The SWAPA Number

71 (Scott Plyler, Meagan Nelan, SRC)

Today's SWAPA Number Is 71. That's the percentage of traffic to swapa.org that are SRC items. The depth and breadth of articles, blogs, phone calls, and educational pieces that the SRC puts out is just incredible. SRC authored six of the 13 SEP cycles during the buildup to Contract 2020. Scheduling was and is front and center throughout the process.And that's because a large part of this negotiation will center around fixing some of the inefficiencies in the schedule, as well as increasing productivity and improving the operation. Hopefully with 2020 behind us, starting in April, the SWAPA NC is finally getting back to the table with Labor Relations. So on today's show, we've talked to Scott Plyler, SRC Chair, and Schedule Research Supervisor, Meagan Nelan about some of the lessons learned over the past year, as well as some of the concepts and processes that are going to be a central part of our upcoming negotiations.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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

196 (ETOPS, Scott Plyler and Cara Monahan)

Today’s SWAPA Number is 196. That’s the size of the Southwest’s newest ETOPs bid group in Las Vegas. The timing and method of the announcement is causing our pilots to ask a lot of questions, so today on this special edition of the podcast, we’re talking with SRC Chair Scott Plyler and Scheduling Analyst Cara Monahan who will try to fill in some of the blanks in the Company’s recent announcement and help our pilots plan for the upcoming vacancy.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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

38 (Greg Auld, Polling)

Today’s SWAPA Number is 38. That’s the number of surveys and polls SWAPA ran during the SEP process during preparations for Contract 2020 alone. Our Association doesn’t make all of our decisions based only on polling results, but they serve as an important source of data when it comes to SWAPA’s Strength in Numbers.SWAPA doesn’t have any polls coming soon that we know of, but when we conduct one, we see a lot of membership engagement both on the poll itself and in social media and in direct emails to SWAPA, so today on the show, we’re going to talk with Economic, Financial Analysis and Industry Research Committee Member Greg Auld who is our resident polling expert about all things polling related. 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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

40 (Matt Redding, SWAPA staff)

Today’s SWAPA Number is 40. That’s the number of full-time staff members SWAPA employs to serve our membership. When our Pilots think about SWAPA, they think about reps, execs, and committee Pilots doing the work, but there are dozens of non-Pilot staffers putting in long hours for our membership as well.So today on the show, we’re going to talk with SWAPA Executive Director Matt Redding. He’s going to tell us about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes at Empire Central and how SWAPA is working to continuously improve when it comes to customer service and making sure our Pilots get the best bang for their buck from their dues.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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

19% (Chip Hancock, Kyle Moore, Derek Tate, GAC)

Today’s SWAPA Number is 19%. That’s the percentage of SWAPA pilots that contribute to the SWAPA PAC. Compare that to American Airlines pilots who contribute almost twice as much money per month and you can see we have some ground to make up.Worse than that though, take a look at NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots, a one quarter our size with the same total PAC contributions. Politics is never an easy topic to discuss, especially in these polarizing times, but the nation’s heightened interest in Washington underscores the importance of SWAPA’s engagement. So we’ve invited Chip Hancock, Kyle Moore, and Derek Tate from the SWAPA Government Affairs Committee to tell us about their work in DC, what they’re doing to protect our careers, and what our pilots can do to support them.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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

$3 Billion (Damian Jennette, Q4 and Full Year Earnings)

Today’s SWAPA Number is 3 billion. That’s Southwest Airlines’ net cash position today. Despite the unprecedented damage the pandemic has done to our economy and industry, our airline still has more cash on hand than we have debt. We are fortunate to work for an extraordinarily strong company. Last week, the Company announced fourth quarter and full year earnings, so today on the show, we’re going to ask EFA and NC member Damian Jennette to give us a rundown of Southwest’s financials, tell us know how our competitors around the industry did in comparison, and offer a little color from the earnings conference call with Wall Street.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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

4 (Introducing The New Members of the SWAPA Board of Directors)

Today’s SWAPA number is 4. That is the number of new BOD members elected for 2021. On the show today, we talked to each of them about their background, what drove them to run for office, and what they hope to accomplish in their time on the BOD. While we did the same podcast last year, we feel it is important that the membership get the chance to hear from the people who represent them, learn a little bit about those they have elected,  And, hopefully, encourage a few more people to get involved next time around.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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

9,144 (Casey Murray, 2021)

Today’s SWAPA number is 9,144. That’s the number of SWAPA Pilots on the Master Seniority List that new SWAPA president Casey Murray was elected to represent. It’s a difficult job in the best of circumstances, but during these tumultuous times, Casey and his team have their work cut out for them. Today on the show, we asked Casey to give us his thoughts on where SWAPA has been, where it is now, and where we’re going in 2021 and beyond. 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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

10 (Mike Santoro, COVID-19 Update)

Today’s SWAPA number is 10. According to the CDC’s latest guidance, that’s how many days are needed to quarantine after a COVID exposure. Since this new change has some very real effects on our Pilots, we decided to bring back SWAPA Vice President Mike Santoro to give us an update on what to expect if you have been exposed, how you might expect to be contacted, and how the process moves forward.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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737

1,220 (Jody Reven, WARN Notices)

Today on the show we are going to talk to NC Member Jody Reven about what WARN Notices mean to our Pilots and what they can expect from SWAPA in the coming weeks. 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/swapapilotsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/swapa737