A company is stronger if it is bound by love rather than by fear.

I guess the worst moment I ever had in business was the fear that Southwest Airlines wouldn't get off the ground.

The people of Southwest have always been my pride, my joy and my love. Their indomitable dedication and esprit de corps have taken Southwest from a three-airplane dream to a 500-airplane reality.

Your employees come first. And if you treat your employees right, guess what? Your customers come back, and that makes your shareholders happy. Start with employees and the rest follows from that.

I forgive all personal weaknesses except egomania and pretension.

I tell my employees that we're in the service business, and it's incidental that we fly airplanes.