Southwest Airlines Community

Leah! You're wrong!!! On the Southwest Blog, we're ALL winners!! From your burnt-orange blooded pal to the South, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Paula, Oh no! Tell me it ain't true! I clicked on the picture and enlarged it to be sure. Are you drinking Pepsi??? Did the air get thin underneath Brian's hairy chin and somehow muddle your thinking? Get that girl a cup of The Real Thing!! Kim EBB and Coke-aholic 🙂 ... View more

from one Kim to another -- Your story made me cry! That was very beautiful, and I thank you for sharing it! Kim EBB 🙂 ... View more

Brian, Thank you for providing us a place to put some comments about our Veterans. I can well remember growing up in the Sixties and feeling so sad that people's attitudes about veterans turned ugly as citizens vented their frustrations over our involvement in Vietnam back onto the troops returning home. I finally had a chance to start feeling better about public sentiment after the first Gulf War when Americans realized that regardless of their opinion about a military event, we MUST support our men and women in uniform. Although I am not a veteran myself, I have many friends who are, and have the utmost respect and admiration for what they've done for our country. (of course, this includes our friend Francisco - U. S. S. Blog Boy) I am extremely proud of my Dad's service in World War II, and have since learned that he was part of a secret unit within the Army whose actions have recently been declassified. War is not glorious or pretty, even in victory. However, having a strong military is important, and to me, an American citizen who volunteers to serve in the military is about as patriotic as you can get. I fly my flags on the outside of my home to tell folks that pass by that I am, as Lee Greenwood said so well, "proud to be an American", and that I am proud of our military. I salute each of you, Kim Red White and Blue External Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

Ummm, Leah -- I'd like to make one itsy-bitsy suggestion... Stick to your day job. LOL Sorry, but since your Sooners beat up on my Longhorns this year, the only reason Oklahoma got a mention at all was so I could honor my Mom, so no additional publicity from me for towns north of the Red River! Kim Beaten but still burnt-orange blooded 🙂 ... View more

Kevin, Buddy...pal...you've GOTTA do me a favor. Well, actually, it is for ALL of the SWA pax... We love the free peanuts, whether they are the old-fashioned, original recipe roasted, or the new honey-roasted. Whatever you do, please please PLEASE do NOT put Tamra in charge of provisioning. I do NOT want my peanuts replaced with free packages of broccoli!!!! Former President George H. W. Bush okay, not really 🙂 ... View more

Carole, It is great to see you back! Although I don't have any airline-related replies that I can think of right now, or that are as funny as Leah's, I can offer a more generic one for you that is "grammatically correct" as in Brian's "may I/can I" perspective: "O' Miss, may I ask you a question?" "Sure, what's the second one?" See, I grew up reading Mad magazine's "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions"! Kim External Blog Boy who rarely asks questions 🙂 ... View more

I've been offline for a few weeks, so I'm just now seeing this question and Terry's quiz, but I did get all four correct, and obviously, the one of those airports that Southwest does not serve is Paducah, Kentucky, right? (I'm still trying to stay below Leah's radar screen) Kim Slightly-out-of-circulation Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

James, Since I actually DO greatly fear the wrath of Tulsa Blog Girl, I have tinkered with my answers to insure that I don't beat her out, even though unlike Harrison, I can always use more "SWA swag"... How about: 1. Luckenbach, TX 2. Margaritaville 3. Texarkana, AR 4. Texarkana, TX 5. Area 51, NV 6. Branson, MO 7. Truth or Consequences, NM 8. Walla Walla, WA 9. Ninnekah, OK 10.Nome, AK I should point out that I did not cheat by researching the answers online, but instead, used my innate, intricate and thorough knowledge of SWA, their route system and traffic loads to produce the answers. Oh, and I threw in my sweet Mom's hometown just as a tribute to her! Kim External Blog Boy who is intimidated by Leah 🙂 ... View more

