Bloomberg reports that the training sessions will begin as early as November, lasting into 2025.

The requirement extends to all of the airline’s nearly 11,000 pilots with training sessions taking place for one day at its Dallas headquarters. A company memo cited by the news outlet said the training sessions are intended to discuss “specific events and working together as a flight crew to appropriately manage risks.”

In April, a Southwest Boeing 737 Max 8 dropped within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean near Lihue, Hawaii. Later, two separate Southwest flights received low altitude alerts, descending within hundreds of feet over Oklahoma City and Tampa, Florida, while still several miles from the respective airfields.

Another Southwest flight from Portland, Maine, to Baltimore took off from a closed runway in June.

In the same memo, the airline acknowledged the spike in incidents, adding that “meaningful work is underway to address these events and advance our safety.”

The FAA is currently conducting a safety audit on the carrier, similar to what United Airlines faced earlier this year.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AirlineGeeks.com.

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The company on Thursday announced it intends to launch a city center-to-airport network in Los Angeles by 2026, building on its plans to fly in New York City and Chicago. The service is meant to replace one-to-two-hour drives by car with more direct aerial routes while remaining cost competitive with ground-based rideshare options such as Uber and Lyft.

Archer in July also struck a deal with Southwest Airlines to connect Southwest terminals across California, where it is in the process of building a network of hubs linking South San Francisco, Napa, San Jose, Oakland, and Livermore.

The manufacturer’s flagship Midnight air taxi is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers on back-to-back, 20-to-50 sm, 10-to-20-minute trips, with only a few minutes of charge time in between. The company hopes to obtain type certification from the FAA in time for a 2025 commercial rollout in New York and Chicago.

After that, it will set its sights on Los Angeles, where it intends to connect key locations such as Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX), Orange County, Santa Monica, Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach, Van Nuys, and the University of Southern California with vertiports. These takeoff and landing hubs are akin to heliports but will include electric aircraft chargers for Midnight and other electric aircraft to juice up.

Archer also has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with FBO network Signature Aviation to install electric chargers at more than 200 Signature terminals nationwide, adding to the number of potential takeoff and landing sites for Midnight.

Archer competitor Joby Aviation is also looking to fly in the Los Angeles area in partnership with Delta Air Lines and earlier this year began the process of installing eVTOL infrastructure in California. Boeing air taxi subsidiary Wisk Aero, eVTOL jet manufacturer Lilium, and eVTOL developer Overair are among firms with similar ambitions.

The companies hope to showcase their aircraft on the world stage when the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles arrive— an ambitious target but one that is in line with the FAA’s own expectations for the industry. The city will also host men’s soccer games during the 2026 World Cup, which is being jointly held in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

“Establishing our LA network ahead of the global events that are coming to the region over the next three years is a milestone that will put Midnight on display for the whole world to see,” said Adam Goldstein, CEO of Archer. “LA is known for its horrendous traffic—our goal is to offer a safer, faster, and more sustainable alternative travel option.”

A handful of eVTOL manufacturers, including Germany’s Volocopter and China’s AutoFlight, are supposed to demonstrate their air taxis at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, but those flights have yet to take place and may not happen at all.

Aiding Archer, however, is a tight relationship with the FAA and the backing of California state officials such as Governor Gavin Newsom.

“Homegrown companies like Archer Aviation are pioneering the next generation of zero-emission transportation that will help California cut pollution, clean our air, and reduce traffic,” said Newsom.

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On Friday, Southwest and Archer Aviation, manufacturer of the Midnight electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a network of routes connecting Southwest terminals at California airports.

The airline is the state’s largest air carrier and owns key hubs in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area, where Archer recently announced plans to construct eVOL infrastructure, such as takeoff and landing vertiports, at five airports.

Archer’s flagship aircraft, which takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies on fixed wings like an airplane, is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers on 20 to 50 sm (17 to 43 nm) air taxi routes, cruising at up to 150 mph (130 knots).

As soon as next year, it will begin ferrying customers to and from airports at a price the manufacturer claims will be cost-competitive with ground-based rideshare services such as Uber or Lyft.

