Southwest Airlines Community

Happy Anniversary to our Family in AMA! I think I took one of those first flights during the initial month of service back in 1978, and since then, my previous job took me into Amarillo many many times over the years (always on SWA!). I agree with Brian -- that can be one of the hottest and coldest cities in Texas, and it was not unusual to go to bed in my hotel with clear winter skies only to wake up the next morning to six or eight inches of snow on the ground. Memories from Amarillo include watching people successfully consume a 72 oz. steak (with all the side dishes) at The Big Texan Steak House on the east side of town to studying the angled icons half-buried at Cadillac Ranch west of town, with many of Stanley Marsh's kooky signs in-between. This town that straddles the line to inhabit two counties is also full of terrifically friendly people who make you feel right at home. But, I would be remiss if I did not send a big shout-out to one of our Employees at the Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport. For many years, Tom Moore, one of our Ground Ops Supervisors, was a true ambassador of the Southwest Culture. He was present at a large number of the daily departures, moving from the Gate Counter to the jetway entrance to frequently running a late-checked bag down the stairs to the cargo area of the aircraft. Tom always had a smile on his face and treated each of us Customers as if he truly appreciated us and valued our patronage. Very often, at the end of a business trip, Tom's would be the last Amarillo face I'd see before leaving town, and I can't think of a better way to say goodbye to your Customers than to say, as he often did, "please come back to see us!" Congratulations to ALL of our Employees at AMA for thirty years of Positively Outrageous Service that combined the Southwest Spirit with Texas Friendship! Kim CRBB ... View more

Will -- Good news! I saw Bill at lunch today, and it is now apparent that he didn't just skip shaving for a few days, he really IS growing back his beard! Bill, you're looking so debonair now! LOL Kim CRBB ... View more

Caleb, We're sure glad you're here -- welcome to the SWA Family! However, you need to run that picture through some photo editor and fix the color balance, because something strange happened to it when you posted it. You see, I happen to KNOW which university is the BEST university in the world, and its color AIN'T red. You're a great guy, but... Hook 'em! Kim CRBB 🙂 ... View more

To Kelly and Joi -- Welcome to our zany little corner of the great blogosphere! Please feel free to jump in any time; the water's fine! But, a word of warning. Watch out for that Brian guy who allegedly runs this Blog, as he's seriously deranged. However, we all try to humor him, and occasionally, they let him out of that padded cell, errr, office, for fresh air. Happy Blogging from SWA, Kim Customer Relations Blog Boy ... View more

Dear "Anonymous", To answer your question, YES, everyone at Southwest HAS to sound like a cheerleader. It is a side effect of the Kool-Aid they serve us each day. It isn't so bad, really, other than those mandatory pep rallies where Bill waves his pom-poms in the air and screams (right after he lands on the floor doing the splits...). Kim CR Cheerleader ... View more

Hey, Bill -- "Schedule Planning, as usual, has been BUSY..." Is that why everytime I've seen you lately, you are unshaven and look tired? Congrats on getting the new schedule done -- now, go home, get some sleep and shave when you get up!! LOL Kim Who is Grateful for People Like Bill Who Make This a Great Place to Work 🙂 ... View more

Linds/z, Don't worry, I'm not the gossip BL makes me out to be. Notice that I've never yet mentioned that weekend he spent in Bora Bora. Oops. Pretend you didn't read that. HY CRBB ... View more

Hey Linds/Lindz -- Brian is equally open about what he's called, his only request is that you DON'T call him late for dinner. Kim Who Also Answers to Hey You :) CRBB ... View more

Anonymous, If you click on the "start" button in the lower left corner, then "control panel", and then "date and time", you can actually travel back in time by changing the setting on your computer. If H. G. Wells had a PC, he never would have had to invent a time machine. For additional assistance, you might try buying a DeLorean and contacting Dr. Emmitt Brown. Best wishes from someone who perpetually lives in the past anyway, Kim CRBB ... View more

Lindsey, Welcome to the SWA Family and congratulations on your first Blog post! I was honored to meet you on your first day on the job and am glad we can increase the count of Longhorn Employees by one! Best wishes to you down in E.M. -- just make sure you ignore Brian. He's only a figment of your imagination. Hook 'em, Kim CRBB 🙂 ... View more

