Southwest Airlines Community

Today is a special day.  Today we celebrate World Wish Day.  You probably know of Make-A-Wish and their mission—to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. I’ve had the great blessing of becoming more involved with Make-A-Wish over the past couple of years by serving on their National Board of Directors. Make-A-Wish and Southwest Airlines have a lot in common.  We both have great people that make what we do possible.  And we both connect people to what’s important in their lives—Southwest does that through friendly, reliable, low-cost air travel, and Make-A-Wish does it through granting wishes. Southwest officially became a national sponsor of Make-A-Wish in 2011, and our relationship has only grown since then.  Since that time we have had approximately 100 Employees volunteer with Make-A-Wish, giving 1,400 hours of their time.  We have donated more than 8,000 tickets on both Southwest and AirTran to provide travel for wish kids and their families.  I’m so proud to say that over the past three-and-a-half years, Southwest has given more than $3 million in tickets and cash donations to Make-A-Wish. Beyond our national and corporate sponsorship, many of our People across the system are making wish families’ trips easy, seamless, and memorable. From big greetings, decorated gates, special announcements, personal gate-to-gate attention—our Employees provide VIP service to true VIPs.  I’m thankful to work with the kinds of people who go above and beyond to contribute to and enhance the overall wish experience. Last fall, at the annual Make-A-Wish conference, I was introduced to 17-year-old Daria.  She was born blind, yet always dreamed of playing the harp.  Make-A-Wish enlisted the help of Laura, a professional harpist, whose daughter happened to also be a wish kid.  Daria listened to several harps and selected the Celtic harp as her favorite.  She now had a harp, braille music books, and a teacher, and it was up to her to fulfill her wish of learning to play.  After all the challenges Daria has overcome in her life, she gladly accepted this one.  I sat in awe as she played a beautiful version of “What Child is This?” to the large audience.  And, as great as that was, it wasn’t the best part.  At the end of her performance, all of us in the audience sprang to our feet for a standing ovation.  All of the sudden, it dawned on us that Daria couldn’t see us standing.  That is when the cheers went up.  The entire room was, as we say in West Texas, hootin’ and hollerin.’  It was at that moment that a huge, ear-to-ear grin appeared on Daria’s face. I love Make-A-Wish and the impact they have on families who are going through such difficult and stressful times.  I love the hope and joy they provide.  I love helping to make wishes come true.   This is an organization near and dear to my heart, and one I really believe in and support.  I’m so proud that we at Southwest Airlines get to help play a part in turning wishes into realities.  Here’s to another year of making wishes come true! ... View more

This is the third in a series of posts about our fourth annual integrated annual report, the 2012 Southwest Airlines One Report™, where we illustrate our triple bottom line approach that takes into account our Performance and productivity, the importance of our People and the Communities we serve, and our commitment to efficiency and the Planet. Since I began at Southwest Airlines in 2004, I’ve had the privilege of hiring the most talented People to work for a Company that I am extremely proud to work for every day. As the Executive Vice President & Chief People & Administrative Officer, one of my duties is to oversee programs that give all Employees the opportunity for personal and professional growth.  People are our strongest asset at Southwest Airlines, and together our Team of nearly 46,000 Southwest Warriors shares their time and efforts to make a positive difference. Some points of pride for us as a Company in 2012 included: Southwest Airlines was featured in Fortune Magazine’s Top 10 of the World’s Most Admired Companies. Our Employees extended their Customer Service to the communities we serve by volunteering more than 137,000 hours across the nation. The Southwest Engineering Team received the Heroes of the Heart award, which recognizes and appreciates a workgroup essential to our operation and Culture that does not have direct contact with Customers. Safety is our number one priority, and our Employees participated in more than 520,000 Safety and Security training hours. The photos below are highlights from the 2012 Southwest Airlines One Report™, and illustrate our dedication to our People. Our People are our greatest strength. At yearend 2012, we had nearly 46,000 active, full-time equivalent Employees. From awarding our top volunteers to recognizing Employees who go above and beyond, our Employees are celebrated with many different recognition programs. In 2012, Southwest contributed more than $370 million to retirement savings through 401(k) Company matching contributions and Company contributions to our ProfitSharing Plan. In 2012, our Employees received nearly 65,000 commendation reports from happy Customers. In 2012, our Employees clocked more than 17,000 hours devoted to human rights training. Today, more than four decades after our founding, we remain steadfast in our Purpose of connecting people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost airline travel.  We hope you’ll enjoy our upcoming blog posts each month and follow along on Instagram and Pinterest each week with photos and fun facts tagged #SWAOneReport as we share how we’re working to be the best in the business.  You can check out and download the full report online at www.southwestonereport.com. ... View more