Kevin, Well, the folks at HDQ have been "teasing" us for some time about the imminent changes as SWA tries to tweak the system, and I'm glad to finally see the results of all of those long meetings and strategy sessions! Now, to those naysayers who are already primed to shoot these ideas down before they've rotated off the runway, let's pause for just a moment and think through just TWO thoughts. First, you can either view the glass as half-full or half-empty. Some of the bloggers above are like me, "half-fullers", who see this announcement as something that may help a number of current situations, not the least of which is profitability and viability of the best airline in the world. Are there some potential speed bumps in the new program? Possibly, but we should give the management team at Southwest the benefit of the doubt to be planning to evaluate and monitor these changes closely as they are implemented. These folks aren't dummies, and if they see that some parts of the new procedures are not doing what they had hoped, they'll spot it. Second, we all need to look at our calendars. We're quickly rushing up on 2008. This is no longer 1971, and as much as we've all loved Southwest just as it has been, the reality is that NO successful business can afford to just keep doing things the way they've always done them. SWA faces rapidly changing and aggressive competition, and the surest way to lose the race is to just keep doing the same thing while everyone around you innovates and modifies their strategy. How many times have you watched a football game and said to yourself, "why doesn't the coach quit calling running plays and put it in the air, because their defensive line is a solid wall", or something similar? The large carriers and the upstart low-cost ones are scrambling hard for the leisure traveler, the business traveler and everyone inbetween. Southwest owes it to us, their passengers, and us, their stockholders, to change up the plays a bit to stay in front. If we don't want them to work to remain profitable, then we are forcing them to follow the path of Braniff and many others that just financially spiraled into the ground. Instead of tripping up Kevin and the guys who are running some new plays into the huddle, let's stand up and cheer and support their efforts to win the game. All of you who are bitterly complaining about innovation and change need to remember that you're talking to a company that exists because it WAS innovative and different in 1971, and by definition, has ALWAYS been innovative ever since. We should not take for granted that what worked in the 1980s and the 1990s is going to keep working forever. Let's give Southwest not only the freedom to move about the country but to innovate and grow as they need to! Kim External Blog Boy ... View more

Joe, Shhhhhh, those guys are just in training for future employment by the Dallas Cowboys. ...exerts waves of the burnt orange Force and speaks in his best Obi-Wan voice... "Those are not the Longhorns you're looking for." Kim A victim of his own Jedi mind trick 🙂 ... View more

Brian, Great news! Does this mean that when you go to accept the award for the DING! slogan, you'll take the DING! mascot along to the presentation? Of course, I'm referring to our very own DING! Boy, Joe!! Congratulations, Kim Who doesn't ding, but nevertheless blogs 🙂 ... View more

Jerry, Sorry, wrong guess about gender, for both me and Bevo... Kim External Blog BOY Josh, You're right, I've met my match in the trash talkin' department and I'll concede the floor to you and your friends who'd SOONER win than lose. But, please do me a favor while you're at the State Fair watching my Longhorns win -- spend lots of money buying corny dogs and fried foods so you can help the economy. Of course, if all that cholesterol makes you a bit fatigued and sluggish for the plane pull, oh well.... Hook 'em, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Hey Jeramy, Be careful when you try to step on us and crush us like a bug...the ends of those long horns are sharp. I do have to admit that you and your Useless Sophomore Children have been so hospitable to us each time we've visited lately, and we sure appreciate you sending us home with such nice memories! Hey Josh, You said you were born in THIS state and yet you've got Sooner trash comin' outta your mouth? Wasn't Benedict Arnold given a first hand demonstration of the inelasticity of rope for similar behavior? But, that's okay, you Okies Employees go ahead and strain yourself against the Teasipper Employees and show us that you're good at pulling 737s around. We'll LET you win just like we do on the football field from time to time. Hey Jerry, "Smelly-belly"??? You been hangin' around underneath Bevo? That's a dangerous place to be when he decides to lay down. Besides, you ever try to get a huge steer into a shower and then to roll on some deodorant on him? Kim Longhorn Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

