Delville,
You bring up many issues that analysts & business afficionados bring up often when talking about SWA's future....many are excellent concerns that are worth debating. I'll ask you this though as a simple test of my theory about how much "outsiders" really know about a company they don't work for.
I'm sure you know of some folks either at work or relatives or maybe even yourself that are known to others....when the conversation comes up about that individual, family member or even yourself by someone who only knows them on a superficial level or even if they have interacted with them more than just superficially their impression of them maybe completely different than your own as someone who knows them from a deeper personal experience/relationship. Without going Dr Phil on you, the simple fact is what goes on inside the company is difficult to put into words for folks to understand how aggressive the company is at controling costs. It is therefore difficult for those outside the company to see these changes/efforts to become more efficient & to work hard at making it happen.
All the things you bring up are "cancers" that have helped cause the demise of not just airline companies but other companies & while Southwest isn't immune to those same pitfalls, I think the employees of Southwest are working as hard as any employee group to avoid them.
More info comes out on this board from great contributors like SWAdude, SWAinflt & others than is written about in business articles or the WSJ....it is as much a part of the culture as walking is to humans......these stories/illustrations are but a small glimpse into this culture....it is everywhere employees turn in publications, releases, weather packets to read before fly files.
SWAinflt summed it up perfectly (far better than me, my apologies for rambling) item by item....the debate will continue to go on, not by detractors necessarily (even though there are many as you said who would love to see Southwest stumble) but by folks who are interested in the life cycles of businesses.....hopefully Southwest can continue to baffle observers like yourself or predictors of doom and remain humble, keep costs low, deliver more than we promise & do it safely.....again some great points on your part....hopefully when we're all grandparents we can look back & see that Southwest may have broken the mold and done OK by its folks & for its customers....the folks to be praised then will be the employees & management in that order. Cheers
You bring up many issues that analysts & business afficionados bring up often when talking about SWA's future....many are excellent concerns that are worth debating. I'll ask you this though as a simple test of my theory about how much "outsiders" really know about a company they don't work for.
I'm sure you know of some folks either at work or relatives or maybe even yourself that are known to others....when the conversation comes up about that individual, family member or even yourself by someone who only knows them on a superficial level or even if they have interacted with them more than just superficially their impression of them maybe completely different than your own as someone who knows them from a deeper personal experience/relationship. Without going Dr Phil on you, the simple fact is what goes on inside the company is difficult to put into words for folks to understand how aggressive the company is at controling costs. It is therefore difficult for those outside the company to see these changes/efforts to become more efficient & to work hard at making it happen.
All the things you bring up are "cancers" that have helped cause the demise of not just airline companies but other companies & while Southwest isn't immune to those same pitfalls, I think the employees of Southwest are working as hard as any employee group to avoid them.
More info comes out on this board from great contributors like SWAdude, SWAinflt & others than is written about in business articles or the WSJ....it is as much a part of the culture as walking is to humans......these stories/illustrations are but a small glimpse into this culture....it is everywhere employees turn in publications, releases, weather packets to read before fly files.
SWAinflt summed it up perfectly (far better than me, my apologies for rambling) item by item....the debate will continue to go on, not by detractors necessarily (even though there are many as you said who would love to see Southwest stumble) but by folks who are interested in the life cycles of businesses.....hopefully Southwest can continue to baffle observers like yourself or predictors of doom and remain humble, keep costs low, deliver more than we promise & do it safely.....again some great points on your part....hopefully when we're all grandparents we can look back & see that Southwest may have broken the mold and done OK by its folks & for its customers....the folks to be praised then will be the employees & management in that order. Cheers
