Is US Airways Trying to Ape Southwest Airlines' Style?

I recently flew two US Airways flight segments, two/from Philadelphia to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. On both of them, the flight attendants and the pilot tried to be humorous, almost in what might be called "Southwest Airlines" style? I wonder if this is a new trend?

As those who fly Southwest know, the pilot and flight attendants often crack jokes and try to maintain a "light air" (no pun intended) on the flights. It is all supposed to make the customers enjoy the flight a bit more. It has been an unusual style, juxtaposed against the normal from the major airlines where flight attendants hardly smile or look as if they are enjoying themselves.

If US Airways is trying to lighten things up, I applaud them. They could be learning that part of the Southwest appeal is fairly free--smile and enjoy oneself and maybe it will start to become a bit more enjoyable for the passenger who is trapped in a small box at 30,000 feet.

I am not sure that my experience is a real sign of change or an anomaly. While it involved two different flight crews, it might not be a pattern. However, I would urge US Airways to try to move this throughout their system. Southwest has taken a low cost strategy into a high priced market. But rather than just maintaining the low cost approach, they added in other changes to really provide points of differentiation against the major carriers. Most of the low cost airlines in the world keep their fees low but charge for bags. Not Southwest. Most low cost airlines feel like they are low cost--the equivalent of a flying Costco (everything almost seems to be on pallets). Southwest has offered a different approach. Cut costs to lower fares, but also offer value--no baggage fees, drinks and snacks (remember snacks on the major airlines? The airlines actually once gave us peanuts and for free!!). But, Southwest really offered differentiation when it made us feel as if they were happy to have us on board and that they were happy to be working for us. This was such a radical change that it actually became a differentiator.

USAirways is stuck. It has a high cost structure that is difficult to change, unless they chose to "blow up" the airline and start over. They have union contracts and hubs and lots of different types of planes--all of the things that Southwest does not have to live with. These things add costs and inefficiencies, while Southwest flies only one type of plane and has much less stringent contracts.

What I am hoping is that the people at US Airways decided that they could be different from the other major airlines and more like Southwest in areas in which they still had control--like smiling and being customer oriented. If that is happening, I am delighted. I live in Philadelphia, and while I can fly Southwest, it is hard to avoid US Airways. If they are changing, I say thank you. If this was an anomaly, I ask them to consider extending these "experiments" to all of their flights. If they were spontaneous expressions by the crews on those flights, then find those people and get them involved in helping others at the airline to change. They have something positive brewing. While they may not beat Southwest, they can carve out clear differentiation from United, Delta, American, and all the other large, impersonal carriers.