01-03-2019
10:44 PM
6 Loves
I remember seeing Herb helping unload bags from the planes or unloading them from the cart into the baggage claim bins at Love Field...one of many encounters I have had with Herb through the years. I have been a fanatical supporter of Southwest Airlines & fan of Herb since the early 1970's. My affection for him and this company will be forever enduring God Bless Herb Kelleher!
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Don't forget to include the lime with the Corona!!
Muchas Gracias.
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At the risk of beating a dead horse, I believe I came across another reason why certain Frontier employees did not want SWA to win the acquisition bid for them. The on-time performance rankings published several days ago indicated that Frontier ranks as one of the worst, at least for July. Perhaps the Frontier employees didn't want someone like SW, that prides itself on on-time peformance & a triple-crown like mindset, to come in and remove some of the integrated "slack" that the Frontier operations appear to be enjoying. That could have actually translated to requiring a little more focus and hard work!
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Southwest did the right thing today in pulling those aircraft. Nonetheless, given all the recent publicity, I don't feel any less safe flying Southwest now than any time before.
There is a reason why there has never been a fatality aboard a Southwest flight since 1971, and it's not just luck.
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09-20-2007
04:19 AM
1 Love
My oh my, how times have changed. "Someone Else Up There Who Loves You". Trademark hot pants-Esquire Magazine- Most beautiful airline stewardesses distinction; Mermaid airplane billboards. It's a legacy of Southwest Airlines, seems to have been forgotten by many Southwest employees. It was a big part of the initial business model. The girl didn't look so much different to me than than that early day attire & corporate projection. Yes, things need to evolve and mature, we can't stop progress. But there's nothing wrong to let things happen that remind us of where we came from.
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First of all, "Ditto" to the suggestions above that there be an "M. Lamar Muse" SW 737 very soon. Whatever hard feelings may still exist from so many years ago at Southwest, it's been long overdue to get rid of them.
It was influences from this gentleman that got me interested in the business world and investing at all. I was a young, long haired music graduate from SMU at the time-the early years of Southwest Airlines, and reading about Southwest and Lamar Muse got me deep into the airline & investing bug. During the time Lamar ran Southwest (and for quite a while afterward) I clipped every article from the Dallas papers & the Wall Street Journal that said anything about Southwest Airlines-I still have them all. It caused me to go back to SMU and get a business degree. It was Mr. Muse that introduced me to operating metrics such as "Unit Costs per Available Seat MIle" which are discussed at length nowadays.
If any of you have not read "Southwest Passage", I highly recommend it. To me the book and the story that he tells are fascinating. Yes, you might detect a slightly biased side of Lamar's story here and there, but he supports much of it with copies of the memos he wrote back and forth to the Board, to Rollin, and the rest. He demonstrates the basic business and operating model/formula of Southwest Airlines and how the gradual expansion of service early on resulted in the profitable results that continue today.
This man would talk to me on the phone whenever I called him at Southwest, even if he didn't know me. He was personable at other public venues as well, always approachable.
I close with a quote I remember that was stated on an insert placed into the 1977 Southwest Airlines Annual Report in the spring of 1978: "Mr. Muse has left an indelible print of greatness at Southwest Airlines that will never be forgotten". God Bless you, Mr. Muse & the Muse family
Bill Hudson Dallas
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I booked my last flight on AA (DFW to Las Vegas) for an early November trip a couple of months ago, not knowing that the Wright deal would be done by now. It will probably be my last booking on AA or from DFW to anywhere, except for maybe Mexico or Europe. When the news finally hit, I immediately spent most of my remaining Advantage miles to upgrade my wife and me to first class for the return flight, since WE WILL NO LONGER NEED THEM!!
As a long time shareholder, I congratulate you for this great accomplishment. I've been praying for this time to finally happen for a very long time. I will always feel that SW left a little too much on the table because I don't think 20 gates max. at Love will help SW in the long run. You will need more than 16 eventually, and a higher maximum number (i.e. 26) would have avoided having to share your own gates with other carriers wishing to enter Love. But that's easy for me to say, not having been in the negotiations.
Once again, Congrats, it's time to celebrate, get on a Southwest LOVE Bird, and FLY!
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