At Southwest, we believe in connecting people to what’s important in their lives.  As a national sponsor of Make-A-Wish, we have the opportunity to help wish kids take flight.  Whether our Pilots are taking the time to pose for a photo in the cockpit, our Flight Attendants are making announcements that a special wish kid is onboard, or our Customer Service Agents are hosting fun sendoff parties in the gate area, it’s a joy to play a role in granting wishes. Today, Make-A-Wish celebrates World Wish Day, a celebration of wish granting with thousands of people participating.  Make-A-Wish grants wishes to kids with life-threatening medical conditions in every community in the United States and its territories and nearly 50 other countries.  It reminds me of all of the memorable wishes Southwest has had the privilege to enhance.  Recently, Southwest set a record for our airline with the most cities to open in one day—Charlotte, NC; Flint, MI; Portland, ME; Rochester, NY; and San Juan, PR—as part of our ongoing integration of AirTran Airways.  We also recently celebrated new service to Branson, MO last month.  My favorite part of these inaugural celebrations was the Make-A-Wish sendoffs that took place and the unforgettable expressions on these kids’ faces.  Here’s a look: Charlotte, NC Zoe, who is five-years-old and battling cancer, knew her one true wish to go to Florida theme parks with her family would soon be coming true, but she had no idea that the SeaWorld penguins would surprise her at the airport to give her a proper sendoff! Portland, ME Seven-year-old Emersyn’s wish to see butterflies and beaches took her and her family to San Diego to visit the Monarch Research Center, San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld San Diego, and the beautiful Southern California beaches. This trip of a lifetime allowed Emersyn the opportunity to forget about battling her neuro-degenerative condition and instead focus on the magic of her wish experience.  Here she is smiling big and ready to board her flight! Rochester, NY Jacob who is nine and lives with a neuromuscular disorder and his family will be traveling to Southern California to experience his wish to go to his favorite theme parks.  While in California, he will visit Hollywood Studios, Medieval Times, and the Pirate Adventure.  Jacob loves "Cars," so he also will be going to "Cars Land" while on his wish.  Before Jacob headed to California, he spent some quality time on the ramp and even got to push a plane for departure! Branson, MO Kyah is an easy-going, happy five-year-old with a nervous system disorder who loves animals and spending time with family. So, it’s no surprise that her one true wish was to go on an animal adventure!  Kyah and her parents received roundtrip tickets to fly from Branson to San Diego where they visited the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld San Diego.  The special sendoff in Branson even included Elvis and the Blues Brothers! Southwest provides travel to help make these kids’ one wish come true, but it’s really more than that.  We offer our friendly service to keep these kids smiling, despite the battles they’re fighting.  The LUV airline has supported communities from the very beginning, and it always comes from the heart. ... View more

"I am 12.  I am Kait.  I am brave.  I beat cancer.  I am loved."   This photo of Kaitlyn greets me every morning as I sit down to start my day at Southwest Airlines.  Kaitlyn is not just any girl, she is the daughter of one of my fellow Co-Hearts, Erika Perry in Southwest’s People Department, and I have had the privilege to watch her grow up in my time serving the People of the LUV airline as the Chief People Officer.  Not too long ago, Kaitlyn was diagnosed with leukemia, and it gives me pure joy to say that she beat it.  Seeing the bravery through Erika’s eyes as this little girl triumphed over this disease makes me humble and gives me a perspective on life to embrace the small things and go after the important things.     I’ve recently been appointed to the Make-A-Wish America National Board—an organization that Southwest sponsors nationally.  Southwest provides travel to help make these special wishes for children facing life-threatening medical conditions come true.  I cannot think of a more gratifying pursuit than taking away the stress of facing a serious illness for a moment in order to experience a dream that will fund a lifetime of blissful memories.     As Make-A-Wish continues in their mission to allow children facing serious illness to be anything their hearts desire, I’m excited to bring my background of leadership and administration combined with the passion for People that we all have here at Southwest to make a positive difference on the Make-A-Wish America National Board.     ... View more

