Southwest Airlines Community

Jeramy!?! Are you serious? USC won? Gee, I hadn't heard that. I really do need to contact my cable company about getting service restored here. Has anything else been going on that I missed? As far as "300" goes, my son, who was home from UT last week for Spring Break, tried valiantly three times to get together with some friends from our church to go to the movie, but each time, their plans fell through. Too bad that none of them got to go while college was out, now that they're all back, I guess they'll just have to skp classes to go see it! LOL By the way, you weren't joking about the game, were you? Did USC really win? Gathering a nice burnt orange sun tan here on the beach in Egypt, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Francisco, WOW!! I can't think of anyone more deserving of this honor and celebration than USS Blog Boy!! There is absolutely NO WAY that any of us civilians can ever express our deep appreciation and gratitude for the service that you and all of the members of our outstanding military render to our country and each one of us on a daily basis. Untold thousands of men and women put their lives on the line every day that they go to work, and in fact, for many of them, every second of their lives finds them in harm's way. We are all immensely proud of each one of our uniformed patriots, but especially of YOU, Francisco. Your desire to stay connected to us through the blog and to let us in on a small glimpse of life aboard the U. S. S. Nimitz is wonderful. Have you convinced the Captain to paint the sides of the ship canyon blue yet? A very large standing ovation also needs to go to the AWESOME folks at Southwest who organized this welcome home gift for you. Colleen, Brian, Shelley, Hollee and Paula, plus the ABQ gang, all deserve big hugs for their thoughtfulness and special expressions of LUV. Is there any other airline in the world that does things like this for its Customers? Y'all are the BEST! Enjoy your time at home, Francisco, as short as it may seem, but please know that when you return to the Nimitz and wherever your journeys take you in the next eight months, you will NEVER be alone, because a part of the Southwest family, both internal and external, will ALWAYS be with you! Best wishes always, External Blog Boy Kim 🙂 ... View more

Shelley!!! I am SO proud of you! You never told me you knew how to read! Wow, that is awesome! By the way, although I haven't read it, I've always thought the book "Freakonomics" was about the financial impact on the world economy made by people who hoard enormous quantities of candy corn. Can you verify that? External Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

Kris, Just a note to let you know that I'm thinking about you. It is Tuesday, and I know you're leaving in two days. Hopefully, Captain Ray's book has made it to you by now and you'll have a chance to read through it. Although we've all tried to find ways to give you confidence, I know that sometimes people are just so badly scared of something that it doesn't matter what anyone says. However, I will be praying that God would comfort you and reassure you on Thursday. Please don't forget my suggestion to mention to your Flight Attendant at the front door of the plane when you get on that you are really scared. You might even talk with the Gate Agent and request the option to pre-board to get a seat way up front based on Ray's suggestion. Try telling 'em that Captain Stark said it would help you have a smoother flight and that you'd really appreciate it. These folks are pros at handling nervous passengers and if I know Southwest Employees like I think I do, they will go out of their way to make you feel better. Although you haven't said what city you're originating from, you have given your full name, and the readers of the blog who work at Southwest know you're heading to Reno on March 22nd; maybe they'll surprise you and do something special for you! Regardless, every flight on Southwest is special! Try to have a great trip and please let us know how your flights were! Best wishes, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Jim, What a great story! Thanks for posting that for us. Ya know, anytime I see something start with an intro like that ("You know, if it wasnà ... View more

