Southwest Airlines Community

Today, I bring you two things I love: musicians and a friendly competition.  I’d like to challenge all of you to send us your BEST Southwest Airlines “Grab Your Bag—It’s On” music video! Upload your video to any video-hosting web site you please, and then post the link in the blog comments below.  A panel of sophisticated Southwest judges will award one lucky winner (and guest) two tickets to the San Jose Mariachi Festival: Concert Tribute to Cesar Chavez featuring Carlos Santana and Los Lobos.  You’ll also receive two roundtrip tickets to get you to San Jose, and a two night stay at the Wyndham Hotel and Resort in San Jose! Sounds like a good time, huh?  Well our Chairman, President, and CEO Gary Kelly LUVs guitars, and if you will click here, you will see Gary with his guitar in an excerpt of a documentary in production called TONE. The full contest rules are below, see pdf file. The judges will be judging on the following qualities: • Length: video must include at least 30 seconds of original music • Originality: Your song must be completely original! • Southwest Appeal: video should reflect our Culture and Fun-LUVing Attitude. • Rules: you read and complied with the official rules The contest is open today, September 16 at 10:00 a.m. CDT, and the comments section will close September 23 at 11:00 a.m. CDT. ... View more

Jack Bauer sure will be happy this week.  Not only because this season of “24” is over (finally…it was way too suspenseful), but also because now his little furry friends can travel on Southwest Airlines flights.  For those of you who don’t know, Jack Bauer is my huge Maine Coon Cat.  Beginning today, Southwest Airlines will offer special pet fares for your cats and dogs to travel with you in the cabin on all of our flights! The Pet Fare will be $75 one-way ($150 roundtrip) and is open for small cats and dogs in carriers that can be stowed under the passenger’s seat.         Jack unfortunately is a large breed of cat and does not fit comfortably in a pet carrier…Jack will be staying home. For those of you who prefer people to pets, don’t worry, we will be limiting the number of felines and canines in order to provide a comfortable environment for all onboard. Here are a few other points to remember when traveling with pets: Customers can travel with no more than one (1) pet carrier each. Each pet carrier can have no more than two (2) of the same species of small cats or dogs per carrier.   Customers may bring a soft or hard-sided pet carrier that is leak proof and well ventilated. The pet carrier must be small enough to fit under the seat in front of the Customer and be stowed in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations.   The dog or cat must be able to stand up and turn around in the carrier with ease.  So…can I still bring a carry-on?  The pet carrier will count as your carryon item. You may also bring one additional personal item on board. Just call Southwest Airlines at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA and the Customer Representative will gladly create a booking for your pet.   For complete information about the Pet Policy click here. Oh, and check out our furry friends that share the policy with you here: ... View more

