Do You Know a Rodentologist?

A Ramp Rat at Love Field. Ramp Rats are a good thing at SWA. Without them, you could never get a plane off the ground, in and out of terminal gates, baggage loaded and unloaded an a whole lot of others things. So, see, SWA learned from a bunch of rats about human nature.

That's the person to call when the invasion of rats are searching for food because all the restaurants that we all so love have pulled the plug and no food on the ground is available. Rat colonies are territorial. As long as they  have food they are happy. When they run out of food, look out!

The far-reaching different worlds that have come into play with the coronavirus-19 have gone more far-reaching than even a lot of the experts had anticipated. Unfortunately, good 'ole human nature can account for a lot more of that than expected, also.

So, what's the take-away from this? It's simple. When faced with trying to understand people, don't call your Psychologist, call your Rodentologist for two reasons. One, you will learn a lot about human nature from the study of rats. Two, the bill from the Rodentologist is going to be a lots cheaper than the one you get from the Psychologist but the results is far better from the rat man! ( My friend JM doesn't send me a bill, period! So drop one of them attorneys or judges from your friends list and add a good psychologist as a friend...then, ask him those off the wall questions.) LOL.

Herb and Gary Have Learned Well From Tom Braniff

Dallas has been lucky to have been the home to so many great airlines. Braniff International was a landmark at Love Field. American Airlines became the King of Dallas International and of course there is Southwest Airlines founded on a napkin by Dallas Attorney Herb Kelleher and a buddy. Braniff is gone now, but the old corporate offices at Love Field on the Lemmon Avenue side continues to be a part of the changing growth at Love.

Now that the brief history lesson is out of the way, it's time for the political flight to take off. I was just a kid when Braniff started painting their aircraft in wild, bright and eye-catching colors. No one had done that before. It was the talk of the town, so-to-speak. But, I know what an impression it made on me and being an old marketing guy, I've always remembered those days.

After American Airlines filed for bankruptcy, it was only a matter of time before the old AA eagle had to go. With  its fleet of old MD-80s  being the airlines workhorse and  badly needing to be  replaced, a new livery was on the horizon for American Airlines. 

The air begin to fill with excitement as to what the new livery would look like. American even set the first one down in Victorville, that no-mans land in the south of the Mojave Desert near that fairy-tale town on Apple Valley in California. Most aviation geeks set off the alarms almost the moment the wheels touched the runway and for sure by the time it parked on the tarmac. The word was out. "Ugly!";" It's Ugly! " the geeks cried. And--- no one paid any attention. The new livery  would, however, welcome the new American out of bankruptcy. Doug Parker rumors were that the new livery would only be a transition livery while American was merging with US Air and hope once again rose like a victory bonfire's smoke and shimmers of heat.Dud! It was a dud!

Even though Southwest had some colorful colors on it's planes, The ghost of Love Field rejoiced that color had returned to the runways at Love. At least one air line had once again painted the sky over Dallas with it's colorful planes. Tom Braniff must have been looking down on Love Field with a big smile on his face. Herb Kelleher had answered the call once again.

It became a new breath. Color had returned  with blues, oranges and reds. Not so much one color from  nose to tail but three! And Love Field's new upstart began to grow, and grow, and grow. Then, there was the  political roadblock to stop the growth because  DFW was the new wonder child. And that it was. It made a star of Dallas air routes. The need to bring back the focus to Love had an opportunity and splash some paint once more. This time with big orcas on the side of the plane or some other theme like the Texas state flag. And after being let down by American, Southwest and  Gary Kelly, being a CPA, knew how to charge off paint and make it pay. And it did!  Time and time again. People were talking again  about the color in the skies over Dallas. Then came the new livery for Southwest and every parking spot in the parking garage was filled at Thanksgiving and overflow lots were filled at Christmas, too. Love Field was alive and well and new terminals were under construction.

Now some folks will say that it was more than a paint job on an airplane. And I would have to agree that it was all true. Southwest is known to be a happy bunch--even when they work a picket line now and then. But deep down inside, we all know that the sky is filled with more color once again and it makes those that had seen Tom's planes start a revolution jump to the other side of the field  in the house that Herb built, paint shop and all!

The State of Florida and click on image to see a better view.

Stewardess Fashion (If you can't get enough of Pan Am TV series)

Braniff International Uniform

Southwest original uniform.

Dallas has had it's share of Airlines based here when flying was FUN. Tom Braniff added color to the skies with colorful Braniff International planes. American has just been American but for a longer period of time.Then there is Southwest where 40 years of Luv continues on all four sides of Love Field and other cities were SW goes.

Today was Musuem Day to the affiliates of the Smithsonian. The crowds were orderly but festive and the new Southwest exhibit of aircraft tail number N300W was open. In June, the plane was just being positioned with its nose inside the Frontiers of Flight Museum (the rest of the Boeing 737 is outside the museum on the tarmac).

Southwest Airlines Dedication Ceremony Scheduled for June.

Driving past Love Field this morning following a doctor's visit there was something really big and really new at the North end of the Frontiers of Flight Museum.When I got to the traffic light ahead I turned onto the General Aviation roadway to the parking lot of the museum.As luck would have it the monthly meeting of the Airline Pilot Association of Love Field was underway (taking up a lot of parking spaces,too).After parking,workers were standing under the tail section. Inside the museum, one of the volunteers was being taped for a monitor presentation and the meeting was stlll going on upstairs. It was a great time to wonder the museum and see the new additions and to revisit some of the historic old ones (Apollo 7 capsule). As it turns out, Southwest Airlines ownes some of the earliest production numbers for the Boeing 737s.  The one being prepared for the museum will be one of those accourding to a couple more of the volunteers and one of the pilots that slipped out of the meeting early. So, next month, there will be a dedication ceremony and the exhibit will be formally open to the public. It's rather funny, in some ways in that only the nose of the 737 will be inside the musuem. However, the rest of the plane is outside! One will be able to enter the plane from inside the museum and then walk down the isle like any normal boarding. It's a novel way to draw attention and to utilize space all in one exhibit. Clever, indeed. Of course I should have know with Southwest part of the exhibit. To Herb and Gary: You guys are just plane (get it?) Fantastic. It might be a good time to bring back the old bumper sticker too! Remember that catchy littlel do-dad: "Fly Southwest,Herb needs the money!" I loved that bumper sticker! BTW..I also favored the old color scheme of the brown and orange rather than the blue and orange.It made it a more "down to earth" airlines.