“Integrating Archer’s electric aircraft into the travel journey potentially gives us an innovative opportunity to enhance the experience of flying Southwest,” said Paul Cullen, vice president of real estate for the airline.

Cullen also left the door open for an expansion of Southwest’s air taxi service to locations in other states.

Added Dee Dee Meyers, senior adviser to California Governor Gavin Newson and director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development: “This initiative is designed to help revolutionize clean transportation with zero-direct emission and affordable options, enhancing the passenger experience, and supporting California’s climate action goals.”

The agreement with Southwest builds on Archer’s existing relationship with United Airlines, which in 2021 agreed to purchase 100 Midnight air taxis for an estimated $1 billion. Under that agreement, Archer will develop a software platform, mobile booking platform, and vertiport integration technology for a commercial service operated by United.

Delta Air Lines, the third major U.S. carrier with plans to launch an air taxi network, is working with Archer competitor Joby Aviation.

In addition, Archer in June signed a deal with Signature Aviation that would give it access to more than 200 FBOs, including those at New York Liberty International Airport (KEWR), Chicago O’Hare International Airport (KORD), and other airports the company intends to serve. The manufacturer also has an agreement with FBO network operator Atlantic Aviation to electrify Atlantic terminals in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco.

“With Archer’s Midnight aircraft, passengers will be able to fly above traffic to get to the airport faster,” said Nikhil Goel, chief commercial officer of Archer. “Southwest customers could someday complete door-to-door trips like Santa Monica [California] to Napa in less than three hours.”

Archer and Southwest will begin by developing a concept of operations for Midnight out of Southwest terminals, partnering with airline employees and union groups such as the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association (SWAPA).

The companies “plan to collaborate over the next few years as eVTOLs take flight,” which does not commit them to a 2025 or 2026 launch. Archer, Joby, and other eVTOL manufacturers such as Beta Technologies and Overair intend to enter commercial service during that time frame.

Adding Southwest as a partner could be key for Archer when considering the activities of its competitor overseas.

Both firms plan to fly in the United Arab Emirates, including the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In February, however, Joby signed what it describes as an exclusive six-year deal with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority, giving it the sole right to operate an air taxi service in the emirate. Archer CEO Adam Goldstein has disputed the exclusivity of the agreement, saying it will have no impact on the company’s plans.

That dynamic has not yet played out in the U.S.—both companies plan to fly in New York, for example. But if Joby intends to replicate the strategy of gaining an edge over competitors with exclusive deals, partnerships such as that with Southwest become more important.

Notably, the companies have also butt heads on eVTOL infrastructure. Each is pushing for a different electric aircraft charging system to become the industry standard, similar to how Elon Musk fought for Tesla’s North American Charging Standard to supplant the widely accepted Combined Charging Standard (CCS) for electric ground vehicles (a fight Tesla ultimately would win).

Similarly, Joby wants its Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS) to replace a modified version of the CSS supported by Archer, Beta, and others, which could throw a wrench into their FBO electrification plans.

Among eVTOL manufacturers, Archer and Joby are the closest to being able to fly in the U.S. Each has achieved a full transition flight using a prototype air taxi and expects to begin the critical for-credit phase of FAA certification in the coming months.

In addition, both are qualified to perform eVTOL maintenance and repairs and are in the process of training an initial group of pilots to fly their respective aircraft.

The goal is for those activities to be complete in time for a 2025 launch. Whether Southwest will be a part of that occasion remains to be seen.

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“Based on expected capacity growth beyond 2024, we’ve made the difficult decision to suspend Initial First Officer Training classes through the remainder of 2024 and defer job offers, beginning with our April classes,” the memo to prospective candidates said.

A Southwest spokesperson shared that the airline plans to pause new hire classes starting in April.

“Southwest is slowing hiring across the Company in 2024 to levels at or below our attrition rate, and we’ve adjusted Pilot hiring in line with our current business plan. Our published flight schedule is aligned with these staffing levels,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement.

The airline said it will move pilots with conditional job offers (CJO) to a so-called “deferred candidate pool,” which will be used when hiring recommences. The airline did not provide a specific date to resume hiring.

