Southwest Airlines Community

We just recently published some summer travel tips on southwest.com,  and you can read them here.  To those tips, I'd like to give you some hints and tips about travel from a Flight Attendant's POV (Point of View)! 1 - Luggage:  The travel tips have useful information about luggage, and as a reminder, please don't expand your carryon roller bag because it won't fit in the overhead bins. 2 - Pillows and Blankets:  Southwest Airlines is one of the few airlines that still provides complimentary pillows and blankets for our passengers.  If you need a pillow and blanket, they are usually located in the middle of the cabin.  Please take one of each, so that we have plenty to go around.  3 - Choosing Your Seat: Believe it or not, all of the seats get there at exactly the same time.  If you are a little timid about the bumps during flight, choose a seat up front or over the wing.  Also, please do not put any personal items in the empty seat next to you.  Most of our flights are full, and it will just take extra time if someone wants to sit next to you and perhaps make a love connection. 4 - Portable Electronic Devices and Cell Phones: This includes Game Boys, iPods, MP-3 players, DVD players, laptop computers, BlackBerries, etc...these devices must be completely turned off below 10,000 feet.  We will let you know when you can turn them on and when you must turn them off.  If you choose to use a  PDA during flight, make sure you know how to put it in airplane or game mode.  Also, remember we don't have any headphones on board, so bring your own and enough for your children as well. 5 - Seatbelts and the Seatbelt Sign: When the fasten seat belt sign is on, it is for your safety and the safety of those around you.  6 - Inflight Service:  On those very quick flights, we endeavor to get your drinks out to you as quickly and safely as we can.  You can help us by knowing what you want to drink when we come by to take your order.  The Beverage Menu page is at the back of the Spirit magazine in the seatback. 7 - If possible, you may want to use the bathroom before you board! We have two lavatories on board our aircraft, one in the front and one in the back.  With 137 people on board, these lavatories can get busy.  Also remember that, for security reasons, no lines can be formed in the forward part of the aircraft or galley area. 8 - Unaccompanied Minors:  We love these kids!  Please be sure that you arrive early enough to fill out the additional paperwork and pack some things for your child to do.  Also, pack them some snacks, especially if they are going cross-country with us.  If you are going to pick up your child or grandchild, remember it is very difficult for the child to get up the jetbridge full of expectation and not have anyone there to meet him or her, so try to be at the gate before the flight's arrival time.  9 - Traveling with Children: Don't forget, we don't have assigned seats at Southwest Airlines.  So, you can avail yourself of the online checkin process at southwest.com, 24 hours prior to your scheduled departure.  It helps if you have kids to be in the "A" boarding group.  This will ensure that you all have seats together upon boarding.  Also, please be mindful that we don't make money unless we are in the air.  This means that we have to tidy the aircraft in 20-25 minutes while we are on the ground.  If you need a trashbag to put your garbage in, just ask one of the Flight Attendants, and we will be more than happy to provide one to you.  Take these hints and tips to heart and you will have an enjoyable travel experience on Southwest Airlines.  Do you have any tips you'd like to add?  Simply add a comment to share with us and your fellow Passengers.  Have a GREAT trip! ... View more

I've actually had a couple of days off and decided to spend the time here in Chicago.  So, I grabbed my camera and set out on a self-guided walking tour. A few weeks ago, the weather here was amazing with not a cloud in the sky!  One of the first things that I did, was visit the Sears Tower.  This is an amazing building.  Next, I was off to stroll down Michigan Avenue.  I got some great pictures as you can see.  Millennium Park is one of my favorite places in Chicago.  It has the cool Crown Fountain , the Pritzker Pavillion (where the Chicago Symphony does free concerts during lunchtime), and also  the best duck and fish tacos at the Park Plaza Grill.  Millennium Park also has the "Cloud Gate", but the locals call it the Bean.  It is a great sculpture that gives you a dazzling reflection of the city. The next day, my friend Bob and I decided to walk down the lake front of Lake Michigan.  We walked by the Field Museum, the Adler Planetarium, and Shedd's Aquarium .  I am planning to visit these places on another stretch of days off, but really just wanted to walk around and enjoy the wonderful weather. We then took a stroll along the harbor and down to Navy Pier .  This is a great place to take the family and enjoy some great food; take a Chicago Architectural Boat Tour or an even faster speed boat tour!  By this time in the day, we were hot and tired.  So we decided to go to my favorite movie theater to see a movie.  It is the AMC River East 21.  It is right across the street from what I consider to be the best gourmet grocery store in the city, Fox and Obel.  They have a great cheese and wine selection as well as an awesome deli case and restaurant.  I still have a lot of things to see and do, but really enjoyed my days off!  If you get a chance to get to this great city, check out some of the things I mentioned, or suggest some of things that you have done and seen, and I'll add those to my "to-do" list. ... View more

