Southwest Airlines Community

I have no idea what the motivations of the SW piolts are.  They could be touting the company line--imagine what SW would do if their PIOLTS actually voiced real concerns.  By the way, American Airlines in-flight crews (not pilots) have expressed their desire to have AA ground these planes through their union.   All I know, as a rational scientifically oriented person, is that you don't let catastrophic failures go unheeded.  I have no doubts that the cause will eventually be identified and corrected; my problem is that primarily American airlines are still risking the lives of their people in the interim unnecessarily.  A few less flights in the air for a time, erring on the side of caution, will not alter the course of human history or devastate the economy--just a smaller bonus for some airline execs this year!! ... View more

While the pilots are excellent and well trained, a castastrophic failure in the air will likely lead to the deaths of all on-board.  The pilots' assertion is not an answer and is in no way comforting.  My wife and I are scheduled on two separate SW flights within the next four months and we will be canceling them and finding another airline that has grounded these planes.    After 30 years of designing complex satellite systems, I can guarantee you that two catastrophic failures in less than six months is a real RED FLAG.  No company would buy or launch another satellite until the cause of the failure was scientifically determined and corrected.  Imagine if NASA continued to fly the space shuttles without a FULL investigation and resolution of the UNDERLYING cause of their two deadly failures.   Why are airplanes any different?  I know why: because they are revenue generating machines that cannot possibly be grounded.  And any lawsuits that arise from the operators' negligence will cost SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than the sum of all the revenues to SW.   WE WILL NOT BE FLYING SW UNTIL IT GROUNDS THIS DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN, like so many other countries have.  And don't give the excuse that the FAA has not ordered their grounding--who knows what that agency's motivations are!!! ... View more

the last sentence of the second paragraph should be:   "...SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than the sum of all the revenues lost by SW." ... View more

I completely agree.  While the pilots are excellent and well trained, a castastrophic failure in the air will likely lead to the deaths of all on-board.  The pilots' assertion is not an answer and is in no way comforting.  My wife and I are scheduled on two separate SW flights within the next four months and we will be canceling them and finding another airline that has grounded these planes.    After 30 years of designing complex satellite systems, I can guarantee you that two catastrophic failures in less than six months is a real RED FLAG.  No company would buy or launch another satellite until the cause of the failure was scientifically determined and corrected.  Imagine if NASA continued to fly the space shuttles without a FULL investigation and resolution of the UNDERLYING cause of their two deadly failures.   Why are airplanes any different?  I know why: because they are revenue generating machines that cannot possibly be grounded.  And any lawsuits that arise from the operators' negligence will cost SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than the sum of all the potential lawsuit payments.   WE WILL NOT BE FLYING SW UNTIL IT GROUNDS THIS DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN, like so many other countries have.  And don't give the excuse that the FAA has not ordered their grounding--who knows what that agency's motivations are!!! ... View more