In the hours immediately after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the newly promoted executives at Southwest Airlines Co. made a bold decision. Without even consulting the legendary co-founder and current chairman, Herbert D. Kelleher, Chief Executive James F. Parker and President Colleen C. Barrett swiftly agreed to grant refunds to all customers who asked for them, regardless of any ticket restrictions. Only later did Parker learn that the airline could have had to shell out several hundred million dollars, an unsettling prospect, given the uncertainty of the times and a $187 million profit-sharing payment that was coming due. "Fortunately, the potential flood of refund claims never came," says Parker, in his typically understated style. Quite the opposite: One devoted customer even sent $1,000 to support Southwest after the attacks.
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机译：在2001年9月11日恐怖袭击发生后的几个小时内，西南航空公司新晋升的高管做出了一个大胆的决定。甚至没有咨询这位传奇的联合创始人和现任董事长Herbert D. Kelleher，首席执行官James F. Parker和总裁Colleen C. Barrett迅速同意，向所有要求退款的顾客提供退款，而不受任何门票限制。直到后来，帕克才得知该航空公司可能不得不支付数亿美元，这是一个令人不安的前景，因为当时的不确定性以及即将支付的1.87亿美元的利润分成款项。 “幸运的是，潜在的退款索赔从未到来，”帕克以通常低调的态度说。恰恰相反：在袭击事件发生后，一位忠实的客户甚至寄出1,000美元支持西南航空。
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