I took that picture on-board my Southwest Airlines flight from RDU to SLC (via Chicago) on Sunday, August 30th, 2009. Shortly after, I tweeted this:
Actually somewhat looking forward to my @SouthwestAir flight to SLC today. That speaks volumes for an airline, right?
After we touched down in Chicago, I tweeted the following:
Everyone @SouthwestAir is so freaking nice. More then just nice they’re human. So refreshing. Rock on SWA.
I tweeted a few other “I love Southwest” type comments that day and was pleasantly suprised to see this reply from them:
@djwaldow thank you for your updates along the way today! Hope you had a great time!
7 Reasons Why I Love Southwest Airlines
The following list of my “top 7” will not be new if you have even remotely followed and/or flown Southwest Airlines (SWA). However, I’m a big believer in celebrating the success of others – even if it’s been applauded before. So here we go…
- They are human: From the captain to the flight attendants to the customer service team, SWA employees are real people. They make mistakes. They laugh/joke/smile. They have fun. They have good days. They have bad days.
- They are brilliant marketers: Every time I hear the “ding” I think of SWA. Their logo makes me smile. “You are now free to move around the country” is stuck in my head, forever (this is good for SWA; maybe not so good for me. ha ha).
- They genuinely care: In nearly every interaction I’ve had with a SWA employee, I can just tell that they are sincere. They look me in the eye when they say hello/goodbye. They ask me how I am doing…and wait for an answer.
- They believe in customer first: This should go without saying if you ever hope to run a successful business (See Zappos Core Values). However, SWA goes above and beyond to make customers (& employees) the most important asset. I know…people are not assets in the accounting sense, but…
- They are “no frills” with frills: No assigned seats. (Sometimes) limited number of flights. Non-traditional routes. Longer flights. –But– “Bags fly free” (for now). Drink coupons. Easy to navigate website. Simple to book flights. Killer “we’ll call you back instead of waiting on hold” option.
- They are fun (and funny): On the flight from Durham to Chicago to Salt Lake – as mentioned above – I laughed and smiled. A lot. This was all because I was entertained by the SWA employees – flight attendants and pilots. Heck, the passengers were even having fun.
- They make me look forward to flying: I’m starting to fly a bit more for work these days. While I’m not a huge fan of turbulence (who is?) or landings for that matter, I actually look forward to traveling when on SWA. Icing on the cake would be WiFi on board. Rumor has it that this is coming soon.
What Airline Do You Love?
Do you love Southwest Airlines too? Maybe your allegiance is with another airline. Maybe you hate flying and despise all airlines. Whatever the case may be, I’d like to hear from you. Please share your thoughts, stories, and/or comments below.
Love is in the air.
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
