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Out of the mouths of babes...

psacco
Explorer C
The other day my son came home with a project that he had worked on in preschool. It was a report on me, his dad. He got my first name and favorite color right, but guessed a bit low at my age. I suppose 14 seems pretty old to a five year old boy. The part that I found most amusing, though, is that when asked to complete the sentence "When my dad goes to work he…", he answered "…eats peanuts on airplanes." He must be so proud. I remember thinking as a kid that my dad, an accountant, sat at a desk, typed up stuff, and shuffled papers all day. This job sounds a lot more fun.
14 Comments
Melissa_Petri
Explorer C
It is interesting how kids simplify our explanation about our chosen job or career. There's a hint of truth there... that is, if you take everything literally. Cute, though. Anyway, glad to have Southwest start a blog like this. It's a great initiative to share with us what is behind the scenes. Perhaps, people will get a better understanding of why things are the way they are. And, in return, maybe Southwest will consider what the readers/passengers are saying (re: improvements, suggestions, etc) on this blog.
David_Ross2
Explorer B
Granted some people (a VERY SMALL minority, less than 1% if I recall correctly) have an allergy to peanuts. Why should the whole plane be denied peanuts because of 1 person? Why not just forbid peanuts in the rows around that passenger? The air is recirculated often on aircraft. That should clear out the smell of the peanuts.
Mark_Lampa
Explorer C
I love airline peanuts!
Mack_Sacco
Explorer C
Good read. Love you, dad
Anonymous
Not applicable
DAVID, WHEN YOU HAVE A CHILD WHO COULD DIE FROM BEING EXPOSED TO A CERTAIN SUBSTANCE I THINK YOUR VIEWS WOULD CHANGE. WOULD YOU PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH ONLY A 10 PERCENT CHANCE OF CATCHING A BULLET. DO SOME MORE RESEARCH.
Eric_G
Explorer C
I am interested in how Southwest retain their employees. I am writing a research paper on the efficiency and loyalty that Southwest employees produce and express. What are the motivational factors that are used to retain employees at Southwest. Can someone assist me with these questions? Thank you
Robin9
Explorer A
Hey Eric, As a 10 year Employee of Southwest Arilines, the best way that I can personally answer that question is to say that you are born to work for the LUV airline. It is just not a job, it is a way of life. A good place for some additional information would be to go to Southwest.Com and look under the About SWA tab. That has alot of great information.
Laurie7
Explorer A
Hi Eric! I am going to agree with Robin here. I've been a Customer Service Agent for SWA for four years now. I, like everyone else that works for SWA, was hired in part, for my personality. This is a fact I like to mention incessantly to my supervisors when my cash drawer is a couple cents over or short! When looking for prospective employees, SWA looks for compassionate, caring people that like to work hard and have FUN. In turn, they treat us like family - which inspires us to treat each other and our customers like family, too. There are a couple of terrific books on the subject of our unique company culture that explain the concept in depth. You might want to check them out. One of the most informative is called "Nuts!" by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg. Good luck on your research paper!
swa_employee
Explorer C
Don't forget even if you do alert every possible airline employee about your peanut allergee, there could be a passenger on the flight who brings a gigantic bag onboard and start eating them right beside peanut allergy passenger. I'm interested to know what the flight attendants do in that case? I do feel for you if you have this allergy. Must be a very risky mode of transportation for you.
hcarboy
Explorer B
I am a flight attendant for SWA and have been for almost 22 years. The banning of peanuts on flights where a passenger has an allergy is a fairly recent phenomenon. However, it is popping up more frequently. Recently I did have a passenger on board with a peanut allergy and we actually removed all peanuts from the aircraft. As luck would have it, a passenger seated next to the passenger with the allergy opened a bag of peanuts brought from home. I had the passenger with the allergy come stand in the back galley until his reaction subsided. Unfortunately, he did not bring his EPI pen, thinking all would be well. The peanuts were put away, and the passenger returned to his seat without further incident. It is important to understand as a flight crew, we do all we can to stop this from happening, but it is still MOST important to carry those pens just for situations such as this.
Jim4
Explorer C
Peanut allergies are over-rated. What else would explain the rapid increase in the number of people supposedly "deathly" allergic to peanuts? Did peanut allergies magically increase so vastly all by themselves? I don't think so. The above comment is an example of what happens in real life. You think that you need to ban peanuts from the entire plane or death will surely follow, yet the "deathly allergic" victim managed to survive even without an epi-pen. Hmmm...
Ruth_Berry
Explorer C
As a Southwest Flight attendant I don't mind telling you that I just as soon serve "Pretzels" than running the risk of one of our passengers having an allergic reaction to peanuts. Most of our passengers have been very understanding when we've had to substitute Pretzles fpr Peanuts, and if you start having withdrawl symptons because you couldn't have your snack of choice, we'll be more than happy to have you take some Peanuts off the plane with you. Oh, and by the way my grandson tells my daughter "there is Omi" every time he sees a Southwest plane; seems I'm much busier than I knew.
David_Ross2
Explorer B
I was on a flight where pretzels were served on a flight instead of peanuts. I read the package. Guess what? The pretzels were made in a factory that contained peanuts and the pretzels may have peanut residue. On most jetliners, if I recall correctly, the circulation is from the side of the aircraft to the center. There's no need to punish all of the passengers in order to protect one. Just make it a peanut-free zone for the set of three seats the pax is in plus the one beind and in front. Sorry if that sounds cruel but it's the way I feel. I'm tired of a small - very small - minority dictating what the majority should do. This is not just the subject of peanut allergies but everything else where the minority imposes their will on the majority.
Lynne_Steer
Explorer C
One day on a Southwest flight my daughter asked me where we're stopping on our way to Tampa,,,I answered "Baltimore"...she looked up at me and said.."Damn that Wright Amendment".......Of course our flights had nothing to do with the Wright Amendment , but I couldn't help but break out in laughter. Keep up that Southwest Spirit!! Lynne Steer CSA MHT