Charles, Wow. What an incredible blog contribution! I am deeply moved by the passions, emotions and patriotism that are evident in your story, plus, just like Hovig above, I am quite impressed with your writing. Although I've not been to that location, I have been to Ground Zero in New York City on two separate trips, and was touched, as you were in Pennsylvania, by the outpouring of sentiment in the form of notes, memorabilia and small gifts attached to the fence around the site. Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us through the blog. Kim External Blog Boy and a Proud American 🙂 ... View more

For those of us civilians in the States, it is easy to grow numb to news stories about "the war" or "military presence overseas". We can go about our daily lives reasonably unaware of the hundreds of thousands of men and women in American uniforms who have volunteered to serve their country. If we don't have a direct relative or close friend in a branch of the military, it may be hard to realize that each of those "nameless" and "faceless" people also happen to be a Dad, a Mom, a brother, a sister, a son or a daughter. But, when you DO know someone who is in harm's way, you gain a greater appreciation of what they face and the sacrifices they make for US. So, in addition to it being a fantastic ongoing travelogue with great stories and wonderful pictures that entertain you, I hope that the biggest impact that Francisco's Deployment Diary Blog has on each of the readers is to make his and his colleagues lives more real to you. Please pray for the safe return of each of these men and women, and for peace and comfort for their families, who are as anxiously awaiting their uniformed loved ones' homecoming as Francisco's folks are his. And, when you see these heroes traveling in airports, please join me in saying a sincere "thank you" to them! Kim External Blog Boy who is proud to be a friend of USS Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

Mary, What a great blog post! Knowing you and your infectious brand of humor and good-natured positive attitude, it is very evident that you have greatly increased the enjoyment level for passengers traveling through STL. I wish I had known you back when I was traveling that direction, although I'm sure that I've heard your announcements before we'd met. I have my own fond memories of Lambert -- the views out the window of the Southwest terminal are great for us plane watchers, and one of the absolute best shoe shine places I've ever found in the country is the stand just to the right of security across from the shop that sells golf apparel. Hopefully, the three times you were the recipient of an oral discharge, the source was from a baby, as that is a bit easier to forgive... Keep up the outstanding work up there, congratulations on 15 years and best wishes for many more! Kim External Blog Boy P. S. Back in college, our dorm cafeteria served Green Cake. And Green Meat. And Green Bread. And a number of other dishes in a variety of shades of Green. We never requested the recipes. When faced with those selections, ignorance was the preferred path. 🙂 ... View more

Josh, We're just saving ourselves from a lot of extra work. It's called optimizing your efforts. Why bother to win by 30 or 40 points when you can win by just a few? Besides, as gentlemen, we're trying to not embarrass our weaker opponents too much. A win is a win, and we don't need to rub it in their faces. Plus, by appearing to be weak and barely capable of playing the game, we'll lull your Sooners into a false sense of security and overconfidence so that when you come to OUR State Fair in a few weeks, we will be able to easily crush you and send you back across the Red River with one more game in the loss column for OU in our 107-year-old rivalry! Hook 'em Horns, Kim Burnt Orange Blog Boy P. S. Hey Jeramy, how ya been? Anything been happenin' with that Unsuccessful Silly College that you root for? 🙂 ... View more

To Colleen and Gary -- Congratulations! You both have demonstrated the kind of leadership skills that differentiate bosses from great leaders. You have listened to the collective voices of your Customers and determined that, in hindsight, an Employee's decision might not have been the very best one possible. In your typical style, you've used class and humor to issue an apology with a level of seriousness as befits the original situation. Your response has been measured and appropriate given the circumstances, and I have to assume that in similar Southwest style, your Employee will not be drawn and quartered for exercising the discretionary authority delegated to him, but simply advised that in the future, a different approach might be less likely to inflame the passions of those who wish to make a mountain out of a molehill. For those of you who are now jumping on Southwest's case for reversing their original stance, stop and consider one thing. Which approach displays more maturity and "business sense": deciding that, no matter what, you will stick with your original position, OR pausing long enough amidst the finger-pointing and ridiculous rhetoric flying around to admit that things might have been handled better and "owning" the error? I sure liked the old days in basketball when the player who had a foul called on him took it like a grown-up and held his hand in the air to acknowledge that he was wrong. Now, most of the prima donnas display enough acting skills at looking innocent or 'framed' to earn themselves an Academy Award. I'm proud of Colleen and Gary for holding up their hands and facing the heat. Kim External Blog Boy, who appreciates the courage of his friends at SWA 🙂 ... View more

