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A lesson on CAPITALISM learned from a section of comments on a Corporation's customer service policy.

The Man Who Saved Southwest Airlines With A '10-Minute' Idea *

June 28, 2015 5:49 PM ET NPR by Daniel Hajek
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Bill Franklin was the vice president of ground operations at Southwest Airlines. In 1972, he implemented a new strategy that became known as the "10-Minute Turn."

Bill Franklin was the vice president of ground operations at Southwest Airlines. In 1972, he implemented a new strategy that became known as the "10-Minute Turn."

Southwest Airlines
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The early 1970s were a turbulent time for a little startup called Southwest Airlines.

The company had a tiny fleet of just four airplanes that flew to three destinations — all of which were in Texas. But by 1972, Southwest had already posted a net loss of $1.6 million, and the company was forced to sell one of its planes.

"They were not yet a year old. They were consistently losing money. They were constantly scrambling to see what they could do to save cost or boost revenues," says Terry Maxon, the aviation reporter at The Dallas Morning News.

Desperate to keep up, Southwest's vice president of ground operations, Bill Franklin, was tasked with finding a solution. The answer he came up with was simple: Unload and load passengers faster than the other airlines, and get the planes right back in the air.

Maxon explains the logic: "If we can turn these planes [around], say, in 10 minutes, we could pretty much keep our schedule. And the legend is that Mr. Franklin said, 'We can, and we will.' "

And so Southwest's "10-Minute Turn," as it came to be called, was born. Franklin just had to persuade everyone else that it would work — including Sandra Bogan, a flight attendant with Southwest since Day 1. She was there when Franklin presented the idea.

"He came and he said, 'Now girls, you can do this,' " Bogan recalls. "And of course, we said, 'Yes sir.' "

Ten minutes at the gate sounded crazy — but, she says, Franklin was not the kind of guy who was easily questioned.

"Mr. Franklin, you know, he was a wonderful man that put the fear of God into everybody," Bogan says. "I mean, if you worked under him — under operations — oh boy, he was really something."

Dan Johnson learned that lesson firsthand. He was a young operations agent in Houston at that time.

As Johnson recalls, Franklin slammed his hand on the table in one meeting and said, "You guys are either going to turn these airplanes in 10 minutes or I'm going to fire every single one of you — and I'm going to hire a whole new crew that's willing to work and turn these airplanes in 10 minutes."

So, they turned the planes like an assembly line.

"When you landed, we would get up and we would go row to row and take the people's luggage down," Bogan says. "And that way, when we open the door, they're ready to get off."

New passengers would already be waiting in line outside on the tarmac, filing in as the other passengers filed out. Meanwhile, ground crews would scramble to unload trash and refuel.

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In June 1971, Southwest Airlines chartered its first commercial flight. Back then, the fleet consisted of four Boeing 737 airplanes and three destinations --” all in Texas.

In June 1971, Southwest Airlines chartered its first commercial flight. Back then, the fleet consisted of four Boeing 737 airplanes and three destinations --” all in Texas.

Southwest Airlines

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"The flight attendants, the pilots, everybody was racing to get the airplane picked up real, real quick," Johnson says. "I mean, it was a real team effort."

They were so fast that by the time the planes pushed back from the gate, people were still finding their seats.

"We get them on and helped them put their stuff up and shut the doors," Bogan says. "Sit down and off we went."

The following year, Southwest posted its first profit, and it has been profitable every year since.

Today, the task of getting in and out of the gate in 10 minutes is impossible — but back then, says reporter Terry Maxon, the 10-Minute Turn saved the airline.

"It became kind of cookie-cutter going into new markets: high frequency, quick turns," Maxon says. "It is interesting that all these years later, they retain what they had from the beginning: Y'all get on as fast as you can, and we'll get up and leave."

Bill Franklin, the architect of the 10-Minute Turn, died this month. He was 88.

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`102 comments NPR

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What most people do not know is that Southwest was not created to compete with other airlines. They were created to compete with hotels. Many people live in Dallas and work in Houston, or vice-versa. They would fly from home to work on Monday mornings, stay in hotels Monday-Thursday nights and fly home on Friday. Since SW flew only within the state of Texas, they were exempt from the rules of the federal Civil Aeronautics Board and could fly anywhere within Texas they wanted, at any times, and for any price. By cutting costs, they could fly passengers one way anywhere in Texas for just $15 -- cheaper than big city hotel rates. With SW, people could fly home every night cheaper than they could stay in hotels and eat in restaurants. That was their main customer base. Other airlines, though, did not understand that, and illegally conspired to put SW out of business by hiring people to sit at phone banks and call in fake reservations. Three airlines were found guilty of this in 1977, and some of their management personnel went to prison. There was a lot more to their cost-cutting than the 10-minute turnaround. They used simple cash registers at the gates and your receipt was just like the one at the grocery store. There were no reserved seats. The flights were so short there were no meals. They did not belong to the interline agreement like all other airlines, so they did not sell airfare on other airlines or transfer baggage. The list goes on and on.

