Southwest Airlines Community

As you can tell from the following two posts, football season has begun.  Of course, Southwest is a Proud Sponsor of the NFL, and we can't wait to root our favorite teams to the Super Bowl.  The college teams are at it too, and unlike the NFL where loyalties have more to do with cities, college football has a much more personal appeal because of our loyalty to the ol' alma mater. Both Angela and Jill wrote about this, without each other's knowledge.  As the guy who first reviews the bloggers' posts, I was faced with a dilemma.  How do I tell two beautiful, witty, intelligent women that I can only run one post?  Well, momma didn't raise no dummy.  I will let the posts duel it out, instead. And by the way, Angela, I reluctantly follow Conference USA. I miss the old Southwest Conference where my SMU Mustangs would occasionally gig the Aggies and dehorn the Longhorns.  It didn't happen often, but it was divine when it did.  And, honestly Angela, you wouldn't have much luck seeing Gary, our CEO, because Gillian, his Executive Assistant, is a fellow Mustang, and our Vice President-General Counsel, Debby Ackerman, also a fellow Mustang, could bring legal action to outlaw Aggie T-shirts. ... View more

                                                        This is the first of three posts commemorating the one-year anniversary of Katrina.  Be sure to read Bill Owen's post about how we are rebuilding our service to New Orleans and Sunny Abercrombie's post about how the Southwest Family came together to assist our Employees that were literally devastated by this horrible storm.  But, before you do, we ask you to take a look at some of our New Orleans Employees (click on photo above to enlarge.) Like most residents of the Crescent City, our New Orleans folks have faced many hardships, but they have persevered.  Thanks to their Warrior Spirit, their Servant's Heart, and yes their Fun-LUVing Attitude (Hey, this is New Orleans after all), we have been able to rebuild our operation.  All Southwest Employees and our Customers owe them a huge debt of gratitude. ... View more

We're gonna give Herb a rest this time, and pick on our CEO Gary Kelly.  Last Halloween, he dressed as Wild Bill Hickok, and we know that all you creative geniuses out there in the blogosphere can have fun coming up with a caption for this photo.  (Click on the pic to enlarge.) ... View more

  (click on the photos to enlarge) Those of us who work in Southwest's Headquarters building are surrounded by a veritable (gosh, I like that word) treasure trove of Southwest memorabilia and "stuff."  Every hallway is a three-dimensional scrapbook of this great Company, and the building holds 35 years of memories.  Trust me, those memories generate a lot items to be framed and displayed.  I didn't know how many until I began doing research for a special edition of Airways Magazine about our 35th Anniversary, and I asked my Executive Office Coworker Jon Shubert for some details about the displayed items. Jon is the "curator" of the building, and at the time I did my research, there were about 20,000 framed items on the walls, and hundreds of items in the 21 display cases scattered throughout the building.  That was a few months ago, and the number continues to grow.  Alan Potts, who is on Jon's Team, gets the primary job of hanging those new objets d'art. So what kinds of things are on display in the building?  For one, there are mannequins wearing almost all of the previous Flight Attendant uniforms, including those famous hot pants.  The main entrance of the building is an airy atrium with giant scale models of our aircraft wearing all of Southwest's liveries suspended from the ceiling.  One wall contains almost all of our print advertisements; others hold photos of Employees, Employees with their pets, and of Employees who came to us from other airlines; one wing of the building is filled with Southwest mementos; and scattered throughout the building are framed newspaper and magazine articles about Southwest. And of course, there are airplane photos throughout, along with unusual Southwest clothing items.  In the newer part of the building, the elevator lobbies contain bigger than life 3-D displays.  On the first floor is the "Big T-shirt," and it consists of a giant T-shirt in front of framed displays of the various commemorative Southwest T-shirts.  On the Big T-shirt itself is printed an inside Southwest joke:  "How many Southwest Employees does it take to change a light bulb?"  The answer is "Four.  One to change the bulb and three to make the T-shirt."  On the second floor is a depiction of the famous Malice in Dallas event, where Herb wrestled the CEO of Stevens Aviation for the right to us the slogan "Just Plane Smart." I can't even begin to list all of the items on display, but the most impressive thing about how the building is decorated is that it makes the building a home.  When the walls were repainted last year, they were bare for about a month, and the building seemed so sterile.  It looked like an office building, not Southwest Headquarters, and working here that month made it seem like a job instead of an adventure. ... View more

As you might imagine, it was hectic and a little emotional around here on Thursday with the news from London.  Our airports are going to be a bit hectic too, and if you are traveling with us today (or the next few days), please check our Travel Advisory page on southwest.com. ... View more

I was trying to think of a quick funny post for the weekend, when several of us started spouting dialogue from the movie Airplane.  Hand's down, that's the favorite airplane movie in this office, although personally, The High and the Mighty, is tops in my book.  What's your favorite movie about airlines and/or airplanes and why? And, remember, I told you not to call me Shirley! ... View more

