A Rock We Proudly Stand Upon A Note from

I’m proud of—and exceptionally confident in—our five-year strategic priorities for Southwest. To help guide our efforts in 2023, I’ve outlined five new focus areas for the year. One of those focus areas is a thread that runs through all others: Live our Southwest Way Values. Our Culture is dependent upon all of us living our Values. The greatest threat we face is if we shift the foundation of our unique and special Culture. Our beloved Colleen Barrett is often and appropriately credited with planting the seeds of our Culture. She was always reluctant to define it because it lives inside every one of us. It’s not “what” we do but rather “how” we do it—and at the root of it is The Golden Rule. It’s one of the many, and perhaps the most important, lessons she taught me personally.

We’ve always had the same guiding principles: To have the best People, work as a Team, work hard, and above all, LUV each other. Our People have sustained our Culture, endeared us to our Customers, produced Shareholder returns, put billions into your ProfitSharing accounts over the past 49 years, and enabled our growth.

Our proud history continues to guide us in everything we do: We gave America the freedom to fly. We proved it’s possible to build a Company around love and be successful. That stuff isn’t changing, even though the world—and our airline—are unquestionably different today. But we all have a responsibility to Herb and Colleen, to our legacy, and to all who came before us to honor our past and our Culture, which has withstood the test of time. Just look at how our People show up, both in good times and when faced with challenges that some may say seem insurmountable.

Our People and the Southwest Way Values are at the core of our DNA. Many companies provide transportation or fly airplanes, but no one does it the way we do with Southwest Heart—it’s often replicated but never duplicated. As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. That’s what the competition cannot match, and at the core of our continued success—living out our Southwest Way Values daily. We keep living our Values, and I promise we’ll remain unstoppable.

Some People may say, “There you go again with the Culture.”

In response, I say: Our Culture is not a wall we timidly hide behind It’s a rock we proudly stand upon Don’t buy into negativity and pessimism. It’s not who we are, and it’s not what we stand for. Choose to be realistic but optimistic, and choose joy over cynicism. I’m unabashedly All in for WN, and I want you to join me. Together, living our Southwest Way Values, I’m filled with optimism for our future and everything we can accomplish as a Team. It’s all in front of us for the taking; we just need to seize it!

“Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energy moving forward together towards an answer.”

—Motivational Speaker Denis Waitley

I have a terrible habit. Well, several. But many seem to stem from one root habit—holding on.

Being able to let go of people, places, things, and even ideas is hard for me. I hold on to so many things: the grief of my mom’s passing, the anxiety about getting older, and the thought of generally not being good enough. And all this “holding on” prevents me from moving forward.

At some point, I created this habit to cope with something. To use an analogy, it’s like using a log to cross a river. Once on the other side, you must let go of the log to get out of the water. But instead of letting it go because I no longer need it, I’m trying to hold on to the log while climbing out—an almost impossible feat. Thankfully, wonderful people surround me and help me learn to let go of what no longer serves me to become the best version of myself. It will just take time.

You could say the same for Southwest Airlines. Perhaps the Company held on to systems, processes, and ideas that were the solution at one time but for our airline today. The important thing is acknowledging when something isn’t working, then taking the time to understand where we are and what steps we need to take to get where we want to go. And just like I do, Southwest has an excellent Team who are working hard to figure out how to achieve our goals and be the best airline in the world. Also, like for me, this can’t happen overnight.

It’s during trying times that realistic optimism—the theme of this issue of LUVLines becomes extremely important. Realistic optimism acknowledges elements of a situation while remaining optimistic about possible choices and actions. Since change can take time, assume positive intent about Southwest’s future while we recover from a tough few months. If you need inspiration, meet a few Employees who embody this type of optimism

Our past doesn’t define us as we look toward the light that leads us down a new path. We all love Southwest and have a sense of ownership—taking pride when things go right and feeling frustrated, mad, or disappointed when they don’t. We all want what’s best for our Company. Now is the time to move forward and let go of the unconstructive criticism, the tribalism, and the negativity. By letting go and coming together, we can hold on to the promise that’s Southwest Airlines.

LUVLines Managing Editor

Millie Tidwell

VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH

Laurie Barnett

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Todd Painter

MANAGING EDITOR

Millie Tidwell

Contributors

Maddie Adams

Morgen Brown

Audra Cobin

Morgan Conteras

Lori Crabtree

Melissa Ford

Lisa Goode

Melanie Graham

Melanie Jones

Bethany Lane

Carolyn Nutting

Alex Pyror

Emily Samuels

Gabby Tijerina

Lisa Tiller

Ashley Warren Omondi

Michelle Williams

CREATIVE

Sonia Avila

Eric Daniels

Trent Duran

Rob Izumi

John Jones

Brianna Juda

Stephen Keller

Kristin Kelnhofer

Taylor Lumsden

Maria Nieto

Abbey Server

Schelly Stone

Also available on SWALife

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