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Happy Birthday SWA!

Happy Birthday SWA!

June 18, 2021
Fifty years ago today at 0700, Southwest Airlines Pilots Emilio Salazar and Bob Pratt took the runway at Love Field and lifted off into history. They carried on their wings the weight of all that Rollin King, Lamar Muse, and Herb Kelleher had been working on for more than four long years.

Ever since June 18, 1971, when that first flight departed from Dallas for San Antonio, Southwest Pilots have been critical to everything that makes this airline great. Put simply, the success of Southwest Airlines over the past 50 years is due in no small part to the professionalism, dedication, and commitment of the men and women who came before us. And we are proud to be aviators who continue that legacy of excellence today.

We say this not to diminish the role of our co-workers, for we would never get off the ground without the coordinated efforts of literally thousands of people, from reservations agents to rampers, but rather to state the obvious; thousands of times a day, for 50 years, we – the Pilots of Southwest Airlines – have helped drive the success of our Company.

So we say, “Happy Birthday!” This is a day for celebration, and one that cannot, nor should not, be taken for granted. The history of the airline industry is littered with bygone carriers that could not compete in a deregulated world, or against the force that Southwest has become.

And while we might be tempted to rest on our laurels, we must never be complacent; about how we do our jobs, nor how we defend our profession. We have survived recessions, wars, terrorism, and, most recently, a pandemic. Our strength is our unity as the defenders of a legacy born of tribulation, and we will remain triumphant to the end.