• READ MORE: JetBlue Looks to Trim Workforce

According to data from FAPA.aero, Southwest hired 1,916 pilots in 2023, one of the highest years on record for the carrier. In January 2024, the airline and its pilots – represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) – inked a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with immediate 29% pay increases.

In a different memo shared by xJonNYC on Twitter/X, the carrier said it now projects to hire 345 pilots this year.

In a Q4 2023 earnings call, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan hinted at reduced hiring plans in 2024. “…we planned in 2024 with head count flat to down as compared with year-end 2023 as we slow hiring to levels that are at/or below our attrition rate that will drive efficiency gains in 2024 with more to come in 2025,” Jordan added.

While several U.S. carriers have slowed previous record-setting hiring trends, Spirit joins Southwest in halting new hire classes altogether. The ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) announced in October 2023 that it would pause pilot hiring indefinitely.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AirlineGeeks.com.

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Thrive Aviation CEO Curtis Edenfield, a Southwest alumnus, shared his enthusiasm for the collaboration in a press release. “it’s certainly a full circle moment for me,” Edenfield said. “The program catalyzes a new pilot’s aviation career, offering them mentorship, training, and the opportunity to build the needed hours. This partnership is a testament to our shared vision of culture and innovation.”

Named after the southwest heading on a compass rose, the Destination 225 program provides a clear roadmap for aspiring aviators. Through coursework and flight training, cadets earn their commercial pilot’s license.

The program’s second phase focuses on building flight time as certified flight instructors (CFI), preparing cadets for opportunities with participating airlines like Thrive Aviation. By meeting the program’s requirements, cadets can become candidates for new hire first officer positions at Southwest Airlines.

• READ MORE: Southwest Announces Pathways Program for Future First Officers

“Southwest is excited to welcome Thrive Aviation to our Destination 225° Pilot Pathways Program as a new partner in our Cadet Pathway,” said Lee Kinnebrew, Vice President of Flight Operations at Southwest. “The program aims to support and inspire pilots interested in joining Southwest as a First Officer, and we look forward to working with cadet candidates as they build flight experience.”

Thrive Aviation joins several other partners in Southwest’s Destination 225 program. In the private aviation space, the Dallas-based carrier also partners with XOJET Aviation and JetLinx.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AirlineGeeks.com.

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That’s the question the FAA is trying to answer in regard to a near-miss incident between a Cessna Citation and a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 at San Diego International Airport (KSAN) last week.

In an interview with CNN, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the Citation came within 100 feet of the airliner. The incident occurred shortly before noon PDT Friday.

According to an FAA spokesperson, an air traffic controller had cleared the Citation to land on Runway 27 then instructed Southwest Flight 2493 to taxi onto that runway and wait for instructions to depart.

“The facility’s automated surface surveillance system alerted the controller about the developing situation,” the agency said in a statement. “A preliminary review of the event showed that an air traffic controller instructed the pilot of a Cessna Citation business jet to discontinue landing because a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was still on the runway awaiting clearance to depart.”

According to CNN, LiveATC.net archived ATC audio indicated the pilot of the Citation apparently noticed the Southwest 737 on the runway, as the Citation pilot transmitted “Verify Four Hotel Victor is still clear to land?”

The tower controller replied, “Citation Four Hotel Victor go around, fly the published missed approach.” The Citation pilot replied, “Alright, going around, Four Hotel Victor,” and aborted the landing.

The Southwest flight was then instructed to taxi clear of the runway because there was another airliner on a 2-mile final.

“We’re participating in the FAA’s internal review regarding an incident that occurred Friday just before noon local time at the San Diego International Airport, where a Southwest aircraft was cleared onto the same runway that a Cessna Citation aircraft was also cleared to land,” Southwest said in a statement. “Our aircraft departed without event and the flight operated normally, with a safe landing in San Jose [California] as scheduled.”

According to an FAA spokesperson, the agency is sending experts to San Diego to investigate. “The team will determine the closest proximity between the airplanes as part of the review,” the spokesperson said.

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Airline management and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union representing United’s 16,000 pilots, reached the agreement Saturday after four years of negotiations. 

