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When LUV Comes to Town...MSP gets down!

lreynolds
Frequent Flyer A

 Well, the LUV officially came to town on a chilly Sunday morning at 7 am in Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP). That's right, the first flight out of our 65th destination city left on Sunday for Chicago's Midway Airport. How did the Southwest Employee volunteers get there in the first place? We had the chance to jump aboard one of the airplanes being flown into MSP from Dallas Love Field to begin our service here. I just learned that a ferry flight is a special term for a flight that has a very specific purpose. Our purpose was to deliver the LUV aircraft to its newest home: beautiful and snowy Minneapolis/St. Paul, and to bring along more than 2,300 pounds of canned goods to donate to a Minneapolis food bank.
 
It was my first time on a ferry flight, and I couldn't have enjoyed myself more. What made the flight so special? First of all, there was a father-son team flying together for the first time--well, the first time on a Southwest flight, that is.  Jim Johnson, the father, had just celebrated his 25th anniversary with Southwest a few days earlier, and his son, Craig, is not only the youngest, but the newest pilot to join the Southwest family. Jim is a native Minnesotan, and a love of all things aviation runs in the family. In fact, even Mom (Mrs. Johnson) came along too--it was truly a family affair. We were also lucky enough to be on one of our WiFi-equipped flights, which allowed us to blog, tweet, and IM to our little techie heart's content!
 
The 65 Employee volunteers onboard were greeted with cheers, high fives, and local media upon arrival. One of our MSP Employees had already written us a rousing cheer, and we belted it out with glee to the amusement of our (future) Customers and passing spectators. To watch news coverage of the event, check out this link: http://tinyurl.com/chs7xz
 
Sunday afternoon, ten teams headed out to Cub Food Stores to participate in a canned food drive in connection with the Second Harvest Heartland. Here was yet another new Employee tradition: dressing up as Spirit Junior! Yes, I was one of the blessed three trusted to don our infamous baby airplane costumes. Although hanging out in a grocery store for three hours might not sound insanely exciting, I actually had a blast meeting and greeting Minnesotans shopping for their Sunday night supper. Although, when you're dapperly dressed as a baby airplane, people are just naturally drawn to you. Everyone we met was more than willing to donate money and food packages to the food drive, and for their kindness they were entered into our drawing for two roundtrip Southwest tickets! It was heartwarming to hear people tell us they had not only heard of Southwest, but were looking forward to flying us. This was my first time visiting MSP (I'm not counting my I-35 road trip ten years ago) and I have to say, the rumors are true: the phenomenon known as "Minnesota nice" is alive and well here.
 
Oh, and if you need one more reason to visit Minneapolis/St. Paul, come for the buttermilk pancakes at Mickey's Diner (check it out at www.mickeysdiningcar.com/.) Or the cheeseburgers. Or the "pre-war recipe" baked pinto beans. Also be sure to holler at my new best friends: Keith the cook, Dee the self-proclaimed "beverage girl," and Bill the milkshake-maker. Actually, my Mickey's experience is a blog post unto itself. Stay tuned.
 
Monday morning will bring a bevy of dignitaries, among them being the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the governor of Minnesota, and our own CEO Gary Kelly. Look for a fleet of Spirit Juniors--I'll be the one doing loop-de-loops in the back.

 

 

4 Comments
Anonymous3237
Explorer A
I'm so glad Southwest has made it to MSP. I have DING and the only DING fare I have seen is to Midway. Any chance on on adding more cities to DING from MSP? Thanks
Ebony_Clark
Explorer C
No one is more happy than me that SWA is servicing Minneapolis! I was on the very first flight that left MDW at 7:00am! I live in MD and my best friend moved to Minneapolis 2 years ago.Since then I've had to fly other airlines to get to MN. When my best friend called me in late 2008 to tell me she had a suprise I thought she was calling to tell me that she's pregnant. Instead, her call was to inform me that SWA was starting service to Minneapolis in March 2009. So I screamed and cried with joy that I would not have to fly other airlines again! I booked myself on the very first flight because I wanted to be apart of this historic event. Northwest Airlines has had a monopoly on MN for decades, but that has come to an end. When we landed at 8:15am yesterday that was the beginning of freedom coming to MN. I am so relieved that I will be able to get see my best friend all the time because of SWA's low fares. But most of all I am glad that I will not be subjected to long layovers, poor customer service and late flights that I had to endure during my other trips to MN. Southwest is the best ever and I am their biggest fan! I appreciate the outstanding level of service that SWA provides and will continue to support them forever! Go Southwest!!!!
bstevens
Adventurer C
Anonymous - The reason that you only see Ding! fares between Minneapolis and Midway is because our beginning service in Minneapolis is only between those 2 cities. I'll bet we will see other cities added over time. But since I'm not in the know, we'll all have to wait and see.
southwest125
Explorer C
Thats great southwest. Good Luck in MSP!! I know southwest will catch on and be an instant success.