Help Me Decide

By: Gary Kelly - CEO

I can’t believe it.  Summer is almost over, and Halloween is just around the corner.  This will be my fifth Halloween as Southwest’s CEO, and little did I know what kind of impact my costumes would have.  In 2004, I portrayed mega-rock star, Gene Simmons of KISS,

and the year after that, I rode the range as Wild Bill Hickok. 

In 2005, I took on a nautical air as that rascally Captain Jack Sparrow,

and last year I was the demure Edna Turnblad from Hairspray.

My Halloween Elves are ready to get the 2008 “Gary” set up, and I need suggestions about who (or what) I should portray for Halloween.  It would be really nice if your suggestion doesn’t involve shortterm (and especially longterm!) body modifications like shaving my legs, although I will sacrifice for art—within reason.

So be creative and leave your suggestion, and it’s okay to color outside the lines—the good folks at Spirit Halloween stores will make your idea come to life.

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Tags: Culture Gary Kelly Halloween Southwest Airlines

Help Me Decide was written on Aug 19,2008 at 07:28am and posted in the categories Nutty stuff and Southwest Culture and Working at Southwest

My Life as Southwest's Mascot

By: Shay Dixon - Intern (Summer 2008)

On a recent Monday, I had the opportunity to dress up as Spirit, Southwest’s corporate mascot.  As the PR Intern, I got to join the Team in Denver to commemorate the opening of a new Provisioning Base.  As part of this celebration, we also distributed backpacks to military children and showed support for our new nonstop flights.  I viewed a lot of this through the nose of Spirit, the life-size airplane.  If I ever get to be Spirit again, I think I might wear roller skates.  Skating with big wheels on your feet would be much easier than trying to walk!

After setting up for the event, it was time for the costume.  I had to have some help managing this very bulky plane.  I thought it somewhat ironic that a Pilot was there to help my Coworker, Ashley Pettit, hoist the plane over my head.  Wow—it was heavy!

Suddenly I could see through Spirit’s nose the families coming up the escalators, and there I stood dressed as a plane, waiting to greet them.  Some of the younger kids weren’t sure what to think about this oversized airplane.  After all, it’s not every day you see one with big eyes and a smile.  But they stood there long enough to take a Polaroid picture with Spirit and quickly moved on to the cake.   

And then there were the ten- and twelve-year olds who wanted to know why Spirit wasn’t talking.  Trying to get a reaction out of me, they poked Spirit’s nose and messed with the wings.  But I survived their teasing and made it through the celebration with protection from the PR Team!

Although it was pretty warm inside Spirit, it was a FUN experience that I won’t forget.  In fact, this whole summer has been very memorable.  When I got the job as the PR Intern, I knew it would be a great experience, but I had no idea I’d get to do ALL of this!  I always had several projects to keep me busy, and in addition to that, I ended up jet-setting around the country going to Chicago and Denver for work, helping out with photo shoots for Gary and Herb, and writing articles that will be published in Spirit magazine.  Not too shabby!

Not only did I get to have some amazing experiences, but I worked with an incredible group of people, and I looked forward to coming to the office and seeing them each day.

As my internship comes to a close and I head back to school, I will miss the smiling faces that I see here.  I’m already making plans to come back and visit over Christmas Break in December!  I’m so thankful for the FUN summer I spent here at Southwest Airlines and the friends I’ve made along the way.

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Tags: Shay Dixon Southwest Airlines Southwest Culture Southwest humor

My Life as Southwest's Mascot was written on Aug 18,2008 at 07:09am and posted in the categories Nutty stuff and Southwest Culture and Working at Southwest

All Cowed-up and Ready to Go

By: Millie Richter - Employee Communications Specialist

One of the things I love most about working for Southwest is that you can never really anticipate what exactly you’ll be doing from day to day. 

One day you can be called on to go over to Love Field to help escort Mikel Gorbachev through the airport (the best part was when something caught his eye at the Everything $10 Gift Shop) and then the next day be dripping sweat from counting and loading thousands of jars of peanut butter.  Over the years there have been countless times when I looked over at a Coworker and said, “Do you believe that we get paid to do this?”

The latest random event came courtesy of my newest Coworker, Catherine Lamb, who came over to my group from Flight Operations.  One day about a month ago, I was explaining to my cubemates that I was considering this my summer of random events—that I would be trying new things, and the more random the better.  This is when Catherine chimed in and said, “Well, tomorrow is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-a, so how about joining me and some of my Flight Ops friends for lunch? We are dressing up like cows and getting a free combo meal!” 

I was floored—what a beautifully random addition to my summer.  Of course I would go. I mean who doesn’t love Chick-fil-a, much less FREE Chick-fil-a! 

