Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines & Lessons In Social Media Crisis Communications

Media relations and corporate communications are a 24/7/365 cycle. No one knows when an incident will occur, but when one does occur companies must be ready to react, especially an airline.   On the 6th of July 2013 Asiana Flight 214 landed short at San Francisco International Airport, breaking the tail off of the Boeing…

Southwest Dedicates Its First 737-800 To Its Employees

Southwest Airlines is known for its tireless staff going to great lengths to ensure customer satisfaction.  Within the airline employees follow a corporate culture known as the “Warrior Spirit“, which includes Work Hard, Desire To Be The Best, Be Courageous, Display Urgency, Persevere, Innovate.   Many air carriers name aircraft for very important people, but…

Kicked Off A Plane For Being Gay Or Just Inappropriate?

Social Media … the ultimate tool for those who feel wronged, especially celebrities and semi-celebrities.   Earlier this week was no different when actress Leisha Hailey Tweeted that a Southwest Airlines flight attendant had her removed from her flight for being a lesbian.   In a matter of moments, The L-Word star’s tweets were ripping through…

Photographers, Southwest Airlines & Pre-Boarding

It seems that once a week, if not more often, a photographer emails me, Tweets more or calls me asking about Southwest Airline’s preboarding for photographers and credentialed media.   While the link to Southwest Airlines’ preboarding may no longer be on their website, the policy still very much exists, and is great for ensuring…

This Month Three Years Ago The World Lost Four Airlines

It was a rough year for airlines in 2008, fuel prices were climbing at impossible rates, passenger numbers were dropping, the introduction of ancillary fees were being introduced and airlines of all sizes were feeling the impact around the world. As April 2008 began the writing was on the wall for some airlines that managed…

Who Takes Top Honours For Best April Fools Gag? WestJet & TSA

I’ll be the first one to admit it, I really don’t like April Fools Day … especially when its perpetuated by legitimate news and editorial organizations, large corporations and government entities using April Fools Day to create fake news stories.  The intertwining of legitimate news and gag news stories crosses the line and muddies the…