Eduardo, I would like to agree with my buddy, USS Blog Boy, who is temporarily, but happily, a landlubber for now. While I cannot debate the merits of your situation, either in your favor or Southwest's, I would echo his comments that what you have described is HIGHLY unusual and certainly atypical based on my 31+ years of flying on SWA. Yes, mistakes DO happen, and I have had my bags misrouted a couple of times out of several hundreds of flights, but they have always been very conscientious about re-uniting me with my stuff as soon as possible, while being very apologetic at the same time. What concerns me more than your misrouted bags is your reaction. Whether we're talking about Southwest Airlines or the staff of a restaurant or the employees of your local hardware store, do you normally let one disappointing experience so totally sour you to that organization? If I held entire companies responsible for the actions of one employee in one part of the country, I'd have a hard time finding any airline, rental car company, hotel or restaurant to patronize and relatively few stores where I could shop. Selling your stock, or as some folks do in announcing that they'll never fly Southwest again, seems like an extraordinarily strong reaction to the problem you've described. I'm hoping that someone from SW will get back with you soon AND that you'll give them every chance to get your bags back to you. Then, I hope that you'll continue to flying with them and let them show you why they are consistently the best airline around. Best wishes, Kim ... View more

Sorry, Jeramy, for some reason, my cable company discontinued the delivery of all sports events and sports scores to my house right before that game, and oddly enough, my newspaper delivery person (I guess it is not PC to call 'em a 'paperboy' anymore) has failed to bring me my paper since Sunday morning. However, I'm confident that my Longhorns once again vanquished your Trojans in yet another sport. By the way, did I tell you that I've moved? Yup. Sold my house in Texas and moved to a nice place right alongside the shore of a large river in Egypt. Steadfastly oblivious in burnt orange, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Congratulations to Fred AND Southwest for the great positive publicity!! Yes, Raphael, it is a frequently overlooked attribute of Southwest that they have been doing what everyone else just talks about for years now. Finally, some recent egregious events at other airlines have brought to light the need for some proactive efforts to utilize the "A" word. For a long time in the business climate in this country, it was considered the 'kiss of death' for a company to admit fault or blame or in any way use the "A" word. Corporate lawyers warned that an "Apology" was tantamount to an admission of guilt which was an open invitation to lawsuits with huge financial awards. But, in what was probably the first, and certainly largest response to date, the makers of Tylenol jumped out and addressed the issues regarding the tampered pill bottles and demonstrated that you CAN make people happy if you just talk to them. Their actions made it clear that although what had happened was not THEIR fault, THEY were taking responsibility for it and working hard to restore credibility among their customer base. While that concept may be foreign to some aairlines, whether they are blue or any other color, Southwest has been figuratively reaching out to their Customers who may feel victimized by a flight experience and trying to make amends. Clearly, Fred understands that apologizing won't make what happened 'go away' and you can't ever give back to someone hours that they have lost, but he knows that the use of the "A" word goes a long way towards expressing the two-word phrase that is really all most folks want to hear: "we're sorry". Kudos to Fred on a job well done! Kim P. S. Fred, do ya need any help writin' those letters? I know how to type! 🙂 ... View more

Kris, I hope you get the book in time! If you do, you will find that Ray put the really technical stuff in italics, so try reading those parts and see if they put you to sleep so you don't notice the turbulence! LOL Seriously, the men and women who sit in the front office of Southwest's 737s are the most professional and proficient folks I've ever flown with, and their flight attendants are great at putting people at ease if you let them know that you're a bit nervous. A simple comment upon boarding is preferable to grabbing their arm in a death grip when they come by to take your drink order. I think one reason that turbulence unsettles people so much is that you get a temporary sensation that you are falling or even dropping out of the sky. Bear in mind that at 30,000 feet, a drop of a few hundred feet is significantly insignificant in the grand scheme of things and far less troublesome that allowing your automobile tire to drop off the edge of the highway at 70 mph. There really is NO chance that you'll "fall" or drop very far, and unlike the freeways in Dallas, the skies are not so crowded that you'll hit something, either. As far as your previous flights and the turbulence you experienced, I will let you in on a highly-guarded secret if you promise to keep this to yourself. That turbulence on the way into La$ Vega$ is NOT accidental or due to weather issues. The airlines have worked out an agreement with the casinos and the manufacturers of the slot machines to begin shaking loose the quarters in your pocket so it won't be so hard to separate you from your money after you land. You can retaliate by stuffing candy corn into their slot machines. Have a great trip and keep smiling, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Ming, Thanks for posting such a happy blog piece to remind us of how nice things are becoming and how great they will be out of Love Field! It is wonderful to finally see things opening up more and more for our "hometown" airline. I've sent an appropriate picture to Brian and asked him to add to your post, along with my reply that pretty much sums up one of the big reasons to LUV Love Field! Kim 🙂 ... View more

