• New York Times, Monday, November 22, 2010 7:18 AM

As Southwest Airlines approaches its 40th birthday next year, it's still playing the rebel although it's hardly the small, nimble challenger flying to a few select markets that it was during its formative years. That's on the say-so of CEO Gary Kelly, who avers, "We still have an underdog mentality. It's not a comfortable country-club environment for us." And "we're just as scrappy as ever."

Southwest's people are still at the forefront, Jad Mouawad reports in a leisurely profile. Its pilots, mechanics and flight attendants are the best paid in the industry, and it strives to preserve its ethos by keeping a close eye on its hiring, he reports. Of the 90,043 résumés it received last year, only 831 people were chosen. "Our culture is our biggest competitive strength," says COO Van de Venwq. "But we want to grow it, not protect it."

And its "Bags Fly Free" has proven to be yet-another golden differentiator. "A lot of people have been trying to pickpocket and nickel-and-dime their customers," says Kevin Krone, the company's head of marketing. "We don't think it's right." Truth, justice and the American, United and Delta way aside, Kelly claims that part of his revenue growth of $1.6 billion in the first nine months of 2010 is a "gift" from competitors who drove their customers into his waiting wings.

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