This is the fifth in a series of posts about our just-released integrated annual report, the 2010 Southwest Airlines One Report™, where we have illustrated our commitment to a triple bottomline and how our passion and focus on Performance, People, and Planet continues to propel us forward. The business of business is People.  Southwest’s founder, Herb Kelleher, is famous for saying many things (I’ve witnessed firsthand and heard many a story!), but he knew that the key to our success is our Employees.  Our People are as essential as the air we breathe—since 1971 they have been and are the Spirit of Southwest because of the positive and lasting relationships built with our Customers over the last 40 years. We would not survive without them. At Southwest Airlines, we’re a Family dedicated to our Employees, our Customers, and the communities we serve. Our unique corporate Culture, commitment to giving back, and putting Employees first contributes to our being recognized as a best place to work. As Chief People Officer, I along with my tens of thousands of co-hearts enjoy the Freedom to pursue good health, create financial security, travel, make a positive difference, learn and grow, create and innovate, work hard, have FUN, and stay connected.  This type of environment nurtures our Employees’ natural response to do the right thing and deliver that Southwest hospitality that has made us legendary throughout the world.  We also take care of our People with award-winning benefits to stay healthy and plan for the future.  We can proudly say that in 2010 more than 35,000 active and inactive Employees participated in at least one component of Southwest Airlines’ Employee benefits program, to which we contributed more than $590 million on an accrual basis.  And, in 2010, we contributed nearly $350 million to Employee retirement savings alone.  This all goes back to doing the right thing for our People, who in turn do the right thing for our Customers. We are proud of our commitment to being a good citizen of the world.  We look forward to sharing the journey with you in our upcoming blog posts on Performance, People, and Planet, and we hope it will inspire you to read our 2010 Southwest Airlines One Report™, which, in an effort to conserve our natural resources, can only be found online at www.southwest.com/citizenship.    ... View more

I was reminded the other day by an Employee at a local blood bank about one of the best things about working at Southwest Airlines.  She was describing her recent change in employment and said, “I’ve been here three months and I STILL love my job.”  That really stuck with me.   A small testimony to that fact was confirmed today at The Dallas Morning News "Best Place To Work" luncheon.  Southwest Airlines received second place honors as the "Best Place to Work in the Metroplex".  Although this is a local award, it really is an honor for the work environment that ALL of our Employees create because they LUV working here, LUV working with each other, and LUV serving our 90 million+ Customers across 68 cities. I am so proud of our People and this honor, in part because Dallas/Fort Worth has such a large number of really great places to work, and in part because we have persevered through one of the toughest economic environments in history.  The great attitudes of our Employees give each other energy and optimism to see us through the difficult times.  Another great honor we received was for our CEO, Gary Kelly.  He was named by The Dallas Morning News as "The Best CEO" (for companies with more than 500 Employees). Congratulations to our Employees and to all the other "Best Place to Work" companies in Dallas/Fort Worth. ... View more

At Southwest Airlines, we just completed an Employee survey.  Like most surveys, this one only takes a few minutes and provides a valuable platform to solicit real time opinions across our system.  In Dallas, a friend of mine in Finance thought it would be FUN to get a little competition going between our Departments.  We made a bet on which Department would have the greatest participation in the survey, and the smack talking began.  All was going well, participation in the survey was well ahead of past years, and I began to relax. Then one Monday morning I opened my office door to find my office had been ‘wrapped’ with toilet paper.  (see picture below)    This was very creative for a bunch of accounting nerds. They solicited security to invade my office after hours and launched their attack with precision.  The effect was impressive but the “damage” was temporary, as it was cleaned up in just a few minutes.  With three daughters, the large oak tree in front of our house would occasionally get wrapped by the neighborhood boys.  Upon one such occasion, I was able to interrupt the tree wrapping and commandeer one of the assailant’s bicycles.  I locked up the prisoner (bike) in my garage and waited for the guilty party to surface.  It took several days before mom demanded that her son locate his missing bike. The “prisoner” exchange was very pleasant but needless to say, word soon spread around the neighborhood and the wrappings slowed down. Although I wasn’t able to capture any Finance assets left behind during the raid, we do have a year’s supply of toilet paper…the good double-ply kind!  Thanks, Finance. ... View more

