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 TO FLY TO ST. OLAF!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Apr 01 2009
Okay, just kidding.  April Fool’s!  Southwest could *never* start service to the mythical hometown of the Golden Girls’ favorite fool, Rose Nylund (although, according to Sophia Petrillo, the matriarch of the Miami foursome, Rose wasn’t a fool—she was “simpleton…but it’s a fine line between simpleton and fool”).  Besides, modern jetliners can’t land in St. Olaf….you’d have to land in St. Gustaf... read more

"ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A SCHEDULE PLANNER" WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Mar 11 2009
WHITE SMOKE!  WE HAVE WINNERS!   You guys really came through--I received nearly 70 entries to the "Are You Smarter Than A Schedule Planner" contest.  I went through them, eliminated ones that violated the rules (primarily, curfew and balance), blanked out the entrant's names, then submitted them to the judges.  Some entries were very similar, but we're used to that.  There... read more

SO LONG HOMESTEAD!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Mar 05 2009
Many of you know that my mother passed away a little over a year ago (to read her tribute click here).  Since then, things have been....well...interesting.  I have a younger brother who is disabled, and I've been making sure he was okay (while maintaining a respectful distance) while trying to sell my parents' home of over 40 years (in which my brother still lives).  Timing of course, is... read more

I BLOGGED. YOU FLAMED. WE CHANGED.

By: Bill Owen bowen

Apr 18 2007
Admittedly, while that's not quite as catchy as Caesar's famous Latin phrase "veni, vidi, vici" ("I came, I saw, I conquered"), it pretty well sums up the aftermath of my "Why Can't I Make Reservations Further In Advance?" blog piece. In it, I explained the rationale behind Southwest's policy of not allowing reservations more than 180 days in advance, and why we on... read more

SWA TO BOSTON: WE’RE GOING WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS OUR NAME!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Feb 19 2009
Queue the background sounds of the teletype, and then in your best "newsman voice" read the copy: THIS JUST IN: SOUTHWEST PLANS TO START SERVICE TO BOSTON LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LATER THIS YEAR! It’s true! We intend to add a third new city to our expanding route network in 2009, and this time it's Boston! Of course….calling Boston a "new" city for Southwest is a little... read more

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A SCHEDULE PLANNER?

By: Bill Owen bowen

Feb 10 2009
Faithful readers here at Nuts About Southwest! (as well as everyone who knows me!) realizes that I LOVE my job.  You could not find another job that I enjoy as much--I am lucky enough to have figured out what I most enjoy doing and have found a way to make a living doing it!  Writing a schedule is sort of like getting paid to work Rubik's Cube, play chess, and solve mysteries, all at the same... read more

Now Arriving--the Summer 2009 Schedule!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Feb 02 2009
To quote lyrics from Rodgers' and Hammerstein’s “Carousel”—   “June is busting out all over, All over the meadows and the hills……”   Our June through August, 2009 schedule is now available for your perusal and purchase at southwest.com, so now's the time to "bust out" and book your trips to get out and see our Nation this Summer!   This schedule is, as always, a little... read more

Keeping Our Intrastate Roots

By: Bill Owen bowen

Jan 26 2009
Most everyone knows that Southwest Airlines started our airline life as an intrastate carrier, flying between three Texas cities: Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. Since that day in June of 1971, we've grown far beyond the borders of the Lone Star State--our "red-bellied warbirds" serve 64 airports (soon, with the addition of Minneapolis/St. Paul, 65!) airports in 32 (33 with... read more

SUPER SERVICE TO THE BIG GAME!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Jan 21 2009
Now that the whole world knows which teams will be "duking it out" at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on February 1, Southwest is adding a few extra flights to help make getting to and from beautiful Tampa Bay during "Super Bowl Weekend" easier.  Saturday, January 31: Added flight 2618, departing Phoenix at 7:50 a.m., arriving nonstop in Tampa Bay at 1:40 p.m. Added... read more

Whoops....January's here...and I Forgot to Blog!!!

By: Bill Owen bowen

Aug 26 2008
Forgive me, Blogosphere, for I have sinned.     I’ve been so wrapped up in a few other issues this past week that I completely neglected—well, actually, forgot—to prepare a blog post about our January, 2009 schedule, which went out for sale last Thursday.  There are a lot of changes incorporated into that schedule, both frequency changes as well as changes to methodology (love that word—... read more