In this issue, we’d like to introduce you to Rhonda Ramirez, Phoenix General Manager for Southwest Airlines. Rhonda has been with Southwest Airlines for 25 years and in her current role since October 2018.  After graduating from San Diego State University, she decided to apply for a job with Southwest after a dear friend from high school joined the Company. That friend is still a flight attendant today.

Rhonda began her career in Phoenix (PHX) as a Provisioning Auditor and quickly moved into Ground Operations as a Customer Service Agent. She moved into a variety of Leadership positions and has worked in multiple airports, including San Diego, Ontario, Cali. Burbank, and twice in Phoenix!

Rhonda says an interesting fun fact is that she started with Southwest in Phoenix on Oct. 1, 1996, and 22 years later, on Oct. 1, 2018, was promoted to the Phoenix General Manager position.

We asked her some questions about her experiences here in at PHX.

What’s a typical day like?

As the saying goes, every day is different. My position is to ensure our operation runs safely, reliably, and with hospitality at the forefront, and leading a very large team to make sure this happens. My job is to ensure we have processes in place to consistently monitor our performance and make adjustments to improve to continue Southwest’s mission of connecting our Customers to the people and places important in their lives. Working for such a large organization, we depend on so many different departments to run an efficient and reliable operation. Every day you can find me meeting with our Flight Operations, Inflight Operations, Technical Operations, our Customer Support and Services Teams, and People Department as we work together to continue making Southwest in Phoenix a top place to work, the best airline to fly, and a very strong part of the greater Phoenix community.

I typically start my day by reviewing my calendar and meeting schedules. Again, every day is different. I plan outside of those meeting hours to connect with every level of my Team in person. Visibility is a daily priority for me. On most days, I walk the concourses and the ramp to talk with Team members. This gives them the opportunity to share feedback or concerns. It also allows me to get to know my people better and of course I can observe our operation firsthand. The daily operation is dynamic, so throughout the day there are unexpected items that surface and need to be handled.

What do you hope to achieve here in PHX in the next year?

We are so excited to expand our footprint in PHX. We are looking forward to growing our operation by adding eight additional gates in the new 8th concourse and an expanded ticket counter space this summer. This will provide our Customers with improved amenities and our Employees will enjoy a fresh new space to provide our legendary Hospitality. We continue to grow our Southwest family with additional PHX co-hearts. We’ve already welcomed so many new team members and we will continue this effort so that we can continue to grow our operation in PHX. This is a top priority for our Team, and the company, and it is truly a Team effort.

What would you most like readers to know about your position or the operation?

We have an amazing Team of Employees that run a very dynamic operation. Our primary goal is to operate with Safety top of mind, while delivering reliable and hospitable service to our Customers. We continue adapting to the ever-changing dynamics of the pandemic and our top priority is offering a flight schedules for our Customers as well as doing everything we can to welcome more Customers to Southwest Airlines as they travel for business or leisure.

What is your favorite thing to do in Phoenix?

As a family, we enjoy anything related to sports, both professional and youth sports are common activities we attend together.