Southwest Airlines Community

David, As a former Road (and Air) Warrior myself, I am familiar with the joys of hotel stays. My own list of preferred hotels in the seven states I traveled took a while to create and define, and was occasionally tweaked, but for folks who "sleep in someone else's bed" a lot, you can't underestimate the value of being in a place that has predictable quality and where, like that bar in Boston, "everyone knows your name." However, your biggest problem probably isn't getting used to your own bed back home after a trip, it is where to keep all of those 211 tiny bottles of shampoo that you frugally brought home... LOL Happy Trails, Kim External Blog Boy and Hotel-Stayer Extraordinaire 🙂 ... View more

Do my eyes deceive me, or do I detect the world famous member of the Blog Team, Mr. Jeff Lamb himself, handing out candy? What a significant statement a company makes when members of senior management pitch in to let their customers know how much they are appreciated! There are many airlines, and indeed, companies in general, where the "higher-ups" never leave the Ivory Tower to mingle with their own employees, much less with the customers who create the revenue that pays their salaries. Kudos to Southwest Airlines, its own unique Culture, and good ole guys like Jeff, who never forget the value of the Customer to their existence! Kim External Blog Boy who never grows tired of saying "thank you" to customers 🙂 ... View more

$29 ???? Brian, are you guys crazy? Or just plane nuts? Oops, that one's been used already... Just one more example of why Southwest is the industry leader in offering great fares AND great service! Now, how about extending that special pricing to a route like Dallas to London and then onto Paris? Oops, Mr. Wright's rule is still semi-in-effect, ain't it? Kim External Blog Boy and Seeker of Bargains 🙂 ... View more

Happy Third Birthday to a great group of DINGers! Keep those bells ringing, Kim External Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

Hollee, It isn't just Texas that has "unseasonal" weather. Like you, I had a travel experience once which was shocking. Our family gathered in the downtown high-rise condo of a relative living in Seattle on a Fourth of July to watch the fireworks being shot over Puget Sound. Based on his advice, we brought coats, but I just "knew" we wouldn't need them in July! Well, he was correct -- even wearing coats and gloves, we could only stay outside on his balcony for a couple of minutes at a time before having to retreat back inside. The wind chill coming off of Puget Sound directly into our faces made that the COLDEST Fourth of July I've ever experienced, and one which I'll never forget! Kim External Blog Boy and Lover of Warm Weather 🙂 ... View more

Brian, Awww, thanks, big guy! But you still can't have my Coke... Kim External Blog Boy and semi-MIA Contributor P. S. Maybe the Hank Williams song is a partial explanation for the success of Rachael Ray? Besides the fact that she's gorgeous... 🙂 ... View more

Brian, To hear her tell the story, that single light bulb is actually burned out, the concrete cot does NOT have an adjustable sleep number, and her computer is a modified Atari Pong game running on a 186 processor. Kim External Blog Boy and Cruel Workplace Sympathizer P. S. Errrr, should that be "nun-like" solitude, or is she actually cloistered in an all-male environment? 🙂 ... View more

Happy Valentine's Day and Best Wishes to Colleen and all of my dear friends at Southwest Airlines!! With LUV, Kim External Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

Brian, Now that my son has graduated from college and moved back home to mooch off of his parents until he finds a job, it makes me curious. If he and I took a flight and I left him on board, would you mail me the tax donation receipt from the Salvation Army? The fair market value deduction might be a better deal than feeding him and then claiming him as a dependent. Kim External Blog Boy and Supplier of Food to a 6' 3" Continuous Consumption Device 🙂 ... View more

Carole, Brian and Francisco and I wouldn't know anything about pick-up lines. We're true gentlemen and we would never insult one of the beautiful SWA FAs with such lame material. The three of us just rely on our good looks... LOL Kim External Blog Boy who thought a pick-up line was the cable that the tow truck driver used to pull F-150s out of ditches 🙂 ... View more

