The airline industry is tough.
It is tough to compete in,
tough to be successful in, and tough to survive in. Case and (in?) point,
I am 33 years old, and in the 12 years that I have been in the industry, I have
worked for three airlines that have flown into the sunset. Prior to
coming to Southwest (where many people still have Employee numbers lower than
Wilber and Orville), almost... read more
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tesg
I'm just a travelin' fool.
Fun Facts
Favorite Southwest Moment
Thanks to a Blog Southwest contest, I got to fly on the AirVenture 2011 ferry flight straight into the show and experience first-hand what it's like to be part of a major Southwest public event. It was an unforgettable experience.
Favorite Travel Destinations
Las Vegas
Places I wish southwest would fly
With DSM and ICT coming on board, I'd love to see a nonstop between these cities. Mabe a MDW-DSM-ICT-DAL run and back?
- Been there
- Southwest Destinations
Recent Activity Luvs
Reflections from a former AirTran Employee, One Year Later
May 23 2012
The airline industry is tough.
It is tough to compete in,
tough to be successful in, and tough to survive in. Case and (in?) point,
I am 33 years old, and in the 12 years that I have been in the industry, I have
worked for three airlines that have flown into the sunset. Prior to
coming to Southwest (where many people still have Employee numbers lower than
Wilber and Orville), almost... read more
Flashback Fridays: Forgotten Corners of Southwest's History
By: Brian Lusk 
May 04 2012
As promised, I am sharing more photos of the recent “find” that I “unearthed.” Actually, I opened a drawer and looked in a file, but the sense of discovery is the same. I hope these photos will be reminders of some forgotten corners of our history.
First, let’s start with a Flight Attendant (actually, at the time, a Hostess) uniform of which many of you are probably unaware.... read more
737 MAX Winglets Revealed
By: Brian Lusk
May 02 2012
Back in December, Southwest Airlines announced that we had signed on to be the launch customer for Boeing’s new 737 MAX variant that will debut in 2017. The MAX will offer much improved fuel efficiency and environmental performance compared to current 737s, and it will provide great comfort and reliability to our Customers. Like any new aircraft, some features of the MAX’s design hadn... read more
Flashback Fridays: A First and Other Early Goodies
By: Brian Lusk
Apr 27 2012
The best part of my job is opening a box of photographs or negatives and finding images that haven’t seen the light of day for decades. Late last week, I found a box full of some great scenes that I can’t wait to share with you in this and future editions of Flashback Fridays.
Above we see the start of a treasured Southwest tradition and a key annual Culture event, and I wish I had... read more
Capt. Joe's "You Never Know Who You'll Meet on a Southwest Flight"
By: Joe Gautille 
Apr 03 2012
On a recent flight to the Pacific Northwest, I was greeting
my passengers as they came through the main cabin door. One gent, who looked
approximately my age said, “You know I worked on the very first Boeing 737 when
I was in college.” His statement
immediately piqued my interest, so I asked him to stop and chat a minute in the
cockpit doorway.His name was Kurt Smith. Kurt previously... read more
WELCOME, AKRON-CANTON, DAYTON, AND DES MOINES…AND LOTS MORE SCHEDULE CHANGES FOR THE SUMMER AND FALL!
By: Bill Owen 
Apr 02 2012
So…if we announced all of this yesterday, you’d think it was
an April Fool’s joke. BUT IT’S NOT! We’ve just unveiled lots of service adjustments
in the Summer/Fall 2012 schedules.
Headline News:
Southwest is adding THREE new cities!
Effective August 12, Southwest will begin daily service at Akron-Canton
(CAK) and Dayton, Ohio (DAY). At
Akron-Canton, we’ll... read more
Flashback Fridays: Mid-70s Love Field Miscellany
By: Brian Lusk
Mar 23 2012
I’ve been spending a ton of time lately looking over our photo collection (and trying to organize the beast), and these photos have two things in common: they were taken in the mid-70s, and they all involve Love Field. We start with a photo that was taken before Love Field underwent its first modernization with the addition of the current silver façade. The first photo depicts... read more
Southwest Debuts the 737-800: Warrior One!
By: Brian Lusk
Mar 21 2012
Flashback Fridays: Origins of the Boeing 737, Part Four
By: Brian Lusk
Mar 16 2012
In previous installments, we looked
at the Original family of 737s, the 737-100 and 737-200, and then at the
Classics, the 737-300, 737-400, and 737-500.
However, the achievements of these earlier aircraft were eclipsed on January 18, 1998, when the Boeing 737 and
Southwest Airlines moved to a new level of achievement with the Next
Generation, or NG, family.
The first example of... read more
Flashback Fridays: Origins of the Boeing 737, Part Three
By: Brian Lusk
Mar 09 2012
After taking a week off, we resume
our brief look at the history of the Boeing 737 with the “Classics” family that
comprises the 737-300, 737-400, and 737-500, and Southwest played a major role
in the development of two of these variants.
Beginning in 1983, Southwest leased six 727-200s from PeoplExpress to
operate new nonstop service between Houston and San Antonio on one hand and
Phoenix... read more