So the next day Catherine and I headed over to Flight Ops to get all Cowed-up for lunch.  The girls had made me my very own cow costume out of felt and a disposable hazmat suit—it was adorable!  

Enroute to the restaurant, I learned that this is the second year that the Flight Ops girls have done this and that the manager of the Chick-fil-a we were going to was very excited about us coming.  And boy was he ever!

Once we got there, Chick-fil-a manager Scott Mayes gave us the V.I.C. (Very Important Cow) treatment.  He had reserved tables for our herd of 11 and brought us brownies and drink refills. 

Children and adults alike stared at us with amusement.  People asked to take their picture with us.  Everyone was curious about where we came from. Someone even asked if we were a sorority.  We responded with “Nope.  We’re from Southwest Airlines!”  The lady just laughed and said, “Of course you are … I love Southwest!”  We simply smiled and said, “So do we!”

 

 

 

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Tags: Culture Millie Richter Southwest Airlines Southwest humor

All Cowed-up and Ready to Go was written on Aug 15,2008 at 07:35am and posted in the categories Nutty stuff and Working at Southwest

Notice to U.S. Troops: Southwest Airlines Has Got Your Bags

By: Gary Kelly - CEO

Hello, again. It’s been a little while since I’ve written a post, and I thought it was about that time. I want to talk about something that is close to our hearts here at Southwest Airlines- the U.S. troops.

Southwest Airlines supports the men and women who fight to defend our Freedom. Whether it’s wearing red shirts on Fridays, donating school supplies to soldiers’ families or sending LUV Rations to the U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, Southwest Airlines wants the troops to know we care.

As you may have seen in the news, the Veterans of Foreign Wars sent a letter to the Air Transport Association to encourage airlines to waive baggage fees for active duty military personnel. Southwest Airlines believes this is the right thing to do. That’s why we’ve been doing it for years. In fact, in January of this year, we converted an historic “exception” into a formal “policy” to assure we waive the fees and charges associated with overweight, oversize, and excess baggage for active duty U.S. Military Personnel or U.S. Reserve/National Guard traveling on military orders.

Southwest Airlines wants the troops to know we’ve got their “bags.” No active duty military personnel should have to incur the inconvenience of a baggage fee. They have more important things to focus on.

Southwest Airlines Employees want to do right by the Customer, especially the men and women who sacrifice so much for our Freedom. Keep up the good work!

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Tags: bags Fees Military

Notice to U.S. Troops: Southwest Airlines Has Got Your Bags was written on Aug 13,2008 at 05:11pm and posted in the categories Flying and Southwest Culture

Portmanteau De Jure

By: Steve Heaser - Web Analyst

I have always loved words and there is what seems to be a new phenomenon happening—the portmanteau. These are words like “Podcast” from iPod and Broadcast, or “Blog” from Web and Log combined to make new words. We recently combined the word “correspondent” and the portmanteau “blog” to form Blog-o-spondent.

Technically, a portmanteau is a combination of two words, so if we combined a word and a portmanteau, did we make a “wordmanteau” or “portmantord” or maybe “portwordteau?” If we did, I should register it or at least put an entry into Wikipedia claiming I invented it. I suppose I should decide what to call it first, though. Either way, you are going to start hearing one of these words and you will think of me!

The Ultimate Blog-o-spondent contest is in full swing and you can read the press release about it under News or go straight to the video contest site. (link here)

I, along with Paula, Christi, Brian and others will be at BlogWorld (I don’t think this is a portmanteau as much as just writing two words without a space and a capped second word) and we are planning all sorts of fun for our booth. If you are in the neighborhood, please stop by—we would love to meet you.

The gang (see above mentioned names) have conned me into being the emcee of our booth. I can’t decide if should do it old-school Vegas (with a martini in-hand) or mid ‘90s Vegas (with a small child with me—remember when Vegas was trying to get families out there—what were they thinking?) or just be my own charming self.

On this episode of Red Belly Radio, I speak with several people from BlogWorld 2007, including Luther, our winner from last year’s photo caption contest. This year’s contest will be a little more work, but we will be taking the top three to Vegas with us where they will shoot and edit a video to win the Ultimate Portmanteau! (Blog-o-spondent.)

 

Pictured right: Christi Day with a BlogWorld 2007 attendee.

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Tags: Blog-o-spondent Blogospondent BlogWorld Portmanteau

Portmanteau De Jure was written on Aug 13,2008 at 12:09pm and posted in the categories Uncategorized

It’s a Small World after all

By: Beverly Behrens - Instructional Designer

Well, that’s the truest statement ever … at least for me apparently!  About a year ago, I was casually perusing through a silent auction here at Southwest.  To my surprise, I saw someone I knew, but for the life of me I could not place where I knew her from.  Then it dawned on me, “Oh my goodness, that’s my ninth grade Debate Coach, Lisa Tiller!”  Well, sure enough I walked up and asked, “Do I know you?”  She replied, “Oh my goodness.” 