Bill, Ya know, I've read and re-read your newest blog post a number of times, trying to think of what to say. My failure to respond has not been due to lack of interest at all, but being puzzled as to how to answer. You and I have only met once briefly, but as a father of two, I "feel your pain"! LOL First, I think it is an incredible honor to be asked to be your son's best man. That speaks VOLUMES about what sort of father you are and of the quality of the relationship that you share! Congratulations on that!! Not knowing your son makes it harder for me to offer a suggestion, but building on the basis that he feels that close to you, I'd offer these ideas: a.) express your pride at being his Dad b.) express your gratitude at being selected best man c.) offer your hopes/wishes/prayers for a long and loving marriage d.) express your desire that some day Tyler will have as terrific of a son and as great of a relationship with him as you've been blessed to have with Tyler. e.) then sit down as quickly as you can since this is "their" time in the spotlight and not yours! I am sure that you'll do just fine, although I cannot say the same for myself. As sentimental and emotional as I am about my own kids, I've forbidden my daughter from ever getting married, because I bawled and blubbered like a baby at her college graduation and I'd NEVER make it through a wedding! Best wishes to you and especially to Tyler and the future Mrs. Owen, Kim 🙂 ... View more

David, What a great blog piece! I'm pleased to see that even people who fly for a living in the front office of the plane don't get jaded by the marvel of air travel. It was always my desire to never take flying for granted, and from my first flight in a plane, which was as an unaccompanied seven-year-old returning to Dallas from Chicago, to my last flight a few weeks ago, I've never lost the thrill of the whole experience. You're quite right about the ability to experience so many different environments in one day, and in fact, there have been books written about the incredible social impact that commercial flight has had on our culture in the USA. Obviously, with many choices of on-time, short haul flights, Southwest has had a huge impact on life in Texas, much to the dismay of the hotel industry. Years ago, even business trips to cities within the Lone Star State often required overnight stays, but SWA has made it possible to conduct a full day's work elsewhere and still be home at a reasonable time that night. Although I don't have any especially romantic or glamorous trips to describe for this piece, I will relate two examples of how Southwest made it possible for me to travel many miles very easily. For a number of years, I had two business situations that required me to visit a customer's facility once each month. One of those was in Amarillo and one was in Austin. In addition to my other travel, I always blocked out two days of the month for those trips. However, the amount of time that I needed to spend at both places was barely an hour. So, I would go to my office in the morning, work until 10:30 am, drive to Love Field and hop on a plane (no luggage and pre-9/11 security lines) and be in either city, sitting in a favorite restaurant having lunch during the noon hour. A short drive to my customer's place, conduct a bit of business, dawdle on my way back to the airport, catch an afternoon flight and be back at my house before the 5:00 rush hour started and in time to play with my kids for a couple of hours before dinnertime. And all of that was possible thanks to my friends at Southwest! Kim 🙂 ... View more

Jill, Congratulations a dozen times! Over the years, I've enjoyed the upgrades and added features to the website, and in my opinion, it is one of the most user-friendly airline sites I've used. On a fairly regular basis, I've had out of town guests come to Dallas on other airlines (GASP) when traveling from cities not served by Southwest, and so I wind up going to their websites, too. It is always a chore to find the right places to click on the other ones, and a few of them make you jump through hoops just to print boarding passes. But not www.southwest.com! It is great -- please keep up the fantastic job! Kim 🙂 ... View more