As you may know, Tuesday, July 15 marks a milestone as Colleen Barrett steps down as Southwest Airlines' President--thankfully, she will remain an Employee.  To celebrate Colleen's contributions to Southwest, we are devoting the next few days to Colleen, and we will feature some of our Blog Team's experiences with this LUVly lady.      I always wanted to work for a company “like Southwest”. I never dreamed that one day I would be sitting in Colleen Barrett’s office as an Employee. Working for Colleen was definitely a dream come true for me, as a career “HR” person. Arguably, there is no one in American business with more direct influence on creating great places to work than Colleen. So when circumstances led me to begin working directly for this legend of People practices, I have to admit I was a tad nervous. Could I live up to the high standard for following The Golden Rule? I anticipated my first one-on-one meeting with her like the first day of school. I had my typed list of items and was prepared to discuss each one with vigor. She welcomed me with a hug and settled into her chair. I launched crisply into my list as she puffed on her trademark Kool. She seemed distracted, and I worried that I was doing something wrong. I noticed that she had dumped her ashtray into the trash can, but I hadn’t noticed the plume of smoke rising from the can. With a swift pour from her heart-shaped coffee mug, she extinguished the source of distraction, took a sip of the remaining coffee, and was back to the business of teaching me the first one of many lessons about LUVing your Employees. Over the past three and a half years, I have soaked up as much as I can from Colleen. She is so humble that I never felt like a subordinate … I guess that was one of the greatest lessons of all. I am thrilled that she will remain close and even more thrilled that I can call her my friend. ... View more

The "gift" of feedback...one of the greatest gifts someone can receive is the gift of truthful candor.  A friend of mine likes to say, "we all need 'grace and truth' but remember 'grace' comes first for a reason."  Throughout the year, I have received my share of 'undeserved favor'...that is grace, and thankfully my share of LUVing truth.  This blog has been a blessing in both of these areas.  In particular, one of the longest running threads, "Back to Work" has given our Recruiting Team real insight into the questions, hopes, and dreams of the People applying to work at Southwest Airlines.  As our small gift back to those trying to work here, our Recruiting Team will monitor this new blog thread and periodically respond directly to questions.  They will try to anticipate questions and leave a tip or two that might make the application process seem less like a process.  My thanks to all of you for giving all of us in the People Department at Southwest Airlines the gift of feedback. ... View more

There isn't one "Freedom" that stands out to me.  Southwest's Culture is like an entire 'constitution' of Freedoms.  SWA has given me the Freedom to serve our community through several Share the Spirit events like playing baseball with special needs kids from The Miracle League of Arlington.  SWA has given me the Freedom to put others first and teach Servant Leadership.  SWA has given me the Freedom to make mistakes and learn from them.  SWA has given me the Freedom to really get to know and care about the People I work with on a regular basis.  SWA has given me the Freedom to have another Family that LUVs and protects each other.  To sum it up I'll quote my daughter a few weeks after she had quit playing competitive soccer.  Her former team had just moved up in the polls to hold the #1 ranking in the nation for their age group. Upon seeing the newest rankings her older sister asked her, "Does that (#1 ranking) make you want to rejoin the team?" To which, my daughter replied, "Heavens no, now that I've tasted Freedom...I could never go back!"  Now that I've tasted Freedom at SWA for two and a half years....I could never go back.   ... View more

