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

Flashback Fridays--A Look at Southwest Airlines and TranStar

Aug 06 2010
Not long after leaving Southwest Airlines, our first President, Lamar Muse, started a new airline called Muse Air.  Taking to the sky in 1982, Muse Air almost immediately ran into problems when the big air traffic controller strike limited the number of airline operations.  Nevertheless, Lamar’s effort was notable because it was the first US airline to go entirely non-smoking—long before federal... read more

Flashback Fridays--A Historical Admiration for Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants

Jul 30 2010
Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants have always been great ambassadors of our Company and our Brand.  One of my other duties besides managing this blog is serving as our “archivist.”  In the latter roll, I have received a lot of recent requests for photos from the 1970s of our Flight Attendants. These requests have come from publications as different as The Wall Street Journal and Glamour UK... read more

Southwest Airlines Addresses Misinterpretation Regarding Contract of Carriage

Jul 28 2010
Some of you may have noticed recent news stories regarding a minor change that we made to our Contract of Carriage(CoC) verbiage, regarding Force Majeure Events. Unfortunately, early news coverage misinterpreted the language of the revision and led to quite a bit of confusion for our Customers. Southwest has never defined Force Majeure Events in our CoC, so the verbiage is brand new, though the... read more

Oshkosh Countdown--Air Venture 2010 Begins

Jul 26 2010
Over the weekend, most of the airplanes arrived, and today (July 26) is the first official day of Air Venture 2010 in Oshkosh, with mass arrivals of several types of aircraft.  Tonight the rock group Chicago will be on stage with the opening performance, but today is all about the aircraft. On our end, we are wrapping up the loose ends and are very excited about our appearance in Aero Shell... read more

Oshkosh Countdown--Salute to Veterans

Jul 23 2010
After blogging about our participation in the 2010 Air Venture in Oshkosh, we took a look at the vintage airliners that will be at this year’s show.  With this update, let’s turn our attention to military aviation : This year's Air Venture theme is Salute to Veterans, and that salute is taking place both on the ground and in the air.  Actor Gary Sinise and his Lieutenant Dan Band will perform... read more

Flashback Fridays--Southwest Airlines Tiniest Airport

Jul 23 2010
In our 39-year history, there are only two airports from which Southwest Airlines has withdrawn service and never returned.  One of those, Detroit City Airport, is an airport that we looked at a few weeks ago.  While we don’t currently serve Houston George Bush Intercontinental, we did return once before for a second stay.  And, yes, I know we dropped Denver Stapleton, but in the meantime, it... read more

Oshkosh Countdown--Planned Highlights of Air Venture 2010

Jul 16 2010
As I mentioned in a previous post, we are all extremely excited that Southwest is participating in this year’s Air Venture at Oshkosh.  I am literally crossing the days off the calendar.  As promised, I’ll be updating you from now until we leave on some of the interesting and amazing events that are planned for Air Venture 2010. I am guessing that a lot of you share my interest in vintage... read more

Flashback Fridays--Looking Back at Amarillo

Jul 16 2010
Can you point to the place where you first fell in love with the wonder of aviation?  I’m talking about the location to where you would return time and again to learn more about your newfound love.  I can, and the place is Amarillo, Texas and the time is the late 1950s. Across from the current Amarillo (AMA) terminal complex, stands the old terminal (above), also known as English Field. ... read more

Oshkosh Countdown--Air Venture Here Comes Southwest Airlines

Jul 13 2010
If you know me or have read my posts, you will know that I am a huge, incurable, aviation nut.  I go beyond geek, fan, enthusiast, directly to nut.  I eat it, I live it, I speak it, and I bore others with it.  So when we dotted all the “I”s and crossed all the “t”s with the great folks from EAA’s Air Venture, I wanted to scream, “SOUTHWEST IS GOING TO THE OSHKOSH AIRSHOW.”  For any of you who... read more

Flashback Fridays--Once Upon a Time in Detroit

Jul 09 2010
Once upon a time, Southwest Airlines flew to two airports in the Motor City.  We began service to the area with 12 nonstop flights a day to Detroit Metro (DTW) on June 4, 1987.  Ever since the end of World War II, Detroit’s air service had been centered on airports in suburban areas west of the city.  First, all carriers served the new Willow Run Airport (YIP) in Yspilanti until the mid-1950s. ... read more