Blog Team

bowen
Author Since 2006

Bill Owen

So let’s cut right to the chase. I’m a fat, 54-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 and now there is my granddaughter VIVIAN! 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, and the newest addition--MY GRANDBABY CRICKET!! Partner, Kent. Stepdaughters, the Princess of Darkness and the Space Cadet.

Pets

Two spoiled dogs, both rescue: Abby, a 7 year old 5-lb Chihuahua/Rat Terrier mix. Thinks she’s a T-Rex. And Marley, a 7-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.

Recent Activity:

Recent Activity Posts

Shhhhh…..the Fall 2012 Schedule is now available for sale through Nov. 2, 2012!

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

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

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!]

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!

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?

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!

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

SOUTHWEST ANNOUNCES SCHEDULES FOR NEW AIRTRAN SERVICE TO MEXICO!

Dec 05 2011
Olé, y’all!! We’ve received U.S. DOT approval for our new service to Mexico! Starting June 3, 2012, our subsidiary AirTran Airways will start daily, nonstop service between Orange County, Calif., and both Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo and Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City. In addition, to enable us to keep the AirTran 737-700’s used on the international service “route-able”... read more

SUMMER SURPRISES—SOUTHWEST AND AIRTRAN SCHEDULES NOW OPEN FOR SALE THROUGH AUGUST 10, 2012!

Nov 13 2011
Just as the weather’s getting chilly, Southwest is heating things up again by opening up our schedule for next summer—along with a LOT of exciting new service!  We’re now accepting reservations all the way out to August 10, 2012, on both the Southwest network, available at southwest.com, as well as the AirTran network, bookable at airtran.com.  This will give us 271 days of... read more

SCHEDULE EXTENDED—NOW ACCEPTING BOOKINGS THROUGH JUNE 1, 2012!

Oct 03 2011
This morning we extended our schedule out through the first of June of next year, which gives us 242 days of bookable inventory!  We’ve re-optimized the schedule to allow for typical seasonal changes (traffic, weather) which drove changes in 50 markets (and all market changes noted are roundtrip).  Nineteen markets will decrease slightly, 24 will increase slightly, we’re bringing two... read more