I Love Southwest Airlines

 
I love Southwest Airlines. I truly do. They have been the only airline I've flown with over the past couple of years and it always seems like their employees are truly happy. They have real smiles and treat everyone awesome. The flight attendants joke around and the pilots even seem to have a good time.

Let me explain what brought Southwest to the forefront of my mind. There was an impressive story I heard on the radio a couple days back. There was a man that had a flight with Southwest to go to his grandson's funeral. His grandson had been, tragically, murdered. The man got to the departing airport two hours before his flight was supposed to leave. I believe that is usually enough time unless you are flying around a major traveling holiday like Thanksgiving. He, of course, got stuck in security and was going to be late for the departure time of his plane. The security personnel would not do anything to help get him through the line, even with his present circumstances.

He finally got through security and rushes to his gate. He arrived 12 minutes late and barefoot. As I am sure you know, planes board half an hour before they are supposed to depart and are usually sealed up before the departure time. Instead the man was greeted with, "Are you Mark? We held the plane for you and we're so sorry about the loss of your grandson." Wow. That right there is customer service. When the man's family thanked the pilot, he simply replied, "They can't go anywhere without me and I wasn't going anywhere without you. Now relax. We'll get you there. And again, I'm so sorry." It's always nice to hear about those that truly care about their customers and wear their heart on their sleeve. The pilot could have left on time to keep his schedule and to keep other passengers happy. However, he did the right and noble thing. It's amazing.

I will continue to fly Southwest, not just because of this story, but because I have had my own set of wonderful experiences. Plus, your bags fly free, as they should. I don't mind the whole check-in-early-to-get-a-good-spot-in-line free seating system either. Check in 24 hours before your flight and you should be good to pick a window, aisle, or middle seat. Fly Southwest. They're the best. Period.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5731946/pilot-stops-plane-for-family-of-murdered-son