Brian, In response to your question about foreign country flyovers, I'm pretty sure that on my last landing into HRL, we 'violated' Mexican airspace temporarily. But, the bigger answer to your query should recognize that all flights past the Sabine River to the east, the Red River to the north and uhhh, Muleshoe to the west enter foreign countries as well. After all, Texas IS still a sovereign Republic, isn't it? Hook 'em, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Kris, It may be too close to next Thursday for you, but if you have the chance to get Captain Ray Stark's excellent book, "This is Your Captain Speaking" ( http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Captain-Speaking-Stark/dp/0970562101/ref=sr_1_1/002-0204780-4130436?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174000538&sr=8-1 ), I think you would find it helpful and informative. I've been flying for years, and I found the book to be written on a level that both newbies and seasoned veterans would enjoy. You may also find that it would calm your nerves before flying to try some of Blog Boy's patented Pre-Flight Jitters Candy Corn. He seems to be pretty mellow most of the time. Kim 🙂 ... View more

Hey Blog Boy, Glad you got it! :) EBB ... View more

Jim, Thanks for the great link to USS Blog Boy's workplace! You're right; the flag on the deck picture is very impressive. I do wish that whoever had designed their webpage would have allowed you to click on a picture to enlarge it, though. There was one other thing missing. One the "Crew Gallery" page, I don't see any pictures of Francisco faithfully blogging on his laptop! LOL :) Ray, Yes, it does seem that good ole ELP is getting a fair share of attention recently. (By the way, I always thought it ironic that a place so far from the ocean and with such incredibly low humidity would have a designator that spells "KELP") Flying in and out of El Paso for the last twenty-five years gave me lots of opportunities to get nice close views of the Franklin Mountains and a bird's eye view of Juarez on those southwesterly take-offs you've mentioned. One of the most interesting take-offs was one that I watched from the ground there one day during a sales trip. Unbeknowest to me ahead of time, my visit to our furthest west city coincided with a refueling stopover for NASA's 747 that was enroute to Florida with the Space Shuttle riding piggyback. (I've also happened to be in the 'right place at the right time' to see it in Austin and Ft. Worth) The NASA flight only stayed on the ground for an hour, so I sat and watched it land and waited for it to take off. Due to the westerly winds that day, the 747 was going to use runway 22, which I see has a length of 12,020 feet. One of the local radio stations had a live reporter on the scene broadcasting details of the visit, and he told us listeners that the plane would taxi to the northeast end of the runway, where it would then be backed up by a pushtug so that the main gear was at the absolute edge of the concrete with the tail sticking out over the sand. The pilot and co-pilot reportedly were both almost literally standing on the brakes as the throttles were advanced and the engines spooled up mightily. They released the brakes and began their take-off run in that higher altitude and thinner air. I was parked at an observation site at the southwest end of the airport along, appropriately, Airport Road, and watched as that huge 747 with its giant passenger lumbered down the runway. From my vantage point, it looked as if it took almost every inch of that 12,020 feet before he got airborne. I'm sure that the pilot was growing anxious to hear his co-pilot call out "rotate" long before he actually did! All of us sitting on the bumpers and hoods of our cars finally took a breath when he managed to clear the Franklin Mountains with what did not look like a lot of room to spare. That day, the NASA flight crew really earned their pay! Kim 🙂 ... View more

