Is Southwest Heading Southward?

February 2, 2020—A recent Office of Special Counsel response to whistleblower complaints concluded that the Federal Aviation Administration may have given Southwest Airlines undue preferential regulatory treatment in early 2019.

The charge involves FAA managers cutting corners, fast-tracking approval of SWA commencing flights on burgeoning California to Hawaii routes—purportedly to help the airline rebound financially from the December 2018 federal government shutdown. In essence, the agency allegedly was holding SWA officials and pilots to a lower standard.

Problem is, Dallas-based Southwest solely operates a 737 fleet, twin-engine airliners that would be flying the long oceanic trips—hours and nautical miles away from any contingency/emergency airports. FAA approval came without standard safety reviews, crew drills and ‘deadhead’ (non-passenger) flights on routes predominantly served by three- or four-engine aircraft.

The OSC finding (coinciding with a D.O.T. documentation inquiry) came on the heels of an FAA Inspector General audit that cited lax, ineffective or inconsistent oversight, particularly in the agency’s Dallas office. Three senior FAA managers were removed for negligent regulation enforcement, and being too cozy with their hometown airline—allowing SWA “to fly aircraft with unresolved safety concerns.”

For example, the Dallas agency was accused of conducting cursory reviews of Mandatory Maintenance Certificates for pre-used 737 aircraft that SWA termed “very low risk” and had already entered into service. Further, the FAA managers were found to be downplaying the reporting of airborne, taxiing, and tarmac incidents—not least botched landings amid major turbulence and low-level wind sheer. The office was also cited as being too reliant on airline-provided data overall.

Weight Gain, Losses.

For its part, the FAA proposed a $3.9m penalty several weeks ago over SWA’s electronic transferring of accurate aircraft weight data—more specifically fudging on the weight of checked baggage aboard its various flights.

Southwest counters that even its heavier-than-expected baggage loads don’t exceed safety weight/balance limits or pose a safety risk. Still, the carrier has since installed a checked baggage scanning technology for more precise weight calculations.

Big Picture: Not a Good Look.

Southwest transports more U.S. passengers than any rival airline. That travelers may be flying on those airplanes with lax and/or incomplete maintenance records, that two-thirds of FAA employees are said to have raised concerns about the overall safety culture at SWA, is no minor blip on the radar screen.

Southwest replies that “…our friends, our family board our aircraft and not a single one of us would put anything above safety.” Sounds like a statement that could have been pulled from a certain planemaker’s playbook.

In any event, it’s high time for an SWA course correction—time to regain its Herbal swag—roger that. (MTC…)  

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