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Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways Receive Route Approval from the US DOT to Operate New International Flights; Fares as Low as $109 one-way             DALLAS—Dec. 5, 2011—Southwest Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways announced today the carriers received route authority approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for AirTran to operate international flights to new destinations in Mexico beginning as early as May 24, 2012. AirTran’s new international flights will include one daily roundtrip between Orange County, Calif., and Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo* and one daily roundtrip between Orange County and Mexico City.* AirTran also will initiate four weekly roundtrip flights between San Antonio and Cancun* as well as one daily roundtrip flight between San Antonio and Mexico City.*             “With the DOT’s approval, we are excited to now make these destinations available for sale to both AirTran and Southwest’s Customers,” said Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer and AirTran Airways President. “The new service is another direct benefit of Southwest’s acquisition of AirTran as we take low fares farther by expanding our route maps to more places Customers want to go.”  Examples of these one-way fares include (see Fare Rules below): AirTran new service beginning May 24, 2012 (open for sale today): $119 one-way between San Antonio and Cancun $119 one-way between San Antonio and Mexico City AirTran new service beginning June 3, 2012 (open for sale today): $119 one-way between Orange County and Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo $109 one-way between Orange County and Mexico City To celebrate the new international service, AirTran launched a fare sale today with fares as low as $109 one-way between the new destinations.  Customers must book by Dec. 19, 2011, in order to take advantage of these low fares. Currently, all reservations for AirTran flights—including international destinations—must be booked on www.airtran.com, by calling AirTran reservations at (800) 247-8726, or through a travel agent. Southwest Customers can now see AirTran’s nonstop international routes on southwest.com through its new web referral tool which links Customers directly to www.airtran.com. When Customers select an international itinerary from a nonstop destination on Southwest’s site, they will then be directed to www.airtran.com where they can complete the booking process.  All flights booked on www.airtran.com will be subject to AirTran’s policies and procedures.        To support the new international flights out of Orange County’s John Wayne International Airport, a market AirTran does not currently serve, AirTran will add domestic service between San Francisco and Orange County with one daily roundtrip flight, and one daily roundtrip flight between Las Vegas and Orange County, beginning June 3, 2012. ABOUT SOUTHWEST Southwest Airlines, which this year celebrated its 40 th Anniversary, continues to differentiate itself from other low-fare carriers--offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and has acquired AirTran Airways, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. With the addition of Atlanta (which opens on Feb. 12, 2012), Southwest will serve 73 cities in 38 states and remains one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/cares to read the Southwest Airlines One Report(TM). Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,400 flights a day and has more than 37,000 Employees. ABOUT AIRTRAN AirTran Airways, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co., has been ranked the top airline in the Airline Quality Rating study twice in the past four years. AirTran offers Gogo Inflight Internet Connectivity and coast-to-coast service on North America's newest all-Boeing fleet. The airline's low-cost, high-quality product also includes assigned seating and Business Class. To book a flight, visit airtran.com. Introductory Fare Rules All fares are one-way. Fares do not include segment taxes of $3.70 per segment. A segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing. Fares shown do not include Airport Passenger Facility Charges of up to $18 roundtrip. The September 11th Security Fee of up to $10 roundtrip is not included. Fares to/from Bermuda, Mexico and the Caribbean do not include additional government taxes of up to $100. All fares are nonrefundable and a $75 fee per person applies to any change made after purchase, plus any applicable increase in airfare. Seats are limited, subject to availability, and may not be available on all flights. Fares available for purchase Dec. 5, 2011, through Dec. 19, 2011, 11:59 p.m. PST. Fares are available for travel between San Antonio and Cancun or Mexico City beginning May 24, 2012, through June 26, 2012, with a blackout date of May 28, 2012. Fares are available for travel between Orange County and Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo or Mexico City beginning June 3, 2012, through June 26, 2012, with blackout dates of June 10, June 17, and June 24, 2012. Sale fares between San Antonio and Cancun or Mexico City are valid for travel every day except Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Sale fares between Orange County and Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo or Mexico City are valid for travel every day except Fridays and Saturdays. A first bag may be checked for a fee of $20 each way and a second bag may be checked for a fee of $25 each way. Reservations may be made via AirTran Airways Telephone Reservations Center for a fee of $15. Reservations may also be changed via AirTran Airways Telephone Reservations Center for a $15 fee plus any applicable change fees and fare differences. Fares, routes, and schedules are subject to change without notice. southwest.com ... View more

How did they let us make it to 30 SWA Stews? This week, we're recapping three great stories from Military Heroes Month, a story about Rapid Rewards Shopping, and Holly: the Most Remarkably Kind Flight Attendant.   ... View more

When I first started at Southwest, It didn't take me long to realize the patriotism of our Employees, and pride for our country.  Southwest Airlines is perrennially named a Top Military-Friendly Employer by G.I. Jobs.  These fine men and women get the recognition they deserve, especially on Fridays.  On 11/11/11 at 11 a.m., for example, our team at Chicago-Midway shared a moment of silence, in the shape of "11/11/11," as shown in the picture. Each Employee was wearing red. Every Friday, we sport red in support of our military.  And every Friday, I walk the halls and see red everywhere I go.  Not just during Military Heroes Month. The whole year.  Every Friday. We're proud to be on the list put out by G.I. Jobs.  But this isn't about recognition for our Company.  It's about recognition for those who have sworn to protect our Freedom. That's why we're calling on other Companies to join in the red Friday effort. Share with us how you are appreciating our military service men and women, as an individual or as a Company. Use the #WearRedFriday hashtag on Twitter, so we can follow along. Military Heroes Month draws to a close next week.  But thanking our veterans should be neverending.  So if you're reading this on a Friday-- nudge your neighbor. Sport that red!   Remember Everyone Deployed. ... View more

A few days ago, I asked members of the Blog Team to share thoughts on what each of them was thankful for this Thanksgiving. Only fair that I rise to the occasion as well. Yes, as the picture indicates, I am a huge fan of pumpkin pie.    We are all thankful for our Families (blood-related and Southwest-related), our great service men and women, our great Customers, and our great Company.  This only scratches the surface, though, so let's examine some specifics:    The den in my parents' house, where we enjoy evening television, has multiple personalities. There is no one feature or discernable theme, except that it is eclectic, to say the least.  Pictures from throughout our family's crazy adventures; items acquired during those adventures; some bought off eBay, a representation of mostly my Dad's life memories. Every trinket in the room, large or small, has meaning (though admittedly, meaning is more readily discoverable in some of the items than in others).     If I had to choose a favorite item (or ensemble of items, in this case), I would choose the tin soldiers nestled inside the English telephone booth in the corner of the den. Each level is a different historical scene (I haven't included all of them because one scene is particularly controversial in nature). I am currently working on adding to the Ancient Egpytian scene (currently, there's a Pharoah overseeing a mummy-wrapping).     All of the aforementioned is my ambiguous nod to those things for which I am thankful. Tradition. Family. Friends. A healthy life that has allowed for all of these adventures. Values that I hope to someday pass on to my own children.   Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.   Ally Harrington Customer Service Agent Supervisor, FLL Where in the world would I rather be than the airport on Thanksgiving? It's almost become a tradition in itself, working on the holiday. Most people look at you funny when you tell them, "We celebrated our Family Thanksgiving a week ago!" With everyone so busy, celebrating a week early is the best way to go. The grocery stores are open, no crowds, and you can brag about the meal and make your friends mouths water talking about your delicious dinner.  Every year, we have fried turkey and a fantastic sweet potato soufflé. I don't mind working on Thanksgiving; Southwest Airlines is, after all, my home away from home.   I'm going on 15 years with this great Company.  I'm so thankful for the many blessings in my life: my awesome husband, a wonderful, yet crazy family, and for the security of my job with Southwest Airlines. Like that of my own family, my Southwest family also has its quirks! I Every year at work, we bring in goodies to share with each other, we lean on each other with the fun, challenging work day.  Yeah, turkey is great, and I'll never pass up more mashed potatoes (with sour cream), but I look forward to getting all our Customers home for the Holidays, Southwest-style! Annie Hoelzel Crew Scheduler I would like to take this moment to give thanks for some of the wonderful blessings in my life.  I am thankful for loving and supportive parents.  I am thankful for my friends.  I love them more every day.  I am thankful for my job and the greatest Coworkers I’ve had the privilege to work with.  I am thankful for my Jeep (hey, I can’t help it, it’s made of awesome!).     I am so grateful for my once-in-a-lifetime trip to Italy.  It was an amazing chapter in my life.   I have so much to be thankful for, I cannot count all my blessings.  I am an in excellent place in my life and I will never forget what it took to get here.  It has been a great 2011.  I am thankful for this year. Have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!   Bill Owen Lead Planner, Schedule Development This year, I'm thankful for the true happiness, and contentment, to simply to be me—in my own skin, on my own turf, and living my own life.  Finally, after 53 years on the planet, I am happy to be exactly who I am.  Not someone else, not a different, “tastes great, less filling” me.....just me.  Trust me, after five decades of self-doubt, of being told what I should be or what I ought to be, and even worse being told what I could never be, accepting—and appreciating!—who I am is not only a milestone, it's such a relief!  Can there always be improvements?  Of course, and I’ll always aspire to be a better me.  But I’m now at long last thankful to be just, simply, me.  So watch out, world…you never know what “me” may do!  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Brian Lusk Corporate Historian I am thankful for dogs, for their loyalty, for their unconditional love, and for the smiles they put on my face.     I'm amazed how they communicate without speech and how they know what I'm thinking.    Elise May Assistant Safety Manager I was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2010, so I am very thankful to have another holiday to spend with my son, Matthew. The support from my family, friends, SWA Family, doctors, and others was amazing. I am thankful for every card, phone call, and hug that were shared with Matthew and me.     Six months after my diagnosis, my dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Sadly, he passed away in September. I am thankful that I got to spend so much time with him this year and that his legacy will live on in my son. This time of year is a perfect time to reflect on all the blessings in our lives.     Even though this year held a lot of challenges and sadness for my family, I am incredibly blessed to be surrounded by caring, loving people who were there to catch me when it was needed most. Captain Joe Gautille Pilot Like many Southwest families, we have our Thanksgiving Day traditions. Having the family together, as the years go by, is the biggest blessing, but spending the day together starting with breakfast and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a great kick-off. Not to forget Thanksgiving Day football, especially our hometown team, the Dallas Cowboys, who have been hosting this NFL game since 1966. The highlight of the day is a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner, giving thanks for our many blessings, eating way too much food and enough turkey tryptophan to put everyone into nap time after dinner.   A Thanksgiving tradition for our family has been the day-after road trip to Terrell, TX to cut down our Christmas tree. The day-after-Thanksgiving begins our Christmas celebration, which lasts until New Year's Day.  We have been journeying to the Wall's Family Farm for over 15 years now and it has become a most anticipated event on the heels of Thanksgiving. Traveling together for the one-hour drive east of Dallas to this wonderful Christmas tree farm is a fun time in itself. Once we navigate the country roads to arrive at the brightly painted red farmhouse with Christmassy white trim, the fun really begins. It’s hot chocolate, Christmas Carols, a hay ride to the Christmas Trees, and then taking turns cutting the tree down while lying on the ground sawing away. Driving home with the tree on the roof is the end of Thanksgiving and the beginning of Christmas for our family. A wonderful family tradition.  Kari Kennedy Maintenance, Project Support Manager I'm thankful for friends who don't mind taking an orphan in with their own family.  I have family spread out along both coasts and rarely travel during the Thanksgiving craziness.  It's always fun to have dinner with different friends each year.  What's traditional to one family isn't to another.  Who knew that my favorite marshmallowed yams weren't a staple at everyone's table?   I'm also thankful for big box hardware stores.  This four-day weekend is always a great time to tackle those home improvement projects that would normally take more than a regular weekend to do!   Krista Crow CS&S, Customer Representative What am I thankful for?  A lot of different things come to mind. My family, my children, my friends, my job; but there is one thing that I thought of which I am particularly thankful for this year.  It is the one thing that keeps me sane.  It has the ability to make me laugh or cry. It keeps me from getting bored. It makes my husband's driving tolerable. Of course, I am talking about my Nook Color.  I am so grateful for all the distractions it provides me.  It goes everywhere with me and never complains. It never asks, "Are we there yet?"  And best of all, it never asks me, "What's for dinner?"  What could be better than that?   Mike Sims Cabin Services, Dir. of Base Operations Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful:  for my incredible parking karma.  Ride with me to the mall and you will be amazed too for the fact I can bake Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes flat that I can nail any movie quote, thus proving I know almost everything about absolutely nothing that my staring contest competition record this year is 10 and 6—all that mirror training is starting to pay off that 5 out of 4 People have trouble with fractions (just like me) for gravity.  There’s been many a time I felt I was about to fall off the earth, but it didn’t happen for pie—especially pumpkin pie for haiku. that I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed that I have eaten no candy corn this year-and won’t that I learned during my public school education that "elemenopee" wasn't one awesome letter With all that being said, I am very thankful that our military continues to protect our nation and have sacrificed so much for our freedom.  I am thankful for my family and all of my colleagues at Southwest Airlines.  What a wonderful place to work!  I am thankful for our Southwest Customers.  We LUV you. Thank you. Whitney Bartels Customer Relations Specialist This Thanksgiving will mark the beginning of my second year at Southwest Airlines. With this new journey I’ve begun, I am thankful for countless blessings that come with working for such a strong Company. Much has changed since I first started here at Southwest, and admittedly, I am not one who takes kindly to change.  But with these changes also come open doors- new adventures, new beginnings, and new opportunities.  Perhaps the most valuable asset I’ve gained since beginning my career at Southwest is the People that have stood beside me through the ups and downs. And no matter what may be different come this time next year, I am thankful for the home I have at Southwest Airlines. I am confident that no matter where I go, or what happens, or how many times I fail (or succeed!), I will have a Family here at Southwest, welcoming me home with open arms.     ... View more

