[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

Southwest #1? Great service? I laughed so hard I almost did myself an injury.

132nd CONSECUTIVE quarterly dividend.

http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/press/prindex.html

I know, it's all a lie. Southest makes bogus filings with the US Securities And Exchange Commission.

132 consecutive quarterly dividends equates to 33 years of non-stop dividends. Gromit, how many other US-based airlines can make that claim today? If you're thinking of throwing-up the matter of their fuel hedges: Why is it that Southwest was able to acquire all those fuel hedges in the first place??

Southwest is no frills without question. Unlike Spirit Air they have even gone so far as to advertise the fact of their no frills service. How many people remember the newspaper ads and the close-up of the bag of peanuts? The point is customers of Southwest have limited expectations. The so-called "full service" carriers want you to think they still serve steak in flight--at least until you buy a ticket.

Also, Southwest has labor peace. Again, how many of the "full service" guys can claim that. Yeah, United got enough people to volunteer for a furlough. Do you think the remaining help, really, think their jobs are now safe??

What about reliability? True, with Southwest's service to New York--LaGuardia, the reliability piece will probably take a hit. On the other hand, even with Chicago's weather, service to Chicago--Midway has maintained reliability.

The problem is the legacy carriers still think, after years of losses, they can be everything to everyone. They also think they can treat their help like dirt and nothing will happen. Some of the keys to profitability demonstrated by Southwest:

* Maintain enough liquidity to purchase significant numbers of fuel hedges.
* Take the matter of good labor relations seriously.
* The customer is NOT "the enemy:" No call centers in India. The customer is treated with civility when something goes wrong. Flexibility on the re-use of non-refundable tickets.

Finally I wonder if I'll hear about someone's years of experience on Wall Street in addition to the years of railroad experience I've already heard about??