Remember how every article written about Southwest used to be a love (luv?) letter?  Not anymore.
The WSJ (sorry, registration req’d) looks at the array of ills facing the airline, not least of which is that many of their competitors have lowered their costs through bankruptcy, leaving the carrier with some of the highest labor costs [...]

Frontier Airlines recently conducted a survey and found that its passengers were 17 pounds lighter on average than the rest of Americans, resulting in a $3 million annual fuel savings for the carrier.  The airline suggests that people in Denver are in better shape than other Americans (which, I suppose, sounds about right).  No word [...]

(thanks to reader IAHPHX, as always…)
The Dallas Morning News has an article that debunks some of the myths about the founding of Southwest Airlines.  Specifically, that Herb Kelleher didn’t start the airline after drawing a little route map on a napkin.  The article also suggests that Kelleher wasn’t all that into the idea of the [...]

Americans apparently prefer dealing with the IRS than with airlines, according to a study put out by the University of Michigan (my alma mater).  The UM’s American Customer Satisfaction Index found that airlines scored 2 points lower than the IRS in terms of customer satisfaction (hotels only scored a couple of points better than the [...]

During its earnings call last week, Southwest Airlines mentioned that it is soliciting bids for an in-flight wi-fi service.  The carrier hopes to have a prototype up and running within 9 months.  Crazy to think that a supposedly "no frills" carrier would be the first US airline to offer the service.  The move is part [...]

Only because it’s a slow news day will I include a link to a story about Paula Abdul getting pissy about not being able to board a Southwest Airlines flight before everyone else.  The only important part is that (supposedly) when a passenger overheard her complaining Southwest staff, he shouted to her: "You’re no Sanjaya."
I’m [...]

After a long absence, Southwest Airlines will have honey roasted peanuts again for the rest of 2007.  Yes, sweet nut fans, you’ll be happy to know that the King Nut company has found a way to make honey roasted nuts for the same price as dry roasted nuts.  Really.  The most interesting thing in this [...]

Bad news for Afghanistan’s national airline:  Ariana Afghan Airlines, which carries about 50% of the air traffic to the embattled nation, is on the brink of collapse.  They are one of the few airlines who cannot blame Southwest, low fares, or high fuel costs for their problems.  They have a terrible lease structure and, more [...]

The NY Times has a pretty good article about the guy at Southwest Airlines whose job it is to write apology letters for when something weird happens on a flight (some examples are here).  Well worth a read.

(Via View from the Wing):
To promote its new Washington Dulles service, Southwest Airlines is offering 8 free Rapid Rewards credits for signing up and double  points for flights in and out of Dulles.  What’s that mean to you?  Fly 2 round trips and get a free ticket on Southwest.  With Chicago flights starting at $44 [...]