This is National Travel and Tourism Week!! To celebrate and stimulate the travel industry a bit, we are going to host a Twitter Photo Hunt….yes, you know I LUV a good contest, and I know you LUV free travel!     Each day this week, Southwest Airlines will send a “tweet” asking followers to submit a photo of a very specific travel or tourism-related picture. For example, one day we may request a photo from a national monument or a major sports stadium.  The next day we may ask for a photo of Mickey Mouse ears or a state line sign.    For each picture we are hunting, we will offer up a sweet travel package (2 roundtrip plane tickets, 2 nights at an MGM Property in lovely Las Vegas) to the first person who can tweet us the specific travel-related picture.  That first person will receive the travel package (must be 21 to win). Keep a close watch on our Twitter account this week.  Entering your pictures via Twitter will be easy by uploading them to www.twitpic.com .  Also, to qualify, our Tweeps must submit their own, original photos. Our in-house super sleuth, Lindsey Reynolds, will be keeping a close eye on Google Images/Flickr...so don’t steal someone else’s pictures!     To make sure we see your Twitpic, make sure to use the hashtag #SWAPhoto    Our Twitter account currently has approximately 27,000 followers and grows by about 200 new followers each day!  We’ve been recognized as a brand that “gets it” when it comes to how to use the medium to connect with our Customers and the general public. In Mashable.com’s (link) Top 40 list of Twitter brands, SWA is among the examples of Twitter success, recognized for our ability to use the tool to communicate with our audience and disseminate information. OFFICIAL RULES Southwest Photo Hunt 1. To Enter: No purchase or obligation necessary.  Contest runs from May 11, 2009, 12 a.m. PT - May 16, 2009 12 a.m. PT.  To enter without purchase or obligation, look for the daily clue on the @southwestair Twitter page and tweet your photo of the destination listed. If your photo is the first one we receive of the specified destination, you win! You warrant your photo will not be sexually explicit, unnecessarily violent or derogatory. It cannot promote drugs, alcohol, or firearms.  It cannot contain trademarks, logos or copyrighted materials owned by others.  It cannot depict the likeness of anyone without their permission. Entrants warrant that the photo is original. All entries become property of the sponsor and will not be returned.  Entries limited to one (1) per person. Sponsor is under no obligation to post any entry.   2. Drawing:    All prizes are guaranteed to be awarded.  Odds of winning will depend on the total number of eligible entries received.   3. Prize: One (1) Grand Prize for each destination will consist of: 2 Southwest Airlines roundtrip tickets and 2 nights at an MGM Property in Las Vegas.  Value of Grand Prize is approximately $1,500.   4. Eligibility:  Contest open to all legal US residents, 21 years and older as of the start of the contest.  Void where prohibited or restricted by law.  Contest subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.  By participating, entrants agree to these official rules and accept decisions of the Sponsor as final.  Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law.   The promotion is offered in the United States only and shall only be construed and evaluated according to United States law.  Do not proceed in this site if you are not located in the United States.   5.  To Claim Prize: Winner only will be notified by Direct Message via Twitter, and will be required to complete and sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability Release and, where legal, a Publicity Release, which must be returned within seven (7) days after prize notification or prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner.  If prize notification letter is returned undeliverable, the prize will be awarded to an alternate winner in a random drawing.  Grand Prize winner’s guests, or if minor(s) their parent(s)/legal guardian(s), must execute Liability Releases, and where legal, Publicity Releases prior to the issuance of travel documents.  Unclaimed or undeliverable prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner.  Prize is not transferable or redeemable for cash.  Prize is guaranteed to be awarded.  Acceptance of prize constitutes permission (except where prohibited) to use winner’s name, hometown and likeness for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity in any media without additional compensation.   6.  Limitation of Liability: Neither Sponsor, MGM Properties, nor their affiliated entities, are responsible for printing or typographical errors in any related materials; stolen, fraudulent, entries or mail; or transactions that are processed or lost due to computer or electronic malfunction.  Winner is solely responsible for payment of all federal, state, and local taxes on prize and for any travel or other expenses not specifically mentioned in prize description.  Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify Contest if fraud or technical failure compromise the integrity of the Contest as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.  This Contest offer is being made exclusively by Sponsor. Sponsor not responsible for technical, hardware, software or telephone failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections or fraud, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission whether caused by Sponsor, user, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the promotion or by any technical or human error which may occur in the process of submissions which may limit a participant=s ability to participate in this promotion.   7.  Winners List: To request a Winners Name List, send a self addressed stamped return envelope, after May 17, 2009, to Southwest Airlines Emerging Media Dept..  All requests must be received by May 30, 2009.  Utah and Washington residents may omit return postage.   8. Sponsor: Southwest Airlines Co., P.O. Box 36611, Dallas, TX.  75235-1611 ... View more

I was convinced the Easter Bunny had visited our Dallas Headquarters early this year when I walked into the lobby on Tuesday and saw rows and rows of pink, purple, green and yellow Easter baskets.  Of course I inquired (thinking wow, this would be a great story for the blog!). I was pleased to learn of a very special tradition that was started in our Finance Department.      In 1995, an Employee was volunteering at the Dallas Ronald McDonald House and was saddened when she found out many kids wouldn’t be visited by the Easter Bunny since they were away from home receiving treatment.  She made it her personal mission to spread the word and encourage her Coworkers to donate Easter baskets for the kiddos.  That year Employees collected 100 Easter baskets.  This year, nearly 600 kids will wake up on Sunday with an Easter basket that was donated by the Employees at Southwest Airlines.    The program has grown exponentially each year; in 1997, we expanded the program to Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.  Here are some pictures from the Easter basket donation day.  Thanks to all the Employees who donated their time or the goodies!    Time to go enjoy some yellow Peeps and Robin’s Eggs…         ... View more

