The Southwest Boeing 737-700 was parked right next to some awesome planes.
This weekend was super busy, but beyond exciting. I was invited to join Southwest Airlines on their special flight from Midway Airport (MDW), in Chicago to the big AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI (OSH). How could I say no to that opportunity?
I got to meet so many awesome people that I have interacted with on Twitter, that I haven’t been able to meet in person. Some, who work for Southwest but many who also do not. Our flight leaving from MDW was leaving at 7am, so it was an early morning but worth it. The Boeing 737-700 was only about half full and it is always awesome to be on a flight with no “real” passengers but with airline employees, media and a few invited guests. The flight from MDW to OSH is the shortest flight I have been on with a Boeing 737 — only about 30 minutes. Enough time to take off, level out and back down again. Since there were no passengers, they were able to leave the cockpit door open, so we could go up and say “hi” while in mid-flight. When’s the last time anyone has been able to do that on scheduled service?
How many times can you see this view outside a Boeing 737 window?
The cloud level was low and we were able to come down below the clouds well before landing, skimming just over the water. We arrived to OSH to many people lined up and waving from the sidelines, it was very cool. Then we were towed from the taxi way, through the ground, feet from DC3′s and other amazing planes to the center of the Aeroshell Square, where a lot of cool planes are being displayed. Being pulled along with hundreds of people waving and stopping behind a C-5, next to a DC-7 and FA-18 is pretty surreal.
I felt like someone famous coming off the aircraft. I felt very lucky that a blog reader @IKluft was happy to show me and a few others around for the day. He was at AirVenture all week and was well versed with the best plane locations (thanks Ian!).
Talk about airplane nerd heaven. I don’t even know how to describe all the amazing airplanes, events and people that were at AirVenture. I guess a picture is worth a thousand words and I have quite a few pictures and a few videos to share:
I keep seeing some creative ads out there and almost blog about them, but haven’t gotten around to blog about them. Well slacking off works in my favor this time, since there have been quite a few and I can talk about them all in one blog. Here are my favorites:
Visa ad on a luggage carousel in New Zealand for the Pompeii exhibit at the National Museum. I love this idea. When the belt starts move, it looks like hot lava is coming your way. This definitely has to get your attention! (bigger version)
Time to cool down
If the lava ad is too hot, cool down. This ad showed up in Gulfport Biloxi International Airport in Mississippi and is for Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. It is supposed to let travelers feel relaxed while watching the swimmers go in circles. (bigger version)
Southwest Airline's pilot hands out pizza. Awesome!
With all this talk about how airlines treat passengers horribly when they are stranded, good news comes from Southwest Airlines — which earns them an Awesome Medal!
A Southwest flight from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Denver, CO ran into some stormy weather and had to be diverted to Pueblo, CO. Anyone who has been on a diverted flight, knows it is not a fun experience. But in this instance, the crew stepped up and got the passengers pizza.
I spoke with Chris Mainz, with Southwest, about this unique customer service experience. He pointed out that Pueblo is not an airport usually served by Southwest and it was a team effort between the flight crew and airport personal. I asked if Southwest had any policies regarding what the flight crew should do in these instances and he told me there are no written rules or policies and Southwest trusts their employees to do what is right.
You always hear people complaining about losing the “good ‘ol days of flying,” but dang, I don’t even think airlines of yesteryear did this.
Cheers to the flight crew, Southwest Airlines, and the Pueblo Memorial Airport for providing this awesome service. This proves you still can have low fares and amazing (I didn’t want to use “awesome” again) customer service!
Surprisingly Southwest Airlines made bank off fees in 2009
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), US airlines made $7.8 billion in fees in 2009. This is a 42% increase over 2008. BTS says in a release “the airlines collected $2.7 billion in baggage fees, $2.4 billion from reservation change fees, and $2.7 billion from other ancillary fees, such as pet transportation fees and frequent flyer award program mileage sales.”
Delta brought in the most money with $1.65 billion in fees and surprisingly Southwest was fourth. Southwest might not charge for bags, but they do charge for other services like pets, unaccompanied minors and an early check-in option. Even before Spirit Airlines started charging for carry-ons, 21% of their total operating revenue came from fees — the highest of any other airline.
$7.8 billion is a lot of money. Passengers keep complaining about fees, but it is obvious that they keep paying them. I am not going to be surprised if more creative fees start showing up in the next few years.
Southwest Airlines is known for having special state livery airplanes. Yesterday, they showed off their newest one: Florida One. The plane will be taking a trip around Florida, showing off the new livery. The newest livery is one of 13 other special liveries already in the Southwest fleet: Arizona One, California One, Illinois One, Lone Star One (Texas), Nevada One, New Mexico One, Maryland One, three Shamu aircraft (SeaWorld), Silver One (celebrating Southwest’s 25th anniversary), Triple Crown One (recognizing Southwest’s top rankings for ontime performance, baggage handling, and Customer satisfaction), and Slam Dunk One (tribute to our NBA partnership).
Florida One required 32 people at the Boeing Company working three shifts over the course of eight days to paint. Over 46 gallons of paint and 16 different colors were used.
