David Neeleman Quotes

The Lisbon hub is important to Portugal, the country. That's not going to go away. It needs to be there. The country depends on tourism.

If it's torture flying one airline and [yours] is a pleasant experience, it certainly helps your revenue.

Certainly, we are hurt by the high fuel prices because it raises our cost.

It's so important to experience what your customers are experiencing and listen to their suggestions.

When you do consolidation, you get rid of flying and you get rid of routes.

I really see low-fare carriers, quality low-fare carriers anyway, continuing to become more and more popular.

Value will always be on top of everyone's lists now, right along with safety.

In the midst of all the chaos swirling through your brain, all the disorganization and impulsiveness, the condition (ADHD) also seems to trigger a certain kind of creativity.

The Blackberry is really essential for keeping up on my emails when I'm out of the office, which is a lot.

I think because of all of the difficulties in Europe with terrorism and stuff, a lot of people ended up going to Portugal. They felt, I think, safer in Portugal.

We tried to set up a company that patterned ourselves after Southwest in all the fun, the spirit, the great people, the smile, the efficiency side of it, but we've added some extras that people aren't used to finding on Southwest.

Of course, we should all be aware of what we're packing in our carry-on luggage - anything that might be considered dangerous could be confiscated at a security checkpoint.

I think that as the market moves and costs get higher and fares get higher, it always creates opportunity. That's been the cycle over the years.

When you can sell [empty seats] at the gate for an upgrade for 500 bucks or 600 bucks... it makes all the sense in the world.

There's just things that are against the law.

A lot of airlines have come and gone.

This is not a business where you can hand off and run by remote control.

We're reviewing everything to see how we can do it better, faster, and more efficiently.

One of the constraints on the U.S. business is the pilot shortage. There's not an abundance of pilots. There may be an abundance of cheap fuel and airplanes. There probably isn't an abundance of gates at popular airports, either.

If you want to go to Spain or you want to go to France or you want go to [any] southern European countries, [Lisbon] is a great place to [connect].

People don't really look forward to flying that much. It's like they want to get to the place, but they don't look forward to the experience.

And, of course, customers really need to feel safe and are seeking reassurance when they fly.

You don’t have to spend a jillion dollars on advertising to get your word out. What matters is that customers have a good experience with your product at every single point of contact.

People do a better job if they respect the leader of the company. I learned that on my mission - the value of people and how to truly appreciate them.

Never, ever forget that you are a servant.

Even though Brazil has been up and down and had some difficulties, it's still a very big country, and a very important country. It's got the fourth largest domestic market in the world.

I'm always crunching numbers, so my calculator watch is a must.

And you've got to remember that I'm also the father of nine children.

Those wedgie seats, whatever they call them, those recliners, they're just not competitive anymore. The difference between those and a coach seat isn't that great to be able to warrant charging the amount. You need a little more space for a lie-flat, but not that much more.

Seat assignment didn't matter if you're flying Dallas to Houston and you did it 38 times a day. People just got on, you didn't sit next to your wife, and it was a 45-minute flight. It didn't matter.

I think there's new optimism in Brazil. The Olympics went well. Our demand is good. Costs are down. We're back in the black. We're feeling really good about what's going on in Brazil.

I think there's a big market in North America [with travelers] going to Lisbon and connecting over Lisbon.

I just don't think it's good public policy to tax fuel. It's kind of silly. It stops people from traveling and actually costs the economy more money than what you gain in the taxes.

Fares are higher [and] people don't travel as much. If they don't do that, it doesn't have the trickle down effect into the economy and the other sectors.

Just keep thinking about the good side of ADD - the creativity and the originality it can stimulate.

Our people get profit-sharing checks. I got a report the other day that says that 84 percent of our people participate in our stock purchase program, where they can buy stock at a 15 percent discount.

I actually thrive on all the challenges, and I don't feel like ADD has impaired my ability.

Nobody ever thought about having to protect the passengers from the pilots.

People were desperately trying to fill their seats for the summer. And so prices are really low right now. And so they are kept from raising prices to make up for that difference.

I believe the public's confidence would be increased if the federal government took over the functions of airport security screening for all passengers.

We are just interested in dealing with the people were paying every day. We know federal law allows them to vote in a union at anytime, but we think we can resist that by talking to our own people and giving them enough upside.

You can't charge for anything in Brazil.

People who invest in aviation are the biggest suckers in the world.