Fifteen years had passed since I was in the ninth grade, so we re-introduced ourselves and recalled memories from North Little Rock High School Debate Class.  Ms. Tiller, or “Tiller” as we called her, because any self-respecting high school student knows that you only refer to the cool teachers by their last name, was indeed our cool teacher.  But, more than that, she was an influence in my life that I don’t think she even realizes.  See, before ninth grade I was a quiet kid, and if you know me now, you might be quite surprised by that statement.  It was that year that I began to develop myself and my communication skills through Debate class.  We learned to research, analyze, and communicate our thoughts on many political and social hot topics.  All of these are skills I use in my current career as an Instructional Designer.  But, there was something else that I learned in my four years of Debate—I built a foundation that provided me with the drive to achieve my dreams and also the passion of being a lifelong learner. 

Lisa Tiller, thank you for being a significant and valuable influence in my life.  As you are still teaching and leading others as a Facilitator for Southwest, I can only imagine that your Teammembers are as lucky as I was to be trained by you.   

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Tags: Beverly Behrens Southwest Airlines University for People

It’s a Small World after all was written on Aug 13,2008 at 08:24am and posted in the categories Southwest Culture

"My Heroes"

By: Jim Herring - Culture Services Senior Writing Representative

I suppose most of us have a hero or heroes of some sort, people who make a positive impact and inspire us—sports figures, actors, musicians, teachers, family members…the list goes on.  I have heroes in every category listed above, but I hold a special place in my heart for a group of children and teenagers I know who are truly braver and stronger than anyone I've ever met.
 
These kids are burn survivors, receiving treatment at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas, and they will steal your heart too if you ever meet them.  
 
Parkland Memorial Hospital has one of the most respected Burn Trauma Units in the world, and the staff and team of doctors there provide priceless support to children and adults who have survived the trauma of burn injuries.  Along with the treatments and therapy, which are crucial to each patient's health and wellbeing, there is also a special and FUN excursion that the younger patients (six to 18 years old) look forward to each year.

The first week of June is probably a bit like Christmas for these remarkable kids and young adults because that’s when they are able to get together in a positive environment where adventures are found and new friends are made.  Camp I-Thonka-Chi is Choctaw for "a place that makes one strong or fearless, not afraid to face life," and believe me, this phrase perfectly describes the unique and incredible camp in Meridian, Texas (just 78 miles outside of Dallas).

The camp has grown from a weekend and nine campers to a week-long event with close to 100 kids some years.  There's so much for the kids to do at camp—activities include fishing, canoeing, horseback riding, nature hikes, arts and crafts, cookouts, games and much more.  Adult burn survivors join Parkland staff, firefighters, and others to serve as volunteer counselors.   
 
Camp I-Thonka-Chi, or "Parkland Burn Camp" as we call it, is a cause that Southwest holds dear.  While Southwest does not officially sponsor Parkland Burn Camp, we have sent an eager group of volunteers to camp each year since 1993, making 2008 our 15th consecutive year to share our LUV with these precious and brave souls.  Our volunteers are privileged to spend a day at camp, and one Southwest Employee has selflessly served the entire week there as a counselor for the past five years.      
 
After a week of bonding, discovery, and FUN, the campers celebrate with a dance on the last night of camp.  Those who “have the moves” hit the dance floor as a “hip” DJ spins the latest tunes.  A photographer snaps keepsake shots of the kids taken in front of a “green screen” presenting various backgrounds (magazine covers such as People, Vogue, and Rolling Stone; the Las Vegas strip; Studio 54; even Indiana Jones!).  Snow cones, juice, and water are served to help everyone keep cool.  And to cap off the evening, the lights go down and the hearts swell up as we all watch a slide show featuring the most memorable highlights of camp.  That’s when the Southwest volunteers are saddened that we must say goodbye to these treasured Friends until next year.  

It's truly an honor to go to Parkland Burn Camp every year.  These beautiful kids are the bravest I've ever seen and, because of them, I cherish every day of my life as a gift.  We're there to lift them up but, in the end, they lift us up.

