Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

Why the Longview Viewettes LUV Southwest

sfinke
Explorer C

The following is a guest post by Debbie McGowan, daughter of Southwest's Maintenance Certificate Compliance Senior Specialist Bill Morton and director of the Longview High School Viewettes.   As I fasten my seat belt with an audible click, I breathe a huge sigh of relief.  After all, months of planning and fundraising has gone into place to get here.  Where is here?  Here is aboard Flight #1692 from Dallas Love Field to Chicago Midway.  A group of 50 student dancers and parents, along with myself, are headed to the Windy City for our beloved Longview High School Viewettes to take part in the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! My name is Debbie McGowan, and I am the director of this amazing precision dance drill team group.  Back in May we were invited by Coast2Coast Productions to be a part of a performance group that would take part in a special production for the parade.  Most everything was included—except the flight. After committing to the trip, the very next phone call I made was to my dad, Bill Morton.  He is a Senior Specialist in Maintenance Certificate Compliance for Southwest.  I asked him a few questions about group travel and inquired about when the Wright Amendment concluded.  To our advantage, it was to be lifted the month before our trip.  One more phone call was made to group travel, and thanks to the low fares, with a few clicks we were booked for roundtrip, nonstop flights!

IMG_0153

This amazing trip includes 36 dancers (five of which have never flown before), 15 adults, and a most memorable opportunity to perform in the Thanksgiving Day parade broadcast nationally on WGN.  While in Chicago, we will visit the Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, Navy Pier, see the musical Annie, and of course, shop on the Magnificent Mile.  Then, on Thanksgiving Day, our Viewettes will transform into toy soldiers and take the streets of Chicago in a magical and memorable performance. Traveling in a large group can sometimes be nerve racking, but thanks to Southwest’s group travel accommodations and bags fly free, the group traveling arrangements were a breeze!  The Longview High School Viewettes Luv Southwest!