Tag Archives for southwest.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Southwest Airlines doesn’t charge checked bag fees or change fees, and they’ve been profitable 46 years in a row. They don’t offer assigned seats, but generate $400 million a year in early boarding charges which let customers have a better shot at the seats they want. That’s an improvement for those customers compared to the airline’s base product.
While they continue to eschew bag and change fees, there’s talk of adding extras that they could charge… extra for.
Southwest Airlines was incorporated as Air Southwest Company by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. Kelleher believed that by operating solely within the State of Texas an airline could avoid federal regulation — meaning they would be free to fly without Civil Aeronautics Board permission. It would also mean they wouldn’t have to charge the high fares mandated by the CAB.
King and Kelleher, together with banker John Parker, are said to have sketched out the idea for the airline on a napkin in a San Antonio restaurant.
Everyone eventually has a fish story. Now Southwest Airlines does, too, since one of their passengers is telling the story of how the carrier separated her from her pet fish in Denver, a pink male beta fish named Cassie. She says she travels with it everywhere, but on this day the Southwest employees she ran into wouldn’t allow it. And she loved her fish.
Earlier this year Spirit Airlines told a cancer patient she’d have to flush her emotional support hamster down the toilet if she wanted to fly that day out of Baltimore. While the TSA was happy to screen the pet, Spirit Airlines is just too classy to carry rodents on board or as cargo.
The symbol of Southwest Airlines is a heart. This has been a theme of the airline’s since the beginning. They launched at Dallas Love field. Their flight attendants wore pink hot pants (designed by founding airline President Lamar Muse’s first wife). Automated ticket machines were called “Quickies.” Peanuts at Southwest were once known as ‘Love Bites.’ Their New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol remains LUV.
On Sunday, though, it took on a whole new meaning because one of their planes had to turn around because a human heart was left on board.
Calling out a 5 year old for her name just isn’t appropriate. I’m going to take an unpopular position here though. I’m going to say that the mother did her child a disserving naming her Abcde, because it is completely foreseeable that the girl is going to draw unwanted attention for her name throughout her childhood.
We can and should criticize this Southwest agent, but what the kids she’ll go to school with? Or am I completely off base?
United, American, and Southwest take very different approaches to passengers changing seats. On Southwest their boarding process makes it a free for all. American flight attendants are Switzerland. And United’s are the tax man.
A passenger who flew Southwest Airlines from Tampa to Phoenix caught cell phone video of a baggage handler tossing boxes coming off the aircraft into a bin. Even boxes of live fish.
What makes our hero more than just your average negligent employee is the enthusiasm for his sport. He bounces on the balls of his feet as he readies to toss a box. And after he nails his throw he offers a fist pump. Victory over great customer service is his!
This is just brilliant, you’re going to want to share this with anyone you know that works for an airline or their friends and family who travel on passes.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
