Because of You – Southwest Airlines
When you fly somewhere, you don’t really need a reason.
You can fly just to see the changing of the seasons.
You fly to our surface, to give someone a gift
You fly just to give a good friend of yours a lift
You fly so you can learn, you fly so you can earn
For romance, give it a chance, you fly so you can dance
You fly to climb a mountain, or to hear some different notes,
and if you’re feeling like it, you fly so you can float.
There was a time when very few people had the means to fly for any reason, large or small.
A time when air fares were high and the skies belonged to the privileged few. Only they could afford the freedom to travel at a moment’s notice. Everyone else just dreamed about it.
But 25 years ago, our airline sought to change all that. We believed then, as we do now, that flight should not be limited to the elite, it should be an opportunity for all.
Today, 3 out of every 4 Americans have flown at least once in their life. A figure that has tripled since the started of Southwest Airlines. It’s a victory that is attributable you, the 25,000 extraordinary individuals who work for our company.
When you think about it, in terms of our country and in terms of our society, the freedom that we provide to the American people, the freedom to fly, is really the idealistic and the ennobling purpose of Southwest Airlines and all of its wonderful people.
Just as a brick layer is not just laying bricks. With each brick that he lays, he’s building a home. So too, our people do not just answer phones, or throw bags, or collect tickets, or maintain airplanes, we are, each of us, as we do these things each day, giving people the freedom to fly, the great service of freedom that you, the people of Southwest Airlines provide to the people of America, is indeed the higher calling and the greater cause that each of us answers each day when we come to work.
As I have frequently said “You are all my heroesâ€, and beyond that you also the heroes of the American people. No other airlines bring so much to so many, and I thank you for doing that.
Over 45 million people board our planes each year; they go places, and do things more often than they ever dreamed. And as the Southwest Airlines employee, you help make that dream possible.
You fly so you can teach, you fly so you can cry, you fly ‘cause life’s a beach
You fly to say goodbye, you fly so you can laugh
You fly so you can yell, you fly because of something that you were born to sell
You fly ’cause it’s America and there’s freedom in this land
You fly, you fly, you fly, because you can
Our battle for this freedom began nearly 3 decades ago, and while our maiden flight may be credited to only a few, our on-going gallant mission belongs to you. You make that freedom possible, for millions of people to go, see and do.
You, make that freedom possible by keeping our costs low.
You, make that freedom possible by doing right by a customer.
You, make that freedom possible by winning a fare war or battling other airlines who would rather see us go than come.
You, make that freedom possible, it’s your spirit and your tenacity that have made Southwest Airlines a symbol of freedom.
Because of you, today, someone has visited their grandchild, explored an opportunity or just taken a trip for no more reason than to see what’s out there.
Because of you, today, someone has a freedom to fly.
Because of you, today, Southwest Airlines is a symbol of freedom.