It’s So Simple

But Not Always Easy

How Southwest Airlines Keeps its Employees Flying High

Our History

• Founded in 1971• Profitable for 34

consecutive years• Serve 63 cities

nationwide • More than 32,000

Employees• 2007 36th Anniversary• Largest airline in U.S. in

terms of Customers carried

• Southwest received 284,827 resumes and hired 3,363 new Employees in 2006.

• In 2006 Southwest served 93.8 million bags of peanuts

• Southwest has 1,133 married couples. In other words, 2,266 Southwest Employees have spouses who also work for the Company.

• The airline is approximately 87 percent unionized.

Character Building

•For the eleventh year in a row, FORTUNE magazine recognized Southwest Airlines in its annual survey of corporate reputations.

•Among all industries in 2007, FORTUNE lists Southwest Airlines as the number five most admired corporation.

It’s About the Culture

What is Culture?

Defined as the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and

practices that characterizes a company or corporation

Southwest Values

• Fun

• Family

• Egalitarianism

• Simplicity

• Low cost

Golden Rule

Treat others the way you want to be treated

• Answer every letter• Call back • Bend the rules• Do the right thing• Find ways to say yes• Treat with respect

Live the Southwest Way

1. Have a Servant’s Heart

•A passion for Customer Service

•Internal and External

Serve Others

Share the Spirit

• Ronald McDonald House Charities

• LUV Classic

• Adopt-A-Pilot

• Make-A-Wish

Internal Customer Care

• Cards• Food Baskets• Party-in-a-Box• Flowers• Gifts• Phone Calls

Live the Southwest Way

2. Have a Warrior Spirit

•We were born of innovation

• Employees are not afraid to innovate because they trust

Innovate

Fight to be the Best

• The 10-minute turn

• The $13 Fare War

• Wright Fight

Rally Cry

• Our People work best when working towards a common goal

– Operation Kick Tail

– Gimme Five

– September 11th

Live the Southwest Way

3. Have a Fun-LUVing Attitude

Starts at the Top

Our Collective Heart

Malice in Dallas

“At Southwest Airlines, we take the competition seriously,

but we don’t take ourselves seriously”

Company Celebrations

• Spirit Parties

• Chili Cookoff

PHOTO OF PARTY

• Company Anniversaries

• Halloween

Party Like It’s 2007

Okay, Southwest has Culture, but what do we get?

Act/Think Like Owners of the Company

• Profit Sharing

• 401(K)

• Listen to Employees’ Ideas

Started the first profit-sharing plan in the U.S. airline industry in 1973. Through this plan and others, Employees own at least 10

percent of the Company stock.

•Create & Innovate

•Make a Positive Difference

•Work Hard & Have Fun

•Get out of Town

•Learn & Grow

•Stay Connected

•Get Healthy

•Be Wealthy

Freedom

• Free to be ourselves

• Free to do the right thing

• Free to make our Customers laugh and smile

Let it Ring

36 Years

1971 20073 cities, 1 state 63 cities, 32 states

18 daily flights/day 3,200+ flights per day

3 airplanes 483 airplanes

195 Employees More than 32,000 Employees

It’s All About the Employees

The Customer Isn’t Always Right

• Value your Employees

• Believe in them and show you care

• Broaden their knowledge

Communicate

• Who are you?

• Do your Employees know?

• Do you have a consistent message?

Knowledge is Power

• Message to the Field

• Today@SWA

• LUV LINES

• Departmental Publications

• Days in the Field/Walk A Mile in my Shoes

• Weekly CEO Message – Shout Outs

Ambassadors

As we grow, our philosophy doesn’t change, just our tactics

– Turning Southwest fans into fanatics– Creating Customer evangelists for the

brand– Nurturing the trust built among the

Employees (we are a family)

Culture Committee

100+ people across the Company representing all job functions, levels of leadership, and tenure

Group’s goal is to:• Help create the Southwest Spirit and Culture where

needed• To enrich it and make it better where it already exists• To liven it up in places where it might be “floundering”

Spread the LUV