Tamra, Thanks for the encouraging words! You know, a few months ago, I was chatting with someone when the topic of me being in sales came up. I offered him an opinion that he had not thought of before, but which reflects my feelings about the business world and whatever part of it you might occupy. When he commented that from his perspective, what I did was tough because being "in sales" is a hard job. My reply was that I thought we are ALL in sales. The checker and sacker at your neighborhood grocery store are in sales; they are the sales and marketing people who most impact you on a regular basis as a shopper. The switchboard operator who answers the incoming calls at a company is the initial sales person that you're likely to encounter. The fellow at the front door of many buildings in places like New York City is a salesman who speaks volumes on behalf of his employer when he says "good morning". Whether your job title includes the word 'sales' or not, I believe that in some way, whether to internal or external customers, you ARE in sales. First, you're selling yourself. Second, you're selling your company or your department. Third, you're selling the philosophy of your employer. I was taught a long time ago that even though a caller cannot see you, a phone should always be answered with a smile, because they can hear it in your voice. Several months ago on a trip, I made a sales call at an office that I had not been to before. This particular office was configured with an entryway with one of those sliding glass windows with a receptionist behind it. When I approached the opening to present my card, I was struck nearly speechless by what I found. This smiling lady had one of those engraved name plates that sits at an angle in a metal holder up in the windowsill. Beneath her name was her job title: "Director of First Impressions". WOW!!! Someone at that company 'got it' in terms of understanding that she was more than a receptionist! This woman was the first employee that a visitor to their offices would meet and she and her bosses KNEW that her attitude was critical. What kind of job would we all do if we recognized the responsibility that WE carried on behalf of our employer? Kim P. S. By the way, Tamra, the "direction" I'd like to go would be 225 degrees on the compass. LOL 🙂 ... View more

Joe, That's great news -- please let me know when it will be at DAL so I can rush down and take some pictures of the white, yellow and orange paint scheme! You know, I understand all about the plane numbering system for tail numbers with the N for this country, etc. Also, I read in a blog piece many moons ago about the use of the last two letters to honor a particular person. What puzzles me is what the "BL" could POSSIBLY stand for on Candy Corn One?? 🙂 🙂 :) LOL Great post, Joe!! Kim ... View more

Jim, To piggyback on Brian's explanation about "L" and "R", you didn't ask, but I'll tell you a bit about the runway numbering system. If you think about looking straight down at an airport from overhead (as in the Google Earth view that you mentioned), then imagine superimposing a compass dial over that view. The due north direction would be labeled 360 to represent the "top" of a 360 degree circle. Due south would be 180, or halfway around from the top of the circle. Inbetween, looking to the east would be 90 and to the west would be 270. (Aren't you glad that you stayed awake during geometry now?) The runway numbering system drops the last zero, and then labels that concrete strip based on the direction you'd be flying if you landed on it. If you had an airport with a runway that ran true north/south, it would be numbered 36/18. If the landing approach was from the south, flying northbound, you would call that runway "36" because you'd be heading towards 360 on the compass dial. If you came from the other direction, going south as you landed, that same runway would be referred to as "18". However, not many airports have runways that perfectly align to the four 'corners' of the compass. For example, at Dallas Love Field, the two main runways are numbered "13/31". The numbers will always deviate from 360 and 180 by the same amount; 13 (actually 130 degrees) is fifty degrees to the southeast of true south (180) and the 31 direction is shifted fifty degrees to the northwest of true north (360). Since DAL has the two parallel runways (I'm ignoring the one smaller cross runway for this discussion), it is necessary to identify them for incoming/departing pilots by left or right. When you approach DAL from the north, landing into a southerly headwind, you'd see two runways in front of you. 13L would be the one on the left that is heading towards a compass point of 130 degrees, and 13R would be its parallel sibling to your right. Here's what it looks like in Dallas: http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/KDAL So, you can figure out from this explanation that the runway that you and Brian are referring to at ELP is aligned to 40 degrees or 220 degrees on the compass dial depending on your approach. That's almost a true northeast/southwest heading, which would be 45/225 degrees. For a long time now, I've never landed at Love Field without remembering an incident that happened to me years ago but has been indelibly etched into my memory. I was riding in the cockpit of my former employer's jet, chatting with our pilots, listening to the aviation radio traffic and enjoying the view. The Love Field approach controllers directed us to land on 31L as we came in from the south. At DAL, commercial traffic, like Southwest's planes, is usually routed to 31L because it is the longer runway and is closer to the SWA side of the terminal, thereby shortening the taxiing time. For the same reason, the GA (General Aviation -- private planes) flights are usually sent to 31R since that runway is closer to the FBOs (Fixed Base Operators -- private 'terminals') located along the east side of DAL. Our pilot radioed back to confirm a destination of 31L, but also asked if it would be possible to use 31R. All three of us heard in our headsets when the reply was in the negative, that we were to use 31L. Since pilots normally don't argue or debate with controllers, we accepted that assignment, knowing that we'd have further to taxi, but it wasn't a big deal overall. As we passed over downtown Dallas, now only about 30 - 45 seconds from touchdown, the radio came alive with a frantic voice telling us we were lined up on the WRONG runway. The man in our headsets was telling us that he had said 31R and we had messed up. Our pilot reconfirmed 31R and he just veered to our right to re-align to the east side of the airport, without any compromise to safety or violent movements. In fact, he did it gently enough that our pax never realized that we had "scooted over", but the three of us all knew who had made the mistake. So, the "L" and the "R" definitely make a BIG difference! LOL Happy flying, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Blog Boy, Is THAT what causes that humid and salty aroma around ships? (or as Captain Chekov woulda referred to USS Blog Boy's current ride, "nuclear wessels") External Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

