Blog Team

bowen
Author Since 2006

Bill Owen

Lead Planner, Network Planning Technology
Irving, TX  | 

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

Southwest Airlines Offers Extra Flights for the Big Game

By: Bill Owen bowen

Jan 24 2011
WOO-HOO! Now we all know which two teams are playing in The Big Game XLV—it’s Green Bay vs. Pittsburgh! And y’all are coming to *MY* home—the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex—for the Big Game. Southwest is making it easier for you folks to come cheer your teams on to victory in “JerryWorld”—the new, amazing, billion-dollar stadium that is the host to this year’s game. (Seriously folks, this... read more

JOIN THE MOVEMENT--TAKE THE PLEDGE

By: Bill Owen bowen

Dec 08 2010
Recently, a friend of mine and his family buried their 21-year-old daughter.  She died, alone, of blunt-force trauma in a horrific one-car accident on Interstate 35-E in Dallas.  At a high rate of speed, her vehicle ran off the freeway and hit a concrete pole.  What was the cause of death?  It wasn't a blown tire.  It wasn't a mechanical problem She was texting while driving. The tragedy of... read more

OUR 40TH SUMMER OF LUV--NOW AVAILABLE!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Nov 16 2010
Today, we put our Summer, 2011 schedule out for sale.  We're now accepting reservations all the way out until August 12, 2011--nearly 270 days of bookable inventory.  That's the most we've EVER had available for sale!!! This schedule is very much reflective of the very busy summer we're expecting next year.  For a change, *NO* markets are discontinued.  We'll be adding 54 flights a day to our... read more

Southwest Airlines Media Day 2010: FREEDOM ARRIVES AT LIBERTY MARCH 27TH!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Oct 28 2010
Southwest will bring our brand of Freedom, Low Fares, and GREAT service to Newark/Liberty International Airport beginning March 27!  Initially, we’ll offer six weekday roundtrips between Newark and Chicago and two daily roundtrips between Newark and St. Louis, with connecting service beyond Chicago and St. Louis to 48 other Southwest destinations.  Later in the year, we’ll be adding even more... read more

¡HOLA VOLARIS! ¡Y HOLA INTERNATIONAL CONNECT!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Oct 28 2010
Effective November 12, you’ll be able to buy tickets to, from, and within Mexico at southwest.com!  We’re partnering with Volaris, Mexico’s second-largest airline, in order to offer our Customers connections between cities in the Western part of our network and five of Volaris’ Mexican destinations—Cancun, Guadalajara, Morelia, Toluca/Mexico City, and Zacatecas—connecting via Los Angeles,... read more

SOUTH CAROLINA, MEET SOUTHWEST AIRLINES!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Oct 20 2010
HELLO, PALMETTO STATE!  We’re Southwest Airlines—and we’re coming to serve you beginning on March 13, 2011!  We’ll begin operations at our 70th and 71st airports, Greenville/Spartanburg (GSP) and Charleston (CHS), with seven weekday departures from each airport.  At GSP, we’ll be flying  one nonstop roundtrip to Nashville, two to Baltimore/Washington, one to Houston Hobby, one to Orlando, and... read more

DATELINE: LONDON

By: Bill Owen bowen

Oct 12 2010
This is London.  Okay, I'm no Edward R. Murrow, and the blitz is long over.  But I *was* in London recently, to attend (and report on) the annual Low Cost Carrier Conference.  To say that the conference was fascinating is a huge understatement, but it was also very apparent that all low-cost carriers are facing many of the same issues.  And one--Southwest--is facing those issues in a very... read more

MORE NEW SCHEDULES--ALL THE WAY INTO JUNE 2011!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Oct 07 2010
This morning we're opening our schedule for reservations out through June 3, 2011.  Time to go see Mumsey for Mother's Day--or celebrate the unofficial start of summer by scheduling a Memorial Day weekend jaunt!  Either way, schedules are now available, and (of course) we have a few changes to tell you about. First, let's talk about what's *not* in this Schedule.  Earlier this year, Southwest... read more

NEW SCHEDULES ARE OUT! TIME FOR BEACH BLANKET BINGO 2011!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Sep 26 2010
Good morning Blogosphere!  There is a LOT going on here in the "Puzzle Palace" (a hopefully affectionate nickname bestowed on our Love Field Headquarters campus)!  This morning we opened for your purchasing pleasure our initial March 12 through April 25, 2011 schedule.  That includes Easter 2011 (which falls on April 24th, according to the incredibly helpful website www.... read more

My Favorite "Non-Wife"...And Her Long, Long Road Home

By: Bill Owen bowen

Sep 06 2010
On Labor Day, we are proud to present this post about the remarkable friendship between two Southwest Airlines Employees.   It's incredible that it's been five years since the tragedy that started with Hurricane Katrina began to unfold on the Gulf Coast.  America has endured catasrophic storms before, but something like that had never happened to Southwest Airlines (and we hope it never... read more