Ya Gotta Love Southwest Airlines!

No one seems to talk about airlines nowadays without the blow-by-blow description of a late flight, a missed connection and/or lost luggage. Having to pay $50 (or more) for bags just adds insult to injury. It would be one thing if such horror stories were the exception. No, more and more, this is the rule—and so commonplace that stories of great service, an on-time flight and overall good experience make for the unusual story!

Southwest Airlines seems to be the exception.

While even their prices have gone up recently, they do not charge for luggage and the experience is almost ALWAYS superior to that of their competitors.

Southwest founder and CEO Herb Kelleher has always made PEOPLE his number one priority. His passion for the industry, his business acumen and goal of combining value with fun has resulted in a profitable operation when virtually all others have filed for bankruptcy protection. His model for the industry has revolutionized flying for millions of Americans-and has spawned competitors like AirTran, who, in their own way, attempt to emulate the success of Southwest, which started as a short-haul airline for business travelers in Texas—to being one of the biggest—and most definitely the BEST airline in the business.

Even casual travelers who consider all carriers to be alike—will immediately notice the difference shortly after boarding a Southwest jet. Instead of the usual boring diatribe about seatbelts and exits, passengers are usually treated to a info—with a twist. That twist is the personality of the flight attendant delivering the message. Jokes are commonplace, sometimes singing…and sometimes more.

While Air New Zealand has made news recently with their FILMED announcements, using flight attendants (male and female) clad ONLY in body paint to appear like their uniforms , the Southwest approach is better, because it is real, it is varied—and it is almost always highly entertaining! I have seen the Air New Zealand film (purely for research purposes, you understand…ahem) and it is most definitely G-rated (darn)

On my Southwest flight from Baltimore to Manchester a couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to get the flight attendant featured in the video clip below. He was great, as you will see…..




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivjybzdXVmI


Now, THAT’S the way to do it!

Have a great weekend-if you’d like to receive my blog in your in-box daily, just put your seat into the upright position and make sure your tray tables are up and locked-then e-mail me: tim.moore@citcomm.com

Like baggage at Southwest, it’s free!