I think I read that same advice years ago in a famous book titled "Zen and the Art of Candy Corn Maintenance".... Trying to get my legs into the lotus position under the keyboard, External Blog Boy ... View more

Angela, Well, you might be correct. There is the possibility that I accidentally mispronounced your name and it came out as "H..E..R..B..K..E..L..L..E..H..E..R", but I was desperate to calm down those two ladies. And since "Brian Lusk" clearly wasn't doing anything for my credibility... Maybe you could make me a Southwest picture ID to wear on a lanyard to clear up future confusion. Just put "External Blog Boy" on it. Wait a sec, I need to remain optimistic about my job search -- since I'm hoping that description will not be accurate much longer, let's leave off the 'external' part! LOL Kim 🙂 ... View more

Dear Blog Boy, I am writing on behalf of two of my friends with a special request. Despite the FAA rules about sight-lines, bulkheads and rear-facing seats, I would like to ask for just ONE Southwest 737 to be reconfigured in the following manner: a.) exactly TWO rear-facing seats to be located at the BACK of the plane b.) a tall bulkhead to be installed in front of and behind those seats c.) a privacy curtain to be installed on the aisle side of those two seats d.) a sign to be placed overhead that reads "Reserved for Francisco and Leah" When this plane has been appropriately modified, please let me know that it is ready. Then, enter a flight plan that sends it first to ABQ, next directly to TUL, and then leave the next flight segment confidential. Please send me the itinerary details. I have two friends who seem ready to occupy those seats... Resident matchmaker, External Blog Boy P. S. If you can make all that happen, then let's talk about the hot pants and boots issue... 🙂 ... View more

Jim (and everyone else), Thanks for the very kind words! Yes, it was a bit of a shocker, to say the least. Not as disconcerting as when my own Mother admitted that I was not her biological child, but had, in fact, been dropped here in Dallas in the 1950s by some aliens who misspelled "Roswell" on Mapquest, but troubling nevertheless. :) As far as networking, if I can get away with a short job search plea here while Brian is off taking a candy corn break... In my former job, I was a Regional Sales Manager for a manufacturing company, responsible for sales across four states. During my tenure with them, I spent the first twenty years also managing a sales office and regional warehouse in Dallas, before the company decided to close that operation. I've supervised hourly and salaried employees in office, warehouse and sales positions. My customer base included OEMs, distributors, and retail dealers. I've taught seminars, led motivational/training meetings and handled extensive educational programs about products to architects, engineers and city governments. Oh yeah, I also got to fly on Southwest Airlines and eat lots of peanuts. For those who have offered the opinion that I should go to work for Southwest based on my unofficial 'cheerleader for SWA' role, your input is a nice confirmation that I was taking the right midlife career-change step of asking to be considered for a position there over a week ago! Maybe the Southwest Employees who read this blog will put in a good word for me or realize that I'm JUST the person they've been wanting in their department. I'm not proud; I'd even be honored to be Brian's Candy Corn Dispenser Refill Supervisor! Thanks again, my blog buddies! Kim 🙂 ... View more