Brian, Bill ain't the only one who knows who Annette is. Hey, I still remember watching the Ed Sullivan Show one Sunday night when he introduced a foursome of very young men from England for the first time. News flash to you youngsters: Paul McCartney used to be in a group before he went solo, and I'm not referring to "Wings"!! Kim The old letter-writer CRBB P. S. Annette? I would have figured someone your age to be more of a Perry Como fan... LOL ... View more

Bill, I think we should inaugurate service from LGA to 1E2. Now that I've sent our millions of readers off on a search to figure out where that is, I can tell you that Terlingua Ranch Airport, near Alpine, would be the perfect place to bring folks to attend the annual Terlingua International Chili Championship, http://www.chili.org/terlingua.html , since they can't get a bowl of red like that in Nu Yawk Citee! Don't Mess With Texas! Kim CRBB -- make mine two-alarm, Wick 🙂 ... View more

Francisco is back!!!! Welcome back, buddy! 🙂 ... View more

Bill, This is exciting news, both for us as a Company AND for our Customers! Having flown into LaGuardia a number of times myself (unfortunately, it was on another aairline), I can attest to its wonderful proximity to Manhattan. Just like the comparison between DAL and DFW, the location, the congestion and the hassle of LGA versus JFK makes it a great choice for trips to New York City! To the naysayers who aren't happy with LGA either, please remember that you can choose to look at the glass as either half empty or half full. I prefer to choose the latter. I hope we are successful in getting those slots! And while I'm writing, we can't ever say enough about the awesome job that Bill and his Team do for this airline. So many people take our schedule for granted, but the efficiency and seamless connectivity across the country doesn't happen by accident and isn't a fluke. It is the result of a lot of hard work, which will get even more complex if and when we make LGA number 66 on our route map. Congratulations for a job well done! As some fella used to sing, "Start spreading the news..." Kim CRBB, a Texan who also "hearts" NY 🙂 ... View more

How could a place with "108 Ultra Modern Bedrooms" ever go out of business??!! LOL Kim CRBB and Nostalgia Boy ... View more

Bill -- A great post that evoked some wonderful memories for me as well. Yes, I well remember the traffic circle at Northwest Highway and Harry Hines and trying to learn how to negotiate it as a teenaged driver! (Brian -- I never knew the Irving traffic circle, but I regularly navigated seamlessly around the Richardson one at Belt Line and Coit, which had much less traffic than the one over here close to Bachman Lake) My own Braniff memories are of Saturdays spent at Love Field with a friend from high school who shared my love for planes and the entire airport experience. We'd drive down to the remote parking at Love and ride the elevated Braniff JetRail monorail that went into the East Concourse. It was such a cool addition to the ambience of our "airport field trip", and set the stage for spending hours and hours hanging out and wandering through the airport. Plus, by the time we split the cost of parking, our half a day of aviation entertainment was very cheap! As I got a bit older and worked at my Dad's company in South Dallas, I was thrilled to discover that South Harwood was almost exactly under what was then a major departure path from DAL, so in the summer, I could enjoy a steady stream of southerly-heading planes from Love (this was before DFW). Most of the plane sounds were similar enough to be nice background noise while sweating in a warehouse all day, but there were those regular interruptions to my work when I'd hear the distinctive sound of 747 engines. The high-pitched whine would lure me outdoors, where I'd watch transfixed as those giants would float past at what appeared to be slower speeds than the traffic on Central Expressway. They always looked like they were just about to lose forward momentum and stall out, and were a reminder of the truths of the laws of aerodynamics. The biggest treat would be when that siren song of the 747 engine whine would lure me outside to find that its source was the plane that we affectionately called the Giant Carrot -- Braniff's bright orange 747. Those were the days! Kim CRBB and Long-time Lover of Love Field :-) P. S. Brian, yes, it was called The Circle Inn! We would drive past it and around the traffic circle to get to The Southern Kitchen. Do you or Bill remember that restaurant? If you'd ever had their cinnamon rolls, you'd never have forgotten the place! ... View more

Dear Anonymous, Not to burst your bubble, but very few of us dress in costumes like that every day at work... LOL Kim CRBB ... View more

I'm not sure about them adding it to DING!, but I always try to avoid places that add MSG to their food. Oh, you said "MSP", sorry, my oops... Kim Flavor Not Added with MSG or MSP 🙂 ... View more

