I catch a lot of flak from my big city friends because of my preference for Southwest airlines. But in my opinion, their focus on customer service makes them the most reliable airline about getting you there on time.

For example, yesterday I was at Chicago Midway airport waiting for my flight home on Southwest. Our plane had arrived and unloaded the incoming passengers, but apparently one passenger was still onboard and SWA was waiting for a wheelchair. The captain came out and talked to the gate crew, but no wheelchair ever showed up from the airport staff. Finally the Southwest captain went into the terminal, found a wheelchair, took it back on the plane and brought the last passenger out himself.

It is not the captain’s job to move wheelchair passengers on and off the plane — any other airline pilot will tell you that. But on Southwest it’s everyone job to keep the schedule. If that means the pilot has to do the job of a minimum wage orderly, then that’s what they do.

We left on time, and arrived home 10 minutes ahead of schedule.