Hollee, Those are GREAT pictures! The only problem is that you didn't tell us what they are pictures of! LOL As has been apparent by some earlier posts on the blog, I, too, love to take pictures out the window when I fly. I have some of my "better" ones rotating on my screen saver on my laptop so that I can reminisce about those views and keep enjoying them. Quite a few years ago, BDC (Before Digital Cameras), at the end of a family vacation that reached its furthest distance in Las Vegas, we boarded a Southwest flight to return home. Having spent several days staying at the Grand Canyon (both South and North rims), I had just observed the 'standard' flight paths out of LAS heading east back in the direction of Grand Canyon National Park. Taking advantage of Southwest's opening seating policy 🙂 , I suggested to my kids which side of the plane to sit on. Our reward was a wonderful view of one of the most beautiful areas of our country! The non-zoom pictures were not memorable (yes, Virginia, there DID used to be something called 'film'), but we thoroughly enjoyed seeing it from the air! Another time, I was returning from a trip to Vermont to see my sister, and traveling on a Rapid Reward ticket, I was able to also include a scenic tour of nearly every East Coast airport that Southwest served! Thanks to the efforts of former Speaker Jim Wright, I was able to get back to Dallas with only five or six flights, offering me the opportunity to experience the great takeoff and landing skills of the SW pilots and the friendly service of the SW FAs many times in one day. Sure, I was a bit tired of peanuts by that evening, but I saved lots of dollars on lunch and dinner. 🙂 Anyway, upon boarding one of the flights that would depart Baltimore, I purposely chose the side of the plane (you remember that open-seating policy, dontcha?) that would afford me a great view of Washington, D.C. as we flew over. Since we had not gained an appreciable amount of altitude in the short time it took to reach the Capital, I got some great, digital pictures. Now, I can repeatedly enjoy overhead views of the White House, the Capitol, the Main Mall, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial and the Pentagon on my computer screen! The only downside of being an aviation photographer/enthusiast is that in today's post-9/11 culture, I've had some occasions that my photography creates some anxiety. A few months ago, I was in a window seat, a SWA Employee from HDQ was in the center and a business lady was on the aisle in my row. After about the tenth picture, the lady leaned across and stared at me and said, "You're really creeping me out. Why are you taking pictures out the window? What do you intend to do with those?" She didn't seem to believe my explanation, even when I told her that people just like me take pictures out the windows all the time and send them in to be published in the Spirit magazine. Even after pulling out the seatback current issue and showing her a lovely photo of a sunset with a SWA winglet in the center, she was skeptical. Finally I said that I share them with some friends who work at the Southwest Airlines headquarters. At that point, the traveling SW Employee came to my defense and told the lady that what I was doing was very common and was nothing to be alarmed about. She displayed her SWA badge and the nervous pax seemed to believe her. Here comes the part of the story that Blog Boy isn't going to like, however. The Employee asked me who some of my friends were that I sent pictures to. Of course, I started out with our very own fearless leader and proudly announced, "Well, I've known Brian Lusk for several years and he likes my pictures!" My center-seat neighbor looked at me in silence for about ten seconds and then replied with her own growing sense of skepticism, "I have NO idea who that is. Who ELSE do you know?" I hurriedly tried rattling off names in a desperate attempt to gain credibility. The only thing that saved me was when I threw out, "I've never met Angela Vargo, but I've blogged with her!!" The Employee smiled, leaned back and said, "Oh, if you're a friend of Angela's, then you're fine." She proceeded to close her eyes and then slept for the remainder of the flight. Sorry 'bout that, Brian, but you need to hire a better internal PR agent! (hint hint) LOL Kim 🙂 ... View more