A crooked monitor and a broken teleprompter. Would we prevail? We'll let you be the judge for this Thanksgiving edition of the SWA Stew. ... View more

Last year was my first year to volunteer for Kidd’s Kids. Nothing could prepare me for the emotional impact it would have. Seeing the smiling faces of so many sweet children, who don’t always have a chance to grin, remains vivid in my memory. We at Southwest have the privilege to play a prominent role in the voyage of more than 40 children and their families to Orlando, by providing a WiFi-equipped plane. Each year, we transform one of our Maintenance hangars into the scene of a big gala, and treat each of our guests like royalty. There are movies, games, and other fun activities, before Kidd Kraddick kicks things off, and everyone loads up on one of our Canyon Blues, bound for the Magic Kingdom. This year, I learned words can't express the joy these children experience. So here are some pictures that better illustrate the point. Thanks to Stephen M. Keller, for snapping the photos, and our Multimedia Head Honcho Rich Matthews, for a video you'll see soon. ... View more

Southwest Airlines is selected for a third year in a row and is the only airline to be included in the prestigious list DALLAS, TX – Nov. 15, 2011 – Southwest Airlines announced today that it has been designated a 2012 Top Military Friendly Employer® by G.I. Jobs. This marks the third consecutive year the Company has been included in the Top 100 Military Friendly Employers® list, which was drawn from a sample of 5,000 companies whose annual revenues exceeded $500 million. Criteria included the strength of company military recruiting efforts, the percentage of new hires with prior military service, retention programs, and company policies toward National Guard and Reserve service. Some of Southwest’s most accomplished, dynamic up-and-coming Employees transitioned from the military. Southwest Airlines looks for “military alumni” who are smart, innovative, responsible, team players and team builders, all common traits for those who have worn our country’s military uniforms. Employees with military experience often cite their decision to join Southwest as a way to continue their service to the nation but in a different and challenging way. “Our network is comprised of an amazing variety of backgrounds, experience, and uniqueness that gather together to form our Corporate Culture. This means Southwest benefits from richness in the diversity of ideas, knowledge, and actions,” said Jeff Lamb, Southwest Airlines’ Executive Vice President, Chief People and Administrative Officer.  “Our success is directly linked to the best work-FORCE in the industry.  We are proud of our Employees and we especially salute those who have served or are currently serving in the armed forces.” To honor its Employees and Customers who are currently serving or have served in the armed forces, Southwest Airlines is celebrating "Military Heroes Month" in November to show support for veterans and service members across the nation. By working with multiple nonprofit organizations throughout the month, the airline is saying thank you by giving back and helping to raise money to support military service members and their families. Sample November Activities: Nov. 23 - 26 - Home for the Holidays, San Diego Southwest is partnering with Home for the Holidays (HFTH) to provide transportation for six Veterans and their families from their military base in San Diego to their family homes to share this special season together. HFTH is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to bring military families together during times of need, celebration, or life-changing events. November - The Boot Campaign, Nationwide Southwest has a strong relationship with The Boot Campaign, which provides an easy and tangible way for Americans to show appreciation for troops (both past and present), raise awareness of the challenges they face upon return, and donate funds to charities supporting their transition home. In early November, The Boot Campaign will debut a photo of Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly wearing his combat boots. Visit http://www.bootcampaign.com/mission.html About Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines has a long history of supporting the men and women who fight for our Freedoms. G.I. Jobs Magazine has named Southwest Airlines one of the Top 100 Military Friendly Employers. After 40 years of service, Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other low fare carriers--offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded, now serving 72 cities in 37 states, with the addition of Atlanta beginning Feb. 12, 2012. Southwest also is one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/citizenship to read the Southwest Airlines One Report(TM). Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,400 flights a day and has more than 37,000 Employees systemwide. ... View more

This delayed, holiday-themed SWA Stew brings to you Halloween gloriousness and a sneak pic at what we have brewing for Customers after Thanksgiving. Of course, that's not all! ... View more

This year, we made our annual pilgrimage to BlogWorld, an event I've come to look forward to every year (I can say that now, having been there... twice). I thought I'd answer the above question for those of you who attended and were unable to listen to me gab after having asked us what we were doing in the L.A. Convention Center.  Besides sporadic dance parties, we make the annual trip to BlogWorld to learn like the rest of you, but also to educate.  There are a lot of things we know we do well as a Company blog, but we rarely know it all (except me, of course). And every year, each one of us learns something new that we immediately put into practice, whether it's from a session, a conversation, or eavesdropping on a group that is using our charging stations (yes, it's happened).     Like SxSW in Austin, I enjoy the allure of wandering around examining those who are new to the game. Several of our booth neighbors fit into this category, and each of them showed great promise (and I'm rooting for them to stick around).   But interestingly enough, perhaps the biggest reason we were at BlogWorld? So we could meet people wondering, "Why," and explain to them why we were there.   And if that's a cop out, at least our metallic blue carpet was a strong choice.   I hope you had fun at our booth-- we sure did.  Props to several members of our Team for taking it to the streets (or expo aisles, as it were), and proactively engaging the BlogWorld user base.  We had several fun events you're going to hear about involving our great DishTrip friends, and conference-goers who helped create great content.  That is, after all, one of the main focuses of BlogWorld!   ... View more

Mon, Nov 07, 2011 DALLAS, Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) today announced a seniority integration agreement has been ratified between the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association (SWAPA), the union representing Southwest Airlines Pilots, and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union representing the pilots of AirTran Airways. This agreement integrates the two groups' seniority lists. SWAPA's Board of Directors and ALPA's Master Executive Council both approved the agreement in September, allowing the membership of each Pilot's Union to review the proposed agreement and ultimately ratify. Southwest Airlines finalized closing of the acquisition of AirTran Holdings, Inc. on May 2, 2011. "The ratification of this seniority integration agreement is a significant milestone in the integration of our two great Airlines, and wouldn't have been possible without the Leadership of our Company's negotiating committee bringing all parties together," said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "I'd also like to commend the SWAPA Negotiating Committee and the ALPA Merger Committee for working around the clock to ensure all Pilots were educated and informed, and that their interests during this process were represented in a fair and equitable way. I applaud their diligence, and I look forward to seeing our two Pilot groups become one." "Today marks the beginning of an exciting future for our Pilots and our airline," added Capt.Chuck Magill, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Flight Operations. "Now more than ever I am proud to be a part of our industry-leading group of Pilots who had the foresight and willingness to reach an agreement that other Pilot groups have left to a third party." There is still work to be done to integrate the more than 6,000 Southwest Airlines Pilots, and 1,700 AirTran Pilots. Integration Teams made up of Pilots from both groups have already been formed and are moving forward in an effort to make the combining of the two groups as seamless as possible. About Southwest Airlines In its 40th year of service, Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other low-fare carriers--offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and has recently acquired AirTran Airways, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. Southwest serves 72 cities in 37 states and is one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/cares to read the Southwest Airlines One Report(TM). Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,400 flights a day and has more than 35,000 Employees systemwide. SOURCE Southwest Airlines ... View more

DALLAS, TEXAS – November 7, 2011 – Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today reported October 2011 combined traffic results for Southwest Airlines and AirTran.  AirTran became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. (“the Company”) on May 2, 2011.  For purposes of comparability, the Company is providing combined traffic results for Southwest Airlines and AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date.  See the accompanying tables for combined results. The Company flew 8.7 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in October 2011, compared to 8.4 billion combined RPMs flown in October 2010, an increase of 3.5 percent.  Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 4.0 percent to 10.7 billion from the October 2010 combined level of 10.3 billion.  The load factor for October 2011 was 81.4 percent, compared to the combined load factor of 81.8 percent in October 2010.  For October 2011, passenger revenue per ASM (PRASM) is estimated to have increased approximately six percent as compared to October 2010’s combined PRASM. For the first ten months of 2011, the Company flew 87.4 billion combined RPMs, compared to 81.3 billion combined RPMs flown for the same period in 2010, an increase of 7.5 percent.  The combined year-to-date ASMs increased 5.7 percent to 107.9 billion in 2011, compared to the combined level of 102.1 billion for the same period in 2010.  The combined year-to-date load factor was 81.0 percent, compared to the combined load factor of 79.6 percent for the same period in 2010.  This release, as well as past news releases about Southwest Airlines Co., is available online at southwest.com. ... View more

