The SWAPA Number

Welcome to your Contract 2029 SEP Education series. In this first episode, Negotiating Committee Chair Kurt Heidemann will go over all areas of Section one for our Pilots.

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Today's SWAPA Number is 7/1/27, as in July 1st, 2027. That is when SWAPA has the right to early open negotiations for the next collective bargaining agreement. That may seem like a long way off, but in order to be ready for that moment, the membership must form the outline of what we are trying to achieve, and we do that through a process called Survey, Educate, and Poll.

Joining us today to walk through that process and, more importantly, your role in it, we have a negotiating Committee Chair Kurt Heidemann and President Jody Reven. By the end...

Today's SWAPA Number is two because today we're sitting down and telling the stories of two pilots in our ranks that are some of the most powerful we've had the honor of sharing on this show.

Midway First Officer Emanuel Prince grew up on Chicago's west side in a two-bedroom apartment with his eight siblings. While most of his friends were trying to be like Mike, Prince had his heart set on being a pilot. Despite a multitude of challenges during his childhood, Prince landed an internship with McDonald's corporate flight department and never looked back. He...

Today's SWAPA Number is 14%. That's the amount that is recommended to ensure that you maximize your employee contributions and your catch-up contributions before your NEC caps out.

So today we're sitting down with two of our resident experts on retirement, staff members, Mike Haynes and Kevin Sheth. Mike and Kevin have a combined 44 years of experience in this world and have a lot of insight to provide on top of what we've communicated so far about the new planned features. But there's no such thing as being too smart on the retirement planning front. So...

Today's SWAPA Number is 400. That's the number of new hires we expect on property during the first half of 2026. We're always happy to welcome new pilots to this airline, and these new hires will experience a training program that has gone through a lot of changes in the last couple of years.

So today, we're sitting down with Greg Bowen and Willie Bishop from the Training and Standards Committee to talk about the state of AQP, where training is going in 2026, and a lot about VVMI.

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The latest (and last) episode of the SWAPA Ride Report is up! To be clear, the regularly scheduled programming that is the SWAPA Number podcast will still continue. In fact, we will air our conversation with the SWAPA Training and Standards Committee on Monday, December 22. With all the procedures changes coming next month, this is one you don't want to miss. 

In today's Ride Report, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants reviews the relationship between the new Austin domicile and Domicile Right of Return (DRR). AUS is available in CWA, so take a moment to add that to y...

Today's SWAPA Number is 10. That's the percentage of the population that suffers from substance use disorder, and pilots are not an exception to that.

So today we're talking to Tom Stanley, chair of the Human Intervention Motivation Study, or HIMS, to get an update on the work his committee does and to remind our pilots of this important resource that can save your career as a pilot at Southwest Airlines.

If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org or tap here to send...

In this week’s edition, SWAPA Communication Committee Member Tony Mulhare discusses the recently implemented Deadhead Self-Release functionality in CrewHub and how to set your training move up preference on either your EFB or via SWALife. 

 He also provides a timely reminder on where to find Holiday Pay Override information on the payroll report.  This week’s Contract Q&A discusses timelines for when scheduling has to run uncovered flying through the open time process before assigning a reserve, holiday pay overrides and trip trading, a question on added flying to the end of a pairing, and more.<...

Today's SWAPA Number is 112. That's the average TFP per active pilot since contract ratification in January, 2024. Even with low density schedules and low levels of reroute, the new contract pay structure has boosted the 108 average TFP historically used. In fact, we had the second highest monthly TFP ever this past July, 135 TFP average, second only to the January, 2023, immediately post-meltdown average of 139 TFP.

It's been a whirlwind on the scheduling front this year with multiple implementation lifts that have had big impacts on how pilots plan and adjust their schedules. And with almost two years of the...

The theme of this week’s episode is “coming soon” as Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants points to near targets for a number of new scheduling features and 401(k) Plan changes. This means deadhead self-release, reserve ELITT, and footprint protection, to name a few, along with new max deferral percentages and Roth touches on your 401(k).

The Q&A this week has some great information on holiday ELITT and deadhead release, along with what happens to your pairing code when you select Release to Check-In (RTCI). If you’re ever considering a reserve pairing trade, you’ll want to li...

