I LUV SWA

OK, so I don't exactly love the airline itself, but I used to. Today I love it in my memory, and all those exciting places, wonderful people and the amazing job it brought to me. September 1996, I was nearly 23 years old and going nowhere. I had recently dropped out of BYU and was living back home with my parents. I was working at Peterson's Food town a local grocery store in the video/customer service department, a place I still love dearly to this day. I am not a fan of change and when I get comfortable in a place, I dig deep roots and plant myself for the duration. So there I was, planted in my little rut in the best grocery store in the whole wide world, quite oblivious to the fact that my life was going nowhere. That is until one day that September, when my Grandpa came over and brought me a newspaper announcement. It was an advertisement for open interviews for Southwest Airlines reservations in SLC. I wish I could go back to that day and thank him for all the wonderful things this little add brought to me, my life took a turn that day, a turn that put me onto the path to the life I have today. He told me I should go and interview, and despite my fears, I did just that. I told no one, I didn't want anyone to know if I was rejected, and at first that's exactly what I thought had happened. For months I heard nothing, then finally I received a letter in the mail saying that I had been chosen. It was three weeks of unpaid training, and then six months of probation, but I loved it. I took my first free flight with my training class after "graduation". We flew to Seattle just for the day, wow, I was free! Probation was strict, they pretty much owned me, looking back I am grateful this job came at a time in my life when I was so flexible.




I met amazing people and traveled to amazing places. Maui being one of my favorites, I could fly there round trip for about $30, and since my sisters lived there during most of these years, I took advantage. I think in the seven years I worked for SWA I flew to Hawaii about 19 times. After about a year of working on the phones taking reservations, I interviewed for a management position. I got it on the first try, something I later found out is very rare. It's at this point I really started loving SWA. We were a close knit group, there were about 80 "staff" members and at that time we managed about 800 "agents". Needless to say I loved being in charge, I admit this only because any of you who actually know me, already know I prefer a setting where I'm in charge. I like to be the boss and reveled in my new found leadership role.




As I said the "staff" was very close, we worked together in a relaxed, fun environment. We even vacationed together on occasion, cruses, Mexico, Disneyland, whatever. Business trips were enjoyable too because you got to go with your friends and work parties usually involved getting on a plane to head somewhere exotic. I looked forward to staff appreciation day every year, the company would actually reserve an entire plane for our trips. I lived it up during these years, I met amazing people, and flew where ever I wanted. My parents also enjoyed the "perks", flight benefits were extended to parents, and my dad was a regular fan of flying to Las Vegas Friday night for dinner.





We worked long hours and I made friends with a group of women who were near my age but mostly married with children. I used to listen to them and their stories and just laugh. They taught me so much in the time I was with them. Rarely a day goes by that I don't think of one of them as I'm raising my children. I wish so much they were close enough to tell me that I'm doing it right. Anyway there I was one day, minding my own business when the two newly hired Supervisors stopped by my desk to introduce themselves. My first impression of my future husband was not good. Yes, he was cute and all, although a little silly and childish I thought at the time. My impressions only deepened when during one of our training sessions he stopped me so that he could "flirt" with some cute little blond who walked by. Needless to say eventually it became effortless to enjoy working with him, he was all the things I was not, funny, confident, silly, spontaneous and the biggest flirt I had ever met. For years we were just friends, I was his greatest champion when he was on the hunt for whatever the "flavor of the month" was....usually blond. I'd pick him up and put him back together when they inevitably broke up and he'd give me advice on my sporadic dating relationships. I'm not really sure how it happened but one day he told me that he liked me, at first I felt bad, knowing that I liked him but NOT in that way, I reminded him that I was not blond, or bouncy. I had never been a cheerleader, I didn't flit around and squeal. I was the logical one, boring, steady, no excitement here...."are you sure you like me?" I asked him more than once. He was sure, and then he kissed me and I was sure too. We kept it from our co-workers for months, which wasn't fun because we worked together every day, traveled together and spent most of our spare time in groups with work people. One night our manager caught us kissing briefly in the dark parking lot, the next day our relationship was common knowledge. Shouldn't really have been a surprise, at the time there were three other couples dating that eventually married one another like we did. We had a big wedding and invited nearly half of SWA! They were happy for us and always so supportive.




For a couple more years SWA life continued, then one day the head honchos from Dallas flew in and told us that they were closing our Reservation center. I just hung my head and cried. I was scared, TOWW and I were both losing our jobs, we had a new house and I was seven months pregnant with our first baby. They gave us the option to move to another reservation center, but with the baby and house it just was not a good time. They gave us a four month time line before the center finally closed. So we watched as one by one our co workers that we loved so much moved away. Some went to Phoenix, others San Antonio, a few to Houston now years later they're spread all over the country, I can't even keep track of most of them anymore. Many still work for SWA, some even doing the same jobs as here, but I like to think things are different for them now.


I can't imagine what my life would be like with out this company who brought us all together for a short time. I think of my SWA days fondly and would give almost anything to go back and see all my old friends for just one day. I'd start my shift at the console, maybe get a little admin done, attend briefing, gather a group for a quick lunch at Lorena's, do a little midnight ergo stretching, hang out in the QA Sup room, and all walk out together at the end of our shifts. I miss you all, my SWA FAMILY!