Why You May Not Even Get A Drink On Your Next Southwest Airlines Flight
Southwest Airlines is adjusting its landing procedures, with a new policy aimed at ending service earlier in the flight to minimize the risk of turbulence-related flight attendant injuries. The practical result, though, may be the elimination of beverage service on many shorter flights.
New Southwest Airlines Landing Procedure May Curtail Beverage Service On Shorter Flights
As noted by View From The Wing, flight attendants on Southwest Airlines will be seated earlier effective December 4, 2024. Going forward, flight attendants will take their jumpseats at 18,000 feet instead of 10,000 feet. A memo explains:
As first announced last week in the Leader Update and video by Steve Murtoff and Lee Kinnebrew, VP Flight Operations, significant advancements in our descent procedures that reflect our unwavering commitment to Safety and well-being of our Flight Attendants will begin on December 4.
Inflight Safety and the TWU 556 Health and Safety Committee have been integral in developing these new procedures. Together, we have shaped procedures that prioritize your Safety and are fully aligned with our Company Safety objectives of preventing Flight Attendant Injury.
A summary of the December 4 changes includes:
At top of descent, the Pilots will make a required PA to inform the cabin that the descent phase has begun.
At 18,000 feet, the Pilots will make one high-low chime, indicating the start of sterile flight deck. This chime serves as your cue to secure the cabin for landing and to be seated and secured in your jumpseats.
This procedural adjustment-Flight Attendants securing the cabin 8,000 feet earlier during descent-reflects years of research and your reporting through our Safety Management System (SMS). The evaluation of thousands of data points from Flight Attendant and Pilot reports paired with information from the Flight Data Analysis Program (FDAP), confirmed that seating our Flight Attendants earlier should reduce Flight Attendant injuries by at least 20%. Inflight and Flight Ops will validate the effectiveness of these new procedures, and if we do not achieve the desired result, we will continue to find solutions. We are also committed to sharing updates on these findings periodically.
In short, Southwest hopes to reduce flight attendant injuries by 20% through this policy change. And Southwest is not the first carrier to implement this change: United Airlines implemented the same policy one year ago.
> Read More: Why Service Will End Earlier On Your Next United Airlines Flight
As I’ve flown more than 30 flights on United this year, I’ve seen this policy in action and in every instance, in my view, it has led to a premature conclusion of in-flight service.
Maybe I’m just jaded, but this does not seem to me to be about flight attendant safety…I mean, you could keep flight attendants safe(r) by having them remain seated the entire flight…but this is about kowtowing to union demands to do less work. Again, maybe I’m just too jaded at this point…I’m at least open to that charge.
But show me the stats. Show me why it is so unsafe to collect cups and glasses a few minutes later before boarding so we don’t all have to sit there like sardines in a can, not even able to open our laptops or work with our tray tables down.
Having seen this policy in action for a year, I find it so absurd. It is not anti-flight attendant to say, hey look, we want our passengers to be able to work and keep themselves occupied for as much time as possible. There is risk inherent in life and risk inherent in flying: but the cost-benefit analysis means that we end service at 10,000 feet, not 18,000 feet.
And for Southwest, which operates so many shorthaul flights within California and across the West, this policy change may have a very dramatic effect: no beverage service at all because there just isn’t time any longer to serve a full 737 on a 1-hour flight if service must be suspended at the top of descent.
As I said when discussing the same change at United, if this meaningfully protects flight attendants from injury, I support this move…but I really question whether it does and while my experience is certainly anecdotal, I find it so annoying that service ends so early on a flight these days. Everyone ends up just sitting and twiddling their thumbs.
Ultimately, my gripe will be dismissed as self-serving, but think about it folks: who is pushing most for this change and why? Does the actually risk merit the service adjustment?