When life gives you a second chance, grab it.  I had just finished 18 ½ years at another airline, and my career had "flat-lined."  No growth, no advancement, and little satisfaction.  I was facing a forced transfer to a less-than-desirable location due to cutbacks, and I made the difficult decision to let go, in spite of seniority and what was, at the time, job security.  However, "airline" was in my blood because, in addition to my own career, I had grown up in an airline family.  I wanted to get back into the industry, but I only wanted to work for Southwest. So at age 42, I did the "Al Bundy" gig selling ladies shoes at a department store in order to pay the bills (don't worry, I didn't emulate Al's sofa "stance"), but when I saw a Southwest ad for new Reservations Sales Agents, I jumped.  The day I was able to march into the store's office to give my notice that I was saying adios for Southwest was one of the happiest days of my life.  No more searching the storage room shelves for an elusive size 7B for a shoe somebody had to have, but which had not been in stock for six months.  That was 11 years ago. A recurring question on this blog is "does Southwest like to hire older Employees?"  I can answer a resounding YES!  Besides me, my Reservations class had older New Hires, along with a couple of folks in their very early twenties.  That was true when I was hired, and it is true today.  I know how dangerous it is to guess ages, especially with women, but at Company events, I often see New Hires my age or older, and they represent every department from Ground Operations, to Inflight, to Reservations, and to Headquarters.  Just today, I saw our newest Flight Attendant training class enter the building, and there were a lot of folks my age among them.  Some of our older Employees are like me, too young to retire, and others have retired but are too young to stop working. What has my second chance meant for me?  Well if I had stayed at "Brand X," I would have just completed 30 years, and I probably would have been totally disillusioned and jaded.  It's hard to list all of the benefits of changing careers, but foremost, it has made coming to work each day a fun event.  I almost hate it when I have to take vacation.  Remember, I said "almost"–I LUV my job, but I like to play too!  Working in such a diverse environment has kept me feeling and thinking young, even if my body won't cooperate, and I finally have been able to combine my love of writing, which had been dormant since college, with my love of aviation.  At the same time, our younger Employees benefit from working with older Coworkers who can provide maturity and a worldly outlook to their jobs. My advice to anyone is that you are never too old to work for Southwest, and if you are interested, go for it.  A list of our available positions can be found on the Careers page at southwest.com. ... View more

While looking through our photo archives, I found this picture of our Executive Chairman, Herb Kelleher, on the tail of one of our aircraft.  (Click on the picture to enlarge.)  Here's your chance to write your own caption for this photo of our beloved Leader of the Pack! ... View more

Although Southwest is a relatively young Company, we have our share of Retirees, especially when you consider that a lot of our folks have come to Southwest as a second career. However, when it comes time to "hang up the old Southwest ID card," it is hard to let go of the Southwest Family, and fortunately for them, and more importantly for us, they don't have to. The LUVers Group was formed by two or our Original Employees in 2002 as a way to keep all Southwest Retirees connected with the airline they LUV. The group began with meetings of eight to ten Retirees that would meet several times a year here at our Headquarters. Well, that group has grown to 230 members from all across the country. Their lunch meetings usually start by catching up on events in each other's lives, and they transition to ,"Do you remember when?" At the recent luncheon to celebrate our 35th Anniversary, each member was asked to provide their fondest Southwest memory. Kelli Bartlet, one of our current Flight Attendants and a host of the event, shared some of their memories with me and also provided the photos for this post. Donna Pomroy, our former Administrative Coordinator at the Dallas Station remembers the time when a gentleman enlisted her help to have 24 Customers line up with a red rose to welcome the Customers off of a flight. He waited at the end of the line as everyone deplaned to propose on bended knee to his future wife. Chuck Martin, our former Director of Maintenance recalls when a "small group of Employees" flew to Chicago Midway to recruit former employees of Midway Airlines, which had just liquidated. For sustenance and to save costs, the group lived on bags of White Castle hamburgers. (I don't know about Chuck, but I'd give my eye/ teeth for a fresh bag of hot "sliders" right now!) Bob McNiel, our retired Manager of Safety and Transportation Procedures wants to be around for another 35 years to see how far the "LUV Airline" can go, and former CEO Jim Parker's best memories are the "wonderful, caring People of Southwest." The "$13 Fare War" when Southwest gave the Customer a choice of a $13 fare between Dallas and Houston or to pay the full fare of $26 and receive a fifth of premium liquor was Original Employee Joy Bardo's favorite memory. Gwen Harrison, a retired Flight Attendant/Inflight Supervisor/Inflight Trainer recalls that she felt guilty getting a paycheck because of the Southwest Family feeling. She also fondly (?) remembers her afro wig, hot pants, and go-go boots. Some of the attendees also shared their current activities. Glen Woods who was our Station Manager in Denver (Stapleton) and Albuquerque and Assistant Station Manager in Dallas is currently restoring classic cars, trucks, sailboats, and motorcycles. Former Flight Attendant Deborah Franklin, another of our Original Employees, is restoring old cemetaries and studying genealogy. That's just a handful of the thoughts of those who attended. Thanks to Kelli for sharing, and more importantly thanks to all these Retirees for making Southwest what it is today! ... View more