Hey Angela, Another great blog posting! Please allow me to join in this praise-fest for our favorite airline by pointing out an article from last Sunday's Dallas Morning News ( http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-southwest_04bus.ART0.State.Edition1.37a46ea.html ). This story explains how the reduction in services and amenities offered by the other airlines is actually starting to make Southwest look and feel more like a "full-service" airline everyday! Just like the coin-operated bins in the humorous SWA commercial that point out how those other guys are nickel-and-diming their pax for what used to be standard services, many airlines are lowering the bar on the level of customer service to the point that even the "full-fare" carriers are looking pretty chintzy these days. But, the reporter correctly points out that Customers of Southwest are getting much better service by comparison even though they are paying lower fares. It kinda throws a kink in the old adage, "you get what you pay for", because on more and more airlines now, the phrase should be "you pay for what you get!" Kudos to the BEST airline for continuing to offer the BEST Customer service through the BEST Employees around! Kim 🙂 ... View more

Angela, I agree wholeheartedly with Jeramy, Leah and USS Blog Boy...no offense to the first four on the list, but helllloooooo? General Electric? Toyota? Do you see dozens of articles per year written about the folks working at GE or Toyota and how much they love their jobs? Do you see things about how the customers of those four firms are just in love with the companies? Are there blogs where people can rave about how fantastic their refrigerator is and what great service they received on it? As far as my fellow bloggers and I feel, regardless of how Fortune ranked 'em, Southwest IS number one, always HAS been, and always WILL be. Whatever is number two is wayyyyy down the list! Kim 🙂 ... View more

Leah, I'm not sure if SW has any planes left with the old front/back configuration in the center. If they do, there aren't many, based on my own non-scientific observations over the last few years, so your chances of taking off or landing backwards are reduced to your ability to convince the FAs that your reversed sitting posture is the way you always sit. Good luck with that! It did feel "backwards" to face the rear of the aircraft on those SWA planes, and as I mentioned to you before, I had the same sensation at times on the private jet of my (former) employer. An Air Force friend told me that all USAF transports configured to accomodate passengers have only rear-facing seats because in the event of a violent landing, that position offers the most spinal/neck/head support. What really DID unnerve me was on the occasions when I got stuck flying on the couch of our corporate jet. It was oriented front-to-back along the length of the cabin, as opposed to side-to-side, which meant that you sat facing the center aisle and looking straight out the left-side windows. During takeoff, your body would lean to the left, and landings would reverse that with your body being pulled to the right. Neither of those movements "feel" right on a plane! A good friend of mine who was a career Air Force pilot summarized flying into these layman's terms for folks who asked about the intricacies of driving complex jet aircraft: "pull back on the stick, houses get smaller; push forward on the stick, houses get bigger." Kim 🙂 ... View more

Hey y'all... Howdy from the Lone Star State, and thank you SO much for missing me and for asking. This is the perfect spot to let you know why I haven't been around as much recently. You know what they say about taking lemons and making lemonade? I'm in the mood for a big hug right about now, and my friends at Southwest are just the folks I would appreciate getting one from, whether you are an Employee or a Customer! After twenty-five years with my employer, I have been laid off as part of a cost-cutting move. Yeah, I was shocked, too. During several weeks of announcements regarding my friends and co-workers, I had really thought that if one of the goals is to get sales up, they'd need good experienced salesmen who had developed long-term and loyal relationships in the marketplace. But, nothing is sacred when changes start, whether it is a VP with 34 years seniority or a regional sales manager with 25 years. So, after a long time of being on the giving side of hugs, the last couple of weeks have put me in the mood to be a recipient now! However, I remain very upbeat, because I know that the Lord took me out of that situation for a reason, and that He has a new spot prepared for me. Whatever that next chapter of my life will be, each of you and Southwest Airlines will always have a special spot in my heart. Thanks, my friends -- I really do LUV you! Kim :-) P. S. Leah is right; she LUVs to hug, and I'm here to attest that she's good at it! Eat your heart out, Francisco!! LOL ... View more