Blog Alumni

blusk
Author Since 2006

Brian Lusk

Of all our bloggers, I am probably the oldest, but I don’t feel my age. I was born in 1952, just a couple of blocks from the Santa Fe Railway’s main transcontinental line in Clovis, New Mexico to an airline father, so transportation (planes and trains) got in my blood at an early age. As a child, my fondest memories are spending days at work with my dad on the ramp in Amarillo, Texas and on the old observation deck at Dallas Love Field. After graduating from Southern Methodist University in Dallas as a journalism major, I got my first airline job with Delta in 1976. During my time at Delta, I worked at Dallas/Fort Worth (during three separate occasions), Detroit, Oakland, Atlanta (at the old terminal), Portland, Oregon, Paris Orly, and Dayton, Ohio. My 18½ years with Delta were split between ramp/operations and ticket counter/gates. I joined Southwest (thankfully!) in 1995, as a Reservations Sales Agent, but then I moved to the communications group in the Executive Office, where. I corresponded with our Customers on a wide variety of topics, but I also got to work on different projects like this blog. About five years ago I moved into the Communication & Strategic Outreach Department and worked primarily in our social media area. Then in 2011, I got my dream job as Southwest's Corporate Historian. I enjoy sharing and preserving Southwest's past with our Employees and the public at large.

Fun Facts

Languages

English and Blog

Hobbies

Aviation and Railroading

Pets

My basset, Annabelle

High School

El Segundo High School, El Segundo, Ca and WT White in Dallas

College

Southern Methodist

Favorite Sports Teams

Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavs, SMU, Cowboys

Favorite Travel Destinations

Scotland

Your Favorite Southwest Story

The current week's Flashback Fridays

Recent Activity:

Recent Activity Posts

Time Capsule Diving, Part One

Jun 29 2011
No, I didn’t have to wear fins or goggles, and I could breathe just fine.  However,  I was lucky enough to dive to the bottom of the time capsule that was opened at the 40th Anniversary Party in Dallas.  Here’s a report of what I found—so far.  The biggest quantity of items were the guess Southwest’s future contest entries.  Back in 1991, LUVLines invited Employees to... read more

Air Venture Update: Oshkosh Here We Come

Jun 27 2011
We are about a month away from opening day at one of the world’s great aviation events, Air Venture 2011 at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  What could be better than warm Midwest summer days, cool summer nights, and airplanes from sunrise to sunset?  Since I wrote my last blog post, some amazing aircraft have committed to the show.  The brand new Boeing 787 will be on display Friday, July 29... read more

Flashback Fridays: More Photos From Before June 18, 1971

Jun 24 2011
I hope you aren’t too tired of photos from 1971, but I found another batch to share with you this week.  All of these photos appear to have been taken before June 18, 1971, which as you know was the day we began operation.  I used a magnifying glass to look at the name tags in the black and white photos, and they are labeled “Southwest Airlines Preview.”  The attendees, judging by... read more

Flashback Fridays: Some Favorite 40th Anniversary Photos

Jun 17 2011
The actual date of our 40th Anniversary is this Saturday, June 18.  This edition of Flashback Fridays is primarily pictorial, and my goal was to share some of my favorite photos from 1971 and 1972.  Along the way, I found some unique photos sharing our original procedures, so they are the “educational” portion of the program.   One of the iconic photos from 1971 is a variation of... read more

Flashback Fridays: A First False Step Out of Texas

Jun 10 2011
Recently, we’ve been looking at some Southwest “what ifs,” and wondering how life would have been different had various scenarios played out.  Here’s another one for you:  What if I told you Southwest had received governmental approval to begin service out of Chicago Midway almost two years before we operated our first flight out of Texas?  Well, it’s true, and it’s an interesting... read more

Flashback Fridays: Another Road not Followed

Jun 03 2011
If you look at all the twists of fate involved with Southwest’s beginnings, it’s amazing Southwest got off the ground, much less lasted 40 years.  I’ve always been amazed that just the right person for just the right situation seems to come along with amazing prescience.  Then just this morning, I was looking for references on something completely different, when a generally unknown... read more

Flashback Fridays: More of Southwest before June 18, 1971

May 27 2011
Anyone who has studied the history of Southwest knows the many legal obstacles we had to overcome just to start service.  But there were other hurdles to overcome before Southwest could fly, and many of those “loose ends” were being tied up 40 years ago in the days before June 18, 1971.  Last week’s Flashback Fridays looked at how to publicize a brand new airline, which was a very rare... read more

Flashback Fridays: An Early Southwest Manifesto

May 20 2011
With our 40th Anniversary less than a month away, try to transport yourself back to May 1971.  You have something rare to publicize—a new airline.  Since World War II, there have only been a handful of new scheduled carriers certified by the Civil Aeronautics Board (the CAB) to this point.  In California, three or four intrastate carriers start up and remain within the state to... read more

Flashback Fridays: A Second Look at Southwest’s Spiritual Home

May 13 2011
Southwest is very proud of our Dallas roots.  For the past 40 years, our Headquarters has been in Dallas, our Pilots and Flight Attendants train in Dallas, our Dispatchers handle our flights from Dallas, and most of the Company’s support departments are in Dallas.  However another city has longer ties with Southwest, and in many ways, that city helped to define our Corporate Culture.... read more

Oshkosh, Here We Come, Again

May 12 2011
Every aviation geek in the world knows THE place to be the last week of July is Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the annual AirVenture event.  Part air show, part county fair, part trade show, part rock concert, AirVenture is the largest aviation event in the world with a half-million attendees.  Southwest took an airplane to the show last year, and we had a fantastic time.  This year we... read more

Recent Activity Luvs

To Maureen with LUV

May 07 2008
Length: 12:47 Recently retired Maureen Harbauer with husband, Wolfgang at Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright in Pennsylvania. read more