The Tale of Two Southwests

ABC News ABC's Nightline was all set to do a puff piece on Southwest Airlines -- "the all-too-rare story of a U.S. airline that has been so successful, so profitable, so relentlessly cheery that practically no one who works at the airline ever quits." Only, that was before word broke...

By Robert Wilonsky

March 14, 2008

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

ABC News

ABC's Nightline was all set to do a puff piece on Southwest Airlines -- "the all-too-rare story of a U.S. airline that has been so successful, so profitable, so relentlessly cheery that practically no one who works at the airline ever quits." Only, that was before word broke that Southwest and the Federal Aviation Administration conspired to falsify safety records for nearly four dozen Boeing 737s that weren't, ya know, safe. For those who missed the Nightline piece, which runs a good 10 minutes, it's available here. Courtesy, really, Southwest's blog. --Robert Wilonsky

KEEP THE OBSERVER FREE... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.