Southwest Airlines Community

This is the baddest bird in the fleet! VERY cool design. California One, take notice. The Eagle has landed! Great job. Anyone know which specialty plane uses the MOST paint...and how mnay gallons/how much added weight? I'd guess Maryland One, NBA, and Illinois have the biggest "canvas". ... View more

UMMMM- DeFazio just referred to the "good old days and Frank Lorenzo"...any ex-Eastern folks wanna weigh in on that? ... View more

Okay- it's now 6:35 and I am glued to my computer screen. Herb and Gary have testified. I can say this: If Bill O'Reilly wanted these two on his show, it would have to be re-labled "Spin Zone"... I was truly looking forward to Herb "cutseying" his way out of this- but he has lost his touch. Between the constant hacking and ill-timed, patronizing jokes about the whole situation, he has not helped one bit. Herb actually stated that "only a small part of the aircraft was not inspected- just a little piece...". That's reassuring- and he was called on it immediately. Gary Kelly...a numbers man, no doubt. Nice guy, indeed. But a numbers man...first and foremost. When asked if SWA MX officials "pressured" FAA inspectors to not report the findings, he could not give a straight answer. Now we are starting every sentence with "To my recollection..." and "I don't recall..." as if we are in a pseudo-Alberto Gonzalez hearing. Sad day, indeed. ... View more

I have been watching the testimonies all morning now...the "good ole boy" system that encompasses the muckety-mucks at Southwest Airlines has clearly spilled over to include relationships with the FAA inspectors. "Dysfunctional" has been the word used the most so far in the hearings. "Cozy relationship" and "wink-wink, nod" have also been tossed around quite a bit. How disheartening. Also of note is the lack of maintenence recordkeeping on the part of Southwest. Certainly, the district mangers for the FAA are also to blame- but for a Company whose "motto" is "The Golden Rule", and "Doing the Right Thing"...this is looking pretty bad. The fact that Southwest Airlines seems to have hand-picked their own inspectors and, apparently, gotten rid of them via the FAA managers if they were to find anything wrong with SWA's MX practices. And when asked if this was a "widespread problem including other carriers", the answer was "no, it was a unique situation at Southwest". Again- kudos for having the guts to include all of this on your blog. Honestly, if it were up to me, I would remove this thread. It's not going well AT ALL for Southwest in this hearing. If the media gives this hearing as much attention as it did with the initial story, the fallout could be catastorphic...couple that with ATA declaring bankruptcy and closing its doors...the price of LUV will plummet. ... View more

2 words: Aircraft Swap. Why does it happen (start counting) and why are some customers left feeling like their plane was "stolen" to satisfy another flight's customers whose plane was delayed, cancelled...etc. Who makes the decision? (I know who...but customers might not). Is there ever any "begging" from station customer service to the "powers that be" to not swap or perhaps do a "flagstop" instead? ... View more

To Mike, regarding this blog: As bad as all of of this "maintenence lapse issue" may look for Southwest, the Blog itself is merley an outlet for Employees, Customers and the "regular Joe" to talk about Southwest Airlines. And, although critical of the handling of this weeks melodrama concerning safety, I must applaud the fact that mine and countless others' criticisms (and compliments!) are treated equally on this blog. This supports my theory that there is no better corporate brander than Southwest Airlines (whether that is good or bad only history will decide...). This is a textbook case of "any publicity is good publicity"- if you beleive in that. The Blog takes full advantage of that theory and, if anything, has people talking about the Company. The Blog does not replace Customer Relations or the "normal flow" of complaints and how they are handled. On the contrary, many Customers DO come on this Blog to complain (many are sitting IN the airport as they type away), and they are almost always referred to or directed to the appropriate department to deal with thier specific issue. So, in light of all that has happened this week, kudos to the Blog Team. ... View more

