Southwest Airlines Finds The Secret Of Faster Flying Is Hustle On Ground

ONTARIO, Calif. - Springing into action as fast as an Indy pit crew, the four Southwest Airlines workers assigned to Flight 1355 from Las Vegas started moving even before the front wheel was chocked.

Within 15 seconds, passengers were stepping from the front and rear doors. And within a mere 15 minutes, the plane had been cleaned, refueled, loaded with new passengers and pushed back for takeoff.

Welcome to the world of Southwest, where quick turnarounds are an integral part of the airline's strategy for success. Why the rush? Less time on the ground means more time in the air - and thus more revenue. Southwest's airplanes average 10.9 flight hours a day, far ahead of the industry average of 8.7 hours.

Simplicity ultimately makes Southwest work - its fleet is composed entirely of Boeing 737s, its route structure facilitates the quick turnarounds, and its work force generally is considered the most productive and motivated in the industry.

Making rivals shudder

The gleaming success story of airline deregulation in the United States, Southwest is the only major carrier to be profitable for each of the past 21 years. Rivals quiver when Southwest comes to town because, with its low-cost structure, the Dallas-based carrier invariably forces fares down.

Southwest will begin flying between Seattle and Spokane, Sacramento, Reno and Oakland this summer, supplanting Morris Air's service on some routes and initiating new service on others. Southwest bought Morris Air last year.

Flights out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will begin June 6 with four daily nonstops to Spokane and four to Oakland. The airline will begin service from Sea-Tac to Reno and Sacramento July 8.

Quickest turnarounds

A look at how Southwest's ground crews handle flights on a recent day at Ontario International Airport in Southern California provides a window on the carrier's efficiency, the envy and model of the industry.

Operations supervisor Tom Sjoberg squinted at the horizon a few minutes past 1 p.m. and spotted a Southwest jetliner on its approach to land.

He checked his watch.

Flight 1355 was five minutes late, meaning the ground crew of four had just 15 minutes instead of the scheduled 20 before the aircraft was to be pushed back for takeoff as Flight 1750.

His crews have done turnarounds in as little as nine minutes, Sjoberg said; still, a 15-minute turnaround required an extra dose of Southwest hustle.

Moments after its arrival, a refueling truck began pumping 302 gallons of jet kerosene into the Boeing 737, topping off the tanks for the aircraft's return trip to Las Vegas. Five gallons of blue toilet fluid were pumped aboard.

Inside, the three flight attendants were picking up discarded newspapers and peanut wrappers, then whisking out a carpet sweeper to give the floor a quick brush.

Four minutes into the turnaround, the attendants had completed the cleaning. A few minutes later, refueling was complete, and arriving passengers' baggage and inbound freight and mail were unloaded.

Passengers began boarding, using both the front and back doors.

Minutes later, outbound bags, freight and mail were stowed and the cargo door locked.

Eleven minutes after the jetliner arrived, the rear passenger stairs were pulled back and the remaining few passengers boarded through the front door.

At 1:20 p.m., the front stairs on the Southwest airplane were pulled back, and Sergio Alexander fired up his tractor and began pushing the aircraft back to the taxiway for takeoff.

Flight 1750 was leaving right on time.

Sjoberg smiled. Employee competition

Such hustle is part of the Southwest culture.

"I like running around, the challenge," said James McCain, a baggage handler. On this particular turnaround, he got to do plenty of running - 7 1/2 minutes to unload and 7 1/2 minutes to load.

McCain and his fellow ground crews concoct little competitions, such as seeing whether they can get the bags loaded before passenger-service agents get the passengers boarded.

"There's no reward other than the simple satisfaction of doing it," said Gary Webster, whose job is to make sure off-loaded bags don't get mixed up with those being loaded.

At the next gate was a reminder of how differently the rest of the industry operates.

Southwest Flight 1355/1750 was one of seven flights that came and went while an American Airlines' MD-80 rested at a nearby gate. It had arrived at 11:30 a.m. and was not scheduled to leave until 1:30 p.m.