I had the opportunity on my Tampa (TPA) to Baltimore-Washington (BWI) flight the other day to play host to 17 students and their headmaster, Mr. Brian Siegel, from the Pinellas County Jewish Day School.  They were on their way to visit our Nation's capital.  It sounded like they had a pretty full agenda for the four days that they were going to be visiting.   On Monday, they were going to be visiting the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial as well as the Lincoln Memorial.  They were then going to be taking a evening cruise down the Potomac River. Tuesday, they were going to visit their Congressman, the Honorable Bill Young of Florida.  After some time with him, they were off to the Ford Theater, the Aerospace Museum, the Holocaust Museum, and then a visit to the Israeli Embassy. Wednesday held even more fun.  A visit to the Supreme Court and then off to Mount Vernon.  Thursday they were off to the Spy Museum and then the I Street Synagogue.  And then, a very tired bunch of eighth graders were going to be returning on a BWI - TPA flight.  As you can tell, they were in for a fun-filled, very busy week in our Nation's capital. ... View more

Traveling around the country at all times of the day, it can be very hard to eat nutritiously. Most Flight Attendants have become very adept at dragging along a "food bag" with our other items. In my "food bag," I usually carry cut up carrots, celery sticks, and some sort of fruit--usually an apple or orange.  If I know that my food selection will be limited - we all know some airports have better food selections than others - I'll also cook up some hamburger patties or chicken breasts and throw them in a Ziplock bag before I leave for my trip.  Then when I'm on the plane, all I have to do is run some hot water over the bag to warm them up.  The same technique will work for spaghetti or any other type of pasta. Many Flight Attendants have taken to ordering from NutriSystems because they have a great selection and are easy to warm up on the plane by just adding hot water.  But, I've seen Flight Attendants bring everything from Chicken and Dumplings to Lobster onboard.  Do you have any "on the go" meal ideas that we might be able to use on the plane?  Any other good snack foods that would be good to bring along on a trip?  ... View more

I recently saw a great video of Southwest Airlines Operations Agent Joe Perirra working a delayed flight from PHX (Phoenix, AZ) to AUS (Austin, TX).  I think that Joe went way above and beyond to entertain the Customers on this flight.  Click here, if you would like to watch the video.  It is a bit long, about 20 minutes I think, but Joe is hysterical, and the Customers loved it! Tell us about a time when you experienced GREAT Customer Service from a SWA Employee. ... View more

I wrote briefly about the Free Hugs movement in one of my previous posts, but wanted to expound on it a little here. Free Hugs was started by a gentleman, named Juan Mann, and the Free Hugs website states:  Sometimes, a hug is all what we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, a man whos sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives. In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal. As this symbol of human hope spread accross the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED. What we then witness is the true spirit of humanity come together in what can only be described as awe inspiring. In the Spirit of the free hugs campaign, PASS THIS TO A FRIEND and HUG A STRANGER! After all, If you can reach just one person... I would encourage you all to give Free Hugs a try!  Be it in a formal setting or informal setting.  Perhaps you can be the vessel to change a person's day because you took a moment to give a "Free Hug".  If you would like to watch the Free Hugs video, click HERE! A friend of mine has a button maker, and I'm gonna see if she will make me some Free Hug buttons.  So, Matt D., if you want one, just let me know and I'll send one your way. ... View more

