FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 28, 2022
Contact: Amy Robinson
Director of Communications
214-722-4240, arobinson@swapa.org
(DALLAS) — The impact of Southwest’s operational collapse being felt by passengers and crews over this holiday was not a surprise to anyone but the leadership of Southwest Airlines. It was unacceptable and the worst of the effects were absolutely preventable.
A systemic failure of Southwest Airlines leaders to modernize, support, and staff its operation leaves every frontline employee, Pilots included, tired of apologizing to our passengers. For more than a decade, leadership shortcomings in adapting, innovating, and safeguarding our operations have led to repeated system disruptions, countless disappointed passengers, and millions in lost profits.
The holiday meltdown has been blamed on weather that had been forecast five days prior, but this problem began many years ago when the complexity of our network outgrew its ability to withstand meteorological and technological disruptions. SWAPA subject matter experts have repeatedly presented years of data, countless proposals that make Southwest pilots more efficient and resilient.
Once again, we call for investing in infrastructure that will improve conditions for both our passengers and Pilots. Infrastructure in the forms of crew scheduling software that takes into account our point-to-point network, a modern collective bargaining agreement that reflects best practices in today’s demanding operation, and communication tools that would have allowed for displaced crews to remain in constant contact with our Company. SWAPA has communicated the need for those innovations to both CEO Bob Jordan, as well as his predecessor, Gary Kelly.
Our Pilots’ futures are linked to the success of our Southwest Airlines. Not only will these improvements help prevent future disruptions, but they will be key to recruiting and retaining the very best professional aviators. And above all, they will enable Southwest to restore its tarnished brand and regain the trust of our loyal customers.
About SWAPA
Located in Dallas, Texas, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) is a non-profit employee organization representing the more than 10,000 pilots of Southwest Airlines. SWAPA works to provide a secure and rewarding career for Southwest pilots and their families through negotiating contracts, defending contractual rights, and actively promoting professionalism and safety. For more information on the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, visit www.swapa.org.
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This Privacy Policy describes how Southwest Airlines Pilots Association ("SWAPA," "we," or "us") collects, uses and shares information in connection with SWAPA's services, systems, websites, and apps that refer or link to the Privacy Policy (collectively, the "Services").
By using our Services, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and consent to our collection, use and disclosure practices, and other activities as described in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is not a contract and does not create any legal rights or obligations.
SWAPA will collect only that information about employees and pilots which is needed and relevant. We collect information you provide directly to us. For example, we collect information when you use our Services, register for our Services or set up a SWAPA account, subscribe to our e-mails, mobile messages, or social media notifications, post on our forums or blogs, request customer support, or otherwise communicate with us through the Services.
The types of information we may collect include Personal Information. "Personal Information" is information that could reasonably be linked with a particular consumer or household, including information that can be used to identify an individual (whether alone or in combination), such as your first and last name, e-mail address, zip code, address, phone number, social media account information, birth date, and demographic information. "Personal Information" also may include sensitive information, such as present and future health status.
You may choose to voluntarily submit certain other information to us through the Services, including Personal Information, but you are solely responsible for your own Personal Information that you submit to us.
SWAPA may disclose personally identifiable information without prior notification or approval from individuals for various purposes including:
Information We Collect Automatically
We automatically collect certain information from and about you when you access or use our Services. This information may include, without limitation, demographic information; IP address; browser/device/hardware type; operating system characteristics; information about your use of our Services; and data regarding network connected hardware (e.g., computer or mobile device), such as unique device identifiers, type, model, version, MAC address, device or session ID, error related data status, capability, confirmation, functionality, performance data, and connection type. This information may also include clickstream data, which is information about the page-by-page paths you take as you browse through the Services.
This information is gathered by certain tools and methods such as cookies and sessions. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
We may use information about you for various purposes including:
The Services may permit you to submit ideas, photographs, user profiles, writings, music, video, audio recordings, computer graphics, pictures, data, questions, comments, suggestions or other content, including Personal Information (collectively, "User Content"), such as on blogs and forums, and in association with your account and user profile. We or others may store, display, reproduce, publish, distribute or otherwise use User Content online or offline in any media or format (currently existing or hereafter developed) and may or may not attribute it to you. Others may have access to this User Content and may have the ability to share it with third parties. Please think carefully before deciding what information you share, including Personal Information, in connection with your User Content. Please note that SWAPA does not control who will have access to the information that you choose to make public, and cannot ensure that parties who have access to such publicly available information will respect your privacy or keep it secure. We are not responsible for the privacy or security of any information that you make publicly available on the Services or what others do with information you share with them on the Services. We are not responsible for the accuracy, use or misuse of any User Content that you disclose or receive from third parties through the Services. We are not responsible for User Content you submit to third party services via our Services.
It is our goal to take reasonable measures to help protect information about you from loss, theft, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. Although SWAPA's objective is to use reasonable efforts to help protect your information, transmission via the Internet is not completely secure and SWAPA cannot guarantee the security of your information collected through our Services. Further, you are responsible for protecting your password.
This Privacy Policy is current as of the effective date set forth above. SWAPA reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy and its practices from time to time consistent with applicable privacy laws and principles. If we make changes to this Privacy Policy we will notify you by revising the date at the top of this Privacy Policy, and in some cases, we may choose to provide you with additional notice (such as adding a statement to the homepages of our Services or sending you an e-mail notification). If the changes are material, we may provide you additional notice.
If you have any questions, complaints, or suggestions regarding this Privacy Policy, please feel free to contact us by phone, e-mail, or postal mail.
