Southwest Airlines Staring Down a Potential Pilot Strike

If you thought the meltdown at Christmas by Southwest Airlines was bad, wait until you see what will happen if the carrier suffers through a pilot strike.

In addition to its outdated technology, Southwest has suffered through problems with its pilot scheduling.

Now it might have fewer pilots than it normally does.

According to an exclusive report from The Street, a pilots strike at Southwest is looming.

Southwest has been negotiating with its pilot union, the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association (SWAPA), for nearly four years. Southwest is the last major airline not to come to an agreement with its pilots.

American, Delta and United Airlines have all reached agreements with their pilots. Those negotiations centered around an increase in pay. SWAPA President Casey Murray said the main sticking point with Southwest involved scheduling and productivity.

He does not want to see tired pilots running three and four flights a day.

“Last year our pilots lost 35,000 days off as they were involuntarily forced to work on off days. July of 2023 marked the highest number of fatigue calls in SWA history. The scheduling system MUST be corrected if SWA is to excel. Today SWA is focused on not failing through schedule reductions and preemptive cancellations and as such, can never win when the focus is not failing,” Murray wrote in an email.

As such, it appears that Southwest is ill-prepared for a strike. Then again, no airline is prepared for its pilots to walk off the job. But partly due to scheduling problems last Christmas, passengers are wary about the upcoming holidays on Southwest.

Murray called it a mismanagement in scheduling.

Adam Carlisle, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Labor Relations, said in a statement “We feel confident that the mediation process will continue driving us even closer to a final agreement that rewards our Pilots and supports our business.”

He admitted that Southwest is about a year behind other carriers in terms of negotiating with its pilots, but did not mention the nearly four years of negotiations that have already taken place. 

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