OFFICIAL RULES  BlogWorld Stranger Tweetup Contest 1. To Enter:  No purchase or obligation necessary.  Contest runs November 4, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. CT (“Contest Period”).  To enter without purchase or obligation, during the Contest Period find a stranger at BlogWorld, interview them, post your interview on your blog, and then tweet #BlogSouthwest with a link to your blog post. Entries are limited to BlogWorld attendees and to one (1) entry per Twitter account.  Anyone found using multiple accounts to enter will be disqualified.  Anonymous entries will be considered invalid.  You warrant your blog post 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.  2. Selection of Winner: On or about November 7, 2011 at 5pm CT, members of the Southwest Airlines Emerging Media Team will review all eligible entries received and choose a winner.  The judges will be judging on the following qualities: ∙ Creativity and Originality: 20%  ∙ Entertaining: 25%  ∙ Southwest Appeal: 35% - entry should reflect our Culture and Fun-LUVing Attitude.  ∙ Rules: 20% Read and complied with the official rules.   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 to consist of one (1) roundtrip ticket on Southwest Airlines.  Approximate retail value $210.00. Ticket is subject to Southwest Airlines terms and conditions; certain restrictions may apply. Travel must be completed between 11/2011 and 12/2012. 4. Eligibility:  Contest open to all legal US residents, 21 years and older as of November 4, 2011.  Employees of Southwest Airlines Co., AirTran Airways, Inc., and their advertising and promotions agencies, and their immediate families (spouse and parents, children and siblings and their spouses) and individuals living in the same households of such employees are ineligible.  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 contest 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: Potential winner only will be notified by Southwest Airlines via Twitter, and winner must provide valid address (No P.O. Boxes).  Unclaimed or undeliverable prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner.  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.  Winner must execute and return any required affidavit of eligibility and/or liability/publicity release within one (1) day of notification attempt or prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner may be chosen. If a potential winner cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the required affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within the required time period, or if a prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, potential winner forfeits prize. 6.  Limitation of Liability: Neither Sponsor, 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 Contest or by any technical or human error which may occur in the process of submissions which may limit a participants ability to participate in this Contest.  7.  Winner's List: To request a Winner's List, send a self addressed return envelope, after November 7, 2011, to Southwest Airlines Emerging Media.  All requests must be received by November 22, 2011.   8. Sponsor: Southwest Airlines Co., P.O. Box 36611, Dallas, TX.  75235-1611 ... View more

In the 27th episode of the SWA Stew, I make the claim that it is my Golden SWA Stew. Yes, I may or may not have just revealed my age.  But while enjoying chips and queso, some juice concoction, and the departure of a very dear Coworker, our resident historian, Brian Lusk, called into question the legitimacy of the "Golden Stew."  Apparently, he'd never heard of the golden birthday/anniversary/Stew concept.    I'd invite you to please add your two cents in the comments section to set Mr. Lusk straight.   Okay, okay, I digress.   We had some great posts make up the Top 5 this week.  The fifth most viewed post was about our great winter sale!   At number four was the band SafetySuit's Inflight Surprise, as told by one of our stellar interns, DHubbs.  The band played a surprise inflight concert on the way to Kansas City from Denver.   Are you Southwest's Chief Reward Officer?  Lots of buzz surrounding this here contest. Check out 30millionpoints.com to start earning your share of the points!   Did you hear?  We're tappin' the rockies at 35,000 ft. once again!  That's right, Coors Light is back.  By the way, I think it's a little ridiculous that in this video, the only person to finish my "tap the rockies" battle cry was our underage intern.  Thanks for the support all the same, Nutt.   And reigning at number one was my post about the WingMate program (and the constant tormenting of my own WingMate, Rueben).   ... View more

  To me, Halloween means trick-or-treating, costumes, and playoff baseball.  And at Headquarters in Dallas, things are buzzing.  I know Southwest serves 72 great cities, but at home base, we're all pumped for our Texas Rangers.   In the summer, several Rangers players traded places with our Employees in the Field (our field).  Mitch Moreland was one of them.  Moreland got to bring a plane into the gate, and wash its windows. The Captain exchanged banter with Moreland after arriving safely at the gate (the flight deck has windows you can open to get some fresh air, when the plane is on the ground).   The above picture became great fodder for a caption contest.  And with every caption contest comes a prize!  A few lucky registered commenters will receive an autographed Nolan Ryan baseball.   How do you register?  Just create a Nuts About Southwest account with a valid email address.  That's how we connect with you if your comment is a winner. To place a comment, simply scroll down to the bottom of this blog post.  Your comment goes through a moderation queue, so don't be alarmed if it doesn't show up right away!   This one won't go to seven games, there's only one contest!  So have fun, be creative, and get ready for a chance at an autographed Nolan Ryan baseball! OFFICIAL RULES  Southwest Airlines - Rangers Trading Places Caption Contest 1. To Enter:  No purchase or obligation necessary.  Contest runs October 21, 2011 from 10:00 am CST – October 21, 2011 at 5:00 pm CST.  To enter without purchase or obligation, submit an original caption for the photo  as a comment on Nuts About Southwest.  All entries become property of the sponsor and will not be returned.  Entries limited to one (1) per person.  Anonymous entries will be considered invalid.  You warrant your comment 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.  2. Selection of Winner: On or about October 21, 2011 at 5:30 pm CST, members of the Southwest Airlines Emerging Media Team will review all eligible entries received and choose a winner.  The judges will be judging on the following qualities: ∙ Creativity and Originality: 20% ∙ Entertaining: 25% ∙ Southwest Appeal: 35% -  entry should reflect our Culture and Fun-LUVing Attitude. ∙ Rules: 20% Read and complied with the official rules.  Prizes are guaranteed to be awarded.  Odds of winning will depend on the total number of eligible entries received.  3. Prize: Three (3) Grand Prizes to consist of one (1) autographed Nolan Ryan baseball. 4. Eligibility:  Contest open to all legal US residents, 21 years and older as of October 20, 2011.  Employees of Southwest Airlines Co., AirTran Airways, Inc., and their advertising and promotions agencies, and their immediate families (spouse and parents, children and siblings and their spouses) and individuals living in the same households of such employees are ineligible.  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: Potential winner only will be notified by Southwest Airlines via e-mail, and winner must provide valid address (No P.O. Boxes).  Unclaimed or undeliverable prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner.  Prizes are 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.  Winners must execute and return any required affidavit of eligibility and/or liability/publicity release within one (1) day of notification attempt or prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner may be chosen. If a potential winner cannot be contacted, fails to sign and return the required affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within the required time period, or if a prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, potential winner forfeits prize. 6.  Limitation of Liability: Neither Sponsor, 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.  Winners are 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 participants ability to participate in this promotion.  7.  Winner's List: To request a Winner's Name List, send a self addressed stamped return envelope, after October 21, 2011, to Southwest Airlines Emerging Media.  All requests must be received by August 15, 2011.  Utah and Washington residents may omit return postage.  8. Sponsor: Southwest Airlines Co., P.O. Box 36611, Dallas, TX.  75235-1611 ... View more

