![]() ![]() This contract is important for several reasons, for example, because AMFA mechanics at Southwest are not on the ground in Hawaii, so determining who will handle maintenance checks on aircraft in Hawaii is very much up in the air. The Airline Maintenance Technicians are on the frontline - and are the last line - of safety. ![]() Contract negotiations: There’s another major issue for the airline though, and that’s the fact that after more than six years of negotiations, Southwest still does not have a ratified contract with its airline mechanics.Will the FAA give ETOPS certification to Southwest while the airline remains under investigation? It’s certainly no guarantee - and that investigation has shown no signs of ending. This investigation looks at the maintenance and safety culture at the airline. Department of Transportation into the FAA’s oversight of the airline. One main potential issue is the fact that there is still an ongoing investigation by the Inspector General at the U.S. Ongoing investigation: Of course, even if Southwest passes these tests, there are other factors which may hold up the ETOPS certification.As the Business Journal notes, these flights will have “FAA inspectors on board to evaluate Southwest’s ETOPS procedures.” Proving flights: In addition to the tabletop exercises, the airline will also have to show the FAA it is capable through proving flights, or “validation flights,” which will essentially mimic the exact routes from California to Hawaii and back.This gives Southwest an opportunity to prove ETOPS procedures in a formal setting. Tabletop exercises: One of the elements needed to achieve ETOPS certification is tabletop exercises, which includes the airline and the FAA.This hasn’t happened yet for several reasons. Obviously this is essential for flights to Hawaii, and a new certification for the airline. Essentially, ETOPS is a rule that permits aircraft to fly routes which include a period of time where the aircraft is more than 60 minutes flying time away from the nearest airport suitable for an emergency landing. ETOPS: Southwest can not begin flights to Hawaii until it achieves ETOPS certification, which stands for Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards.The latest statements speak to a “peak winter season,” and sources tell the Chicago Business Journal the earliest flights would begin in “March or April.” So what’s really behind the delay - and why is a supposedly transparent airline keeping travelers in the dark about the truth? Here is what’s really happening: Well, here we are in January 2019 - and the goalposts keep shifting. Many reports stated tickets would start being sold by the end of 2018, with flights beginning in early 2019. The new routes have been teased in earnings calls and corporate statements for months and months. Though Southwest is best known as a discounter, it too generates higher margins from business travel, and the uncertainty about when workplaces will be open and sales calls will normalize continues to linger over the stock.We’ve been hearing the same thing for more than a year - Southwest Airlines will soon be flying to Hawaii from California. Travel has rebounded off of its lows but remains inconsistent and heavily reliant on budget-conscious vacation travelers. Initially, the so-called reopening rally played out exactly as scripted, and by April Southwest was actually up 30% for the year, but the arrival of new variants put a damper on the rally and provided a clear indication that there would be no quick recovery. ![]() Shares of Southwest finished the year down 8%, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, losing to the S&P 500 by more than 34 percentage points.Ģ020 was a miserable year for airline stocks, but investors had high hopes coming into 2021 that vaccines would unleash significant pent-up demand for travel that would help take airlines higher. But Southwest Airlines ( LUV 0.59%), one of the companies most impacted by COVID-19, failed to go along for the ride. The market had a great year in 2021 in part on growing investor confidence that the pandemic would not wreck the economy. ![]()
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