Interesting point of view, FLpilot, but actually I don't think our inherent strength is based on LiveTV, seats or pretty carpet, nor do the bosses. We get first-time passengers for these reasons (and of course, the low fares), but they return for another reason.
To paraphrase Dave Barger, our President, our real "draw" is attitude. "All we have to do is just be nice to them." That's all. The customer will see the difference between us and them (the other airlines) and we'll build a core group of loyal customers.
Southwest currently has the largest amount of "core" customers among all the Majors--why? Price is one issue, availability is another. I'd submit that they are successful because they operate in an environment where are treated like humans, not just cash cows.
No, the business is not this simplistic, but just being pleasant to folks is simply a way of thanking the customer for their bucks. Not everyone does that; I remember being on a Brand X flight last June where the right brake locked up on taxi back. After trying to get it unstuck for 50 minutes, the Captain decided to drop the rear airstairs and deplane the jet on to a bus. The stairs stuck up, whereupon the F.O. declared in front of everybody "Well, I'M not going to go back there and push on them. They (thumb jerking back to point at the pax) can just stay on the airplane..." He may have been smart not to step on the recalcitrant door, but his statement whittled away customer goodwill.
I'll go out on a limb and say that JB's customer treatment orginates from our corporate culture. All, and I mean all, of my pilot contemporaries remark on how different the culture is at JB than the other carriers they came from. Coming from the AF, I don't know about that. All I do know is that so far, this formula's working. Will that culture survive as JB grows? Management knows this is their toughest challenge and are working on it. I do know that this is a team effort, and I do what I can, when I can, to support that culture. After flight, everybody pitches in to help clean the cabin. The pilots aren't required to do so--and of course sometimes we have other stuff to do--but this small act helps create that "we" atmosphere vice an us/them attitude.
Again, I don't wish anyone or any corporation ill will--success to all will ensure a viable job market for all those in search of their dreams. I simply hope our plans will continue to bear fruition.
And, hopefully, in five years David will be able to take Gordon out to lunch somewhere near Kew Gardens and talk about 'da airline bidness.