Paula, I won't even try to address the "plain/honey" issue here, since that seems to inflame more passions than Presidential primaries, but I will congratulate you on two things. First, your letter back to whoever-that-really-was is another great example of customer sensitivity and responsiveness from SWA. (Of course, we didn't see your first attempt!) Second, from the descriptions and comments that accompany the Amazon webpage for his book, it looks like you got off easy in his "harassment" of you. At least you weren't faced with the dilemma of paying for his psychiatrist bill! Kim The External Nut who is Neither Dry Nor Honey Coated 🙂 ... View more

I'm noticing that Leah is asking Francisco about attending this event. Just a suggestion, Leah -- guys aren't real good with that "subtle" thing. You should just invite him to go to it with you! Or better yet, skip the event altogether and just invite him out! Kim External Blog Boy and part-time matchmaker 🙂 ... View more

OK, James, I've done some further research over at www.SecretSouthwestTriviaAnswers.com and have come up with the following guesses. Let's see how close I can get: 1.) about 127,000 calls per day 2.) over 46,000,000 calls for FY 2007 3.) approximately 3 minutes and 52 seconds 4.) 2,693 Res Agents 5.) 6 Res Centers: San Antonio, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Houston, Chicago and Albuquerque (for extra credit, I listed them in reverse alphabetical order) So, how did I do, James? Kim External Blog Boy Trying To Win Swag in Time for Christmas 🙂 ... View more

Brian, Wow! Is that like deja vu all over again, or what? How is it that you've heard the same words in your head as I have? Do the voices speak to you, too? It is rather eerie -- they always seem to be in my car, but I can't see any people in there but me. Hmmmm?!? Joe, If I ate an entire tin full of popcorn, I WOULD fill completely... Hold the molten fake butter, please, Kim External Blog Boy and Resident Trivia Master 🙂 ... View more

I have used the extensive array of resources at my disposal to carefully research your questions, James, and I am confident that I alone will be able to provide the winning answers. Stand back, you amateurs... 1. Seven 2. 188 3. 14.78 seconds 4. Twenty-two 5. International Falls, MN; Winslow, AZ (on the corner); Alcatraz, CA; Lake Wobegon, WI; Zephyrhills, FL OK, James, now what do I win? Kim External Blog Boy and Trivia Master Extraordinaire 🙂 ... View more

Gee, if that state north of the Red River is such a great place, why are all of these people flying on a TEXAS-based airline to a TEXAS destination to watch their team play? Kim External Blog Boy and UT Alum 🙂 ... View more

Kelli, What a beautiful story you've shared with us! One of the biggest things that sets Southwest and its Employees apart from other airlines (besides 30+ straight years of profitability, tremendous on-time, customer service and other performance criteria results along with the friendliest people around) is the fact that corporately and individually, it is one of the least self-centered set of people around. Your blog post is just one more example of how the SW Employees demonstrate their LUV through their Servant Hearts. As we enter a season of remembering selfless giving and the celebration of the birth of the best example of a Servant, your story is timely and very appropriate. It really IS better to give than to receive! Kim External Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

In the meantime, you can always feel free to e-mail Brian directly. His e-mail address is: brian@CandyCornAddictsAnonymous.com Good luck in getting a response from him, though, as the last time I saw his keyboard, it was all sticky and had little fragments of candy corn wedged alongside several of the keys. Kim External Blog Boy Who Only Eats Candy Corn on Halloween and Then Only In Honor of The Original Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

Brian, This exhibit sounds way cool! When are we going? LOL You're now free to visit plane and train exhibits around the country... Kim EBB 🙂 ... View more

