Kevin Dietsch
Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) outlined in a memo that it will reduce by half the amount of experience prospective pilots must have flying jet or turboprop aircraft as part of a push to accelerate hiring this year. A Southwest spokesperson said the change will allow more highly-skilled aviators the opportunity to pursue a career at the airline. Applicants will need to have 500 hours of turbine time, instead of the prior requirement of 1,000 hours.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board are investigating an aborted landing in Austin, Texas of a FedEx cargo plane during bad weather on Saturday morning. The plane been set to land on the same runway on which a Southwest Airlines jet was also cleared to depart from. Sources indicated that the two planes came close to colliding when the FedEx plane was forced to overfly the Southwest plane to avoid a crash. “Shortly before the FedEx aircraft was due to land, the controller cleared Southwest Flight 708 to depart from the same runway,” per the Federal Aviation Administration. The NTSB said it was investigating a possible runway incursion and overflight involving airplanes from Southwest Airlines and FedEx. The Austin airport is one of the nation’s fastest growing in terms of demand.
Later this week, Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson will testify before the Senate’s Commerce Committee on causes and impacts of recent air travel disruptions. The testimony will include questions on the December issues that resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights.
A more positive development for Southwest Airlines (LUV) is the announcement by the company that its dispatchers and facilities maintenance technicians have voted in favor of their new collective bargaining agreements.
Shares of Southwest Airlines (LUV) began the week with a 0.69% dip in the Monday premarket session.
See how the Seeking Alpha Quant Rating on LUV stacks up to the rest of the airline sector.