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It's all about resource maximization. Southwest has been successful because they extract the most value. The old-style registers and receipts saved money without cutting into the service quality or efficiency. Maintaining a homogeneous fleet of aircraft reduces overhead costs. Flying into less popular airports reduces delays and cuts costs. There's a reason many business schools and business programs constantly refer to Southwest case studies!

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Too bad today's American Airlines won't even try to keep up with Southwest. AA has to be the worst in U.S. aviation history.

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What is wrong with AA?`


What isn't wrong with American Airlines? Last week we finally landed in Dallas and eventually our plane crept up to the gate, but there was no employee to attach the gate to the plane. For a half hour. Painful, the lack of leg room, like being in a little box. The pilot urged us to send letters of complaint. Then, a hour later in the airport, there was no employee around to take tickets so we could board our connecting flight. They finally found a guy 20 gates down, who came running and let us on the plane. It was weird. They must have laid off half their employees, and the passengers can just suffer for it. It's the corporate way. Never seen anything seen anything like it.`


"Last week we finally landed in Dallas"

When did you take off? May?`


simple solution just get your own plane


They are awful...just like United Airlines...awful.


I'll throw Delta into the pile under your bus. Anytime my back aches it calls to mind round-trip EST-PST flights three summers ago right after they revealed sardine-style coach seating from which the memory of discomfort lingers. I filed their customer satisfaction report out with the details then and await a response now, figuring I must not have been the only one to do so.


I am surprised anyone still flies on any of those dinosaurs. there is jet blue now`


Ugh American is just the worst. They have caused me so many delays, over really dumb things, such as forgetting to refuel their plane. I am not kidding about that. It happened to me just last week. And when we finally arrived in Dallas, the plane sat on the tarmac for nearly 1.5 hours just waiting for a gate, and it seemed like at least 80% of us missed our connections, which were the last flights of the day. And when you call them, they do not care at all that they have wrecked your day or week, etc.

My flight last Friday was delayed about 4 hours, while they tried to figure out if they could fix a maintenance issue or just get us a new plane. They happily reminded us that they were the only company flying this route and that we basically had no choice but to suffer through. It was like, sigh, we know you have a monopoly and you don't care. I will never fly them again if I can help it.


Do you mean Southwest Airlines?


No, he means American Airlines.
I flew with them once and I will do everything to avoid using American Airline.
I do love Southwest though.`


What is it about SW that you like?`


Prices are lower, and customer service waay better than anyone else. Ever have a connecting flight cancelled with AA? With SW? its a world apart.


I love South West Airlines! It is the only American airline that I make an effort to fly.`


As a musician with a couple large instruments I must travel with, Southwest has the best policies. Not only is buying a second seat for one of my instruments cheaper than other airlines 99.999% of the time, but their oversize/overweight policy is much better as well. Plus, the customer interaction is generally much more enjoyable.`


Really there are a holes just like all the others.


They're not always the lowest. My regular route of Chicago-Hartford, SW was always 50-150 dollars more than AA.
SW does treat 'their' customers very well though. They do have that.`


Southwest's customer service is awesome. I got off the wrong airport once on a 2 stop flight. My plane left by the time I found out. They were super helpful getting me on the next connecting flight. They were friendly and courteous while helping me. Getting on and off the planes are simple. Changing flights are easy.

American Airline constantly have overbooking issues, luggage handling issues, seats are more cramped than any other major airlines. United is expansive, their customer service is based in India. Their airport counter agents are snooty. Their luggage service crews don't ever answer their phone calls.`


United also breaks guitars.`


Good customer service. No bag fees. No change fees. Free TV on your smartphone or tablet. "Funny" flight attendants. Still throw you a bag of peanuts or a snack unlike most others.`


Customer service, the fact that they fly into Midway and NOT O'Hare, the boarding process.


I beg to differ on that. They are just as rude as any other airlines. I get sick when I see there signs about "our" people. Cant remember the last time I saw a SW gate agent smile when I walked up to them. And no change fee, but of course that flight cost has doubled. Tired of SW acting like they are "different".`


Their price, frequency of flights (Many flights to choose from), no extra charge for checked bags, friendly employees, little to no delays experienced with SouthWest, and quick turn around time at gates. I have used SW for at least 20 flights from college to home. My older brother uses SW 50 or 60 times a year. He travels between Washington state, Colorado, and Cali for work weekly. I flew to NYC with American from SD CA, and I will avoid them as much as I can.`


