Charter Associate Program Managers Take Customer Service to the Next Level

By Charters Sr Manager Zac Kramer and Charter Operations Manager Marc Stank

It’s like having an entire row to yourself, except it’s the whole plane! That’s the experience the Southwest® Charters program provides. Flying on a private or public Charter allows Customers to travel exclusively with up to 143-175 of their closest friends (on a 737, of course!). Whether Customers are flying for a special event or celebrating a milestone, a sports team heads to a game, or the U.S. military is transporting our nation’s heroes, Charters allow personalized scheduling matched with the Legendary Customer Service that Southwest is known for.

A chartered plane is a different flying experience for Customers and Employees. It’s a unique operation that requires specific execution, needs, and skills. Lucky for Southwest, we have a Team of Charter Associate Program Managers (or CAPMs as we call them) dedicated to ensuring our Charter Customers have a seamless and enjoyable experience when operating outside the Southwest network.

The Charters program went through a refresh in the fall of 2022 to boost the Customer Experience and ensure every flight was operating with the same excellence and attention to the many details that make these flights unique. During this time, we created the CAPM Team to personally connect with our Customers and provide leadership and support throughout the planning, preparing, and executing processes for each Charter flight.

Since the program launched, we’ve seen a lot of early success and heard that our CAPMs’ favorite part is being a point of contact for the Customer and our Crews. They love greeting our guests and ensuring they have everything from flight times to catering and other special requests. If the football game goes into overtime, it’s easy to text us and adjust the flight to fit your needs.

CAPMs, assigned to offline and offgate charters, close the gap between the Customer and the operational side of the flight to ensure a personable yet efficient operation. Since these operations can be unique, CAPMs serve as a resource for our Pilots, Flight Attendants, and Operations Agents.

Now, CAPMs have direct contact with the Customer from the planning process to takeoff. CAPMs confirm many logistics in the days leading up to the flight, showing up hours before departure to brief the Crew on Safety while covering a long checklist of items that keep us in compliance.

Our CAPMs provide an extra level of service for the Customers and our Employees. Customers receive top-notch Customer Service, and Employees feel empowered to complete their jobs successfully. It’s a win-win situation.

Alongside a great Customer Experience, the Charters program has exceptional performance on the ground and in the skies. Implementing CAPMs and a more innovative Charter operation resulted in better compliance, improved ontime performance, decreased weight & balance issues, and provided better efficiency for our Operational Teams.

The most rewarding part is when a Customer says they had a special and personalized flight. Most of our Customers are traveling for a special occasion like a sporting event or a professional conference, or in the case of our military, returning home from a deployment. We want to ensure their travel experience is enjoyable and smooth too.

Hospitality isn’t just something we strive for at Southwest—it’s a value we live out daily. We want every Customer to feel cared for and seen, just like we do our Employees. The CAPM Team and Charters program shows Southwest’s commitment to delivering legendary Hospitality to every Customer and Employee interacting with Charter flights, and it’s just taking off.