President, Hank Ketchum. Let's take a look back at what's transpired, both at the company and industry at large, what's happening now, and what we can expect for the remainder of the year.

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In this week’s show, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants goes over the data from Contract AI’s initial launch week and some best practices on how to use it. The SAC always has some news to share, and this week we look at the effects of the cut backs in the schedule along with the long view on implementation measures coming in the next quarter. With all things scheduling comes pay discussion, so listen in to review all the different audit tools at work that ensure your pay is accurate. 

September is full of governance events, so get the details on Constitution Modernization, the pro-con discussion of potential BOD restructuring, upcoming membership polling, and the Fall General Elections in this week’s episode. The standard Contract  Q&A rounds out a week full of info you’ll want to review. 

You can find this episode of the SWAPA Ride Report on the SWAPA app or your favorite streaming service under The SWAPA Number profile. As always, the full transcript is available in the show notes. Our next episode drops Friday, August 29. Questions or feedback? Drop us a line at [email protected].

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Today’s SWAPA Number is 401 as in 401(k). But this episode isn’t a podcast, it’s an audio visual presentation. While some may be able to follow the myriad of numbers that come with a retirement discussion, a picture paints a thousand words. So 401(k) Committee Chair Andrew Payne alongside Committee Members Brian August and Damian Jennette have prepared a soup to nuts presentation to walk us through everything you need to know about your retirement accounts. We work our whole career to retire the way we want to, so head on over to the 401(k) page and check out this presentation and get smart on all things 401(k). 

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In this week’s edition, Communications Committee Member Tony Mulhare makes a pitch to the membership to use the SWAPA Pay Audit tool on the website or the app instead of calling Contract Admin first, allowing them to focus on high priority contract compliance issues.

He also plugs the new red-eye filter selection in the Trip Trade/Give Away Inventory Tool as well as previews that filter’s addition to LineTuner.  Fall schedule adjustments hit sooner this year than they have historically, and he talks about the impact to commuters and the open time inventory.  Finally, Contract Admin questions of the week touch on red-eye rest rule requirements, fatigue call pay, and release to check in and how it relates to monthly utilization.

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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.

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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.  

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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.

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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.  

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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.

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