Today's SWAPA Number is 14. That's the number of outstanding grievances that are in process relating to contract interpretations. Defending our contract is one of the biggest pillars of what we do at SWAPA when Contract Admin is on the front line of that defense. Without a doubt, there are discussions or questions just about every hour of every day that we're having about this document and how it's impacting our quality of life.

So today we're sitting down with several folks from our Contract Administration committee. That would be committee chair Dave Kudish and committee members, Rob...

In this week’s edition, Committee Member Tony Mulhare discusses the runoff election for SWAPA Vice President and for the BNA & BWI Domicile Reps.  He also discusses recent errors found with training preferences and RCO due to company IT changes to the VDT and reserve preference selections. 

 The weekly contract Q&A focuses on several reserve related questions including how Release to Check In affects Leg Change Override and monthly reserve block overlap corrections.  There are also touches on expense reimbursement for Uber rides and how changing your vacancy bid can impact your expense reimbursement after being displa...

Today's SWAPA Number is 73. That's the current number of reciprocal agreements SWAPA has with other carriers.

So today we're sitting down with Brian Ross, chair of the Jumpseat Committee, and committee member Caitlin Bute for an update on the state of our partnerships with other carriers and the hot topics in the industry.

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.

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n this week’s episode, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants has some elections reminders and quick ways to vote if you haven’t cast your ballot for the Fall General Election. He also goes over how to access the options for your Southwest Airlines Medical Open Enrollment, which runs until November 5. This covers your selection of medical, dental, and vision plans along with life insurance, updating your beneficiaries, and Loss of License (LOL) taxable vs non-taxable selection. Check your company email for messages on October 16 and 23 for all the details on how to get started. 

 This edition also t...

 Today's SWAPA Number is 13,561. That's the number of views the Aeromedical and Benefits committee page has received in the last 12 months. So that's roughly each Southwest pilot viewing it once per year, and as we just started open enrollment for 2025, what a better way to rehack that currency than a guided tour of that page and its contents.

This is another audio visual presentation. So for those of you listening to this intro on one of our podcast platforms, click the links in the show notes so you can see the show, much like we did a c...

In this week’s edition, Communications Committee Member Tony Mulhare discusses the SWAPA STD & LTD open enrollment period that begins next Monday and also points to the recent SWAPA Vice President candidate discussion that can be found on swapa.org. 

He also gives a summary of upcoming implementation items like Reserve ELITT and deadhead self-release.  He provides an overview of the footprint protection preference and how to select your preference to maximize pay or to protect a commute.  With the holidays coming up, this episode’s Q&A focuses on the C2020 vacation touches, ELITT restrictions, overrides and how...

Today's SWAPA number is 11. That's the number of days that the SWAPA Open Enrollment period is available. That runs from October 13th to October 24th, and you have several decisions to make if you wish to change your STD and LTD elections.

So today we are sitting down with Benefits Committee member, Tony Caparella, to talk about what we've learned after 18 months of the new benefits package from Contract 2020, the open enrollment period, and some recent experiences by our pilots out on loss of license.

If you have any feedback for us at all, please...

Today's SWAPA Number is 1.32 million. That's the surplus amount that the 2025 budget should end the year with. And 2026 is also planned to be a surplus budget.

So today we're sitting down with SWAPA's Second Vice President, Hank Ketchum, Internal Audit Committee Chair Andrew Rose and Finance Director Nia Williams to get an update on how we will finish 2025 and also give the membership some insight into the 2026 budget, which is up for our membership vote this fall.

If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org...

In this week’s episode, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants previews what’s coming on the Fall General Election ballot. With nominations closing September 29th, he covers the process for submitting forms, the publication of the candidate list, and release of the full 2026 budget book alongside a budget-focused podcast. Members will also find details on the Constitution Modernization proposal and resources to help navigate the changes.

 This edition also highlights key dates for the upcoming open enrollment, including education resources from the Benefits Committee that are on the horizon. This week’s Contract Admin questions cover cancelled flights...

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In this week’s edition, Casey Casteel from SWAPA Communications discusses implementation of Reserve VDT in CWA and how the Reserve Preferences page has changed.  She gives a rundown of Reserve VDT provisions as well as some of the initial limitations with OTA and text bidding.

