Southwest Airlines Community

On Thursday, May 9, our Corporate Culture Committee showed some LUV for our terrific Ground Ops folks at Dallas Love Field. There were burgers, brats, hugs, and lots of SPIRITed conversation all day long. The event had a bit of a circus theme, so you might notice some of the servers wearing funny glasses, hats, and big red noses.   ... View more

I've previously posted a couple of videos from our group of retired Employees who call themselves LUVers. (Unexpected Thank You and You're Hired!). It seems that just about all Southwest Employees, active and retired, like to talk about how they ended up at Southwest. I guess that's because for most of us that moment turned out to be a very important one in the course of our lives. So ... in the following videos, two former Employees share that moment. Gwendolyn Bryant Harrison ... View more

Video: Culture Volunteers Pass Out Goodies and Clean Planes Between Flights On Tuesday, March 18th, our Corporate Culture Committee had an event in Houston. It was a Hokey Day, which means groups of us met arriving planes, gave the Crews a few snacks and lots of appreciation, and cleaned the planes for them so the Flight Attendants could get just a little rest. Well ... that's the way the day started, at least. If you remember, that Tuesday was also the day we had more than six inches of rain accompanied by severe thunderstorms here in Dallas. Love Field was soon closed, and with Houston Hobby's flights to DAL about every thirty minutes during most of the day, it didn't take long for the HOU terminal to be filled with temporarily stranded Customers who were frustrated and in need of information about their options. At one point, there were literally hundreds of Customers waiting at Gate 40, which had been designated as the ”Information Center” for all delayed and canceled flights. Our Gate Agents had information to give, but the PA system just wasn't loud enough with hundreds of people milling around in and between the gates. That's when our first hero emerged, and he wasn't even a Southwest Employee. An entertaining young man with a really loud voice (who just happened to be an HPD Officer) stood up on the gate counter and began to shout the information about how we planned to unravel the backup of people and planes when the weather in Dallas cleared. It was a good plan, but it was going to take hours. Southwest was up front with people about that, and told everyone who could to go home and reschedule their flights for the next day. Many did. I wish I had pictures or video to show you, but the last thing our Customers needed at that point was an old bald guy running around sticking a camera in their faces! Gradually, most people understood that Southwest was going to do its best to get them to their destinations, but there were still many people with special problems, and Camille Keith, one of our Culture Volunteers and one of Southwest's Original Employees waded in. She worked with people one-on-one, but others, who maybe had similar questions and concerns, gathered 'round. I am never prouder of being part of Southwest than when I see how our People respond under pressure. One of the specific problems was a Customer who had put vital medicine in her checked bag. I guess she hadn't watched our Travel Tips Video, which tells people to always keeps their medicines in their carryon bags, but no matter. Another of our Culture Volunteers, Flight Attendant Jan Fine, went down to the baggage area and dug through the bags 'til she found it. The rest of us began working up and down the terminal giving words of encouragement and goodie bags to our Gate Agents. Several hours later, things were beginning to wind down. Flights were getting out, and the crowds were beginning to thin. All the folks at HOU and back in Dispatch worked miracles. I got on a flight by signing up to sit in the Fourth Jump Seat (an unused Flight Attendant seat). That was when I realized how far Southwest was going, literally, to get Customers to their destinations. Our flight from HOU to DAL, which usually takes about 40 minutes in the air, took almost two and a half hours. Our routing took us up over Texarkana, then near Oklahoma City, and finally southeast down to Dallas to avoid the continuing storms. What other airline would expend three times the time and fuel to ”do the right thing” these days? But that's what we did! ... View more

Southwest Airlines sponsors a lot of things, both commercial and charitable. And this gives us Employees lots of opportunities to see, do, and celebrate many things that we wouldn't get to otherwise. We've gotten to see the Stanley Cup a ”cuple” of times, and our sponsorship of the NBA has resulted in a way-cool specialty plane (Slam Dunk One), a visit from some really-tall famous people, and yet another of our patented hangar celebrations. But most recently, our NBA sponsorship brought the Larry O'brien NBA Championship Trophy to HDQ for a ”photo op,” and our hoops-LUVing Employees didn't waste any time taking advantage of it. But, of course, our charitable sponsorships are the most rewarding and sometimes even more fun. Our LUV Classic Golf Tournaments, benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities, have become huge events, and even they don't compare to volunteering to serve a meal at a local Ronald McDonald House and getting to see the faces of the people who are being helped ... or to volunteering to sort and pack a few dozen TONS of food at the North Texas Food Bank. And I can't think of anything more fun, exciting, and rewarding than being part of Kidd's Kids, and watching children who have been ravaged by disease (and their families) on their way to Disney World for five days on our specially painted Kidd's Kids airplane. Not to mention a surprise visit from the Jonas Brothers (as shown in this two-part video). ... View more

A few months ago, I told you about a group of retired Southwest Employees who come together several times a year from all around the country just to catch up on what's new and reminisce about the good old days. They call themselves The LUVers. Anyway, this video, shot at their last meeting, is the story of how Joy Bardo, the final ”Original Employee” hired in 1971, came to work at Southwest. I think her story illustrates that our now-world-famous SOUTHWEST SPIRIT was alive and well even during those first few months of our existence. ... View more

