Swelbar Writes Op Ed; Stilwell Wins; and the Wissinger Flop

On September 18, 2014 Aviation Week and Space Technology ran a Viewpoint column penned by Captain Lee Moak about the pilot shortage being a myth.   As someone who spends an inordinate amount of time in communities of all sizes talking about air service issues, the simple fact is that a pilot shortage is underway as evidenced by frequency cuts and crews timing out.  Whereas I have tremendous respect for Captain Moak, I simply disagree and believe that the unions have had a lot to do with certain of the issues impacting the supply of pilots.  I penned the following rebuttal which is in this week’s edition of Aviation Week and Space Technology.   I will include the text below as well.

But before I go there, anyone who knows me appreciates the importance of golf in my life.  Of course it runs second to family.  My stepson, Sam Stilwell, one of the coolest dudes on the planet, plays for the Wittenberg Tigers.  This week he won his first college tournament in the cold, wind and the rain.  He shot a second round 69 that included a penalty stroke when a gust of wind caused his umbrella ... read more

Message to Joe Sharkey: At Least Tell More of the Story

Despite best efforts to get this piece placed in the New York Times, I was unsuccessful.  So when that does not work, use your own vehicle they say.  I wrote in response to ... read more

Republic Pilots: Forget the Leaks and Prepare to Change Vessels

Since writing the last blog titled “A Race to the Bottom,” I have received a lot of mail, much of it critical.  Many readers wrote about the ratification votes on tentative ... read more

A Race to the Bottom

I shouldn’t have been surprised to read that the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has joined forces with several U.S. carriers in fighting a foreign carrier permit for Norwegian Air. ... read more

A Walk Across the Last Five Business Cycles

On Monday January 13, 2014 I am pleased to be joining two panels at the 93^rd meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, DC.  On one panel, Airline ... read more

Not the Last Swelblog -- Swelbar to Join InterVISTAS Consulting

Today, it is being announced that I accepted the position of Executive Vice President with InterVISTAS Consulting.  The press release.

I began drafting “The Last ... read more

US and AA Labor: Stop Hiding Behind the Idea of Consumer Benefits

When it comes to Wall Street analyst commentary on the proposed merger of American and US Airways, I have come to appreciate the work of John Godyn at Morgan Stanley.  He is a ... read more

FINANCING THE AIRPORT SYSTEM SHOULD REFLECT A CHANGING NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

Note:  I was asked by Barbara Cook, Editor of

WITTMAN AND SWELBAR: DESPITE SMALLER INDUSTRY, NETWORK CONNECTIVITY REMAINS

This post contains excerpts from Modeling Changes in Connectivity at U.S. Airports [it is available online here: ... read more

US and AA: AIRLINE MERGER and SMALL COMMUNITY AIR SERVICE MEET AT LGA AND DCA

Note:  this blog is largely comprised of the text contained in a white paper written by me, William S. Swelbar. I would like to acknowledge Mr. Michael D. Wittman for his data ... read more

THE END GAME: IT’S ULTIMATELY ABOUT RETAINING THE CUSTOMER

Paint me a skeptic.  Paint me a contrarian.  Paint me stupid.  I’ve been painted with worse colors. I’ve been one of the lone voices really challenging the proposed ... read more

We The People: Does BTC (Business Travel Coalition) Really Stand For Bamboozling The Consumer?

[Note:  much of this blog is directly lifted from the trial transcripts AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC. v. SABRE, INC. ET AL)

To bamboozle is to trick or deceive someone through ... read more