Since 2019, pilots have been seeking a new contract that’s more in line with industry standards. A tentative deal came up last year but was overwhelmingly rejected by pilots due to what they said was substandard pay given the airline’s profitability.

According to ALPA, the latest agreement— estimated to be worth $10 billion—includes “substantial improvements to compensation, as well as advancements in quality of life, vacation, and other benefits.” If approved, pilots will receive pay raises ranging from 13.8 percent to 18.7 percent depending on aircraft type, followed by four smaller annual raises.

“The tireless dedication demonstrated by United pilots over the past several years ensured our solidarity which was instrumental in achieving this historic agreement,” said Capt. Garth Thompson, chair of the United ALPA Master Executive Council. 

• READ MORE: FedEx Pilots Take Another Step Toward 30 Percent Pay Raise

In a LinkedIn post, United CEO Scott Kirby wrote: “We promised our world-class pilots the industry-leading contract they deserve, and we’re pleased to have reached an agreement with ALPA on it.” 

An ongoing pilot shortage and resurgence in post-pandemic travel has given pilot unions bargaining power in securing lucrative contracts. United’s tentative proposal now puts its  pilots in line with counterpart Delta Air Lines, which also saw pilots receive considerable salary increases in their new contract. 

Meanwhile, American Airlines is set to vote next week on an offer that includes average cumulative raises of 41.5 percent over the next four years. Southwest Airlines is still in the process of negotiations, while its union, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said its members approved a strike mandate.

As more travelers are packing airports, carriers are seeing record profits. On Thursday, Delta reported a record quarterly profit of more than $1.8 billion. United is expected to share its results Wednesday and, according to a FactSet survey, analysts anticipate the airline to post a profit of more than $1.3 billion.

• READ MORE: Regional Airline Contract Boxes In New Pilot Hires

To keep pace with travel demand, airlines are seeking qualified professionals. Together, United, Delta, American, and Southwest are expected to hire roughly 8,000 pilots this year. And it’s not just mainline pilots reaping the benefits of an industry workforce shortage. Regional pilots are being lured with hefty compensation offers and retention bonuses as carriers struggle to compete for talent.

In the coming weeks, negotiators will continue to finalize language in the United agreement. Once completed, pilots will review and vote on ratification of the new contract.

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During the breach, details such as names, passport and social security numbers, and pilot license numbers were stolen from a Texas-based recruitment support company, Pilot Credentials. 

According to a filing with Maine’s Office of the Attorney General, approximately 5,745 pilot applicants at American and 3,009 at Southwest were affected.

• READ MORE: Watchdog Report: FAA ‘Lacks a Plan’ to Address ATC Shortages

While the breach occurred April 30, with airlines finding out about it on May 3, pilots were not notified until last week—nearly two months after the incident. 

The Allied Pilots Association, which represents 15,000 American Airlines pilots, expressed its frustration with the airline’s lack of transparency, noting the breach affected some 2,200 of its members.

• READ MORE: House Committee Votes to Push Back Pilot Retirement Age 2 Years

American said there was no evidence the information was used for fraudulent purposes and noted its own systems were not compromised during the breach at Pilot Credentials. The airline offered each affected applicant two years of coverage from a service designed to protect people from identity theft.

Since the hack, both airlines have cut ties with Pilot Credentials and have started processing applications through their own websites and internal portals rather than using a third-party vendor. Southwest issued a statement that noted it is”no longer utilizing the vendor, and, moving forward, pilot applicants are being directed to an internal portal managed by Southwest.”

Both carriers are working with authorities on the matter.

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Meanwhile the airline’s pilots, including many who once were attracted to the company because of its reputation for a dynamic, rewarding work culture, worry that Southwest may not recover from its latest catastrophe.

• READ MORE: Southwest Airlines and Pilots Disagree Over Causes of Flight Cancellations

“At this point, I’m concerned for our airline,” Captain Casey Murray, president of the Southwest pilots union, said in a statement to its members titled “Pride and Avarice.” “We won’t survive another 10 years as a company if this continues, and maybe no more than five.”

Pilots say the problems that led to the current breakdown, such as an inadequate scheduling system and inefficient staffing, have been topics of discussion between employees and company executives for many years. However, movement toward possible solutions has been too slow.

