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GETTING CRABBY IN DETROIT

Bill
Employee
Employee
Folks really got crabby recently in Detroit. No, it had NOTHING to do with the Lions losing to the Rams (and the Packers, and the Bears, and the Seahawks).  I'm talking the eating kind of crabs here....mixed with some breadcrumbs, egg, spices (I'm partial to Old Bay myself), and sautéed gently in melted butter.  As the now-ubiquitous Rachel Ray would say....YUMM-O! On September 14th, Southwest plugged a long-gaping hole in our route network when we began nonstop service between Detroit and our largest East Coast station, Baltimore, with four nonstops each way every business day.  To celebrate the new service, Southwest sponsored a crab-cake competition in front of the Southwest Ticket Counter at Detroit's Metro Airport.  Now when I was growing up, my mom would make crab cakes using canned crab, way too much cracker meal, and just enough egg to make sure they were not entirely brick-like.  Then, in order not to choke on them, after she deep-fried them we'd douse the rubbery little pucks in so much ketchup that we couldn't see them anymore, much less taste them.  Believe me, the crab cakes served in the Great Detroit Crab Cake-A-Thon were NOTHING like mom's!   They were light...succulent....luciously sauced...beautifully garnished....and absolutely delicious!  Many, many thanks to the participating restaurants-RP Murphy's, Charley's Crab, and to the winner, the Majestic Café. SmilingChefsBrownChefYum2Yum1CustomersAndEmployeesAllChefs As you can see from the pictures, the chefs really had a great time (although we've got to teach the chef wearing the brown shirt to smile for the camera!), as did our Customers and Employees.  And our new service is already off to a flying start.  Of course, with fares as low as $49 one-way and great service from the best Employees around, that's not surprising! Baltimore/Washington is the fifth nonstop destination Southwest serves from Detroit, and between our nonstops and our direct and connecting service linking Detroit to nearly 50 other destinations from coast to coast, we can take Michiganers on a "crab walk" all across America.  Book a flight on Southwest and go enjoy Dungeness Crab in the San Francisco Bay area, Snow Crab legs in the Pacific Northwest, Stone Crab claws in South Florida, and Gulf Coast crabs all the way from South Padre Island to Fort Myers.  So enjoy yourself, Detroit!  Get crabby!  And, don't worry.....the Lions will win again......eventually!
14 Comments
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Glad to see more n/s from DTW. I was wondering how you were going to fly to 5 n/s cities with only 4 aircraft on the 13 of sept. On the 14, I saw that you ferried one in from Dallas, so we finally got a n/s from Luv to Dtw, albeit without passengers! Now the ground crew has to hurry up and unload at gate 9, back that plane up and unload the other one at night. Can anyone tell me where the RON without a gate parks? Do you leave it at gate 11 or 13 that aren't used? Also, do you still plan on only 3 gates in the new terminal? DTW would make a great reliever airport from MDW and you can drive the 800 lb gorrilla out of here. Hint, their initials are yours reversed. :-P 737 any day over a dc9.
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Forgot to mention that the lions have no incentive to win as long as the stadium sells out. Hope Ford gave you a good deal on that 737 they sold you recently.
BLD
Explorer B
More flights in DTW would be nice, but doesn't the area have a dead economy? Even if they do, I suppose a lot of NW routes are low-hanging fruit as their fares are so high in most of the markets they serve. I suppose schedule planning will now be busy maximizing the schedule on through routes from DAL to other cities outside of the old Wright Amendment area. Bill, did you had a tentative schedule in place in anticipation of the repeal? Or will the "optimizer" help out with a new schedule? Although not a full repeal, through ticketing will be nice as AA is abusive with the last minute fares they charge from DFW to a lot of their markets.
Bill
Employee
Employee
Answers for Joe and Brandon! Joe, the "extra" overnight at DTW--the fourth one that is in excess of our three gates t here--is indeed unloaded, then towed and left at Gate 11 overnight. Then, after the first originator leaves the next morning (which indeed these days is gate 9), it's towed back over there for the 8:05 flight to Nashville. And we're thrilled with the Ford airplane! Think GM has one they'd like to get rid of, too? Brandon, speaking on behalf of DTW and its environs about their local economy, and quoting Mark Twain--"the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." While the Detroit area has pockets that are economically depressed, overall we're very happy with the business we're doing there--which is why we've recently expanded our product offering! And you're right, we've been burning the midnight Wild Turkey (just kidding--only Herb gets to do that!) getting ready for the schedule changes made possible by the Wright Amendment's repeal. However, with our schedules already out for sale through the early part of March of next year, we really can't re-optimize until then...but we're busily looking at potential schedule solutions. Stay tuned!!!!
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Bill, I don't know what kind of planes GM has. But I'm sure if they had a -700 you could buy it. DCX only has scarebuses. So they aren't any help. I think they might have a bombardier also or a dassault mystre' (sp) trijet. I wasn't aware that dtw went to three gates already, It's been a year (shhh, thats too long I know). I was going by your flight status page that lists gates and arrivals. Looks like Friday night we will be treated to 3 -700's instead of 2. 🙂 . The -500 from stl sure does get around!
Scott5
Adventurer A
I think most of the current interest in sports in Detroit is with the Tigers (who play the Oakland (another great Southwest city) in the ALCS. And also with the University of Michigan Wolverines who only need about three teams ahead of them to get upset and a win over Ohio St to have a shot at the BCS Championship game.
Scott5
Adventurer A
The Ford 737-700 Registration is N270WN.
Scott5
Adventurer A
No, I don't think Detroit is sports crabby now. Being just 2 wins from a World Series. Get your Oct 20th trips into Detroit booked ASAP.
Phyllis_Rawley
Explorer C
Crabby in Detroit, what a cool concept, I hope other cities can plan and show off their local cuisines.
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
*DING!* going to the world series!!!!!
Jeramy_Brian1
Adventurer B
Southern California isn't crabby because the trojans are 6-0. Go trojans. Fight on!
Scott5
Adventurer A
As it turned it didn't take long for the Lions to get their win after all. As soon as you say some will be either undefeated or winless for the season sure enough they soon become neither.
Scott5
Adventurer A
The Trojans will have a run for their money from Cal. Is the Oakland base beginning to talk about Cal football?
Scott5
Adventurer A
Quick shout out to the STL crews. Did the dejected Tigers pass through terminal where Southwest is to catch their Minneapolis-based charter back to Detroit?