Chris -- Shhhhhhhhhhhhh, now that you've discovered our well-kept secret, PLEASE don't go blabbing it around to everyone. If others find out that we have No Hidden Fees, then more and more people will realize what a great deal we are and will start booking reservations on our planes, which means you won't get to have all of those empty seats around you to stretch out! Try to keep this under wraps, ok? Kim :-) CRBB ... View more

Kristen, What a great post! I loved your story and especially enjoyed the pictures!! I do have one minor suggestion, though. Kolby will get much better gas mileage if you'll give him some blended winglets... LOL Kim :-) CRBB ... View more

Bill and Sara, Great job, y'all! I can't even imagine the enormity of what you folks do, or how you manage to do it, but one thing I know for sure is that y'all are AWESOME!! (inside scoop for Will -- I've looked through the doors into Bill's domain, and in fact, they ARE spinning 65 plates on the end of a buncha sticks!!) The phones were so busy in Res with the new release that people were calling CR to book flights, and the CR phone reps were so busy, they asked the CR writers to pitch in and help. Wow, folks were excited! Thanks for all that you do, Kim :-) Customer Relations Blog Boy ... View more

I've never been prouder to work here than after reading this post. There are times that my fellow Employees make me cry, and this is one of them. Ashley, you and whoever else put this together deserve a few dozen KTAGs apiece! On behalf of my Dad and the vast majority of World War II Veterans who are no longer with us, I thank you. Kim The Patriotic Customer Relations Blog Boy ... View more

Hey Tim C -- How do you know you didn't just see the REAL Gary Kelly at the AMA airport? LOL Kim :-) CRBB ... View more

At the time, I never realized that Ginger and Sunny's time up on stage under the bright lights was just a prelude and warm-up act to their musical and theatrical debut four days later! Great job Monday night as "yourselves" and again on Friday as your alter egos!! Kim Customer Relations Blog Boy ... View more

Cranky and Cranky's Dad are nice guys, but they take the term "road trip" to a new level... It was fun sharing hamburgers with y'all and the rest of our SWA friends and family! Kim :-) Customer Relations Blog Boy ... View more

Mr. Shokal, So great to see you blogging with us here! It was an honor to speak with you on the phone a week ago, and I hope you'll be watching your mailbox in the near future! Kim Customer Relations Blog Boy ... View more

Dorothy, What a great post! It is my hope that none of us ever lose the enthusiasm that you displayed at age eighteen! Regardless of the candidates or the issues, there is no excuse for apathy and non-participation. Election Day is just one of the days when I am reminded why people like my Dad put on a uniform and faced the horrors of war. I have been privileged to serve as a Precinct Chairman and Election Judge for about eighteen years, and always have considered it an honor and a sacred duty to create and maintain the sanctity of the polling place to allow everyone who was legally eligible and who lived in my precinct the opportunity to vote in a secure environment. Every time I've gotten frustrated over people with petty and frivolous complaints, I remember the various handicapped and elderly folks who would routinely make the effort to get to my polling place so they could vote. I used to have one gentleman who spent ninety minutes getting ready, waited for and rode in a mass transit handicap van each way and never asked for any special consideration inside the polling place. His round trip experience would approach five hours, but he wouldn't miss the chance. I've had senior citizen emigrates who have recently become naturalized and had your excitement in their seventies and eighties because they were getting to vote for the first time in their lives. So, PLEASE, if you haven't already done so, go out and vote today. But, while you're there, please do me two favors: 1.) Don't just vote for a Presidential candidate and then leave. There are many other races involving men and women who want to serve you on a statewide, local and neighborhood level, as well as bond proposals and legislative issues that will impact you. Vote all the way through to the end of your ballot and make your voice heard! 2.) While you are there for the few minutes that it takes, please thank the election workers who have dedicated, on average, about fourteen hours of their day to provide you the environment where you are voting. They are NOT paid much and for most of them, it is a labor of love and patriotic duty. Happy Election Day! Kim Customer Relations Blog Boy ... View more

He's roaming the halls and he looks awesome, as do Gillian and Nan! And yes, when I asked him, he showed me that his guitar DOES spin around! Kim CRBB 🙂 ... View more

Nope, I jist sits on the porch playin' me banjo whenevur strangurs come arund these hyar parts. Wanna duel? ... View more

Brian, Yud beter knot promus two much frum thoise CR folkes -- iv'e hurd they ai'nt to entellygent. KS CRBB ... View more