Have you ever wanted to walk the red carpet, hang with celebrities and see great movies?   Well…if your answer is yes, read on for details on a super cool contest and you could be the lucky winner of a trip to Nashville to attend the 40th Anniversary Nashville Film Festival.  Here’s the deal!   We are inviting our Twitter followers to help us script the first Southwest Airlines Screenplay.   The opening scene and characters are introduced below, and the rest of the story will unfold as each of you tweet the next line in the story, using the #SWAmovie hashtag.  Beginning at 10am CT, as the story is told, we will update it on Nuts About Southwest for all to follow.   The last line will tweet in at 11am CT, the script will be compiled and our Southwest Airlines Drama Department (no, we don’t actually have a Drama Department, but lots of good dramatic characters who love attention) will act out the script.  The movie will world premiere right here on Nuts About Southwest! The scriptwriting will only be allowed between 10am and 11am CT (please read full rules on the pdf. attachment below for more info on how to qualify). Now, back to the red carpet, hanging with celebs part…. Every person who tweets a line will be entered into a drawing to win a trip to Nashville.   The winner will land in Music City on April 22, check into a Nashville hotel, relax, and head over to check out the films.  On Thursday, April 23, you will walk the Red Carpet for the Closing Night Film, a retrospective screening of “Easy Rider”, which just so happens to be celebrating its 40th Anniversary!  You will then party the night away at the closing night celebration.  Of course, we will expect Twitter updates from your fabulous experience and any celeb sightings while in Nashville! Now, if you aren’t the big contest winner, but still love movies, the Nashville Film Festival would still be a great place to see many incredible films if you happen to find yourself in town April 16-23. Some of the highlights this year include the world premiere of William Shatner’s “Gonzo Ballet”, a film chronicling the quest by the Milwaukee Ballet to create a new ballet based upon Shatner's critically acclaimed album,"Has Been." If you are a Shatner fan, he and composer Ben Folds will attend.  “Noble Things”, in which country superstar Lee Ann Womack (she will also be in attendance) stars will make its Southeastern US premiere.  Former Vice-President of the United States, Al Gore, will also attend to present the REEL Current Award to a film screening at festival that provides extraordinary insight in a contemporary global issue. Those are just a few highlights from the Nashville Film Festival. For more details on the films, red carpet arrivals, panel discussions and parties, please visit www.nashvillefilmfestival.org.  Without further ado, enjoy the opening scene from “LUV! The True Hollywood Story”.  We can’t wait to see how this story develops…….. Opening Scene Four characters • Alfred: complete airline “geek” • Tubbs: aspiring country singer, mostly relies on his good looks • Barbie: Rapid Rewards Member, bubbly college student • Jill: Business lady, always checks in 24-hours in advance on her BlackBerry. Setting: All four characters are waiting in the boarding area to hop on an early morning Southwest Airlines flight to Dallas.  Alfred, in a hurry to line up with his A17 boarding pass bumps into Barbie.  Barbie’s bag flies open.  Tubbs jumps in to help clean up the mess.  He looks up at Barbie and says….(remember, only lines submitted with a Tweet between 10 am and 11 am Central Time count.)   ... View more

Bloomberg news ran a story today headlined “Southwest Airlines may start selling food.”  While we haven’t made any decisions yet, the thought of food sales is one of many ideas we have been considering, and the possibilities are intriguing to us. Some of the initial online chatter made us curious about what you think of the idea.  Drop us a comment below and let us know your thoughts on inflight food service! ... View more

  Hello from LaGuardia Airport in New York City!  I just witnessed one of the coolest plane events ever!  We finally, after much speculation and anticipation, revealed the beautiful SI One.  This plane, N922WN, is wrapped with a temporary decal featuring the cover model, from the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. This definitely seals the deals on Southwest Airlines’ FUN and edgy factor!    The cover model stepped off the plane and posed for pictures with our Pilots and Flight Attendants!  It is an absolutely beautiful plane, and hopefully you'll get to travel on this sometime soon!   Since my "Twiddles" left people guessing all day on Twitter , maybe now I need all our Bloggers and Twitter followers to send me their pics on SI One as it flies throughout the Southwest system!  Thanks to everyone that kept up with the Twiddles, I think the best detective was definitely Mike Sloane www.twitter.com/mikesloan.    I'm working on getting the official pics from our friends at Sports Illustrated and here are some pics that we took today.  In the meanwhile, post pictures in the comment section if you can!  See yall back in Dallas! Be sure and follow Christi's Tweets from the airplane's next stop, Las Vegas. ... View more

