Blog Team
Bill Owen
So let’s cut right to the chase. I’m a fat, 53-year old white guy. I dance badly but cook wonderfully. I’m not losing my hair—it’s just moving slowly from my head down to my ears, shoulders and back. The bags under my eyes are almost too big to qualify as carryons. My spider veins look like a roadmap of Croatia. And I’m happier and more contented than I have ever been in my life. At work, I’m responsible for making sure that the Network Planning Department is prepared with tools, data, and processes to enable them to write and publish any kind of schedules that the Company, or the industry, dictate. And, of course, there's this gig, where I get to write about my Company and my life. Honestly, I get paid to do what I LUV to do! I know all the secrets of what’s coming in the future, and I know where all the “bodies are buried” from the past. How cool is that? At home, I’m the father of an amazing, 27-year-old policeman (you guys know him--I’ve often written about The Officer), who has a wonderful wife. I WANT THEM TO GIVE ME GRANDBABIES. I'm also the stepfather to two adorable stepdaughters who love to push buttons (most often, mine!), and the partner of a wonderful man whose long-term consumption of my cooking has recently led him to be placed on Lipitor. *sigh* I’m part of a wonderfully historic church, have a brother, one remaining 91-year-old precious aunt, dozens of wonderful cousins, and a gaggle of friends I’ve known for over 40 years. You may call it an extended, reality version of “Modern Family.” I call it "heaven." Either way, it’s my life….and I’m happy to give the blogosphere the inside view!
Fun Facts
Languages
English, Airline, Texan, Parent, and Food. I hope to eventually learn Grandparent.
Hobbies
Working, travel, cooking, writing, working, cleaning, parenting, living, and working.
Family
Son, The Officer, and his wife, the DIL. Partner, Kent. Stepdaughters, the Princess of Darkness and the Space Cadet.
Pets
Three spoiled dogs, all rescue: 30-lb Ginger, 12-year-old terrier mix. Thinks she’s a cat. Abby, a 5-lb Chihuahua. Thinks she’s a T-Rex. And Marley, a 5-year-old 160-lb yellow lab. Thinks he’s a lap dog.
High School
Irving High School, Irving, Texas (Class of 1976)
College
Freshman/Sophomore years at Texas Tech. Graduated from University of Texas at Arlington.
Favorite Sports Teams
You’re kidding, right?
Favorite Travel Destinations
London, Paris, Hawaii (all islands), New Orleans, and Clearwater, Florida
Your Favorite Southwest Story
So many. Too many. Dozens of Ronald McDonald House dinners. Meeting amazing SWA Family members. But several stories really stand out, most shared here. One, the story of how my SWA Family just did what they do—but enabled an anonymous Customer to have a chance to say goodbye to her dying mother. See the story of Connection Lady here. And two, the absolute comment-flaming I got from the blogosphere about our “days-of-inventory” and mysterious schedule opening procedures, and how we changed corporate policy because of feedback received on “Nuts!” Read the evisceration here, and the results here. Of course—the opportunity to do my sweet Mother’s obit here on “Nuts.” And…the infamous squirrel story here.
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Recent Activity:
Recent Activity Posts
FROM THE ROCKIES TO LA PLAYA: DENVER-CANCUN NONSTOPS BEGIN TODAY!
By: Bill Owen 
Apr 16 2012
It’s a wonderful day at Southwest and our subsidiary,
AirTran! Today marks the first in a
series of new International routes that AirTran will be starting over the next
couple of months. Brand new nonstop
service between Denver and Cancun, Mexico, takes to the sky today with the
scheduled 10:40 a.m. departure of AirTran flight 74, which will arrive Cancun at
3:25 p.m. local time.... read more
WELCOME, AKRON-CANTON, DAYTON, AND DES MOINES…AND LOTS MORE SCHEDULE CHANGES FOR THE SUMMER AND FALL!
By: Bill Owen
Apr 02 2012
So…if we announced all of this yesterday, you’d think it was
an April Fool’s joke. BUT IT’S NOT! We’ve just unveiled lots of service adjustments
in the Summer/Fall 2012 schedules.
Headline News:
Southwest is adding THREE new cities!
Effective August 12, Southwest will begin daily service at Akron-Canton
(CAK) and Dayton, Ohio (DAY). At
Akron-Canton, we’ll... read more
8,050,936: Patently Cool!
By: Bill Owen
Feb 27 2012
Here’s a
riddle for you: what do Zeppo Marx, Harry
Connick Jr., Julie Newmar, Abraham Lincoln, Marlon Brando, Jamie Lee Curtis,
me, and five other members of the Southwest Airlines Network Planning
Department have in common?
Answer: we’ve all been named as inventors in a United
States Patent!
It’s
true! Six of us in SWA’s Network
Planning Department were named in a U.S. Patent... read more
Shhhhh…..the Fall 2012 Schedule is now available for sale through Nov. 2, 2012!
By: Bill Owen
Feb 20 2012
Today we published the Southwest Airlines and AirTran
Airways schedules out through Nov. 2, 2012, making 256 days of travel available
for sale. The majority of this Schedule is
in October, a month known for a number of things: great weather … football … fall foliage … and
no major changes in Customer demand!
