Going Green: Upcycling—Recycling in Style

[aeliasen]

Have you ever seen a snack wrapper turn into an iPad case?  Or how about a vinyl record into a salad bowl?  Or old sweaters turned into floor poof pillows? If you have, you’ve seen upcycling in action! Upcycling is a great way to use items that would normally be thrown away or wasted, and turn them into something else and give them a second life—maybe a better one!  A variety of items can be upcycled—anything from wrappers to computer parts to bicycle wheels to old jeans. If you’ve walked the halls here at Southwest HDQ, you may have seen one of the best examples of upcycling!  At Halloween, our very own upcycler, Tim Childress in Finance, transformed one of our most well-known products into a unique suit.  Tim used peanut bags and creativity to create this one-of-a-kind outfit! If you aren’t as crafty as Tim, there are plenty of web sites and stores where you can get ideas, how-tos, and items for purchase.  Web sites such as www.upcyclethat.com/  and www.terracycle.com/ come up with some pretty genius upcycling ideas!  If you’re on Pinterest, just search for Upcycling, and you will have so many ideas, you won’t know which ones to tackle first. Do you make or purchase upcycled items?  Let us know by commenting below.  DING!  You are now free to be green!

[juanv]

I really like that Southwest Airlines is promoting recycling and up-cycling. I've been a frequent flyer of SWA for years now and have always been a fan of the airline and it's commitments to the community and people. One thing I recently learned about SWA is that kids aged 2 and over are required to purchase a seat at the adult price. This was pretty shocking to me, especially since SWA makes it a point to be so oriented in the community. I have a trip booked for the end of next month and was dismayed at the fact my family of 4 has to spend so much money on just the airline tickets. I don't know that suggestions are taken but perhaps looking into child pricing would encourage families to fly more. Or even raising the age to "3 and under" versus "under 2". It's just some food for thought but I would love to hear back from you guys on if this type of thing is feasible. Thank you so much for your time and keep up the good work - we all appreciate it! -Juan

[nicole-rosenblu]

Hi Juan, Thanks for your suggestion. We currently allow children who are between the ages of 14 days and who have not reached his/her second birthday to travel on the lap of an adult at no charge (at the discretion of their parent/guardian). Per Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, children who have reached their second birthday must occupy an individual seat. Although, Southwest Airlines does offer Infant and Child Fares, these fares provide a discount off of our Anytime Fare, so you may find that our Wanna Get Away fares are actually a better bargain. We regret any confusion in this regard. We look forward to welcoming you and your family onboard soon! -Nicole Rosenblum, Customer Relations Specialist