Carrie Underwood, Jessica Simpson...Watch out for Ann Hafertepe! Although I'm more interested in Dallas Cowboy QB Tony Romo's "on the field" success than his "off the field" romance, I do have a suggestion for him. Have lunch with Ann Hafertepe instead of Jessica or Carrie. You will never be the same.   Ann is an inspiration to our Department.  Ann was born with Downs Syndrome and moved in with her sister, Karen, who works in the OnBoarding Department.  Ann is very task oriented and loves to work on routine projects.  She would occasionally come to work with Karen for a few hours and assist her sister with various duties.  It was quickly determined that Ann could be a big help to this department by assembling New Hire packets and stuffing anniversary cards.  Now every Wednesday, Ann bounces into the HDQ proudly wearing her Southwest I.D. around her neck. She has her own cubicle complete with her self-proclaimed title, "Team Captain." There is no bigger fan of Southwest (or Tony Romo when he is on a run) than Ann.  When the Wright Amendment legislation was officially signed into law, Ann called our Director of OnBoarding out of a meeting to declare, "We need to all wear matching T-shirts, have a BIG 'OL CAKE, and make a toast!"   I see Ann every so often scurry around from one part of the Department to another, delivering an envelope or putting together new hire packets. She always has an ear-to-ear grin on her face. (See Ann at her recent birthday celebration above.)   ... View more

I was thumbing through the November/December issue of AARP's magazine the other day, and read an interesting article about a few jobs that might be particularly attractive to the readers of AARP. 1) Ski greeter. That job seemed logical, i.e. getting paid to hang out at your favorite resort. 2) Cruise lecturer. Again…logical. Fun, getting paid to travel and meeting People from all over the world. 3) Airline Baggage Handler. Was this a misprint? I've spent just enough time on the ramp to know how hard our Ramp Agents work. But as I read on - flexible hours; good hourly wage; excellent health benefits; free travel, it makes a lot of sense for someone wanting a secure job with a great Company! The article quoted a baggage handler with another airline, "you needn't be a Superman", and "you need to be able to lift 60 pounds, which isn't hard if you're in reasonably good shape." With all of our growth in cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Baltimore, and Orlando we always seem to need People with Fun-LUVing attitudes and strong backs to work on the ramp. If you're a baby boomer (or not) and are interested in free travel and a meaningful job at a great place to work, go to www.southwest.com/careers We are closing the comments on this post because Jeff has written a new post on this very subject. ... View more

I take way too many things for granted.  For example...playing baseball as a child.  Several weeks ago, our Department (People & Leadership Development) put on a carnival for The Miracle League--Arlington, Texas.  The event was our "Servant's Heart" day.  (Servant's Heart is part of our Core Values that we call The Southwest Way.)  The Miracle League was formed to provide an opportunity for special needs children to enjoy the game of baseball.  Our local professional team (The Texas Rangers) is a major supporter, and many of their former players were also in attendance. The Miracle League and the City of Arlington have built a wonderful baseball field.  The surface is all weather and very wheelchair friendly.  We were treated with an exhibition game, similiar to what goes on during their season.  Wow!  Every child hits and scores every inning.  I wish every one of you could have seen the look on their faces. Our Employees did a great job of making the day special with lots of rides, FUN activities, and food.  We even brought in a tall, righthander to throw out the first pitch. The entire day just made me so appreciative for the little things and so happy that The Miracle League doesn't take things like playing baseball for granted. ... View more

A few weeks ago, I passed Linda (one of our Onboarding Department Employees) in the hall and said, "How was your weekend?"  With her always present smile, she said, "Great, my husband and I did one of our 'marriage weekends'."  I wasn't sure what she meant by "marriage weekend." For me that would mean that I did all my chores around the house and got to keep my marriage.  But for Linda, it meant spending a weekend with couples who are struggling in their marriages.  She and her husband give up many weekends to facilitate a special weekend to let other married couples see their example of hope and reconciliation. She does lots of other very nice things on her own time.  When Linda is made aware that an Employee at Southwest has been diagnosed with breast cancer, she sends a stuffed Care Bear as a way of letting the Employee know she is thinking about her.  But for some reason her willingness to constantly talk about a difficult experience so that others going through tough times in their marriages would know there is hope for them, really stuck with me.  ... View more