As I sit here recuperating from some surgery, I get to enjoy looking at my Southwest Airlines swag shelf.  This  bookshelf is in my living room, and it is filled with Southwest Airlines stuff!  The stuff includes things that I have received for my birthday, my Southwest Anniversary, Christmas, and even a couple of things that I've bought off eBay.  I have the bobbleheads, cups, glasses, coffee cups, and hand-blown, painted Christmas ornaments.  I have a signed SWA Basketball (signed by all the Officers), a cookie jar, a bank, a memory box, and dominos.  The SWA Anniversary and Superbowl Coke Bottles, the SWA phone, and many other things are also displayed.  On top of that,I have a lot more SWA swag in my closet and probably need to get another shelf but just haven't taken the time to do it.  Looking at this shelf makes me happy, it is like a history of my life at Southwest Airlines.  It also makes me wanna get healthy quick and get back to work.  I really miss not being out there because I love being able to give a piece of my heart; a piece of my soul; and for Customers like Kim Seale, sometimes even an inch of my hairline!!!  I hope to see you all soon on another Southwest Airlines flight! ... View more

Every year our Leaders, Gary Kelly and Colleen Barrett, travel around our system (typically to six different cities) to deliver our State of the Company address.  Recently, they stopped over with us here in Chicago. The Message to the Field (MTTF) events are typically held near the airport that we fly into and Chicago was no exception.  Fly into Chicago-Midway and one El-stop later, you are on Puliaski Blvd. and right across the street is the venue. I'm not very good at estimating crowd sizes, but I would guess there were approximately 1,500+ people there. Not to worry, I can definitely count to 137 to give the number to our Ops Agents and the Pilots.  😉    There were folks from Indianapolis (Go Bears!), Tennessee, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and quite a few more that I can't seem to remember. The MTTF starts our with our President, Colleen, giving us some ground rules -- like NOT asking if Colorado Springs is going to be the next city we serve and advising Employees to go to the  microphone during the Q & A to ask a question -- before beginning the event with her comments.  I was really excited this year about what she had to say.  I don't have the statistics that she shared, but last year at the MTTF, she gave us a challenge.  It was to regain our status as #1 in Customer Service.  I LOVE Colleen!  Her challenge to us last year was to raise our Customer Service Commendations to a ration of 4:1.  That means four "Good Letters" for every one "Bad Letter" that we receive and we achieved this goal with a ratio of 4.69:1.  YIPPEE!!  For those of you that have trudged through my blogs, you'll remember that I'm on our Corporate Culture Committee.  One of her goals to us, was to increase our Internal Customer commendations which, in turn, would help us to increase our External commendations, and I'm glad to report that our Internal Customer commendations increasted as well.  We then saw a GREAT video reporting on our last years achievements produced by our AWESOME Corporate Communications Department, led by Ginger Hardage. It was then time for the Main Event if you will.  Colleen introduced THE MAN...THE CEO, Gary Kelly.  I must say that I am VERY impressed with Gary.  He has got to be one of the smartest men that I know.  He is knowledgeable in EVERY aspect of our business.  Gary shared with us the vision and goals for the upcoming year ,and I must say that I am VERY excited with what he has and his Leadership Team have planned for us over the next several years.  Our revenue goals are aggressive and our cost pressures are still there as well, but we are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities that may come our way in this turbulent industry!  In 2007, we will take delivery of 37 new Boeing 737-700 aircraft, and, if more become available, I'd like to think that we would get some more.    During the Q & A section of the program, anyone who has a question has access to the Leaders that have flown in from our Dallas Headquarters.  We had people ask questions about technology-related issues, about Customer Service issues and Gary (or one of the Leaders) was more than willing to share what they knew about the topic or said they would research the issue and let us know the results. I think that Southwest Airlines does a great job with our internal communications.  Each week Gary delivers an Employee News Line address, we get a Today at SWA e-mail daily, our own VPs also deliver a weekly News Line Update, and the communication just seems to be nonstop.  Being at Southwest Airlines 11 years in April, I think SWA is a Company that I can truly make a difference in someone's life each and every day and for that opportunity, I am truly grateful. On a personal note, I will be taking two months off to deal with some personal issues, so I won't be blogging for a couple of months, but don't fear, I'll be back sometime in April!  (No, Kim, you can't get rid of me that easily!) I hope you all have a GREAT Day! P.S. If you have a moment take the time to check out this website.  This "movement" has taken off and I would challenge you all to be a part! ... View more