Southwest Airlines Community

Southwest Airlines Celebrates Its 38th Birthday With $38 Fares DALLAS, June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- It's Southwest Airlines' birthday, but YOU get the gift! In celebration of the airline's 38th birthday, Southwest announced today special DING! fares as low as $38 one-way in select markets. These fares are customized for DING! subscribers and will only be available from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm CDT on June 18, 2009. In order to have your cake and eat it too, download DING! here. DING! is Southwest Airlines' downloadable desktop application that delivers discounted fares to a variety of Southwest Airlines destinations. The following are examples of city pairs included in this special $38 one-way fare offer (see Fare Rules below): -- Between New York LaGuardia and Baltimore/Washington for travel July 7 through August 31, 2009 -- Between Los Angeles and the Bay Area ( San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose) for travel July 7 through August 31, 2009 -- Between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for travel July 7 through August 31, 2009 After 38 years of service, Southwest Airlines , the nation's leading low-fare carrier, continues to differentiate itself from other airlines - offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the most productive airline in the sky and offers Customers a comfortable traveling experience. Southwest offers all premium leather seats and plenty of legroom with a young all- Boeing 737 fleet. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) currently serves 65 cities in 33 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more than 35,000 Employees systemwide. FARE RULES The fares are available for purchase through the DING! application only. Travel dates for DING! fares other than those listed above will vary and are included in the specific DING! offers. Fares are available one-way. Seats are limited. Fares do not include a federal segment tax of $3.60 per takeoff and landing. Fares do not include airport-assessed passenger facility charges (PFC) of up to $9.00 and U.S. government-imposed September 11th Security Fee of up to $5.00 one-way. Fares are subject to change until ticketed. Tickets are nonrefundable but may be applied toward the purchase of future travel on Southwest Airlines . Fares are valid on Southwest-operated published, scheduled service only and are not available through the Group Desk. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare. www.southwest.com SOURCE Southwest Airlines ... View more

Today is Stewardess Day. In 1930, Ellen Church became the first airline stewardess. She flew on a United Airlines flight between San Francisco and Cheyenne, Wyoming. So be extra kind to your Flight Attendant today. ... View more

Click on the link above to visit Rick Seaney over at www.farecompare.com. He has the details about our last-minute Easter Fare Sale.  ... View more

Our good friends at Airways magzine have an article on their web site about the festivities surrounding our inaugural flight at Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP).  Their reporter, Joe Wolf, was onboard our very first flight from MSP. ... View more

David Holmes, our "Rappin Flight Attendant" has been making news with his inflight announcements.  Check out this news story from The 33 here in Dallas, and don't forget to look at the video. ... View more

Noted industry observer, Rick Seaney, has been blogging about our latest fare sale today.  Check out the link above. ... View more

  DALLAS, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) are proud to announce that the parties have reached a tentative agreement with a four-year term. The Company is pleased with this cost neutral contract which delivers raises in exchange for work rule improvements and contract flexibility. The current collective bargaining agreement became amendable on August 16, 2008. In the upcoming weeks, the AMFA membership will be given the full details of the agreement and will have the opportunity to vote on ratification. Both parties have negotiated this tentative agreement for the benefit of Southwest Airlines Employees, ensuring the preservation of the Company's unique Culture. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), the nation's largest carrier in terms of domestic passengers enplaned, currently serves 64 cities (will begin service to Minneapolis-St. Paul in March 2009) in 32 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,400 flights a day and has more than 35,000 Employees systemwide. http://www.southwest.com SOURCE Southwest Airlines ... View more

We continue our special Thanksgiving week posts with more thoughts on the holiday from our Blog Team.    I admit that, in the past, I have taken Thanksgiving for granted, but not since 1991.  Here’s why.  For the month of November 1991, I had the incredible opportunity to work in Paris (France—not Texas!).  My former employer, Delta Air Lines, had just purchased most of Pan Am’s European routes, and they needed experienced Employees to work alongside the former Pan Am folks.  I had always wanted to work for an airline, so I put my name in the hat and was assigned Paris.  My time at Orly Airport was incredible, and I got to walk the ramp among so many airlines that I had only read about like Air Algerie, Royal Air Maroc, Middle East Airlines (MEA), and Iran Air (they had a Concorde model in Iran Air livery in their ramp office).  For the airplane geeks out there, I saw some rare aircraft including some charter Caravelles, MEA’s Boeing 707s on the Paris-Beirut route, and a DC-10 leased by Cubana, but the rarest of all were the Dassault Mercures of Air Inter (the domestic French airline) running out their last few weeks of service.  Only ten Mercures were built (even fewer than Concorde), and its nickname was the “French 737.” Since it was November, it meant I would be spending Thanksgiving away from home, and it was just another work day in France.  Even though my French Coworkers treated me fantastically, I think that was the most homesick I felt during the month I was away.  Thanksgiving is the holiday that expresses the ideals that makes America great and unique, and you don’t realize that until you are away from her shores.  After that Thanksgiving, I made a vow to never be away from home on that date, and for 16 straight years, I have kept that vow, even when I had to fly home standby during a strike by American Airlines.  It took a creative routing, but I made it home. I left Paris on a grey day in early December, and a flood of emotions washed over me as the big L-1011 lifted off from Orly’s runway.  I guess my feelings were pretty evident because as I cleared Customs in the Atlanta Airport, the inspector handed my passport back and gave me a heartfelt, “Welcome home!”  That is the only time I have had a Customs Inspector tell me that, and it took me back a second.  I recovered quickly and said:  “Thank you!  It is good to be home.” ... View more