Since long before I came to Southwest, there has been a Holiday program around Christmas time. Everyone gathers in the main lobby at HDQ, and our wonderful Southwest Chorus entertains us for a half hour or so. We have so many talented folks at Southwest Airlines, and this is another opportunity for them to shine. This video is excerpts from the 2006 show (I was busy shooting the Travel Tips Video during this year’s show) but our Holiday SPIRIT is abundantly evident every year. Our Senior Leaders (Gary, Colleen, and Herb) join in for the final song … Silent Night … and Herb’s rich baritone is, as you might guess, front and center. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! ... View more

Anyone who knows much about Southwest, knows that Halloween is an huge event at our Headquarters and that there are other celebrations all across our network as time and regulations permit. We have a great time! But although having FUN is its own reward, Halloween at Southwest is a lot more than just having FUN. Maybe, no one ever planned for it to be more, but it is nonetheless. In fact, in a recent session at a Corporate Communications Conference co-sponsored by Southwest and Ragan Communication,Gary Kelly said about Halloween, ”If you've ever gone through a Team Building exercise like a 'ropes course' or something like that, this is the ultimate Team Building.” You'll hear more of what Gary had to say about Halloween in the video below, and you'll see some clips from this year's celebration at our Headquarters. But I think you'll appreciate the video more if I tell you a little about what goes on first. First ... the normally open hallways are packed with people all day long ... Employees, families, and lots of children. Some of them are simply roaming the hallways to see what they can see, but many are standing in line to gain access to a performance of a ”skit.” The term skit is a bit misleading here though, because these ”skits” have become major productions with music, sets, props, elaborate costumes & lighting, and more over the years. There were three skits this year ...A musical review with everything from rap to country presented by our Executive Office A loose parody of Ferris Beuller put on by our Finance Department A fictionalized account of various countries competing for Southwest's international service performed by our People and Leadership Development Department All three were excellent, and I videotaped them all, so you'll see some short excerpts in the video. The other events going on at the Headquarters Campus are loosely characterized as ”walk-thrus,” but that can mean anything from a small haunted house to a huge carnival-like attraction. Two of the largest walk-thrus this year were put on by Inflight Training (our Flight Attendant Training Department) and Technology. Inflight Training decorated their multi-story bay that houses the Inflight Training ”aircraft” ... affectionately known as Poolie Technology turned a temporarily-vacant 8,500 square foot area into a noisy and raucous carnival with a Willie SWAnka theme There were many other events ... literally too many to list in a blog posting. But lets get back to the Team Building aspect of things before you jump to the video. The better you know someone, the better potential you have to build a strong relationship with them. Strong relationships help get things done day in and day out, and especially in times of crisis. So ask yourself this. Who are you more likely to have a strong relationship with ... Someone you sit in meetings with day after day and only discuss work with? -or- Someone you work with, but also someone you designed and built a stage set with, someone you depended on to help you with costume changes, someone who taught you how to ”walk cool” to the beat, and someone who, on that fateful day, looked an awful lot like Elvis, Frankenstein, Willie Wonka, Dracula, ET, Papa Smurf, or maybe even Edna Turnblad? Seems obvious, doesn't it? Of course, you'll see a few clips of Gary Kelly as Edna Turnblad at the end of the video. Enjoy! ... View more

When I posted the video of the San Francisco Inaugural Ceremony, I told you I would try to show you some of the other things we did while we were in San Fran. I was up early on that Sunday morning, and I walked down the shoreline to a point that looked across the bay to the SFO airport and took some shots of our planes taking off. Later, I had a little brunch and listened to the jazz quartet that was playing in our hotel lobby. Then, it was time to load up our buses and head to the Alice Griffith Opportunity Center and do a little Community Service. The Center is a part of Mayor Gavin Newsom's Communities of Opportunity (COO) initiative in San Francisco. COO is currently focused on city government, residents of the southeast corner of the city, and philanthropic organizations to fundamentally change the way these three groups work together to transform neighborhoods and revitalize areas of the city that have been long neglected. Our two bus-loads of volunteers divided up into groups. Some helped clean up the garden and other public areas; others played with some of the 400 children that are supported by the center; still others prepared the afternoon meal; and a final group loaded school supplies for the back packs we were giving away. And then, there was ice cream and a DJ for some street dancing. There was even a little Hokey Pokey! We had a great time, and it felt good to give back to a part of the community that has been so supportive of our return. ... View more

The football game between the University of Texas (UT) and the University of Oklahoma (OU) is a longtime tradition at the State Fair of Texas. The game, played at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium, is called the AT&T Red River Rivalry. (The Red River forms the border between Texas and Oklahoma.) Four years ago, Southwest Airlines started a new event leading up to the game ... the Pigskin Plane Pull. Fans of the two schools (Employees and Friends of Southwest) compete to see who can pull an 83,000 pound Boeing 737 the fastest over a fifty yard course. The team with the lowest time wins roundtrip tickets on Southwest Airlines and plenty of other prizes, including a chance to win tickets to the game. It has become quite an event, as you'll see in this video. Oklahoma won a fiercely-contested 28-21 victory over Texas at this year's Red River Rivalry. But who won the really big event ... the Pigskin Plane Pull? Well ... you'll see that, too. ... View more