Southwest was long known as low-budget, but their business model created such loyal customers that when they risked financial losses, their customer base also rallied around them to offer even donations to "return the favor" to a company they grew to trust and love.`


As Americans, we have only ourselves to blame for the crappy and poor service of US airlines. For the past 30 years, all you hear from the American marketplace is "cheaper, cheaper, cheaper". Well you don't get quality from that message Wal Mart America!`


And it isn't cheaper. Just crappier. The airlines are making record profits.`


Yeah but have you seen the improvements they've made to 1st class?`


That's hardly a fair criticism of the American marketplace. The public isn't asking for cheaper prices because they're greedy. Their asking for lower prices because the service has declined yet the average family can't afford to travel.`


I've stopped flying. One of the reasons is that there is a lot of activity among the passengers that didn't used to go on. I really enjoyed my flights a few decades ago. I remember one that had a rugby team flying home. They softly sang several songs with great harmony. Today you see arguments with flight attendants and a lot of unruly youngsters. Things have changed so much. I think part of this had to do with the move from $500 for round trip tickets to $240.`


I haven't experienced arguments or crazy kids -- maybe because I always fly Southwest, where the flight staff are actually nice and helpful, so the passengers aren't crabby.`


I've heard that Southwest is good, though it doesn't go to a lot of major cities.`


But that attitude exists in many aspects of culture now, not just on airline flights. I think it has more to do with the general attitude than it does with the price of flights.

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Granted, there are indeed other contexts in which you see this sort of thing.


I love flying jet blue much better than the airlines of old, the snacks are good but I do miss airplane food though. Now I have to just bring ethnic food onboard like everyone else.`


Earlier this month I was on a Frontier Airlines flight from Orlando to Denver. I was one of the first three passengers on the plane when boarding began at 5:40. By 5:45, the flight crew informed us that, if the plane wasn't boarded and the doors weren't shut by 6 p.m. they'd have to cancel the flight per certain limits about their working hours.

I tell you the truth when I say boarding was finished at 5:55. I have never seen a plane boarded so fast, nor do I think I ever will.

My experience shows that airlines are able to board planes much more quickly than they do, but, for one reason or another, they choose not to.`


Can only load a plane as fast as the slowest passenger... Sounds like the pilot motivated the pax to hurry up and sit down.

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This was straight from the flight attendants, probably by the admonition of the pilot. It was like nothing I'd ever seen. The flight attendants were ushering people along, peppering the slow moments with the reminder of a canceled flight. It was such a mini-Herculean effort all passengers (the plane was full) erupted in applause when the doors were shut at 5:55.


I was in the first class of Hostesses with Sandra Bogan, and I am delighted to hear that she is still flying at 74. My dad, Lamar Muse, was President and CEO of SWA from 1971 to Mar. 28, 1978. I knew Bill Franklin so very well. He was my Dad's right hand man, and boy, when he said "We can, and we will!", everyone knew what he meant. He and my Dad had a lot in common...they even looked a lot alike. They were both so respected by all SWA employees, and fear? Maybe a respectful fear. Neither of them suffered fools or incompetence or laziness from anyone. They were not politically correct, and probably would have had to "reform" their ways in today's age of PC police. I must correct one impression I got from the story that is incorrect. It was my Dad's idea to do the 10" turn, and it was Bill's job to make it happen. On page 103 of "Southwest Passage", Dad writes about this very idea. Also, to correct another comment below, Herb Kelleher didn't give anyone Wild Turkey for flying at full fare, that too was my Dad's idea, and it was Chivas Regal, Crown Royal, or an ice bucket for the tea drinkers. That was the $13 air war and it was in early 1973, long before Herb was even an employee. I'm just sayin'...you can't change history except in your own mind.

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Southwest is a great airline for a multiplicity of reasons. Obviously the first is that Herb Kelleher wrote a simple lean business plan on a napkin which Texas bankers could understand. Second, dumb Texans built the dumbest and most inefficient airport in the world at DFW so lazy Texans could park their cars close to the gate. Third, the Texans were too lazy to drive to DFW so DAL became an instant hit. Fourth DFW was so expensive for the airlines that Love Field became an economic asset. Fifth, the Wright Amendment provided Southwest with an annuity in their startup phase. Sixth Herb Kelleher gave business flyers a fifth of Wild Turkey liquor which their competitors couldn't match. Seventh, Southwest didn't dress their flight attendants in Third Reich uniforms which facilitated their being creative and attentive to customers. Eighth, Southwest created one of the best profit sharing plans which focused their employees on results in which they managed the airplane without the overhead need of useless managers. And finally they have stayed with Lean Innovation for 42 years and remained profitable while their competitors have declared bankruptcy as many as three times each. Anyone need a big CLUE Sign?

READ MORE AT:

http://www.npr.org/2015/06/28/418147961/the-man-who-saved-southwest...

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