America West was just out of bankruptcy, so there were still doubts about their ability to run efficiently. To make things worse, their biggest competition was Southwest, one of the best airlines in the biz. We couldn’t go head-to-head with Southwest, so we used the advertising to make the airline likeable and build loyalty. The ads were human, funny, and engaging. An airline barely out of bankruptcy set back-to-back records for call volume, load factor, and revenue while successfully launching into six new markets.