Some pilots say similar rounds of flight cancellations have happened about once a year for the past several years, but the latest episode—complicated by bad weather and a surge of holiday travel—is receiving more attention.

Among those taking a closer look is Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Southwest passengers have experienced unacceptable disruptions and customer service conditions. I have made clear to their executives that our department will hold Southwest accountable for making things right with their customers and employees,” he said in a tweet.

Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who are members of the Senate Commerce Committee, also weighed in with suggestions for ruminating passengers.

“Southwest Airlines is failing consumers during the most important travel week of the year. Instead of a holiday spent celebrating with family and friends, passengers are sleeping in airports or desperately trying to reach customer service agents. For those travelers whose holidays have been ruined, there is no real way for Southwest to make this right. But the company can start by fairly compensating passengers whose flights were canceled, including not only rebooked tickets, ticket refunds, and hotel, meal, and transportation reimbursement, but significant monetary compensation for the disruption to their holiday plans,” the senators said in a statement.

They also noted that Southwest is planning to issue $428 million in dividends to shareholders next year—a move the pilots union has also criticized. “The company can afford to do right by the consumers it has harmed,” the senators said.

The pilots union at Southwest said a scheduling platform called SkySolver is at the root of its problems in part because it fails to make efficient use of available flight crews. The union said the airline has enough crews to operate its current schedules but SkySolver is deploying them improperly.

Captain Murray, the union president, said the company has repeatedly ignored his group’s proposed solutions, often responding by hiring more pilots. However, he said, there is no shortage of pilots.

“We aren’t undermanned,” he said. “We’re undermanaged.”

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Meanwhile Southwest’s pilots blame the airline’s “vastly outdated” software and mismanagement of scheduling and staffing. Many of the resulting problems, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said, could have been anticipated if executives had implemented remedies that pilots and other employees have suggested for years.

For passengers, there could be more challenges to come as the airline plans to operate only about a third of its usual flights for the next several days. 

Scrutiny of Southwest’s operations has even reached the federal level, with the Department of Transportation looking into what many are calling a “meltdown” within the airline’s network.

“USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays [and] reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan,” the agency tweeted last night.

The airline said tough times will continue for a while. “With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our customers and employees in a significant way that is unacceptable. And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning,” Southwest said in a statement.

The company said it is repositioning aircraft and crews to better serve future flights but is also cutting its schedule for the next several days to roughly one third of its usual flights.

Pilots Blame Outdated Systems

“We are tired of apologizing for Southwest,” said pilot union vice president Michael Santoro in a CNN interview. He said last week’s stormy weather was a “catalyst” for the airline’s difficulties but placed much of the blame on a “vastly outdated” software system for managing schedules.

Unlike most airlines, which operate networks based on main airports called hubs and destination or “spoke” airports, Southwest uses a point-to-point model, which in theory offers more direct flights between cities instead of making connections through hubs. One potential problem with this arrangement is that crews can more easily wind up stranded without an aircraft unless scheduling is precise, the union said.

Pilots also took to social media to share stories about the airline and how they feel it has changed, particularly as its focus has shifted, they say, from operations to finance and return on investment for shareholders.

“What happened to Southwest Airlines?” longtime pilot Larry Lonero asks at the opening of a post of Facebook. In the post he looks back on the decades-long leadership of former CEO Herb Kelleher, who focused on regularly engaged with employees. After he retired in 2004, financially oriented executives gradually took over and the operations side, Lonero said, began to suffer. He also said a long series of scheduling and staffing problems should have raised awareness among top company executives.

“A half dozen small scale meltdowns occurred during the mid to late 2010s. With each mini meltdown leadership continued to ignore the pleas and warnings of the employees in the trenches. We were still operating with 1990s technology. We didn’t have the tools we needed on the line to operate the sophisticated and large airline we had become,” Lonero said.

Southwest said it recognizes the difficulties passengers and staff members are experiencing and aims to correct its scheduling problems. “Our shared goal is to take care of every single customer with the hospitality and heart for which we’re known,” the company said. “On the other side of this, we’ll work to make things right for those we’ve let down, including our employees.”

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