What a good idea for a catchy slogan for Southwest Airlines : “Southwest, We’re Not As Safe As We Could Be!”

I admit it is a daring concept: to tell your passengers that every time they board one of your jets, they are flying on a plane that is not “as safe as we could be.”

And, who says this? Why, none other than Gary Kelly who happens to be the CEO of Southwest, says the Wall Street Journal.

Safety Lapses

This all stems, of course, from recently discovered maintenance lapses.

The government is proposing a record $10.2 million dollar fine.

And, to make matters worse, the airline was forced to ground some three dozen of its 737s yesterday because of yet another safety inspection issue.

I’m sorry

Kelly, probably at the urging of a small army of media advisers, apologized to passengers who fly Southwest, as he should.

But, the real problem is, Southwest’s entire model is to keep its planes in the air as often as possible…load passengers, take off, land, off load passengers, load passengers and take off again.

You really think this sort of thing won’t happen again?

Welcome aboard

Southwest has always been known for its more light hearted flight attendants. So this episode could give them much new material to work with:

“Ladies and gentlemen. At this time, we’d like to welcome on board Southwest Airlines flight 92 with nonstop service to Phoenix. Since our boss says we are not as safe as we could be, we strongly recommend you pay close attention to our safety instructions.”