 Casey also reminds our listeners that the first round of 2026 Vacation Bidding is open and will close on 14 September.  Contract Admin Q&A topics for this week include what happens to a reserve assigned pairing if it becomes uncovered again, a request for a partial pairing Extra Fly, a pairing pull witho...

Today's SWAPA Number is 14. That's the number of articles in the SWAPA constitution, all of which will have proposed changes as part of a constitution modernization effort, appearing on the ballot in the fall general election.

So today we're sitting down with Baltimore Chair, Mike Santoro, and Phoenix Chair, Kevin Reese, to go over the proposed changes to the SWAPA constitution that the membership will vote on in this fall's general election. While a CBA is the governing document that most of our pilots are familiar with, the constitution carries just as much importance with...

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...

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...

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 govern...

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...

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...

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.<...

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 pairi...

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.  

If you have any feedback for us at all, please drop us a line at comm@swapa.org...

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...

In this week’s show, Communications Director Amy Robinson hits the high points of new scheduling features like Open Time Priority (OTP) self service, the upcoming ability to participate in Reserve Voluntary Double Time (VDT), and ELITT across bid periods. She also points to the Schwab Retirement Savings Plan brochure, and gives some quick tips from Professional Standards on staying cool in and out of the jet as we enter the summer months. 

A lot of pilots have been participating in Reserve Release to Check In (RTCI) and this week’s Q&A has some excellent examples of wh...

Today's SWAPA number is 49-114. That's the section of US Code that guides the operations of the TSA. Today, we are sitting down with Brian Hagedorn and John Nolan from the Security and Cockpit Defense Committee to talk about upcoming changes to the TSA screening process for flight crew, as well as an update for our Federal Flight Deck Officers, or FFDOs.

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.

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In this week’s extended episode, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants explains the new expectations for red-eye pairings when it comes to QOL TR pulls during a CQT month. He also goes deep on all things vacation shifting and how shifts have performed since being implemented last year. What is the average increase in pay per pilot vacation week? How does shifting put a new spin on month to month vacation weeks? Maybe there’s TFP on the table for you to pick up. 

He also adds key context and backstory to the announcement of the China Airli...

Today's SWAPA Number is 537. That's the number of pilots that have used Release to Check-in since it was implemented on April 1st. So today we are sitting down with Scott Plyler and Meagan Nelan from the Scheduling and Analytics committee to discuss recently implemented items, the upcoming implementation schedule and how that's going, along with a look at some other scheduling hot topics.

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.

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In this week’s episode, Communications Committee Chair Matt McCants points back to highlights in the bevvy of information we covered in the BOD meeting recap and teases the upcoming deep dive with the SAC. Also in this episode: a heads-up on the SWAPA Constitution modernization, and a call to action for those interested in serving as a representative in this fall’s elections—these reps will help shape the platform for our next contract.

What happens if your flight is delayed while on your overnight—can you stay at the hotel longer? Does it affect your pay?  Is...

Today's SWAPA Number is 1200. That's the number of cases that Professional Standards has worked in the last 12 months. That's about 100 per month or about three a day. Those are high numbers and well within our control, but we'd much rather see that number of cases go here than over to company channels.

So today we sit down for our annual chat with Professional Standards chair, Captain Jon Ross, to update the membership on a must-listen episode about how pilots need to be as familiar with Professional Standards as they are with any other part of the Company...

In this week’s edition, Captain Tony Mulhare takes the membership through some recently implemented contract touches, updates to the automated release to check in process as well as SWAPA pay audit improvements. 

 He also does a deep dive into the DRR process and vacancy bidding and why senior pilots are placed into a base when there are more junior pilots with Domicile Right of Return.  Contract Admin’s commonly asked questions this week cover the vacancy process, how pay multiples apply to duty period rigs versus trip rigs, and a question concerning holiday override pay. 

If you...

Today's SWAPA number is 70. That's the number of projects IT is currently overseeing that will come to fruition in 2025. Some of these projects are happening behind the scenes, but still bring value and security to the organization and others like contract AI will be very pilot facing.

So on today's episode, we sat down with Information Technology chair Will Young, IT committee member Thomas Lowery and IT director Leigh Sperberg to talk about what is on the docket for this year as well as in the future.

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