Somehow Southwest managed to avoid most of that. Not all, of course. Those guys aren't Superman, after all. The way the airline did it, I believe, is by putting its employees first. The basic idea behind Southwest Airlines goes like this.
Airlines are a service business.
Bad service turns away customers. Treat your employees like dogs and they bite the customer. What's amazing isn't that Southwest has done so well. It's that most companies don't adopt the same posture. There are a handful of companies where it's fun to work.