Pilots picket as Southwest Airlines continues to struggle with delays and cancellations.
Tuesday saw an estimated 1300 Southwest Airlines pilots picket for hours at Dallas Love Field in Texas, in a protest for higher pay and more responsible scheduling. Many of the pilots, who stood in full view of arriving travelers at the airport, held signs blaming airline management for the recent onslaughts of delays and cancellations.
“Southwest’s operation: From first to worse,” said one sign, and “Our passengers and pilots deserve better,” said another. Other signs called for higher pay, and hiring more pilots.
“It’s a struggle every day out there. Our fatigue rates reflect that,” said Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, the union representing 9000 pilots. In the first five months of this year, Southwest pilots reported feeling fatigued at more than triple the rate of a year ago, according to figures from the union, which says this raises safety concerns.
Murray says that overscheduling has turned the work into a “flightmare” for pilots, and that they are not being fairly compensated for covering extra flights. Much of the shortage is left over from layoffs (the company called them “buyouts”) during the pandemic, and Southwest has not offered sufficient benefit packages to lure their own pilots back.
The very public protest, right as summer travel ramps up, is one of the few kinds of pressure pilots can bring to bear against the airline. Federal guidelines for pilots makes it almost impossible for them to strike, leaving their union without important bargaining power.
Southwest issued a brief statement saying that the company respects the right of employees to express their opinions, “and we do not anticipate any disruption in service as a result of this single demonstration.” The airline declined to comment on the union’s concerns.
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