To Brian and ALL of the Blog Team, One of the things that I have to be thankful for at Thanksgiving this year is each one of you! (I would've said "all y'all", but it might have confused the readers outside of Texas...LOL) It has been a blessing and a privilege to be such a part of your lives in the last year and to truly feel the LUV from so many wonderful friends at Southwest. Our Pastor is currently preaching a sermon series called ThanksLiving, and he has been talking about living with a feeling of thankfulness every day for all that we have been given. As y'all know, and now the rest of the blog readers will know, this will be a particularly difficult Thanksgiving for me after my Mom's death a few weeks ago. The thought of sitting down at our table without her makes me cry, but at the same time, I give thanks for all of the years that we did get to sit and share a meal at Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays and just regular days on the calendar that had no greater significance than the fact that we were together. My extended family at Southwest has gone above and beyond to show me an extraordinary amount of LUV, especially during my unemployment and my Mom's failing health, and I would be sadly remiss if I failed to say again publicly what I've tried to express privately to each of you. I wish that the folks who are so critical of Southwest as a company could know Southwest as a huge group of people who go out of their way constantly to share a bit of their lives and their hearts with others. For thirty years, I knew Southwest as a great provider of transportation. For the last six, I've gotten to know that Southwest is really just a place where a lot of wonderful people work and LUV others. To each of you who has reached out to me, THANK YOU!!! This year, there will be one less person sitting at my dinner table on Thursday, but there will be many awesome Southwest friends that I'll be giving thanks for in my heart. I hope that all of you have a very blessed time this holiday! Best wishes from someone who is proud to call himself External Blog Boy, but even more proud to call himself your friend, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Leah, I'm not really sure -- I'm still trying to figure out what the W's mean in there with 'em! Kim Your Upside Down Texas friend 🙂 ... View more

Francisco, Hey buddy! It is so hard to believe that you are just one state away now after being on the other side of the world from me. I wonder if my e-mails arrive quicker in ABQ than in the Persian Gulf? LOL Your post reminds us of one of the things that we ALL have to give thanks for, and that is our incredible men and women of our Armed Services. So many people lay their lives on the line every day for millions of folks they'll never meet, just to help insure that we have the freedom to sit down together for a meal on Thanksgiving and the other 364 days of the year. Having you as a part of this blog has given it a humanness and heart that goes beyond airplanes and who gets to sit where. Reading your stories of cramped bunks, miserably hot and humid working conditions and the ever-present threat of being in harm's way puts things like getting an "A" boarding pass into a new perspective. It has been my personal pleasure to have gotten to know you better and to have made a new and great friend through this blog. One of these days, you're gonna make it to Big D, and when you do, don't forget the standing offer for a dinner that is my treat. Don't worry, I wont make you eat green chiles! I will join your family, along with my friends at SWA and on this blog, in welcoming you home in time for the holidays and in saying that one of the things we'll all be giving thanks for this year is your safe return! God bless you for your service and enjoy having a deck under you that doesn't sway! Your friend, Kim 🙂 ... View more

Dear Kim -- OK, two times in a row! Your blog posts are going to HAVE to start coming with a disclaimer that it is necessary to re-position a box of facial tissues nearby before reading them! Another beautiful and touching story that offers a contradiction to the old adage that you "can never go home again". Things that are done from the heart, like Positively Outrageous Service or giving an organ to save a life, represent the true beauty of the human spirit. You shared this so eloquently that it felt like I was there watching. The continuity from generation to generation helps us to perpetuate goodness, and gives us an opportunity to "pay it forward" to someone else. At this time of year, you have double blessings, because you have a birth family and an adoptive family to give thanks for. My very best wishes to you, your family and to Thuy and Anjolie! Kim 🙂 ... View more

I'm NOT a spy!! But I do have a carefully crafted cover story to explain my unusual travels and erratic behavior. I cannot confirm or deny that I resemble either character in Joe's picture, but this trench coat does get very hot during the summer months. EBB P. S. Brian, is it a coincidence that "Spy vs. Spy" has the same number of letters as "Joe vs. Kim"?? 🙂 ... View more

Joe, The first area affected is the mind... Kim The Unaffected EBB 🙂 ... View more

