Southwest Airlines (Corporations That Changed the World)

202 Pages·2010·1.4 MB·English

by  Chris Lauer

Southwest Airlines
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Southwest Airlines
Chris Lauer
CorporationsThatChangedtheWorld
Copyright2010byChrisLauer
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
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exceptfortheinclusionofbriefquotationsinareview,withoutprior
permissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Lauer,Chris,1966-
SouthwestAirlines/ChrisLauer.
p.cm.—(Corporationsthatchangedtheworld)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-313-37863-8(hbk.:alk.paper)—ISBN978-0-313-37864-5(ebook)
1.SouthwestAirlinesCo.2.Airlines—UnitedStates—Management.I.Title.
HE9803.S68L38 2010
387.7’4206573—dc22 2010000934
ISBN:978-0-313-37863-8
EISBN:978-0-313-37864-5
14 13 12 11 10 1 2 3 4 5
ThisbookisalsoavailableontheWorldWideWebasaneBook.
Visitwww.abc-clio.comfordetails.
Greenwood
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ABC-CLIO,LLC
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Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper
ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
To Tracy LeeRichmond LauerandTovelah Domina Lauer
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter1 AnIntroductiontoSouthwestAirlines 1
Chapter2 TheHistoryofSouthwestAirlines:Founders
andLeaders 7
Chapter3 Southwest’sUniqueCorporateCulture 29
Chapter4 ARoleModelforOtherOrganizations 45
Chapter5 SatisfiedCustomersandFrequentFlyers 59
Chapter6 Love,Freedom,andSouthwest’sCorporatePractices 67
Chapter7 Southwest’sPeopleandPlanes 97
Chapter8 HiringandTraining:Southwest’sUniversity
forPeople 109
Chapter9 CustomerService,Blogging,andSecurity
atSouthwest 129
Chapter10 LeadershipatSouthwest 145
Appendix:SouthwestAirlinesTimeline 165
Notes 177
Bibliography 183
Index 185
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Acknowledgments
I would like to start off by thanking the many incredible people who
have helped me to complete this book. First and foremost, special
thanks go to Greenwood Press senior acquisitions editor Jeff Olson,
whose trust in me has made this book possible. Jeff’s kind words and
professional skills have guided me through every step along the way.
I would also like to thank Chris Murray. As a friend, mentor, and
role model, he has helped me time and time again to turn my passions
into a thriving career.
In addition, this book would not be possible without the generous
help from the many people at Southwest Airlines who helped me dis-
cover what a great company looks like on the inside. These wonderful
people, who were more than generous with their time, include Brian
Lusk, Ginger Hardage, Jon Schubert, David Holmes, Sunny Abercrom-
bie, and Bill Owen. I would like to thank each of them for their time
and their enthusiasm.
I would also like to thank the many Southwest passengers who
shared their stories with me, including my friends Dr. Daniel Fink,
Terry Weiss, Beth M., and Lara Jean Hammond. A heartfelt thank-you
also goes out to author and management consultant Charlie Jacobs,
who was very generous with his time and expertise.
Two more people who deserve special thanks are Toby Lauer and
Tracy Richmond. This book would not be possible without their
patience and kindness. Both have sacrificed precious time to allow me
to complete this project. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for
their encouragement and inspiration.
Finally, I would like to thank Pauline Lauer and Ken Lauer for
their endless love and support.