   

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Tags: Culture Jim Herring Southwest Airlines

"My Heroes" was written on Aug 12,2008 at 08:20am and posted in the categories Southwest Culture

Competition Brings Out the Best

By: Jeff Lamb - Senior Vice President Chief People & Administration Officer

At Southwest Airlines, we just completed an Employee survey.  Like most surveys, this one only takes a few minutes and provides a valuable platform to solicit real time opinions across our system.  In Dallas, a friend of mine in Finance thought it would be FUN to get a little competition going between our Departments.  We made a bet on which Department would have the greatest participation in the survey, and the smack talking began.  All was going well, participation in the survey was well ahead of past years, and I began to relax. Then one Monday morning I opened my office door to find my office had been ‘wrapped’ with toilet paper.  (see picture below)  

This was very creative for a bunch of accounting nerds. They solicited security to invade my office after hours and launched their attack with precision.  The effect was impressive but the “damage” was temporary, as it was cleaned up in just a few minutes.  With three daughters, the large oak tree in front of our house would occasionally get wrapped by the neighborhood boys.  Upon one such occasion, I was able to interrupt the tree wrapping and commandeer one of the assailant’s bicycles.  I locked up the prisoner (bike) in my garage and waited for the guilty party to surface.  It took several days before mom demanded that her son locate his missing bike. The “prisoner” exchange was very pleasant but needless to say, word soon spread around the neighborhood and the wrappings slowed down.

Although I wasn’t able to capture any Finance assets left behind during the raid, we do have a year’s supply of toilet paper…the good double-ply kind!  Thanks, Finance.

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Tags: FUN Jeff Lamb Southwest Airlines Southwest humor

Competition Brings Out the Best was written on Aug 11,2008 at 08:14am and posted in the categories Working at Southwest

08.08.08

By: Angela Vargo - Manager Product Development

As a kid, I hated the summer Olympics. We had five television channels, and every single one of them showed the Olympics for three weeks straight. No Smurfs. No Looney Tunes. No Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Just a bunch of boring adults doing boring things like running and swimming. I did those things every day and didn't understand why it was such a big deal to watch other people doing it.

Now that I'm a little older (ok...much older), I look forward to the summer Olympics. That time when the world comes together to share in the spirit of competition and camaraderie in the universal language of sport. It never ceases to amaze me how many countries I didn't know existed (Bhutan? Mauritania? Kyrgyzstan?). I get a lump in my throat every time I see an American athlete standing on the awards podium, hand over heart, singing our National Anthem. The Olympics are pretty dang cool.

To celebrate the start of the Summer Games, my department is participating in its own version of the Olympics. Yes, we may lack the physical prowess of  professional athletes but, is that going to stop us? No. Each team within Marketing has to come up with a country name and color and create a flag to represent that "country." We will parade down the Headquarters hallway and out into the blazing August heat to compete on several events...(confidential as to prevent an unfair advantage...we're very competitive around here). One event, however, will stand above the rest and determine the champion of the 2008 Marketing Olympics...the Ribbon Dance. Each team must coordinate a two-minute synchronized ribbon dance to music and perform it in front of the judges.

I personally have never danced with a ribbon and I have a feeling my Coworkers are lacking in this skill as well but I think we will be inspired by the performances. At the very least we'll laugh and make fun of each other...all in the spirit of competition and camaraderie of course.

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Tags: Angela Vargo Olympics Southwest Airlines

08.08.08 was written on Aug 08,2008 at 11:20am and posted in the categories Working at Southwest

Are you Nutty Enough to be our Next Blog Star?

By: Paula Berg - Manager Emerging Media

Start stretching, loosen up those vocal chords, and get ready for your close up! Beginning today, we are hosting an online casting call to find our next Blog-o-spondent for Nuts About Southwest!

 

As many of our regular readers know, over the past six months, we’ve been sending our very own Christi Day around the country to film short video segments for our blog, including features on our Employees and Operations.  We’ve kept her up all night filming crab shipments in Houston; we’ve had her up at dawn to follow our Flight Attendants from Baltimore; and, we’ve thrown her in the belly of an aircraft in Albuquerque to see just how quickly our Employees have to work to turn our aircraft in 25 minutes or less. 

 

I think it’s safe to say that Christi has had a lot of FUN along the way, but now she’s ready to share the spotlight and allow one of you to become our next Nuts About Southwest Blog-o-spondent. 

 

If you want to be Southwest’s next Blog-o-spondent, travel to select Southwest cities, and produce video segments for our blog, submit your one-minute audition video on the official contest site as soon as possible.  Between today and August 31, your fellow bloggers will be able to view all video submissions and vote for their favorites.  The three contestants with the most votes on Sept. 1 will be invited to join me, Christi, Brian, and the entire Southwest Blog Team at this year’s BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas on Sept. 20-21, where they will compete in a final competition round. 

 

So Break-a-leg…and click HERE to see all the contest rules and guidelines!

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Tags: Blog-o-spondent BlogWorld Christi Day contest

Are you Nutty Enough to be our Next Blog Star? was written on Aug 07,2008 at 09:58am and posted in the categories Nutty stuff and Southwest Culture and Working at Southwest