You can have a non-computerized system that is more efficient. Apps can and do fail, and I'll go out on an unpopular limb and suggest that what most folks working in tech would still fail frequently enough to be problematic in an airline of this size.
The problem is that their disaster recovery plan (assuming that there is one) is highly centralized. Southwest has each and every body calling the scheduling department one at a time. The proper design (and what most other airlines actually do) is to decentralize a wee bit and have, for instance, crews report to station managers who in turn call the scheduling department.
The problem is that their disaster recovery plan (assuming that there is one) is highly centralized. Southwest has each and every body calling the scheduling department one at a time. The proper design (and what most other airlines actually do) is to decentralize a wee bit and have, for instance, crews report to station managers who in turn call the scheduling department.