I was walking down the streets of New York City, rollerbag in one hand and my cell phone navigation in the other.  I needed to find my hotel, but I didn't want to look like some tourist without a clue so I was walking with a mission.  I had full confidence that I was going to get where I needed to go, even though I was completely lost and intimidated.  Well, as I was walking I must have looked the part, because I had three different people come and ask me for directions!  I finally made it to the hotel and felt very accomplished, a small town southern girl had successfully made it through the big city!
 
As I was thinking about my adventures, I thought how similar my experience was to our new station opening at the LaGuardia Airport (LGA).  We all know that Southwest is the largest domestic carrier and that we now cover most of the United States, but our presence here is very much like mine was as I was walking through The City, a small fish in a big pond.  However, as in true Southwest fashion, we are coming into this market with full confidence that we are going to get where we need to be!  With the LGA Station opening, we have a mission.
 
As with every station opening, our Employees have made a collaborative effort to open LGA without a hitch.  Every department has worked so hard in a short time to make sure our presence here is true to our history and our Culture.  Properties, Schedule Planning, Revenue Management, Legal, Finance, and many more have made sure that this airport and this market would work in our system and produce the business revenue we seek. 

Marketing and Communications have created a Southwest Airlines buzz through out the city that you can almost feel.  The People Department has hired and assembled the Frontline Team of Employees that will work daily to ensure our Customers are treated with our Positively Outrageous Service.  Customer Support and Services, Customer Relations, and Source Of Support are working around the clock, answering a flood of questions and comments.  Ground Operations is making sure we are compliant with all our procedures in all we do and making sure the operation here will succeed. Our Ground Ops Training and University for People are making sure our Employees, both New Hires and transfers, know and have all the tools of the trade. Inflight, Flight Operations, Crew Scheduling, and Dispatch are all preparing for our Red Bellied Aircraft to join those other guys in this new airspace.  Our Facilities and Technology teams are working tirelessly to iron out all the kinks that come with preparing a new station. 

Really, all of our Employees, even those unmentioned above, work together so that Southwest can operate in a new airport, especially one as demanding and high profile as LGA.  We wouldn't be able to do it without all of the hard work and support by everyone.  In this sort of venture especially, Every One Matters.
 
Southwest Employees should should be proud that our once small Texas airline is now in a New York state of mind.