Bill, Congratulations to you and your team on another mammoth job of turning the dials and tweaking the gauges! Your task is Herculean, and yet in reading through the comments, virtually no one is thanking you for getting it done and for pushing the available inventory out so far. I remember one of your blog posts not too many moons ago when everyone was up in arms about NOT having the chance to book too far out, and how you and the folks in Scheduling changed that. But, people have short memories and are quick to find something else to complain about. I'm also sorry that so many bloggers chose to "hijack" your post and turn it into a continuation of the griping about the changes. Your post is about available inventory and the addition of a special new set of Saturday schedules, and very few responders have thanked you for either one. Well, let me at least go on record as saying "thanks" for all of your work and for trying to help people with some new options on Saturdays! One question, though. The rumor I've heard is that creating a special TUL-MCO routing was specifically designed so that Leah could go down and hang out with Mickey and Minnie and still be home for the night. Is that true? Please keep up the great job, Kim External Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more

Joe, Bad news, buddy. Your message is not the only thing that will self-destruct. There is a reason they don't want you to touch the stealth aircraft. If you are not wearing specially-designed gloves, the lethal chemicals in the LO (low observability) coating will leach into your skin. It's been nice knowing you -- we'll sure miss you around here pretty soon! Kim EBB and Bearer of Unhappy News 🙂 ... View more

Oh, by the way Brian, you showed just how fixated on aviation and aviation issues you really are when you referenced the Air Show at Oshkosh by describing its "shear" size. That term is usually used in relation to unpleasant wind events or embarrassing sheep events, and I suspect you meant "sheer" size... LOL Kim EBB with OCD 🙂 ... View more

Brian, What a great post, and bummer about missing the Nellis Air Show! That is even worse than being stuck in an "all-Pepsi" venue. As far as my own air show experience, I've not been to as many as you have, but being a "military plane junkie" (that is more honest than saying 'aviation enthusiast'), I've had some real delights over the years. The first "formal" air show I attended was many years ago in Midland, Texas, on a summer day when the thermometer read 115, but the tarmac was even hotter. It was a real adrenaline rush to watch the USAF Thunderbirds display their legendary skills in the skies of the Permian Basin, and walking around all of the static displays (for you non-air show people, that doesn't mean bad reception on your TV set, it means that the planes are parked so you can get up close and personal) was also a great photo opportunity. Of course, being a Dallas resident, I think I attended every Air Show held at DAL, and really miss the fact that we haven't had one in so long. I well remember the first one where we were teased by a fly-over of an F-117, and that by the next year, it was considered public enough by the USAF that they parked a -117 there for us to see, even though it was behind a rope line manned by armed USAF guards. By virtue of having in-laws living for a number of years outside of Pensacola, we attended a show by the Navy Blue Angels at their home field, NAS Pensacola, and got to see them regularly practicing overhead during vacation trips to the area. On one such trip, thanks to family connections, we were invited to a "rehearsal" air show, which is where they go through all of their routines, but like watching a dress rehearsal of a play, sometimes they would pause to run through one of the manuevers a second time to improve it. At the conclusion, we went behind the flight line and met the Blue Angels pilots and had our picture taken with them! But, for those who haven't made it to an official air show, take heart, because there are always other chances to see cool things if you keep your eyes open! For example, travelers in and out of the airport in Amarillo, TX, can regularly see touch-and-gos by various military planes as well as watch V-22 Ospreys come and go from the assembly plant next door, people in cities like Abilene, TX, (home to Dyess AFB) can routinely watch B-2s overhead, and there are several airports in the country that are "joint use" or at least share some common concrete with an adjoining military field, so you can see planes there. I can think of Albuquerque, St. Louis and Birmingham right off the top of my head. And, on a business trip to El Paso one time, I looked up to see three F-117s flying in a tight formation touch-and-go rising up from the airport at ELP, which is close to their base at Holloman AFB in New Mexico! On the ground or at full AB, our military aviation fleet is AWESOME! Kim EBB and "certifiable" plane nut 🙂 ... View more

Leah, I'm not sure about those last three, but I'm quite sure that there are no Southwest Airlines fans alike -- we're all wonderfully unique and special in our own way! Kim External Blog Boy 🙂 ... View more