Record operating revenues of $4.3 billion Third quarter operating income of $225 million Mark-down in 2012 through 2015 fuel hedge portfolio drives GAAP net loss Third quarter profit, excluding special items   DALLAS, TEXAS – October 20, 2011 – Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) (the “Company”) today reported its third quarter 2011 results.  The Company reported a third quarter 2011 net loss of $140 million, or $.18 per share, which included $262 million (net) of unfavorable special items.  This compared to net income of $205 million, or $.27 per diluted share, for third quarter 2010, which included favorable special items totaling $10 million (net).  The Company’s operating income was $225 million for third quarter 2011, compared to $355 million for third quarter 2010.  Excluding special items, third quarter 2011 net income was $122 million, or $.15 per diluted share, compared to net income of $195 million, or $.26 per diluted share, in third quarter 2010.  This exceeded Thomson’s First Call mean estimate of $.14 per diluted share for third quarter 2011.  Additional information regarding special items is included in this release and in the accompanying reconciliation tables.  As required by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and accounting pronouncements pertaining to derivative instruments and hedging, the Company’s third quarter 2011 results include $227 million (net) in unrealized, noncash mark-downs relating to a portion of the Company’s fuel hedges for future periods.  Actual net cash settlements paid to counterparties for the Company's third quarter 2011 hedging activities were $13 million.  The Company believes it is more meaningful to provide its financial results on an “economic” basis reflecting its actual net cash outlays for fuel consumed during the current period, inclusive of settled fuel derivative contracts, as current market prices are not always indicative of actual future settlements.  As a result, the Company also provides its financial results, excluding these unrealized, noncash special items, to provide a better measure of the impact of the Company’s fuel hedges on its current period operating performance and liquidity.  The actual cash impact of hedges related to fuel to be consumed in future periods will be reported in the applicable future economic results. Gary C. Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Excluding special items, third quarter 2011 operating income was $285 million, and third quarter 2011 net income was $122 million.  Total third quarter operating revenues were very strong and reached an all-time quarterly record of 4.3 billion.  Passenger revenues were driven by strong load factors, revenue yields, and unit revenues, which were all third quarter records.  Third quarter passenger unit revenues increased approximately six percent, compared to third quarter last year (on a combined basis as defined below).  Despite the cautious economic outlook, our booking trends remain strong.  Importantly, business travel has remained stable since spring.  Based on October traffic and booking trends, thus far, we expect solid passenger unit revenue year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter.  Also, third quarter 2011 Other revenues grew approximately 18 percent, compared to third quarter last year (on a combined basis as defined below), largely due to the All-New Rapid Rewards® program and continued growth in our EarlyBird Check-In™ revenues.  While it is disappointing to report a decline in earnings excluding special items, I was pleased with our strong third quarter revenue performance. “In accordance with fuel hedge accounting rules, our third quarter GAAP net results included $227 million of unrealized, noncash mark-downs relating to future periods’ fuel hedges.  These special items resulted in a GAAP net loss for the quarter; however, since September 30 th , market prices have rebounded, and our future fuel hedge portfolio has gained back over $300 million in fair value.  Our economic fuel costs per gallon, which excludes this GAAP mark-down, increased approximately  34 percent compared to third quarter last year.  This surge in fuel costs caused our quarterly profits to decline despite record revenue results.” AirTran became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company on May 2, 2011. Results discussed in this release and provided in the accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Comparative Consolidated Operating Statistics include the results of operations and cash flows for AirTran from May 2, 2011 through September 30, 2011, including the impact of purchase accounting.  Periods presented prior to the acquisition date do not include AirTran’s results.  However, the Company believes the analysis of specified financial results on a “combined basis” provides more meaningful year-over-year comparability.  Financial information presented on a “combined basis” is the sum of the historical financial results of the Company and AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date, but includes the impact of purchase accounting only as of May 2, 2011.  Supplemental financial information presented on a “combined basis” and the accompanying reconciliations have been included in this release. Financial Results and Outlook The Company’s total operating revenues for third quarter 2011 increased 35.1 percent to $4.3 billion, compared to $3.2 billion for third quarter 2010.  Operating unit revenues increased 3.6 percent, compared to third quarter 2010.  Operating unit revenues increased 6.7 percent from third quarter 2010’s combined unit revenues.  Total third quarter 2011 operating expenses were $4.1 billion, compared to $2.8 billion in third quarter 2010.  Excluding special items, third quarter 2011 unit costs increased 10.1 percent from third quarter 2010, largely due to a 34 percent year-over-year increase in economic fuel costs per gallon.   Third quarter 2011 economic fuel costs of $3.18 per gallon included $.02 per gallon in unfavorable cash settlements for fuel derivative contracts, and a $.04 per gallon benefit from refunds of fuel sales taxes.  Based on the Company’s fourth quarter 2011 fuel hedge position and market prices (as of October 17 th ), fourth quarter 2011 economic fuel costs, including fuel taxes, are estimated to be approximately $3.30 per gallon.  Additional information regarding the Company’s fuel derivative contracts is included in the accompanying tables.  Excluding fuel and special items in both periods, third quarter 2011 unit costs decreased 1.2 percent from third quarter 2010.  Excluding fuel and special items in both periods, third quarter 2011 unit costs increased 1.5 percent from third quarter 2010’s combined 7.27 cents.  Based on current cost trends, the Company expects another modest year-over-year increase in its fourth quarter 2011 unit costs, compared to fourth quarter 2010’s combined unit costs of 7.72 cents, excluding fuel and special items in both periods. Operating income for third quarter 2011 was $225 million, compared to $355 million in third quarter 2010.  Excluding special items in both periods, operating income was $285 million for third quarter 2011, compared to $389 million for third quarter 2010, and compared to $447 million for third quarter 2010 on a combined basis.  Other expenses were $451 million for third quarter 2011, compared to $23 million for third quarter 2010.  The $428 million increase in total other expenses primarily resulted from $405 million in Other losses recognized in third quarter 2011, compared to $13 million in Other gains recognized in third quarter 2010.  In both periods, these net Other gains/losses primarily resulted from unrealized gains/losses associated with a portion of the Company’s fuel hedging portfolio.  Excluding these special items, Other losses were $36 million in third quarter 2011 and $37 million in third quarter 2010, each attributable to the premium costs associated with the Company’s fuel derivative contracts.  Fourth quarter 2011 premium costs are currently estimated to be approximately $14 million.  Third quarter 2011 net interest expense increased approximately $10 million from third quarter 2010 primarily due to additional debt held by the Company as a result of the AirTran acquisition. Total operating revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased 28.5 percent to $11.6 billion, while total operating expenses increased 33.9 percent to $11 billion, resulting in operating income of $546 million, versus $772 million for the comparable period in 2010.  Excluding special items in both periods, operating income was $672 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010, compared to $905 million for the same period last year.  On a combined basis, total operating revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased 13.9 percent to $12.5 billion, while total operating expenses increased 19.2 percent to $12 billion, resulting in combined year-to-date operating income for 2011 of $515 million, compared to $916 million for the same period last year.  Excluding special items in both periods, combined operating income for nine months ended September 30, 2011 was $667 million, compared to $1.1 billion for the same period last year. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 was $26 million, or $.03 per diluted share, compared to $328 million, or $.44 per diluted share, for the same period last year.  Excluding special items, year-to-date net income for 2011 was $263 million, or $.34 per diluted share, compared to $436 million, or $.58 per diluted share, for the same period last year.  The Company’s return on invested capital (before taxes and excluding special items) was approximately eight percent for the twelve months ended September 30, 2011, including AirTran’s results beginning May 2, 2011.  Additional information regarding pretax return on invested capital is included in the accompanying reconciliation tables.    AirTran Acquisition “I am pleased with the overall progress we are making on our AirTran integration,” stated Kelly.  “We continue to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to obtain our single operating certificate, which we expect to receive in first quarter 2012.  We expect to have the capability to connect the networks of both airlines in first half 2012; however, we have already begun to optimize the coordinated flight schedules. “The negotiating committees and respective boards of the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association and the Air Line Pilots Association approved a framework for Pilot seniority list integration, and the agreement has gone to the memberships for vote.  I commend the Flight Attendants’ unions from both airlines for recently agreeing on a process agreement, laying the framework to reach a seniority list integration agreement.   “Although we have much work ahead, much has already been accomplished.  Thus far, we have produced $60 million (before taxes and profitsharing) in annualized cost synergies, primarily attributable to renegotiation of certain AirTran contracts and reduction of corporate overhead.  We remain focused on achieving our target of net annual pre-tax synergies in excess of $400 million by 2013.”  The Company has incurred $97 million in costs (before taxes) associated with the acquisition and integration of AirTran during 2011, including $22 million in third quarter 2011.  The Company expects total acquisition and integration expenses will be approximately $500 million.  Including the anticipated benefit of net synergies, but excluding the impact of acquisition and integration expenses, the Company expects the acquisition to be accretive to its fully-diluted earnings per share for full year 2011. Liquidity Net cash provided by operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 was $985 million, which reflects the payment of $429 million in fuel hedge collateral deposits to counterparties related to the unfavorable change in the market value of the Company’s future periods’ fuel portfolio.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, capital expenditures were $548 million. As a result, the Company has generated approximately $400 million free cash flow* thus far in 2011. Based on current trends and projected 2011 capital expenditures of $800 to $900 million, the Company expects to generate free cash flow for the full year 2011.  On August 5, 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program to acquire up to $500 million of the Company’s common stock. During third quarter 2011, the Company purchased approximately 21 million shares of common stock for approximately $175 million.  The Company also repaid $191 million in debt during the nine months ended September 30, 2011, and is scheduled to repay approximately $446 million in debt during fourth quarter 2011.  The Company ended third quarter 2011 with $3.7 billion in cash and short-term investments, net of $458 million in net cash collateral paid to its fuel hedge counterparties.  In addition, the Company also had a fully available unsecured revolving credit line of $800 million.     Awards and recognitions Named the Stevie Award Winner for the Company of the Year-Transportation by The International Business Awards for outstanding performance and Customer Service Received the 2011 Quest for Quality Award for Excellence in Air Cargo from Logistics Management Magazine; ranked first in ontime performance, value, and Customer Service Recognized as one of the top ten safest airlines in the Holistic Safety Rating 2011 by the Air Transport Rating Agency Southwest will discuss its third quarter 2011 results on a conference call at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time today.  A live broadcast of the conference call will also be available at southwest.com/investor_relations.   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS (1)   (in millions, except per share amounts)   (unaudited)     Three months ended Nine months ended   September 30, September 30,   2011 2010 Percent Change 2011 2010 Percent Change     OPERATING REVENUES:   Passenger $ 4,014 $ 3,032 32.4 $ 10,829 $ 8,544 26.7   Freight 35 31 12.9 103 94 9.6   Other 262 129 103.1 618 352 75.6   Total operating revenues 4,311 3,192 35.1 11,550 8,990 28.5     OPERATING EXPENSES:   Salaries, wages, and benefits 1,146 938 22.2 3,226 2,748 17.4   Fuel and oil 1,586 926 71.3 4,150 2,681 54.8   Maintenance materials and repairs 272 196 38.8 717 556 29.0   Aircraft rentals 90 43 109.3 214 135 58.5   Landing fees and other rentals 257 210 22.4 705 606 16.3   Depreciation and amortization 191 161 18.6 523 469 11.5   Acquisition and integration 22 1 n.a. 97 1 n.a.   Other operating expenses 522 362 44.2 1,372 1,022 34.2   Total operating expenses 4,086 2,837 44.0 11,004 8,218 33.9     OPERATING INCOME 225 355 (36.6) 546 772 (29.3)     OTHER EXPENSES (INCOME):   Interest expense 50 43 16.3 143 126 13.5   Capitalized interest (3) (5) (40.0) (8) (15) (46.7)   Interest income (1) (2) (50.0) (8) (9) (11.1)   Other (gains) losses, net 405 (13) n.a. 351 138 n.a   Total other expenses 451 23 n.a. 478 240 99.2     INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE INCOME TAXES (226) 332 (168.1) 68 532 (87.2)   PROVISION (BENEFIT) FOR INCOME TAXES (86) 127 (167.7) 42 204 (79.4)     NET INCOME (LOSS) $ (140) $ 205 (168.3) $ 26 $ 328 (92.1)       NET INCOME (LOSS) PER SHARE   Basic $ (0.18) $ 0.27 $ 0.03 $ 0.44   Diluted $ (0.18) $ 0.27 $ 0.03 $ 0.44     WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING:   Basic 792 746 773 745   Diluted 792 747 774 746       (1) Includes May through September 2011 financial results for AirTran, and the impact of purchase accounting as of May 2, 2011. See Supplemental Combined Statement I for selected financial information on a combined basis, including AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date.                                           SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   RECONCILIATION OF REPORTED AMOUNTS TO NON-GAAP ITEMS (1)   (SEE NOTE REGARDING USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES)   (in millions, except per share amounts)   (unaudited)     Three months ended Nine months ended   September 30, September 30,   2011 2010 Percent Change 2011 2010 Percent Change     Fuel and oil expense, unhedged $ 1,549 $ 837 $ 4,125 $ 2,411   Add: Fuel hedge losses included in Fuel and oil expense 37 89 25 270   Fuel and oil expense, as reported $ 1,586 $ 926 $ 4,150 $ 2,681   (Deduct): Net impact from fuel contracts (2) (24) (33) (17) (132)   Fuel and oil expense, economic $ 1,562 $ 893 74.9 $ 4,133 $ 2,549 62.1     Total operating expenses, as reported $ 4,086 $ 2,837 $ 11,004 $ 8,218   (Deduct): Net impact from fuel contracts (2) (24) (33) (17) (132)   Total operating expenses, economic $ 4,062 $ 2,804 $ 10,987 $ 8,086   (Deduct): Charge for Asset impairment, net (3) (14) - (14) -   (Deduct): Charge for Acquisition and integration costs, net (4) (22) (1) (95) (1)   Total operating expenses, non-GAAP $ 4,026 $ 2,803 43.6 $ 10,878 $ 8,085 34.5     Operating income, as reported $ 225 $ 355 $ 546 $ 772   Add: Net impact from fuel contracts (2) 24 33 17 132   Operating income, economic $ 249 $ 388 $ 563 $ 904   Add: Charge for Asset impairment, net (3) 14 - 14 -   Add: Charge for Acquisition and integration costs, net (4) 22 1 95 1   Operating income, non-GAAP $ 285 $ 389 (26.7) $ 672 $ 905 (25.7)     Other (gains) losses, net, as reported $ 405 (13) $ 351 138   Add/(Deduct): Net impact from fuel contracts (2) (369) 50 (257) (39)   Other losses, net, non-GAAP $ 36 $ 37 (2.7) $ 94 $ 99 (5.1)     Income (loss) before income taxes, as reported $ (226) $ 332 $ 68 $ 532   Add/(Deduct): Net impact from fuel contracts (2) 393 (17) 274 171   $ 167 $ 315 $ 342 $ 703   Add: Charge for Asset impairment, net (3) 14 - 14 -   Add: Charge for Acquisition and integration costs, net (4) 22 1 95 1   Income before income taxes, non-GAAP $ 203 $ 316 (35.8) $ 451 $ 704 (35.9)     Net income (loss) as reported $ (140) $ 205 $ 26 $ 328   Add/(Deduct): Net impact from fuel contracts (2) 393 (17) 274 171   Income tax impact of fuel contracts (154) 7 (105) (64)   $ 99 $ 195 $ 195 $ 435   Add: Charge for Asset impairment, net (5) 9 - 9 -   Add: Charge for Acquisition and integration costs, net (5) 14 - 59 1   Net income, non-GAAP $ 122 $ 195 (37.4) $ 263 $ 436 (39.7)     Net income (loss) per share, diluted, as reported $ (0.18) 0.27 $ 0.03 0.44   Add/(Deduct): Net impact from fuel contracts 0.30 (0.01) 0.22 0.14   $ 0.12 0.26 $ 0.25 0.58   Add: Impact of special items, net (5) 0.03 - 0.09 -   Net income per share, diluted, non-GAAP $ 0.15 $ 0.26 (42.3) $ 0.34 $ 0.58 (41.4)     (1) Includes May through September 2011 financial results for AirTran, and the impact of purchase accounting as of May 2, 2011. See Supplemental Combined Statement II for a reconciliation of selected combined amounts to non-GAAP items, including AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date.   (2) See Reconciliation of Impact from Fuel Contracts.   (3) Net of profitsharing impact.   (4) Amounts net of profitsharing impact on charges incurred through March 31, 2011. The Company amended its profitsharing plan during second quarter 2011 to defer the profitsharing impact of integration costs incurred from April 1, 2011 through December 31, 2013. The profitsharing impact will be realized in 2014 and beyond.   (5) Amounts net of tax and profitsharing impact (see footnote (4) above).                                   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   RECONCILIATION OF IMPACT FROM FUEL CONTRACTS (1)   (SEE NOTE REGARDING USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES)   (in millions)   (unaudited)     Three months ended Nine months ended   September 30, September 30,   2011 2010 2011 2010     Fuel & Oil Expense   Reclassification between Fuel & Oil and Other gains   (losses), net, associated with current period settled contracts $ 3 $ 1 $ (6) $ 13   Contracts settling in the current period, but for which gains   and/or losses have been recognized in a prior period * (27) (34) (11) (145)   Impact from fuel contracts to Fuel & oil expense (24) (33) (17) (132)       Operating Income   Reclassification between Fuel & Oil and Other gains   (losses), net, associated with current period settled contracts $ (3) $ (1) $ 6 $ (13)   Contracts settling in the current period, but for which gains   and/or losses have been recognized in a prior period * 27 34 11 145   Impact from fuel contracts to Operating Income 24 33 17 132       Other (gains) losses   Mark-to-market impact from fuel contracts   settling in current and future periods $ (288) $ 27 $ (148) $ (4)   Ineffectiveness from fuel hedges settling in future periods (78) 24 (115) (22)   Reclassification between Fuel and oil and Other gains   (losses), net, associated with current period settled contracts (3) (1) 6 (13)   Impact from fuel contracts to Other (gains) losses (369) 50 (257) (39)       Net Income   Mark-to-market impact from fuel contracts   settling in current and future periods $ 288 $ (27) $ 148 $ 4   Ineffectiveness from fuel hedges settling in future periods 78 (24) 115 22   Other net impact of fuel contracts settling in the   current or a prior period (excluding reclassifications) 27 34 11 145   Impact from fuel contracts to Net Income ** 393 (17) 274 171     (1) Includes May through September 2011 financial results for AirTran.   * As a result of prior hedge ineffectiveness and/or contracts marked to market through earnings   ** Excludes income tax impact of unrealized items                         SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   SELECTED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION   DETAIL OF AIRLINE THIRD QUARTER 2011 RESULTS AND PURCHASE ACCOUNTING IMPACT   (in millions)   (unaudited)     Three months ended September 30, 2011   Purchase   Southwest (1) AirTran (2) Accounting (3) Consolidated   OPERATING REVENUES:   Passenger $ 3,359 $ 656 $ (1) $ 4,014   Freight 35 - - 35   Other 160 102 - 262   Total operating revenues 3,554 758 (1) 4,311     OPERATING EXPENSES:   Salaries, wages, and benefits 1,005 141 - 1,146   Fuel and oil 1,272 314 - 1,586   Maintenance materials and repairs 206 66 - 272   Aircraft rentals 41 59 (10) 90   Landing fees and other rentals 214 43 - 257   Depreciation and amortization 166 16 9 191   Acquisition and integration 19 3 - 22   Other operating expenses 424 98 - 522   Total operating expenses 3,347 740 (1) 4,086     OPERATING INCOME 207 18 - 225     (1) Results presented for Southwest exclude AirTran results and the impact of purchase accounting.   (2) Results presented for AirTran exclude Southwest results and the impact of purchase accounting.   (3) Represents the impact of purchase accounting.                                     SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   RECONCILIATION OF SELECTED CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION TO NON-GAAP ITEMS (1)   (SEE NOTE REGARDING USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES)   (in millions)   (unaudited)       Three months ended September 30, 2011   Southwest AirTran     Fuel and oil expense, standalone unhedged $ 1,232 $ 317   Add/(Deduct): Fuel hedge (gains) losses included in Fuel and oil expense 40 (3)   Fuel and oil expense, standalone (2) $ 1,272 $ 314   Deduct: Net impact from fuel contracts (3) (24) -   Fuel and oil expense, standalone economic $ 1,248 $ 314     Total operating expenses, standalone (2) $ 3,346 $ 740   Deduct: Net impact from fuel contracts (3) (24) -   Total operating expenses, standalone economic $ 3,322 $ 740   Deduct: Charge for Asset impairment, net (4) (14) -   Deduct: Charge for Acquisition and integration costs (5) (19) (3)   Total operating expenses, standalone non-GAAP $ 3,289 $ 737     Operating income, standalone (2) $ 207 $ 18   Add: Net impact from fuel contracts (3) 24 -   Operating income, standalone economic $ 231 $ 18   Add: Charge for Asset impairment, net (4) 14 -   Add: Charge for Acquisition and integration costs (5) 19 3   Operating income, standalone non-GAAP $ 264 $ 21     (1) Selected amounts presented in this schedule are standalone non-GAAP financial results for each of Southwest and AirTran. These standalone results exclude the results of the other airline, and the impact of purchase accounting.   (2) See Selected Consolidating Financial Information - Detail of Airline Third Quarter 2011 Results and Purchase Accounting Impact for the detail of standalone airline results and the purchase accounting impact.   (3) See Reconciliation of Impact from Fuel Contracts.   (4) Net of profitsharing impact.   (5) No profitsharing impact. The Company amended its profitsharing plan during second quarter 2011 to defer the profitsharing impact of integration costs incurred from April 1, 2011 through December 31, 2013. The profitsharing impact will be realized in 2014 and beyond.                   