SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PROVISIONS DENVER WITH LUV CELEBRATING PROVISIONING BASE GRAND OPENING, BACKPACK BRIGADE COMMUNITY EVENT, AND NEW SERVICE
Southwest Airlines Donates 100 Backpacks to Operation Homefront During a Back-to-School Party at Denver International Airport (DIA)
New Flights to Sacramento, New Orleans, and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood Start Today
DENVER, CO – Aug. 4, 2008 - Southwest Airlines hosted a triple celebration today at Denver International Airport (DIA) in honor of the grand opening of the airline’s 22nd Provisioning Base, a back-to-school party benefiting the Colorado Chapter of Operation Homefront, and the addition of several new flights which begin today from Denver.
Southwest Airlines is celebrating the grand opening of the carrier’s 22nd Provisioning Base in Denver. The Provisioning Base will temporarily be located in a 2,500 square-foot facility on the lower-level of the airport. The airline is planning a larger facility for the Provisioning Base that is scheduled to open in 2009. Southwest Airlines initially hired 23 Provisioning Employees to operate the new base, adding to the 275 Employees already working at the airport.
Southwest Airlines serves more than 64 million cans of soda, juice, and water, 11 million alcoholic beverages, six million bags of pretzels, and more than 100 million bags of peanuts a year! The Provisioning Team restocks the aircraft with all necessary food, drink, and entertainment items at each of our Provisioning Stations when an aircraft arrives at the gate between flights.
“With our steady expansion in Denver since January 2006, the Denver Provisioning Station will support the increased aircraft flow and will complement our Provisioning network nationwide,” said Scott Halfmann, Southwest’s Vice President of Provisioning.
Through the airline’s Companywide Backpack Brigade effort, Southwest Airlines will donate 100 backpacks to the Colorado Chapter of Operation Homefront, provisioning children of deployed military service members with parents serving in Afghanistan and Iraq with school supplies for the upcoming year. The backpacks contain much-needed items donated by Southwest Employees as part of a Share the Spirit supply drive. For the past month, Southwest Employees donated goods, including binders, folders, pencils, and markers at each of its 64 locations across the nation. The backpacks will be distributed to 11 cities, including Denver. Southwest Airlines executives presented the backpacks to more than 25 children representing Operation Homefront at today’s celebration.
“Today’s celebration is indicative not only of our expansion in Denver, but of our commitment to being a good neighbor to the city,” said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Denver has been a major focus for us since we re-entered the market in 2006, and we will continue to look for ways to complement our service in the Mile-High City by giving back to the community.”
Southwest Airlines also will commence five daily nonstop flights from Denver today. The additional service includes two new daily nonstop flights between Denver and Sacramento, one new nonstop flight each between Denver and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood and Denver and New Orleans, as well as one additional daily nonstop flight between Denver and Phoenix (for a total of seven daily). To book your seat on these new Southwest Airlines flights, visit: http://www.southwest.com/?src=PRPRPRNDENV000000080408.
Southwest Airlines began service to Denver on Jan. 3, 2006, with 13 daily nonstop departures to three destinations. The airline currently operates 89 daily nonstop flights from the Mile High City, making Denver the fastest growing city in the Company’s history. With previously announced service, Southwest will operate 115 nonstop flights from Denver to 32 cities by Nov. 2, 2008.
About Southwest Airlines
With Southwest Airlines’ Share the Spirit program, Employees are devoted to each and every community the airline serves. Throughout the year, Southwest Airlines Employees reach out to individuals, families, and entire communities providing help where it is needed. Southwest’s Share the Spirit is ingrained in the Company’s culture, and the airline’s 34,000+ Employees are often the lifeline for those in need. Based in Dallas, Southwest Airlines serves 64 cities in 32 states and is the largest carrier in the world, as measured by passengers carried.
About Operation Homefront & CinCHouse.com
What is today Operation Homefront began in 2001 as a military spouse-generated idea. In response to the needs of the families of deployed service members, CinCHouse.com members (military wives and women in uniform) created the project that has evolved into a major nonprofit charity serving 30 military communities. Today CinCHouse.com operates as a program as part of the nonprofit Operation Homefront family. From a good idea to a great organization, Operation Homefront understands and takes care of the needs of the military community.