What great news for all of us weary travelers! Thinking back through the history of the blog, there have been several flashpoints that really seem to irritate frequent flyers: the rude and pushy line-jumpers in the ABC boarding groups; the chaos and delay created by folks bringing everything but the kitchen sink onboard and trying to stuff it overhead; getting stuck in a center seat and departure delays due to people quibbling over what seat to take. Based on the inflammatory comments, bizarre theological and political comparisons, insults, and overall trash-talking of hard working SWA Employees, I'm thinking that all of these "I'll NEVER fly Southwest again" people were some of the ones who made flying unpleasant for so many others. Just think how much more peaceful and enjoyable our future flights on Southwest will be now that these folks have volunteered to take their business elsewhere! We'll be left with those of us who appreciate exceptional on-time performance, outstanding fares and the best treatment of passengers in the airline industry, and who willingly and gratefully choose to fly on Southwest any time possible! Kim External Blog Boy, who tries to make lemonade out of lemons and then looks at his glass of lemonade as half-full 🙂 ... View more

Well, we've certainly found a new controversy to focus on now, haven't we? Clearly the actions by one or two of Southwest's Employees in this situation were horribly inappropriate. There is no question that those involved should be summarily fired. Moreover, I don't think a simple termination is sufficient to address the severity of their lapse in judgment. There is no good reason that I can imagine that should limit Southwest's management to just kicking these folks out the door. Being a firm believer that the punishment should fit the crime, I say that the person(s) who made this egregious error should be stripped down to a minimal amount of clothing, securely locked into a set of public stocks and then flogged mercilessly by anyone who wants to drive by and get in some exercise for their arm that only gets a workout when it is busy pointing out blame and faults in others. But, since those one or two Employees serve in a global sense as representatives of the entire Company, then under the theory of "the buck stops here", I think all 34,000 Employees should be ridiculed in public stocks and every citizen of the United States, and definitely every person who has ever flown on Southwest, thought about flying on Southwest, heard of Southwest or even eaten any peanuts anywhere, should have the chance to pick up the whip of physical assault to go along with the intense verbal assaults already being voiced above. However, if you think of it, even THAT is not enough retribution for the horrendous evil that has been perpetrated here. Obviously, EVERY Southwest Employee should then be fired as well, each of the half-of-a-thousand planes should be given away, and the corporate headquarters and all physical facilities and equipment should be given away or destroyed until any and all reminders of what "used to be a great company" are obliterated from our collective memories. Does THAT make you happy? Stop and think about the vindictiveness of the hundreds of responses above. One or two or even a handful out of 34,000 people did something that YOU think is wrong, and your reaction is off the Richter scale! I won't even count how many folks above said in one way or another, "I'll NEVER fly your airline again!" and how many accusations have been hurled that include racial, religious and intellectual slurs and insults. Whether you agree or disagree with the basics of this story, consider a few things for a minute. First, how many of you enraged but now disenfranchised Customers know ALL of the facts of this situation? In my experience, many times only first-hand observers really know what happened. Second, how many of you trust the news media to report this story fully and fairly? Anyone who believes the media can be counted on to be wholly unbiased, especially following the built-up inner rage from the last year's worth of major abuses of passengers by airlines, is probably also sitting outside with Linus all night waiting for the Great Pumpkin to rise from the pumpkin patch. Third, when weighed against inconveniencing passengers for as long as some people spend at their jobs each day, with eight hour delays stuck inside a plane, how is it that the quantity and spitefulness of reactions to this story is so proportionately out of balance? It seems to me that, right or wrong, some Southwest Employees made a decision involving this one Customer. You can agree or disagree with that decision, but let me ask this -- how many of you who have a job have EVER made a mistake at work? Have you ever done something that might not have been the most prudent course of action? And if you've answered yes to those two questions, how ready would you have been at the time to have hundreds of people line up to call you vile names, insult your intelligence and threaten that they will never do business with your company again? I've said this before and I'll say it again, the 34,000 Employees at Southwest are human, and I'm not aware of any human who is perfect and has never made a mistake. In my opinion, the reactions above would be similar to me having heard of a McDonald's employee in, let's say Miami, refuse to serve a Big Mac to someone in their store, and then me declaring, "well, I will NEVER AGAIN eat at ANY McDonald's in the world!!" Even if I had been the potential Big Mac connoisseur who was turned away, it would still be so grossly out of whack for me to castigate the entire company and its workforce! Get a perspective, people! Good or bad, the decision was made, and if you feel so personally violated and offended that you will NEVER AGAIN patronize the low-fare leader who has a proven track record of spectacular treatment of its Customers, then you are proverbally cutting off your own nose to spite your face. I hope that your sensibilities are equally affronted by outrageous profit-taking by the big oil companies and that you will henceforth refuse to buy gasoline. I hope that the next call by a referee that you disagree with during the next football game you watch will provoke you to stop watching football. Oh, and the next time you see something on a television show that bothers you, I do hope you will allow your outrage to manifest itself to a point of declaring that you'll never again watch a TV show on that network. Could we all just collectively stop, catch our breath and then go make a mountain out of a more important molehill? Kim External Blog Boy, who supports front-line Employees who are faced with difficult situations every day and who try to make the right choices 🙂 ... View more

