Southwest Hearts

[Way2Broke]

I noticed that SW planes have hearts on them. I'm guessing that that is for LUV field? My question is, what do the numbers inside the heart stand for?

 

[firstthird]

Back in the 90's someone at the company came up with the idea to give ourselves an 'award' when we were number one in fewest complaints, on time percentage, and baggage handling. We were number one in all 3 for a while there, 5 or 6 years, and gave ourselves the 'triple crown' and finally decided to retire the whole deal but still have some planes with a bunch of hearts and numbers on them.

I'm sure someone who lived through it (all before my time) will have the real name and maybe some better info. We still do okay in most catagories, except maybe baggage handling has been closer to 10 than one for a while, but Philly and the like hasn't improved our on time percentage much. And we lost the fewest customer complaints this month to Aloha who had none. nice.

 

[rayford steele]

I always thought it was for "number one in your heart."

 

[Superbird]

"Back in the 90's someone at the company came up with the idea to give ourselves an 'award' "


Nice

 

[Kharma Police]

Back in the 90's someone at the company came up with the idea to give ourselves an 'award' when we were number one in fewest complaints, on time percentage, and baggage handling. We were number one in all 3 for a while there, 5 or 6 years, and gave ourselves the 'triple crown' and finally decided to retire the whole deal but still have some planes with a bunch of hearts and numbers on them.

I'm sure someone who lived through it (all before my time) will have the real name and maybe some better info. We still do okay in most catagories, except maybe baggage handling has been closer to 10 than one for a while, but Philly and the like hasn't improved our on time percentage much. And we lost the fewest customer complaints this month to Aloha who had none. nice.

Maybe you guys can instead put a famous gay British rock star like we did at AirTran!

 

[RP 04]

I think it has something to do with how many times they have managed to run off runways....

 

[ralphcramden1]

I think it has something to do with how many times they have managed to run off runways....

Ouch!

 

[TexaSWA]

I think it has something to do with how many times they have managed to run off runways....

Your carrier must have a better safety record than ours. Where is it you work again?

 

[canyonblue]

I think it has something to do with how many times they have managed to run off runways....

Nice avatar, I think that says it all.

 

[firstthird]

Superbird
"Back in the 90's someone at the company came up with the idea to give ourselves an 'award' "

Nice

It is part and parcel of our attitude. You know, the ability to have fun and laugh at ourselves. We weren't going to win the best international first class or those "Conde Nest" type awards so one of our marketing guys or maybe Colleen or Herb came up with the idea. I mean, the FAA measures the ontime, baggage, and complaints every month and we were usually number one in all 3, why not pat ourselves on the back a little.

My first reply was a little tongue in cheek, I implied but didn't state directly, that we stopped 'giving ourselves' the award as soon as we were no longer #1 in all 3 catagories due to places like Philly and a route map that has grown more complex. We still do well though and would like to do better. And, I suspect if we do get the point where we win all 3 catagories for a year, we'll give ourselves another 'triple crown' with with some hearts and numbers to boot.

Obviously, the real goal is to be successful at letting people move around the country and making some money in the process. Those metrics fit our goals for a while, thus some motivation was gained. Our metrics are a little more complex now (stuff like CASM ex fuel, NIM, ROIC) but we're still doing our best, and the real rewards are the quality of life we get/give by doing what we do well. We hope to continue doing it in the future.

 

[Dangerkitty]

I think it has something to do with how many times they have managed to run off runways....

Or it could have something to do with never having a money losing quarter.

 

[SWA/FO]

Hello Kitty... go back to the FA board. You are not a plyer here.

 

[Dangerkitty]

Hello Kitty... go back to the FA board. You are not a plyer here.

Actually I am a player.

 

[Bake]

Actually, we have had losing quarters like first qtr 1991.

 

[firstthird]

SWA/FO I hope that knocked on some wood when you typed that.

 

[Aluminum Weiner]

You guys got it all wrong!

The numbers in the hearts are the number of pilots they hire per interview session. Usually, you see a 1...That means one out of fourteen got hired. That is how they yelp...We luv you! We luv you!! We respect your time and effort...and thank you so so much for helping our grandkids future by donating $8000 to higher power...without you stupid fools, our kids would have to get a job.

 

[Fins Up]

I think it has something to do with how many times they have managed to run off runways....

Ouch indeed. Let's not all get our panties wrinkled. It's just plain funny - in a dark, non-PC kinda way.

 

[LearAv8r]

The numbers in the hearts are the number of pilots they hire per interview session. Usually, you see a 1...That means one out of fourteen got hired. That is how they yelp...We luv you! We luv you!! We respect your time and effort...and thank you so so much for helping our grandkids future by donating $8000 to higher power...without you stupid fools, our kids would have to get a job.

Looks to me that the interview process seemed to work alright.......

 

[SWA/FO]

SWA/FO I hope that knocked on some wood when you typed that.

I was talking about RP 04 which has a HELLO KITTY avtar. He is a life partner supporting FA.

 

[walden]

Al Weiner may have been rightfully denied employment at SWA, but you must admit that the, "we want to hire all of you" line at the interview is disingenuous at best.

 

[pedropcola]

Accept it for what it is. Would you rather have an interview process that is uncomfortable, painful, requires ridiculous preparation, and hires the same percentage? What was the hiring rate at the majors ten years ago? I don't know, but I do know that the process at most carriers was much more onerous than at SWA with most likely the same rough success rate. Is it disingenuous or just trying to make a "I'd rather be fishing than here" experience just a little easier to deal with. Its nothing more than just being nice. "Do I look fat in this dress?" No, of course not. I didn't interview at many places, but between my personal experience and my buds, its no contest. SWA interview was as painless and nice as possible, that can't be said for most places that you interview. Get a type, don't get a type, life is about choices. Hopefully the industry rebounds and everyone gets theirs (whatever that may be). That should be what we all wish for.