This is a long review, but I hope you take the time to read it. I began my interest in the airline industry as young as 8 years old. I'm actually an aspiring airline pilot in flight school. I guess you could consider me a Southwest "Super-Fan." I truly love the company, and what it was founded upon. In my high school marketing classes, I did many projects on the SWA model, and Herb Kelleher. When I became of age, I actually began my airline career at the other Dallas based airline as a ramp agent. The life there wasn't always glamorous, but I learned a lot, had fun, and earned the respect of management. Loved the atmosphere, but my heart and passion was always at Southwest. It's where I wanted to start, but they weren't hiring in Nashville for the longest time. After 8 months at my other airline, Southwest finally had a Ramp Agent position opening in BNA. I gladly applied, and was a full time employee within a month. The training process was lengthy, but helpful. I caught on quickly as I had prior ramp experience. All new hires are flown to Dallas, TX for a week of classroom training. I had my own hotel room, prepaid card for food, and was welcomed to an inviting culture. My new hire class consisted of 5 ramp agents. We spent a week there, and came back to Nashville for a few weeks to wrap up OJT. I picked up my bid on the ramp, and was finally on my way. Life on the ramp isn't always ideal. You can face terrible weather, extended hours due to delayed flights, short staffing, physical and demanding work, it all may have a personality change on you. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great days as well. You may only work 3-4 flights in a full time shift. You'll have a great, helpful crew on your gate, on-time flights, sunny at 80 degrees weather, and even a few smiles from your managers. Unfortunately, I didn't have too many great days at Southwest. 99% of new hire ramp agents in Nashville are assigned to a night/closing shift. To many, it's probably the worst shift to have. I personally believe they purposely give this shift to new hires to see if they have what it takes. A typical closing shift is 5pm-1:30AM with Tuesday and Wednesday off. Of course when you gain more seniority, you'll be able to pick a more ideal shift, with hours and days off that suit you best. The night shift in Nashville was terrible. I wish I could have started off on mornings. There is a huge difference between the morning and night shift in BNA. Mornings have the likable managers, better co-workers, and the ability to the enjoy the rest of your day when you clock out. Everyone has their preferences, but I personally would have liked to clock out at noon, and spend my time with friends and family in the evenings. Night shift in Nashville wasn't ideal. Management was never in a good mood, and always was looking to nail someone for some type of violation. Managers love being petty. There were plenty of great workers written up for very questionable reasons. This is where the union dues are worth it. Sadly, when you're on the 6 month probation, you are not protected by the union. No matter if you work days or nights, be on your best behavior, show up on time, and don't question anything at Southwest. Trust no one. It's every man for himself. Coming from another airline with ramp experience, I can personally say a lot of the ramp procedures at Southwest are ridiculous. Tail Stands? Bin Shields? It's 2019, and they're still using a ton of paper. They may seem like little things, but it's just another thing that I found unnecessary that could cause damage or injury. They just added strain to the job. If you are committed to nothing but working, and don't wanna see your family, Southwest is a fantastic place to work. I am not being sarcastic. The overtime is double pay, and allowed me to bring home some nice paychecks. I was always willing to help a co-worker if they needed a shift covered. However, I did miss a lot of personal events, and was bothered by that. It happens often in the airline industry. The mandatory over-time can be crazy, as you could work 19 hours, and then be expected to be back at the airport within 5 hours. I knew many guys who set up mattresses in their cars, or in the break room. The Mandatory over time will screw you a good amount of times. Like I said, it's great money, but you no longer have a personal life. Your kid could be in the hospital dying, but they don't care. You better show up to work. The probation period is rough on the ramp. Management is watching you like a hawk, and I hope you have a strong immune system as well. You honestly don't have room to be sick during this period. They'll hire someone who doesn't get sick. You have 3 strikes in probation. Just be careful, show up early, remain healthy, don't complain, and you'll do just fine. Have the flu? That's too bad. May seem much and unrealistic to some people, but welcome to Southwest. The culture aspect is what Southwest advertises on. That culture is no longer there. Southwest is trying to be like every other airline. They've been successful for nearly 50 years; because they were different. There is no family bond, most employees complain constantly if anything. I had more fun at my other airline honestly. Southwest used to have a game room in Nashville, but they got rid of that course. Rampers used to play basketball during down time, but that was taken away as well. Nashville's station manager was never seen. I don't think he knows more than 20 names. BNA is a top 10 station for Southwest, and it seems poorly ran to me. Working for Southwest was not some life changing experience like they make it seem to be. Managers and the not ideal shifts made me leave Southwest. You could say me not liking the shifts given to someone with little seniority is on me, but I never planned to make a career out of the ramp. At my other airline, they were quite flexible with picking a shift, and when you needed a day off, it wasn't a huge deal. Call out at Southwest, and it seems like you're on the hit list from management. Ramp managers in BNA, more specifically during nights, were lacking leadership skills. Never felt appreciated, and you were almost afraid to talk to them because they'd either extend you, or have you do some ridiculous task. I touched on it earlier, but the management is seriously out to get you. Especially on probation. Don't annoy them, and do as you are told. Some senior guys have lost their jobs because they got under the skin of a supervisor. They don't mind terminating someone with seniority so they can bring some new guy in, and pay him less. It is not a laid back atmosphere at Southwest. From unions, to uptight management, it can get pretty interesting. I'm curious how things are at smaller stations, but the experience in Nashville was not what Southwest was originally about. Southwest is slowly but surely becoming like every other airline, and viewing employees as just numbers, and not great people who have made their company successful. If you are wanting to make a career out of the ramp, Southwest is a good place to be. Put your time in, suffer through the terrible shifts early on, earn respect from managers, don't complain, and you'll make a good life for yourself. The benefits are good, and you can't go wrong with the top out pay. After 10 years, you can make nearly 40 dollars and hour as a ramp agent. Not bad for just slinging some bags around. Take that, and the double pay over-time, you can retire by 40. If I didn't want to be a pilot, I would have put my time in at Southwest and worked my way up. It's just the crazy schedule at SWA didn't even allow me to build hours as a student pilot. Take the fact that the shifts Southwest had took me away from my social life was not ideal either. If I had put my time in, gained seniority that would allow me better shifts, things like social life wouldn't have been as big of an issue. There are guys who have been there 10 years with weekends off, top out pay, regular 9-5 hours, living well at Southwest. It was just a rocky road to get to that point for those folks. That's why I have emphasized, if you put your time in, it's a great job. It beats many other professions if you ask me. Southwest is experiencing a culture change, and growing pains. I found it annoying how Southwest tried to hide it's flaws with all these false narratives like its a fun place to work, when the atmosphere is like everyone's else. It's all nonsense. Don't drink the Kool-Aid! Southwest isn't all that. Despite some of the issues I had here, I wish I could have stuck around. I know times change, but I truly have a passion for the company. I was just disappointed how things really were at this company. There are good people at Southwest. It's just I wasn't committed to working terrible hours, dealing with up-tight management and policies that I found a bit extreme. I recently returned to my previous airline which suits my situation the best. I have my beloved morning shift right out hire, weekends off, and a much more laid back atmosphere. I'm glad to be back. I took a pay, and benefit cut, but it was worth it for this aspiring airline pilot. I'll be off the ramp soon enough.