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   COMPARATIVE CONSOLIDATED OPERATING STATISTICS (1)   (unaudited)     Three months ended Nine months ended   September 30, September 30,   2011 2010 Change 2011 2010 Change   Revenue passengers carried 28,208,036 22,879,097 23.3 % 76,437,631 65,739,354 16.3 %   Enplaned passengers 35,010,060 27,814,896 25.9 % 94,040,092 79,063,561 18.9 %   Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) (000s) 27,322,289 20,673,082 32.2 % 72,402,024 58,041,024 24.7 %   Available seat miles (ASMs) (000s) 33,318,089 25,557,692 30.4 % 89,281,174 73,648,997 21.2 %   Load factor 82.0 % 80.9 % 1.1 pts 81.1 % 78.8 % 2.3 pts   Average length of passenger haul (miles) 969 904 7.2 % 947 883 7.2 %   Average aircraft stage length (miles) 690 653 5.7 % 679 646 5.1 %   Trips flown 359,630 287,200 25.2 % 974,221 836,314 16.5 %   Average passenger fare $ 142.31 $ 132.53 7.4 % $ 141.67 $ 129.97 9.0 %   Passenger revenue yield per RPM (cents) 14.69 14.67 0.1 % 14.96 14.72 1.6 %   RASM (cents) 12.94 12.49 3.6 % 12.94 12.21 6.0 %   PRASM (cents) 12.05 11.86 1.6 % 12.13 11.60 4.6 %   CASM (cents) 12.26 11.10 10.5 % 12.32 11.16 10.4 %   CASM, excluding fuel (cents) 7.50 7.47 0.4 % 7.68 7.52 2.1 %   CASM, excluding special items (cents) 12.08 10.97 10.1 % 12.18 10.98 10.9 %   CASM, excluding fuel and special items (cents) 7.38 7.47 (1.2) % 7.56 7.52 0.5 %   Fuel costs per gallon, including fuel tax (unhedged) $ 3.16 $ 2.23 41.7 % $ 3.15 $ 2.23 41.3 %   Fuel costs per gallon, including fuel tax $ 3.23 $ 2.47 30.8 % $ 3.17 $ 2.48 27.8 %   Fuel costs per gallon, including fuel tax (economic) $ 3.18 $ 2.38 33.6 % $ 3.16 $ 2.36 33.9 %   Fuel consumed, in gallons (millions) 490 375 30.7 % 1,307 1,075 21.6 %   Active fulltime equivalent Employees 45,112 34,836 29.5 % 45,112 34,836 29.5 %   Aircraft in service at period-end 699 547 27.8 % 699 547 27.8 %     PRASM (Passenger unit revenue) - Passenger revenue yield per ASM   RASM (unit revenue) - Operating revenue yield per ASM   CASM (unit costs) - Operating expenses per ASM     (1) Includes May through September 2011 operating statistics for AirTran, and the impact of purchase accounting as of May 2, 2011. See Supplemental Combined Statement V for consolidated operating statistics on a combined basis, including AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date.                                                     SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   RETURN ON INVESTED CAPITAL (1)   (in millions)   (unaudited)     12 Months Ended 12 Months Ended   September 30, 2011 September 30, 2010   Operating Income, as reported $ 761 $ 939   Add: Net impact from fuel contracts 57 163   Add: Acquisition and integration costs, net (2) 117 1   Operating Income, non-GAAP $ 935 $ 1,103   Net adjustment for aircraft leases (3) 110 86   Adjustment for fuel hedge accounting (129) (143)   Adjusted Operating Income, non-GAAP $ 916 $ 1,046       Average Invested Capital (4) $ 11,863 $ 10,279   Equity adjustment for fuel hedge accounting 202 534   Adjusted Average Invested Capital $ 12,065 $ 10,813   .   ROIC, pretax 8% 10%     (1) Calculation includes the impact of the AirTran acquisition as of May 2, 2011.   (2) Net of profitsharing impact on charges incurred through March 31, 2011. The Company amended its profitsharing plan during second quarter 2011 to defer the profitsharing impact of integration costs incurred from April 1, 2011 through December 31, 2013. The profitsharing impact will be realized in 2014 and beyond.   (3) Net adjustment related to presumption that all aircraft in fleet are owned.   (4) Average invested capital represents a five quarter average of debt, net present value of aircraft leases, and equity.                   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (in millions) (unaudited)     September 30, December 31,   2011 2010   ASSETS   Current assets:   Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,016 $ 1,261   Short-term investments 2,640 2,277   Accounts and other receivables 369 195   Inventories of parts and supplies, at cost 459 243   Deferred income taxes - 214   Prepaid expenses and other current assets 110 89   Total current assets 4,594 4,279     Property and equipment, at cost:   Flight equipment 15,451 13,991   Ground property and equipment 2,303 2,122   Deposits on flight equipment purchase contracts 229 230   17,983 16,343   Less allowance for depreciation and amortization 6,149 5,765   11,834 10,578   Goodwill 970 -   Other assets 487 606   $ 17,885 $ 15,463     LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY   Current liabilities:   Accounts payable $ 1,083 $ 739   Accrued liabilities 1,193 863   Air traffic liability 2,058 1,198   Current maturities of long-term debt 986 505   Total current liabilities 5,320 3,305     Long-term debt less current maturities 3,220 2,875   Deferred income taxes 1,856 2,493   Deferred gains from sale and leaseback of aircraft 78 88   Other non-current liabilities 926 465   Stockholders' equity:   Common stock 808 808   Capital in excess of par value 1,222 1,183   Retained earnings 5,251 5,399   Accumulated other comprehensive loss (513) (262)   Treasury stock, at cost (283) (891)   Total stockholders' equity 6,485 6,237   $ 17,885 $ 15,463                             SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (1)   (in millions)   (unaudited)     Three months ended Nine months ended   September 30, September 30,   2011 2010 2011 2010     CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:   Net income (loss) $ (140) $ 205 $ 26 $ 328   Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to   cash provided by (used in) operating activities:   Depreciation and amortization 191 161 523 469   Unrealized (gain) loss on fuel derivative instruments 393 (17) 274 171   Deferred income taxes (90) 20 33 96   Amortization of deferred gains on sale and   leaseback of aircraft (3) (3) (10) (10)   Changes in certain assets and liabilities, net of acquisition:   Accounts and other receivables 11 42 (96) (66)   Other current assets (42) 7 (180) (6)   Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (39) (5) 266 189   Air traffic liability (92) (63) 485 379   Cash collateral received from (provided to)   derivative counterparties (409) 15 (429) 150   Other, net 2 23 93 (408)   Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (218) 385 985 1,292     CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:   Payment to acquire AirTran, net of AirTran cash on hand - - (35) -   Payments for purchase of property and equipment, net (276) (100) (548) (398)   Purchases of short-term investments (1,525) (1,151) (4,788) (4,331)   Proceeds from sales of short-term investments 1,664 939 4,414 3,484   Net cash used in investing activities (137) (312) (957) (1,245)     CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:   Proceeds from Employee stock plans 4 10 35 45   Proceeds from termination of interest rate   derivative instrument - - 76 -   Payments of long-term debt and capital lease obligations (48) (39) (110) (123)   Payments of convertible debt - - (81) -   Payment of credit line borrowing - - - (44)   Payments of cash dividends (3) (3) (14) (13)   Repurchase of common stock (175) - (175) -   Other, net (2) 1 (4) 5   Net cash used in financing activities (224) (31) (273) (130)     NET CHANGE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS (579) 42 (245) (83)     CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT BEGINNING OF PERIOD 1,595 989 1,261 1,114     CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF PERIOD $ 1,016 $ 1,031 $ 1,016 $ 1,031       SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF NONCASH TRANSACTIONS:   Fair value of equity consideration given to acquire AirTran $ - $ - $ 523 $ -   Fair value of common stock issued for conversion of debt $ - $ - $ 78 $ -     (1) Includes the impact of the AirTran acquisition as of May 2, 2011.                                       SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   FUEL DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS   AS OF OCTOBER 17, 2011           Percent of estimated fuel consumption covered by fuel derivative contracts   Average WTI Crude Oil   price per barrel 4Q 2011 First Half 2012 Second Half 2012     Up to $90 approx. 10% approx. 10%   $90 to $100 approx. 15% approx. 25%   $100 to $110 approx. 10% approx. 20% approx. 55%   $110 to $120 approx. 45% approx. 25% approx. 70%   Above $120 (1) approx. 40% approx. 20% approx. 50%         Estimated difference in economic jet fuel price per gallon,   above/(below) unhedged market prices, including taxes   Average WTI Crude Oil   price per barrel 4Q 2011 First Half 2012 Second Half 2012     $70 $0.11 $0.11 $0.20   $86 (2) $0.11 $0.06 $0.07   $100 $0.11 $0.03 $0.00   $115 $0.08 ($0.03) ($0.20)       Percent of estimated fuel consumption   covered by fuel derivative contracts at   Period varying WTI crude-equivalent price levels     2013 over 50%   2014 over 40%   2015 over 10%         (1) For first half 2012 and second half 2012, if average WTI market prices exceed $150 per barrel and $175 per barrel, respectively, the current estimated fuel consumption covered by fuel derivative contracts in each period would decrease to less than 5%.         (2) Based on the fourth quarter 2011 average WTI forward curve and market prices as of October 17, 2011, and current estimated fuel consumption covered by fuel derivative contracts, fourth quarter 2011 economic fuel price per gallon, including taxes, is estimated to be approximately $3.30 per gallon, or $0.11 above market prices.                       SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   737 FUTURE DELIVERY SCHEDULE (a)   AS OF OCTOBER 19, 2011       The Boeing Company   -700 -800 Purchase Additional   Firm Orders Firm Orders Options Rights -800s Total     2011 2 2(b)   2012 28 5 33   2013 23 8 31   2014 29 6 35   2015 26 1 27   2016 31 7 38   2017 5 17 22   Through 2021 98 98   Total 116(c) 28 39 98 5 286         (a) Includes AirTran's future firm orders and options from Boeing.   (b) The Company has already taken delivery of 18 737-700 aircraft through October 19, 2011.   (c) The Company is evaluating substituting 737-800s in lieu of 737-700 firm orders currently scheduled for 2013 through 2017.                               SUPPLEMENTAL COMBINED STATEMENT I   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   SELECTED COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (1)   (in millions)   (unaudited)     Three months ended Nine months ended   September 30, September 30,   Percent Percent   2011 2010 Change 2011 2010 Change     OPERATING REVENUES:   Passenger $ 4,014 $ 3,606 11.3 $ 11,641 $ 10,237 13.7   Freight 35 31 12.9 103 94 9.6   Other 262 223 17.5 744 633 17.5   Total operating revenues 4,311 3,860 11.7 12,488 10,964 13.9     OPERATING EXPENSES:   Salaries, wages, and benefits 1,146 1,069 7.2 3,418 3,141 8.8   Fuel and oil 1,586 1,132 40.1 4,511 3,292 37.0   Maintenance materials and repairs 272 254 7.1 805 730 10.3   Aircraft rentals 90 103 (12.6) 296 316 (6.3)   Landing fees and other rentals 257 250 2.8 759 729 4.1   Depreciation and amortization 191 176 8.5 543 513 5.8   Acquisition and integration 22 1 n.a. 123 1 n.a.   Other operating expenses 522 462 13.0 1,518 1,326 14.5   Total operating expenses 4,086 3,447 18.5 11,973 10,048 19.2     OPERATING INCOME 225 413 (45.5) 515 916 (43.8)     (1) Selected financial information for the three months ended September 30, 2011, is presented on a consolidated basis. All other selected financial information presented in this schedule on a combined basis includes financial results for Southwest and AirTran for all periods presented, including AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date. These combined results include the impact of purchase accounting as of May 2, 2011. AirTran's historical financial information included in the combined presentation has been conformed to Southwest's financial statement classification where appropriate. See Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.                                           SUPPLEMENTAL COMBINED STATEMENT II   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   RECONCILIATION OF SELECTED COMBINED AMOUNTS FROM SUPPLEMENTAL COMBINED STATEMENT I TO NON-GAAP ITEMS (1)   (SEE NOTE REGARDING USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES)   (in millions)   (unaudited)     Three months ended Nine months ended   September 30, September 30,   Percent Percent   2011 2010 Change 2011 2010 Change     Fuel and oil expense, combined unhedged $ 1,549 $ 1,044 $ 4,504 $ 3,037   Add: Fuel hedge losses included in Fuel and oil expense 37 88 7 255   Fuel and oil expense, as presented on Supplemental Combined Statement I $ 1,586 $ 1,132 $ 4,511 $ 3,292   Deduct: Net impact from fuel contracts (24) (33) (17) (132)   Fuel and oil expense, combined economic $ 1,562 $ 1,099 42.1 $ 4,494 $ 3,160 42.2     Total operating expenses, as presented on Supplemental Combined Statement I $ 4,086 $ 3,447 $ 11,973 $ 10,048   Deduct: Net impact from fuel contracts (24) (33) (17) (132)   Total operating expenses, combined economic $ 4,062 $ 3,414 $ 11,956 $ 9,916   Deduct: Charge for Asset impairment, net (2) (14) - (14) -   Deduct: Charge for Acquisition and integration costs, net (3) (22) (1) (121) (1)   Total operating expenses, combined non-GAAP $ 4,026 $ 3,413 18.0 $ 11,821 $ 9,915 19.2     Operating income, as presented on Supplemental Combined Statement I $ 225 $ 413 $ 515 $ 916   Add: Net impact from fuel contracts 24 33 17 132   Operating income, combined economic $ 249 $ 446 $ 532 $ 1,048   Add: Charge for Asset impairment, net (2) 14 - 14 -   Add: Charge for Acquisition and integration costs, net (3) 22 1 121 1   Operating income, combined non-GAAP $ 285 $ 447 (36.2) $ 667 $ 1,049 (36.4)     (1) Selected financial information for the three months ended September 30, 2011, is presented on a consolidated basis. All other selected financial information presented in this schedule on a combined basis includes financial results for Southwest and AirTran for all periods presented, including AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date. These combined results include the impact of purchase accounting as of May 2, 2011. AirTran's historical financial information included in the combined presentation has been conformed to Southwest's financial statement classification where appropriate.   (2) Net of profitsharing impact.   (3) Amounts net of profitsharing impact on charges incurred through March 31, 2011. The Company amended its profitsharing plan during second quarter 2011 to defer the profitsharing impact of integration costs incurred from April 1, 2011 through December 31, 2013. The profitsharing impact will be realized in 2014 and beyond.                                     SUPPLEMENTAL COMBINED STATEMENT III   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   SELECTED CONSOLIDATING COMBINED 2011 FINANCIAL INFORMATION (1)   (in millions)   (unaudited)     Nine months ended September 30, 2011   Southwest   Airlines Co.   (as reported) AirTran (2) Combined   OPERATING REVENUES:   Passenger $ 10,829 $ 812 $ 11,641   Freight 103 - 103   Other 618 126 744   Total operating revenues 11,550 938 12,488     OPERATING EXPENSES:   Salaries, wages, and benefits 3,226 193 3,419   Fuel and oil 4,150 361 4,511   Maintenance materials and repairs 717 88 805   Aircraft rentals 214 81 295   Landing fees and other rentals 705 54 759   Depreciation and amortization 523 20 543   Acquisition and integration 97 26 123   Other operating expenses 1,372 146 1,518   Total operating expenses 11,004 969 11,973     OPERATING INCOME (LOSS) 546 (31) 515     (1) Selected financial information presented in this schedule on a combined basis includes financial results for Southwest and AirTran for all periods presented, including AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date. These combined results include the impact of purchase accounting as of May 2, 2011. See Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.   (2) Results presented for AirTran, on a standalone basis, include periods prior to the acquisition date, conformed to Southwest's financial statement classification where appropriate.                             SUPPLEMENTAL COMBINED STATEMENT IV   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   SELECTED CONSOLIDATING COMBINED 2010 FINANCIAL INFORMATION (1)   (in millions)   (unaudited)     Three months ended September 30, 2010 Nine months ended September 30, 2010   (as reported) (as reported)   Southwest AirTran Southwest AirTran   Airlines Co. (as conformed) Combined Airlines Co. (as conformed) Combined   OPERATING REVENUES:   Passenger $ 3,032 $ 574 $ 3,606 $ 8,544 $ 1,693 $ 10,237   Freight 31 - 31 94 - 94   Other 129 94 223 352 281 633   Total operating revenues 3,192 668 3,860 8,990 1,974 10,964     OPERATING EXPENSES:   Salaries, wages, and benefits 938 131 1,069 2,748 393 3,141   Fuel and oil 926 206 1,132 2,681 611 3,292   Maintenance materials and repairs 196 58 254 556 173 730   Aircraft rentals 43 60 103 135 182 316   Landing fees and other rentals 210 40 250 606 123 729   Depreciation and amortization 161 15 176 469 44 513   Acquisition and integration 1 - 1 1 - 1   Other operating expenses 362 100 462 1,022 304 1,326   Total operating expenses 2,837 610 3,447 8,218 1,830 10,048     OPERATING INCOME 355 58 413 772 144 916     (1) Selected financial information presented in this schedule on a combined basis includes financial results for Southwest and AirTran for all periods presented, including AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date. Results presented for Southwest and AirTran, on a standalone basis, represent previously reported results. AirTran's historical financial information has been conformed to Southwest's financial statement classification where appropriate. See Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.                                                     SUPPLEMENTAL COMBINED STATEMENT V   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   COMBINED OPERATING STATISTICS (1)   (unaudited)     Three months ended Nine months ended   September 30, September 30,     2011 2010 Change 2011 2010 Change   Revenue passengers carried 28,208,036 27,966,582 0.9 % 82,615,444 80,275,161 2.9 %   Enplaned passengers 35,010,060 34,346,991 1.9 % 101,763,544 97,645,251 4.2 %   Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) (000s) 27,322,289 25,938,073 5.3 % 78,683,982 72,883,801 8.0 %   Available seat miles (ASMs) (000s) 33,318,089 31,819,149 4.7 % 97,220,639 91,834,163 5.9 %   Load factor 82.0 % 81.5 % 0.5 pts 80.9 % 79.4 % 1.5 pts   Average length of passenger haul (miles) 969 927 4.5 % 952 908 4.8 %   Average aircraft stage length (miles) 690 674 2.4 % 686 667 2.8 %   Trips flown 359,630 352,087 2.1 % 1,055,888 1,026,229 2.9 %   Average passenger fare $ 142.31 $ 128.94 10.4 % $ 140.90 $ 127.53 10.5 %   Passenger revenue yield per RPM (cents) 14.69 13.90 5.7 % 14.79 14.05 5.3 %   RASM (cents) 12.94 12.13 6.7 % 12.84 11.94 7.5 %   PRASM (cents) 12.05 11.33 6.4 % 11.97 11.15 7.4 %   CASM (cents) 12.26 10.83 13.2 % 12.32 10.94 12.6 %   CASM, excluding fuel (cents) 7.50 7.27 3.2 % 7.68 7.35 4.5 %   CASM, excluding special items (cents) 12.08 10.73 12.6 % 12.16 10.80 12.6 %   CASM, excluding fuel and special items (cents) 7.38 7.27 1.5 % 7.54 7.35 2.6 %   Fuel costs per gallon, including fuel tax (unhedged) $ 3.16 $ 2.21 43.0 % $ 3.14 $ 2.23 40.8 %   Fuel costs per gallon, including fuel tax $ 3.23 $ 2.39 35.1 % $ 3.15 $ 2.42 30.2 %   Fuel costs per gallon, including fuel tax (economic) $ 3.18 $ 2.32 37.1 % $ 3.14 $ 2.32 35.3 %   Fuel consumed, in gallons (millions) 490 472 3.7 % 1,429 1,358 5.2 %     PRASM (Passenger unit revenue) - Passenger revenue yield per ASM   RASM (unit revenue) - Operating revenue yield per ASM   CASM (unit costs) - Operating expenses per ASM     (1) Selected operating statistics for the three months ended September 30, 2011, are presented on a consolidated basis. All other selected operating statistics presented in this schedule on a combined basis include operations for Southwest and AirTran for all periods presented, including AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date. These combined results include the impact of purchase accounting as of May 2, 2011. AirTran's historical operating statistics included in the combined presentation have been conformed to Southwest's presentation where appropriate.                                                   NOTE REGARDING USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES The Company's financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). These GAAP financial statements include unrealized non-cash adjustments and reclassifications, which can be significant, as a result of accounting requirements and elections made under accounting pronouncements relating to derivative instruments and hedging. As a result, the Company also provides financial information in this release that was not prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to the information prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company provides supplemental non-GAAP financial information, including results that it refers to as "economic," which the Company's management utilizes to evaluate its ongoing financial performance and the Company believes provides greater transparency to investors as supplemental information to its GAAP results. The Company's economic financial results differ from GAAP results in that they only include the actual cash settlements from fuel hedge contracts--all reflected within Fuel and oil expense in the period of settlement. Thus, Fuel and oil expense on an economic basis reflects the Company's actual net cash outlays for fuel during the applicable period, inclusive of settled fuel derivative contracts. Any net premium costs paid related to option contracts are reflected as a component of Other (gains) losses, net, for both GAAP and non-GAAP (including economic) purposes in the period of contract settlement. These economic results provide a better measure of the impact of the Company's fuel hedges on its operating performance and liquidity since they exclude the unrealized, non-cash adjustments and reclassifications that are recorded in GAAP results in accordance with accounting guidance relating to derivative instruments, and they reflect all cash settlements related to fuel derivative contracts within Fuel and oil expense. This enables the Company's management, as well as investors, to consistently assess the Company's operating performance on a year-over-year or quarter-over-quarter basis after considering all efforts in place to manage fuel expense. However, because these measures are not determined in accordance with GAAP, such measures are susceptible to varying calculations and not all companies calculate the measures in the same manner. As a result, the aforementioned measures, as presented, may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Further information on (i) the Company's fuel hedging program, (ii) the requirements and accounting associated with accounting for derivative instruments, and (iii) the causes of hedge ineffectiveness and/or mark-to-market gains or losses from derivative instruments is included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, as well as subsequent quarterly filings. In addition to its "economic" financial measures, as defined above, the Company has also provided non-GAAP financial measures as a result of items that the Company believes are not indicative of its ongoing operations. These include charges for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 of $22 million and $97 million, respectively (before the impact of profitsharing and/or taxes) related to expenses associated with the Company's acquisition and integration of AirTran. These also include a charge for the three months endedSeptember 30, 2011 of $17 million (before the impact of profitsharing and/or taxes) for an asset impairment related to the Company's recent decision not to equip its Classic (737-300) aircraft with Required Navigation Performance (RNP) capabilities. The Company believes that evaluation of its financial performance can be enhanced by a presentation of results that exclude the impact of these items in order to evaluate the results on a comparative basis with results in prior periods that do not include such items and as a basis for evaluating operating results in future periods. As a result of the Company's acquisition of AirTran, which closed onMay 2, 2011, the Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur substantial charges associated with integration of the two companies. While the Company cannot predict the exact timing or amounts of such charges, it does expect to treat the charges as special items in its future presentation of non-GAAP results. The Company has also provided other supplemental non-GAAP financial information on a "combined basis." This supplemental non-GAAP financial information on a "combined basis" includes specified combined financial results of the Company and AirTran for periods prior toMay 2, 2011, as if the acquisition had occurred prior to the beginning of the applicable reporting period, but excludes any impact of purchase accounting prior to May 2, 2011. AirTran's historical financial information included in the combined presentation has been conformed to the Company's financial statement classification where appropriate. The Company believes that evaluation of its financial performance can be enhanced by a presentation of combined results in order to evaluate its prior, current or future period results on a more meaningful, consistent year-over-year basis. The Company believes free cash flow is a meaningful measure because it demonstrates our ability to service our debt, pay dividends and make investments to enhance shareholder value. Although free cash flow is a commonly used as measure of liquidity, definitions of free cash flow may differ; therefore, the Company is providing an explanation of its calculation for free cash flow. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, the Company generated approximately $400 million in free cash flow, calculated as operating cash flows of $985 million less capital expenditures of $548 million. SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co. ... View more