Tomorrow, I will be embarking on a top secret travel assignment for work!  To make the journey a little more FUN I am going to document it Carmen San Diego-style. I could easily let the secret slip, but it will be much more enjoyable to let the info slip out in a slew of Twiddles (or, riddles on Twitter).   The game will go like this: Follow us on Twitter   Either choose "follow" or, create an account then follow us Watch for witty updates, pics, and clues that will lead up to probably one of the coolest reveals in Southwest Airlines history (IMHO) @reply me with your translation of the clues, who I am with, what I am about to see!! If you get the answer correct I'll take you to lunch or to grab a drink after work (or if you don't want to hang out with me I'll send you a T-shirt).  But I won't reveal if anyone was correct until after the news is released by me via Twitter on Wednesday! Good Luck! Go get 'em gumshoes!   I know this all sounds very high tech, and you may be wondering what Twitter is and why would you need it.  For a quick tutorial click here:    ... View more

In preparation for the upcoming Obama Presidential Inauguration on January 20, and the expected record crowds traveling to the Washington D.C-area for this occasion, we put together some spectacular travel tips to help plan ahead if you are traveling to this event…you lucky people… Click here to get all the star-spangled travel tips:  www.southwest.com Do you think President-elect Obama will hop on a Southwest flight from Chicago Midway to Washington Dulles?  Probably not. But he did snap this pic with Flight Attendant Anissa Charles on a Southwest flight in 2005.   ... View more

  The Facebook Commandments: Part I Many of you are probably familiar with Social Networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter (and might be connected to me in some way on those sites).  As a frequent Facebook/Twitterer I have polled my friends/followers to provide some of the best tips and commandments of using the sites.  This will be a 2-part series.  We shall start with Facebook. You’ve either heard of it, people have sent you emails claiming to be your “friend”, or maybe you are on it so frequently you prefer it over other e-mail addresses/platforms (wink).   No matter what Facebook level you are on, the following Commandments should be considered by all (I admit I am guilty of breaking a few): Don’t write anything depressing, upsetting, or controversial in your status.  No one wants to log on to read “Paula is feeding her sick cat for the last time.”  That’s just an invitation to your personal pity party…a party no one wants to attend. Share things that interest you!  News stories, YouTube videos, and pictures are all cool….I’m your “friend,” and I want to know what you are interested in. Facebook is a way to connect with people, and the people behind a brand.  DO NOT get on Facebook to spam people about your pet sitting business.  You must be authentic and genuine about the job, lifestyle, brand, etc. that you connect with. You are not obligated to accept every friend request.  If you don’t know the person or don’t share any connections, then it probably isn’t a real friend (it could be a spammer, virus, etc).  More than one person in your profile picture is confusing.  Stick with just your own photo (as long as you are not making a kissy face….you know who you are). Don’t complain about your boss, your company, or your friends.  They will find out and you will be a) embarrassed b) possibly fired c) both Back to photos: use current ones only, and not your company headshot. Applications are cool, but only in moderation.  If you like a crazy page full of Mob Wars, Dallas Cowboys Trivia, and the Little Green Patch you might be more comfortable using MySpace. Creating an “Event” or a “Group” when you get a new phone number is not necessary.  Maybe just send a text message. If you have dated someone less than 6 months, don’t change your status to “In a Relationship”. That little broken heart in the newsfeed makes it even more difficult to deal with. Bonus:  Join the Southwest Airlines Facebook Fan page!  (Link) What are your Facebook Commandments?   ... View more

Southwest Airlines Employees kick-off Thanksgiving festivities with the FIRST EVER Wild Turkey Call Contest.  Here is the video of our four finalists.  Enjoy! ... View more