Southwest Airlines will be providing testimony to today's (Thursday, April 3) hearing of the House of Representatives' Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and our Executive Chairman, Herb Kelleher, and CEO Gary Kelly are scheduled to testify. The hearing begins at 9:oo a.m. Central Time and can be viewed at the Committee's web site. You can also access our press release by clicking here.
Friday, April 4
Just as a form of recap, for those of you who weren't able to watch the entire hearing or read all the testimony, here are a couple of excerpts from Herb's and Gary's testimony.
Excerpts from Herb's testimony:
Southwest, through the dedication, energy, and warming hearts of its much beloved and cherished Employees, has faithfully delivered on its original promise of 'more value for less fare' for 37 years:
In 1966, when I started work on bringing Southwest into being, we said we are going to free the American people to fly-and we did. At that time, something like only 15-20 percent of adults in the U.S. had ever flown on a single commercial airline flight. Today, that number stands at around 85 percent.
Southwest said we're going to get you there on time-and we did. Among major airlines in existence in 1987, Southwest has the best cumulative Customer Satisfaction record since the inception of such statistics in 1987-21 years ago.
Southwest, for many decades the most heavily unionized of the major airlines, said we are going to take care of our splendid People-and we did. Southwest instituted the first Employee ProfitSharing Plan in the American airline industry, and no Southwest Employee has, ever, sustained an involuntary furlough.
And, finally, we said we're going to operate the safest airline in the world-and we have. After 16 million flights carrying 1.2 billion passengers without a single-not one-passenger accident fatality, Southwest Airlines' record is intact today.
Excerpts from Gary's testimony:
Southwest Airlines has been a great success at a great many things for 37 years. We believe our People are the best in the aviation industry, and they have enormous devotion to our Company and pride in its results. Above all, the Safety of our People, our Customers, and our own families is my top priority. And, it is Southwest Airlines' top priority.
Our airplanes are designed to be safe, and our Maintenance program is designed to keep them safe. Our Safety record is one of which anyone would be justifiably proud. I believe, deeply, that we have the best Maintenance and Engineering Employees in the airline industry.
I want to assure Congress and the American People that Southwest will not rest on our Safety record, no matter good it may be. I commit to you, we will constructively and aggressively address the issues raised by the FAA and this committee to enable our proud, safe airline to continue as the safest in the world. Our record makes credible this aspiration. Our Southwest People will accept nothing less. Our Customers deserve nothing less.
Comments
I'm very disturbed by allegations relating to Southwest's maintenance program and inspections. CNN's story about wistleblowers alleging that Southwest requested that a specific government inspector be reassigned (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/southwest.faa.inspection/index.html) is particularly disturbing.
I am very, very uncomfortable about flying yet I do so regularly for my work in Texas. Southwest has always been my first choice in flying because until that incident in Chicago, the airline had never had a fatality. I originally attributed this to Southwest's commitment to quality and safety. With the latest allegations, I wonder whether it would be more appropriate to attribute Southwest's safety record to luck.
It is time for Southwest's "Tylenol Moment." Southwest needs to get out in front, say "We screwed up; we took our eye off the ball, forgetting that our greatest assets are our employees and our customers (particularly their trust and loyalty). In a time where the airline industry is facing unprecedented challenges due to fuel prices, we cannot allow ourselves to forget our core values and responsibilities. We deeply regret this episode but will work to ensure that we learn from it and are thankful that no one was injured as a result of this lapse. Southwest is committed to providing high quality service at reasonable prices and safety is an important part of that service."
Now get out there and say it. Stop saying "Yes, planes went out without inspections but no one was at risk and no one got hurt so don't worry about it." If a person shoots a gun in the air and it doesn't kill anyone when it comes back down, that doesn't excuse the person who fired the gun recklessly.
Hi Folks;
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SWA has done unreversable damage to their reputation by trying to save a few dollars at the expense of public safety. They will now blame this on a few "rogue" employees and claim to have remedied thier problem.
A former loyal customer
I LOVE SOUTHWEST AIRLINES! yay!
Dear Southwest,
As an American air traveler, I have been increasingly concerned with the safety of the nation's "economy airlines" as the economics of flying have seemingly decreased profit margins over the last 10 years (higher gas prices, lower market rates). It has been my fear that in an effort to sustain themselves, airlines have been pressured to increase the numbers of flights they operate per day, meaning less attention would be paid to inspections and matters of safety. This was not a confirmed fact, but simply a suspicion I had based on my observations as a frequent flyer. The flying experience has seemed increasingly more frenzied and less professional for some time now and it only seems to get worse. I have never been a huge fan of flying, but in the past 5 years or so, my anxiety level increased dramatically. My trust in the thoroughness of airplane pre-flight inspections erroded as it appeared to me that more importance was being placed on churning out as many flights as possible, rather than taking time to ensure quality and safety. The findings of the FAA regarding your disregard of Federal Regulations has confirmed my suspicion and I am completely and utterly disgusted by your disregard for the safety of your customers and personel. This is probably the most potent example of corporate greed I have ever witnessed and I think it will severely impact your company's credibilty, even among your most loyal customers. I know that personally I have a trip scheduled with Southwest coming up next week and I will be cancelling it immediately and flying United instead. I will not be flying with your airline again unless I am convinced by your actions that you are committed to sweeping change amongst your organizations safety policies. I cannot trust a company that has, apparently, so little regard for human life.
- Stephanie
The investigation should prove insightful as it is coming to light that numerous people -- both within Southwest as well as the FAA -- appear to have been aware for some time of the non-compliance. This "oversight" or "misunderstanding" is now appearing as a total disregard for safety and human life (both for passengers and Southwest employees on these planes), orchestrated by people who seemed to have known exactly what was happening. You can only plead ignorance for so long.
Nice going SWA,
Who can we trust anymore? If you think about it, it's sad that we even need the FAA to watch out for our safety. What would SWA or others get away with if the FAA were not there??? Now FAA employees Bobby Bourtris and Douglas Peters
have to enter the federal whistle blowers program because they chose to do the right thing? Hey Herb and Gary (Chairman/CEO SWA) is it really worth it to have our blood on your hands, for money? would you really enjoy your retirement if a plane had gone down due to maintenance violations? I will only fly my family on SWA when Herb and Gary step down in shame. It's one thing to defraud old ladies of their life savings like some spineless CEO's, but to play with my family's lives for money? SWA has lost it's way.......
Former Customer,
Cary Il.
Southwest's apparently disregard for human life for no other reason than profit is inexcuseable and they must be made an example of. I personally will never fly on Southwest airlins again. I would like to see prison terms for all of those in management involved in this murderous episode.
Shame on you!
May your curse be to fly on those same unsafe airplanes that you would allow to fly passengers on.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/02/southwest.faa.inspection/index.html
I am sad to say that even though I have a flight booked on Southwest in April, I will be cancelling it and booking on a different airline. I know that I will forfeit some money, but I don't know who to trust here and I don't feel like dealing with the stress of wondering.
I fly Southwest twice weekly and nearly always have a very positive experience. From gate to plane, the crews are professional, customer focused, and friendly.
However, as a frequent flyer, I am very concerned by these potential safety issues. I would like a letter sent to all frequent flyers detailing what specific steps you have and will take to ensure current and future passenger safety.
We are owed this as customers who spend thousands on your airline annually. The testimony and public relations campaign are not enough Ã
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