I took a week off, but we're back with SWA Stew 26.  I could give you a thousand reasons why we skipped, but I won't waste your time, loyal fans.  I'm sorry for making you wait.  All... two of you.    This week, the SWA Stew kicked off with a great post about a trio of Flight Attendants who ran across the Philadelphia Marathon to reach their ride to the airport.    Recently, we hosted a conference at SWA Headquarters in Dallas, compliments of Ragan.  They put together a post about passion & Culture in the corporate world.   Our third most viewed post is an enigma; not the topic itself, but how it got in the Top 5.  The post talks about Cupid One.   Have you registered for a chance to become our Chief Rewards Officer yet? Second on this week's list explained what you need to do to win the sweepstakes, and your share of the points.   At the top of the list, was my post about the WingMate duck, and the great lengths the good People of Milwaukee went to in order to make sure everyone got their ducks.     ... View more

Southwest's canyon blue planes are pretty heavy. 83,000 pounds, to be exact (and that's without a full cabin).  But here at Southwest, we're innovators. Thinkers. Do-ers. We know a light plane tends to fly faster.    So when presented with the opportunity to bring Coors Light back on board, we knew it was the right call (not the first time we've made the right call, either).    Here's how I see it: With more light beer on board, the plane will go faster. Time flies when you're having fun, so Customers will also benefit. The ability to go from "Cold" to "Super Cold" will enable us to be more green, since we'll burn less fuel by not having to turn on inflight air-conditioning. Please remember: this post comes to you on behalf of a team of Communicators. We probably should've consulted our Maintenance & Engineering Department, or the great People in Strategic Planning.   Or maybe, we should consult you: how else will Coors Light help innovate Southwest? Let us know in the comments section.   And if you're still not catchin' what I'm throwin', we're Tappin' the Rockies:     [Disclaimer: this is a completely fabricated post to inform Customers that Coors Light is back on board Southwest Airlines.  Enjoy!] ... View more