Joe, That was the excuse I used when the state trooper clocked me doing 88 mph. I thought I would get away from him by going back to the future, but all I got was a ticket... Kim 😞 ... View more

Gary, I would suggest a giant piece of candy corn, but then Brian would follow you around all day and wouldn't get ANY work done. Wait, he doesn't get any work done now. So, go for it! I would suggest going as a Prius painted to look like one of your 737s, but that's already been done. And, I would suggest going as our alma mater's mascot, but you're one of the few airline CEOs who is not full of bull. You oughta ask Sunny -- she's very creative and is bound to come up with something that would fit the "inner Gary"! Kim Who will probably dress up as a blended winglet this year 🙂 ... View more

Brian, Actually, I DO remember those, but, with discretion being the better part of valor, I was trying to help your marketing folks "save face" by not mentioning their earlier selection of vehicles whose cachet within the automotive world might not equal the gravitas that Southwest enjoys in the aviation world... Kim External Blog Boy, who had a used American Motors vehicle as his first car 🙂 ... View more

Susie, This was a great blog piece and explanation of some of the ideas being tried out. You were bound to know when you wrote this that there would be no shortage of comments! It seems as if many of the responders above me are saying two similar things; one, we want Southwest to explore ways to make the boarding process easier and more efficient and two, we still value open-seating. From what I read, a lot of Customers appreciate the necessity to keep turn times to a minimum while still trying to figure out how to make the entire flight process as enjoyable as possible. I think it would help to bear in mind that there is no perfect solution. I can remember seeing people lined up at empty gate counters 30 minutes before the one-hour preflight opening just to get that coveted plastic number 1. Whether it is online check-in, curbside check-in, a random lottery system or the bribing of some airport executive, there will always be someone who feels that they got the short end of the stick. However, we need to keep in mind that we're talking about Southwest Airlines, the low-fare leader in aviation. I've waited an hour or more for a table at some high-end, fancy and exclusive restaurants, even with a reservation. There are also times that I've walked right in to a fast-food restaurant below the sign with the golden arches, gotten my food and sat down within two minutes. I have seen fares from cities in the thousands of dollars for last-minute trips of several hundred miles. At those prices, I expect a certain level of service. When I'm able to book a flight on Southwest with a day's notice for less than a couple of hundred bucks to many places, it is hard to gripe or make apple-to-apple comparisons. Let's give the intelligent folks at Southwest enough credit for not throwing the baby out with the bathwater and trying to find ways to "tweak" the system and not completely dismantle it. The Employees are interested in what is best for the Company AND the Customers! Kim Who has been FIRST to board some planes and LAST to board some planes, but always got where I was going 🙂 ... View more

