A lot of people lay responsibility for Southwest's reputation for customer service at Herb's feet. Personally I found their front line staff to be casual to the

A lot of people lay responsibility for Southwest's reputation for customer service at Herb's feet. Personally I found their front line staff to be casual to the point that it bordered on unprofessional (which is something coming from someone allergic to formality), but I'd absolutely believe that much of their positive reputation came from the top. Southwest pilots though, yikes. With the exception of United I'd say most airlines I've dealt with have been pleasant whether or not I'm flying up front or have status. Yes, even RyanAir. We're in something of a golden age since (with the notable exception of Southwest) American airlines have mostly put their mergers behind them and have mostly shed themselves of CEOs who view employees as adversaries. Take a look at the bad old days of the late 80s through mid 2000s. Smisek. Lorenzo. Parker. Bastards and crooks, all of them. It's difficult to stress just how toxic airline leadership was and how that trickled down for a long time.