This new schedule reflects those subtle changes. In fact, the... read more
SOUTHWEST ANNOUNCES NEW FLIGHTS FROM DENVER AND AUSTIN TO CANCUN OPERATED BY AIRTRAN AIRWAYS
By: Bill Owen
Feb 03 2012
Today, we announced new U.S. gateways for Customers traveling to Mexico—Denver and Austin! We have received route authority approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for AirTran to operate new international flights between Denver International Airport and Cancun International Airport and between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Cancun International Airport.* Austin... read more
THE 4-1-1 ON TWO NEW EQUIPMENT TYPES IN THE SWA FLEET
By: Bill Owen
Feb 02 2012
A milestone event happened today at Southwest! Today, we changed our schedule by introducing aircraft with the new “Evolve” interior that we unveiled on Jan. 17, and the 737-800. The new equipment types were planned in advance, so these are equipment changes on existing flights with no “net-new” flying. This particular milestone comes from a tremendous amount of behind-the-... read more
Extra Sections for the Big Game! [UPDATED!]
By: Bill Owen
Jan 26 2012
WE HEARD YOU, NEW ENGLAND FANS! SUPER EXTRA SECTIONS BETWEEN PROVIDENCE AND INDIANAPOLIS NOW AVAILABLE FOR SUPER GAME WEEKEND! After I blogged yesterday about our Super Extra Sections to/from Indianapolis, lots of you very rightly corrected our shocking lack of knowledge about the New England Patriots and which airport is closer to them. And here’s our response! Now... read more
SCHEDULE EXTENDED—NOW ACCEPTING BOOKINGS THROUGH SEPTEMBER 28, 2012!
By: Bill Owen
Jan 22 2012
Today, we put out the Southwest and AirTran schedules for
sale from August 12 through September 28, 2012.
And if you thought some of the previous schedule changes I’ve walked you
guys through have been complex…stand by for a NEW standard of complexity! Conversion, network harmonization, market
changes, and a smaller schedule design that reflects the normal Customer demand
changes... read more
WHY NO SOUTHWEST TO HAWAII?
By: Bill Owen
Apr 04 2008
See below for April 10 update
Everyone at Southwest Airlines was saddened by the sudden termination of service by our codeshare partner, ATA Airlines. Setting aside the business relationship for just a second, we appreciate the hard work of our colleagues at ATA, and wish them nothing but the best in the future.
However, I thought I should post a quick blog about a question that's come up MANY... read more
SEASONAL SERVICE COMING IN FEBRUARY/MARCH!
By: Bill Owen
Dec 07 2011
We’re adding new seasonal nonstop service between February 12th and April 9th, 2012 to accommodate winter and Spring Break demand next year! Southwest will add three new nonstop markets to the SWA network for the period—one daily roundtrip between Ft. Myers and both Hartford/Springfield and Providence, and new nonstop roundtrip service between Baltimore/Washington and Tucson, Arizona!... read more
Recent Activity Luvs
8,050,936: Patently Cool!
By: Bill Owen
Feb 27 2012
Here’s a
riddle for you: what do Zeppo Marx, Harry
Connick Jr., Julie Newmar, Abraham Lincoln, Marlon Brando, Jamie Lee Curtis,
me, and five other members of the Southwest Airlines Network Planning
Department have in common?
Answer: we’ve all been named as inventors in a United
States Patent!
It’s
true! Six of us in SWA’s Network
Planning Department were named in a U.S. Patent... read more
Extra Sections for the Big Game! [UPDATED!]
By: Bill Owen
Jan 26 2012
WE HEARD YOU, NEW ENGLAND FANS! SUPER EXTRA SECTIONS BETWEEN PROVIDENCE AND INDIANAPOLIS NOW AVAILABLE FOR SUPER GAME WEEKEND! After I blogged yesterday about our Super Extra Sections to/from Indianapolis, lots of you very rightly corrected our shocking lack of knowledge about the New England Patriots and which airport is closer to them. And here’s our response! Now... read more
SCHEDULE EXTENDED—NOW ACCEPTING BOOKINGS THROUGH SEPTEMBER 28, 2012!
By: Bill Owen
Jan 22 2012
Today, we put out the Southwest and AirTran schedules for
sale from August 12 through September 28, 2012.
And if you thought some of the previous schedule changes I’ve walked you
guys through have been complex…stand by for a NEW standard of complexity! Conversion, network harmonization, market
changes, and a smaller schedule design that reflects the normal Customer demand
changes... read more
NEW SCHEDULE ALERT!
By: Bill Owen
Feb 08 2011
Southwest’s schedule is really “out there!” Today we’re putting our schedule out for sale from August 13th through September 30th which (obviously!) includes the Labor Day Holiday period.
This schedule’s design reflects the annual, seasonal shift from what we expect to be a really busy spring and a WAY busy summer into a slightly more normal ‘bucolic’ fall. Compared to the summer ’11... read more
Navigating the Storm: A Captain's Blog
By: Brooks Thomas 
Feb 04 2011
This picture is of Dallas-Love Field, as seen from our deck at Headquarters on Friday morning, February 4, 2011.Our new Blog Team covers many areas of Southwest Airlines, including the areas hit hard by recent winter storms. We thought it would be interesting to share with you a Captain's Blog from the people who experienced it first-hand.
Transmission from Capt. Joe Gautille, Feb. 1 at 1034... read more