  The "Flying V" isn't a formation we routinely practice at Southwest, but there's a lot of quacking going on about some ducks that are circulating the system. Since joining Families with AirTran, we established the "WingMate Program." Through a sign-up process, the program pairs a Southwest Employee with an AirTran Employee, kind of like a pen-pal system.   My WingMate's name is Reuben, a Reservations Supervisor who works in Savannah, Georgia.    Sometimes it's hard to electronically convey sense of humor, especially to a complete stranger.  When I introduced myself via e-mail, I told Reuben I moonlit as a professional clarinet player, enjoyed spinach and artichoke dip (that part's true), and have a cat named Morton, who likes licorice, and to whom I frequently lose in Tic-Tac-Toe.   I hope you're laughing, because I think I confused Reuben (no fault of his own).   Anyway, it took Reuben about a month to get back to me, probably the time it took to get over the fact he had to deal with me as his WingMate.  In his email, I learned Reuben has been working for AirTran for 14 years, and he describes, "That's 14 years of something new every day." Can't wait to share with you some stories about Reuben's voyages.   But I digress.   The WingMate Program has brought many of us together, allows us to share in each other's Company Cultures, and create our own, too.   Enter Milwaukee.     To celebrate the WingMate ducks that are circulating the system, as pictured above, two AirTran Employees dressed up as ducks to spread the word.  One even ushered in a plane.     So kudos to you, Milwaukee, for helping usher in a new era of Southwest; one filled with One LUV!   (You quack me up). ... View more

