Productivity doesn't mean anything to pilot hourly wages. Pilots only get paid when the engines are running anyhow.Â
I spoke with a guy last week that was complaining that he had a 4 day trip that only flew 14 hours. 96 hours away from home, and only fly and get paid for 14. As long as the company is scheduling crap like that, the airline is not going to recover.
 Even back in the better times it took a cattle prod to get a gate agent or pushback crew in LGA. I cannot count how many times I sat with the doors closed and the jetway pulled back waiting for a tug driver for a push. Don't remember the gate number in LGA but there was one that gave you a view into the breakroom, many times we would have 15 or so mechanics and rampers sitting in there watching TV, all the while we were calling ops every 2 minutes looking for a push back crew. Hung my head out the window one day and asked a passing mechanic if we could get a push....his answer "It's not my gate"..........we waited another 10 minutes before somebody woke up our "Gate guy"  Other times I have been threatened with a grievance when I tried to help get passenger strollers off the airplane. Nobody around doing squat...until I tried to get them myself, then 3 guys out of the woodwork screaming at me because I was trying to help out a passenger....you know, passenger, the people who pay the salaries at the airline. Trust me, I never wanted to get them myself, but I was the U employee that was there and the passengers were looking to me for help.
Go to a SWA gate and observe the activity from the arrival of an airplane to when it pushes back............Then you will see why U is failing horribly. SWA does what it takes to get a bird turned, not uncommon to see the Captain out there tossing bags when they get in a pinch.
Until the entire corporate culture changes...its doomed.
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