It is honorable to try to be a "Company man" when the Company is taking such a beating. However, as Employees were vigorously defending SWA, Southwest Airlines grounded 41 aircraft. "Doing the right thing" AFTER you get caught doesn't cut it. Courteous and friendly service doesn't go a heckuva long way when the skin of your plane is ripped off at 30,000 feet, does it? Furthermore, Southwest's flat out denial of any wrongdoing on Monday, and then "suspending" three MX yuckety-yuks (only three???), and now grounding 41 A/C in less than 48 hours speaks volumes about the integrity of the Company. Ivestigation, investischmation. If anything, the American public should be aware that if SWA is good at anything, it is maintaining a good "brand" on its Company name. Besides the last year or so, when was the last time you heard anything bad about SWA? It's not because bad things, lawsuits and the bad press isn't readily available- I can assure you of that. It is because SWA hides, covers up, pays off, settles with...etc- however you want to word it- anyone that may make the Company look bad. They have the cash and funding to afford that luxury. This time, they could not do that- and of all things, it had to involve not a skimpy skirt, not oversized Customers, but the MOST important facet of any airline- safety. You can spin that however you want. Yes, the MX folks at Southwest are among the best in the biz. Sure, they "care". It would be one thing if this involved one or two aircraft- an easy paper mistake. But 41 airplanes? Even the king of name branders can't duck and cover from that one. Sorry- it's a bitter pill to swallow (especially for Employees). Employees must now ask themselves: "now that the Company can't cut corners with the safety of the flying public anymore, where will that money come from?" Contracts for all major Employee groups are expiring soon...stay tuned! ... View more

It is honorable to try to be a "Company man" when the Company is taking such a beating. However, as EEmployees were righteously defending thier beloved Southwest, the Company grounded 41 aircraft. "Doing the right thing" AFTER you get caught doesn't cut it. Courteous and friendly service doesn't go a heckuva long way when the skin of your plane is ripped off at 30,000 feet, does it? Furthermore, Southwest's flat out denial of any wrongdoing on Monday, and then "suspending" three MX yuckety-yuks (only three???), and now grounding 41 A/C in less than 48 hours speaks volumes about the integrity of the Company. Ivestigation, investischmation. If anything, the American public should be aware that if SWA is good at anything, it is maintaining a good "brand" on its Company name. Besides the last year or so, when was the last time you heard anything bad about SWA? It's not because bad things, lawsuits and the bad press isn't readily available- I can assure you of that. It is because SWA hides, covers up, pays off, settles with...etc- however you want to word it- anyone that may make the Company look bad. They have the cash and funding to afford that luxury. This time, they could not do that- and of all things, it had to involve not a skimpy skirt, not oversized Customers, but the MOST important facet of any airline- safety. You can spin that however you want. Yes, the MX folks at Southwest are among the best in the biz. Sure, they "care". It would be one thing if this involved one or two aircraft- an easy paper mistake. But 41 airplanes? Even the "king of name branders" can't duck and cover from that one. Sorry- it's a bitter pill to swallow (especially for Employees). Emplyees must now ask themselves: "now that the Company can't cut corners with the safety of the flying public anymore, where will that money come from?" Contracts for all major Employee groups are expiring soon...stay tuned! ... View more

congrats! Ya'll deserve the award...every poster, sign, company financial update...etc was designed by YOU! As a for mer and proud Employee (although my exit was not "ideal"), I salute you! ... View more

SOB(s)- Souls on board WCHR- Wheelchair/requires assistance FMLA- Family Medical Leave Act (everyone's fav!) RON- Rest/Remain Overnight MCO- Mickey Controls Orlando ROW- Customer of Size requiring more than two seats (sorry, had to) INF- Infant (lap child under 2 years old) ... View more

General questions regarding flight numbers that have always burned in my mind for years and years: #1: On Saturday (and some Sunday) schedules, when the city pairs and arrival/departure times do not change, why does the flight number? #2: Some flights have had the same city pairings and same arrival/departure times (or withing 5-15 minutes) since their inception, but when a new schedule comes out, the flight number often changes...why? Thanks- and thanks for the good work you do! ... View more

The term "Code Red" is used for lightning delays and when the Ramp is closed during lightning (especially here in Florida). We were banned from using the term on the radio because Customers heard it and thought it related to terrorism. In Tampa, some of us would have fun with the overhead page system, which is also used to alert the custodial staff of messes, areas that need cleaning, restroom "malfunctions"...etc. The overhead page most common in Tampa (like every 1-2 hours) is "CODE 10, CODE 10". Whenever this page was made, I would yell at my nearest Co-Worker "CODE 10!" and, if they know me and had a sense of humor, they would yell "CODE 10!" on to the next gate. We would always get a couple of looks from Customers. Of course, CODE 10 is in reference to an overflowing toilet that requires attention, but it sounded so official to yell down the concourse. Good times... ... View more

Brian- kudos for allowing ALL of the posts to be on here. Does this rival the "assigned seating blog" comments or what??!! ... View more