Whitney, This is a great story! What a cool way for Southwest to not only celebrate the Summer of Love, but also get noticed by the folks in the City By the Bay as you return to SFO! For people who don't live in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, they may think that these are the first automotive goodwill ambassadors for SWA, but our local oldies radio station, KLUV-FM (98.7 - www.kluv.com ) has been a partner with our local airline for years in their operation of the "Southwest Airlines LUV Bug", a VW Beetle painted to resemble a smaller version of those famous canyon blue 737s. The car travels around the area and is frequently associated with giveaways, contests and special events, just as your LUV Prius has been doing in San Francisco. I can't find a great picture of just the car, but this link has several images that will give you the idea: http://www.salvationarmydfw.org/pdf/KLUV2003.pdf . Several years ago, this partnership between radio station and airline even extended as far as Southwest naming one of their 737s in honor of the now-retired local radio DJ legend, Ron Chapman: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.visitingphx.com/sspnronchapman.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.visitingphx.com/swanamephotos.html&h=92&w=200&sz=6&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=r_RAMeuQBnkBLM:&tbnh=48&tbnw=104&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522southwest%2522%2B%2522ron%2Bchapman%2522%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN In Dallas, LUV is both IN the air and ON the air! Happy motoring, Whitney! Kim A supporter of both of the local LUV companies :) P. S. Whitney -- realizing that this is the 40th anniversary of The Summer of Love didn't make me feel as old as the fact that Al Jardine of The Beach Boys turned 65 this weekend! ... View more

Speaking of having a good time, as Angela and Brian obviously did at NASA's JSC, folks who watched today's episode of the CBS show "Sunday Morning", got to see firsthand several SWA Employees who have a good time every day that they go to work. The show had a feature about Southwest Airlines and its amazing Culture. They highlighted some of the history of the Company's growth and lack of seriousness, including a scene from "Malice in Dallas", which External Blog Boy excitedly attended several years ago. The show had interviews with Herb and Colleen, several Employees, and the authors of the famous SWA book "Nuts!". It was not a puff piece, but an honest look at what makes Southwest tick and what has made it successful. For a transcript of the show, check out this link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/30/sunday/main3221531.shtml Congratulations to our favorite airline on the great press and well-deserved accolades! Kim External Blog Boy and SWA Cheerleader 🙂 ... View more

Hey Jim! Thanks for missing me...several times, I tried to post to the blog several times recently but was unsuccessful until Brian encouraged me by saying, "Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." By the way, you know why duct tape is like The Force? It has a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together... Salutes Yoda Pitt, who tells me he has a new facial addition as well, Kim External Blog Boy and Apprentice Lightsaber Polisher 🙂 ... View more

Brian, Welcome back, buddy! I hope all of the jokes I sent you helped your recovery, or at the very least didn't overload your Crackberry! To readers of the Blog, Just to clue you in, the story about the clots was just a cover-up. The REAL reason he was in the hospital was that he had some extensive plastic surgery on his face. Brian has been embarrassed for a number of years now by his uncanny resemblance to Brad Pitt, and it is always awkward for him when folks stop him and ask for his autograph or inquire about how Angelina is doing. So, he has changed his appearance now to reduce the celebrity confusion for his sake AND for Mr. Pitt's sake, who generously funded the procedure. Brad paid for it since he has frequently been beseeched in airports for bags of candy corn and extra Rapid Rewards segment credits by people thinking he was Brian Lusk. Kim Who does not resemble Brian OR Brad 🙂 ... View more

Hollee, Great blog story! Here's some suggestions for future cinematic choices: 1.) Airplane! 2.) Attack of the Candy Corn Creatures 3.) Wings (the one filmed at Randolph AFB, not Paul McCartney's group) 4.) The Demise of the Wright Amendment, Widescreen version Kim, giving Hollee TWO thumbs up! 🙂 ... View more