It's time for the quarter-life crisis edition of the SWA Stew.    In this episode, we showcase SLC Cargo, honored by the U.S. Army for honoring a fallen hero.    We also flashed back again... this time to Houston! Resident Historian Brian Lusk explains how we got to Houston's Hobby Airport.    Our buddy DJ Schneby's post about his big Turntable.FM victory was the third most viewed on the blog. He talked about how he heard about the contest, his strategy around song choices, and what he's gonna do with his roundtrip tickets.    The movie Moneyball has received rave reviews-- maybe it's because Southwest is in it? Read Michelle's post about where you can find us on the silver screen!   Kansas City-based aviation buff (and overseer of MCI) Justin Meyer was challenged to race a Porsche from K.C. to St. Louis. Justin's mode of transportation was one of Southwest's 737s. Read the comments in his post to see who won.   ... View more

DALLAS – Sep 29, 2011 –  Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) is celebrating workplace diversity by hosting its second annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit today themed "Join the Conversation about Civility."  Diversity and Inclusion Leaders from many North Texas Fortune 500 companies will participate in the dialogue about diversity and inclusion initiatives, fostering civility in the workplace, and sharing best practices. Joining this year’s conversation as Keynote Speaker is Darrell Scott, Founder and President of Rachel’s Challenge. Scott will be speaking about his daughter Rachel’s (the first victim in the Columbine High School shootings) legacy of kindness and compassion. Hailed by many as uplifting, inspirational, and moving, Rachel’s Challenge is a nationwide program for school-aged children to explore what good character means. The Summit also will feature presentations from the Dallas Holocaust Museum’s Center for Education and Tolerance. The Summit’s agenda also includes discussions with: Ellen Torbert, Southwest’s Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, who will share her personal journey growing up in both a segregated and desegregated society Southwest’s President Emeritus, Colleen Barrett, will speak about lessons from her book “Lead with LUV” and offer insights on the importance of servant leadership. Terry Howard, Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Texas Instruments and Cofounder of the Global Diversity Consortium will share information about this organization. A panel discussion moderated by Debra Hunter Johnson, an attorney and HR professional with more than 20 years of experience in complex workplace litigation. Panelists will include Dr. Betty Gilmore with Southern Methodist University, Steve Blow with the Dallas Morning News, Journalist and Author Ana Cristina Reymundo, and Elizabeth Hebbe, one of the Core Team Members of The Oshkosh Civility Project. “We are honored to be hosting the Southwest Airlines Diversity and Inclusion Summit for the second year in a row.  This Summit presents an opportunity to open our doors and our hearts to have a conversation about the topic of diversity, inclusion, and civility,” said Linda Rutherford, Vice President Communication and Strategic Outreach for Southwest Airlines. “At Southwest, we believe that a modern and diverse workforce is key to our continued success.  We are committed to providing our Employees the best tools for their development by engaging in conversations about best practices and the importance of respecting each other in the workplace.”  The 2010 Diversity and Inclusion Summit was recognized with a Diversity Communications Honor by PR News’ Corporate Social Responsibility Awards. The Southwest Airlines Diversity and Inclusion Summit was created and is hosted by the Company’s Diversity Council. This Council comprises Southwest Employees who meet every month to improve the recruitment and advancement of women and minorities, work to enhance the Company’s supplier diversity efforts, champion diversity and inclusion training efforts, and create awareness of and show appreciation for cultural or lifestyle differences within the Company’s diverse workforce. Last year, Hispanic Business Magazine named Southwest Airlines as one of the top Elite companies for diversity. ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES In its 40th year of service, Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other low-fare carriers--offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and has recently acquired AirTran Airways, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. Southwest serves 72 cities in 37 states and is one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/cares to read the Southwest Airlines One Report(TM). Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,400 flights a day and has more than 35,000 Employees systemwide. www.southwest.com ... View more

We're not saving the world in Jack Bauer-like fashion, but this week's episode of the SWA Stew does highlight some Southwest social good (it's the most viewed post, in fact).    We also talked about Christi's cat, who is also named Jack Bauer (see picture).     On this week's Stew, drink coupons came back for another run.  Christi wrote a great post explaining the changes.   We're celebrating Hispanic Heritage month here at Southwest.  Do you know when Hispanic Heritage month runs? If you said September, you're right.  If you said October, guess what?  You're right again! Hispanic Heritage month actually runs from mid-September through mid-October. Olga wrote a post about how you can celebrate with us!   Our latest installment of the One Report series comes in at the third most-viewed post. It's all about how Southwest helps our planet.   Flashback Fridays made a rousing return to the Top 5 at numero dos.   And number one, as I mentioned earlier, highlights how Southwest helps save lives: by providing transportation to those who need it through our Medical Transportation Grant Program.     ... View more

A few lame basketball references, a couple top-viewed blog posts, and SWA Stew: Episode 23 is in the books.    Our post about the much-coveted Spring Break schedule opening up landed in the fifth spot.    Customer Service was the theme of this week's One Report series post.    Capt. Joe Gautille was to fly a P.M. shift on 9/11/01. He wrote a heartful remembrance of that terrible tragedy, and Stephen M. Keller did a video that, if you haven't seen, I would urge you to go check out.  Both are very moving.   The second most-viewed post on Nuts this week focused on Gary's Halloween costume?  What will he be this year?  Make your suggestions in the comments section of the Halloween post.   Finally, our Turntable.FM promotion earlier this week was an enormous success.  This post detailed the rules, and my musical upbringing.     ... View more

Autumn 1989  Baseball cap with awkward crease in the middle of the bill? Check. Train sweatshirt with collared polo, fit for a tiny human? Check. Southpaw baseball glove (I'm a righty now) ready to go? Check. First day of school? In the books. Exposure to music: limited to car radio, but I do remember "Maneater" from the very early stages of my life.    Summer 1996  Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell at the United Center in Chicago, IL. A savage night of classic rock. Meaning of the lyrics to "Big Yellow Taxi" eluded me, but I dug the jam, especially live. Pops was there for Bobby D more than Joni. I have a vivid recollection of "Gotta Serve Somebody" being a show-stopper. Enter Middle School.  Spring 2003  I went to a toga foam party that got, well, pretty messy.  I should probably be ashamed to admit this, but I had a great time.  It wasn't the togas that got me dancing, and the foam just got in the way.  I don't recall who was behind the wheels of steel (to take a page out of D.J. Paulie D's vernacular), but those beats were groovin', and I was a dancing machine. A couple finals later, and I closed the books on Freshman Year. What's the point?  School and music go together.  In honor of this musically-academic matrimony, and our constant need to entertain ourselves here at Southwest, we want to see what kind of musical chops our Customers have.  And plus: what better way to kick off another school year, whether you're still in school, have kids in school, or dream about being back in school? How are we doing this? We're using Turntable.FM to give five lucky Customers the chance to D.J. for a chance to win roundtrip tickets anywhere Southwest flies.  Here's the catch: we won't tell exactly when we'll be offering up this contest, just that it will be sometime during the next few days (during business hours). Fear not!  If you follow our Twitter account, you'll see a message encouraging you to join our room on Turntable.FM when the contest is about to happen.  Please note that not everybody has access to Turntable.FM (that's how we determine the music geeks from the casual listeners). Turntable is currently in beta form (fitting, then, that we're also testing the waters).   Some ground rules: 1. Five D.J.'s will have one hour to spin fan favorites for an audience of judges. The D.J. who has accumulated the most points in the span of that hour will win one roundtrip ticket on Southwest! 2. All songs must be no more than five minutes. Songs over five minutes merit disqualification. No Stairway to Heaven. Just like Wayne's World, and not because we don't like Led Zeppelin. We want to keep it fair. 3. Explicit or offensive lyrics are grounds for disqualification. You will have ample time to stack your playlist, so screen it beforehand. 4. You cannot go away from the keyboard during your hour.  If we learn you're on autopilot, you'll get booted (we'll check!).   Southwest Airlines ® Turntable.FM Promotion OFFICIAL RULES No Purchase Necessary to Enter or Win. Void in Puerto Rico and Where Prohibited by Law 1.  PROMOTION PERIOD.   The Southwest Airlines Turntable.FM Promotion will take place during the week of September 12, 2011.  By participating, each participant agrees to the rules of the Promotion. 2.  ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS.   Promotion is offered and open only to legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia, at least 18 years of age or older at the time of entry who have a Facebook account and have access to Turntable.FM.  Facebook accounts are free and are available at www.facebook.com.  Employees of Southwest Airlines Co., AirTran Airways, Inc., their advertising and promotions agencies, and their immediate families (spouse and parents, children and siblings and their spouses) and individuals living in the same households of such employees are ineligible.  The Promotion is 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.  The promotion is offered in the United States only and shall only be construed and evaluated according to United States law. Do not proceed to participate if you are not located in the United States. 3.  ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION.   Prizes will be awarded only after eligibility has been determined.  This shall include, but not be limited to, participants satisfying all of the elements of the registration eligibility criteria after a review of documentation and determination of Sponsor in its sole discretion, such determination which shall be deemed final.  In addition, Entrants shall have fulfilled all of the conditions and accurately completed the documentation required herein. 4.  HOW TO ENTER.   During the Promotion Period, follow our Twitter account and watch for a message encouraging you to join our room on Turntable.FM.  (There will be two (2) messages sent at different times during the Promotion Period.)  Participants in the Promotion will be the first (up to 200) to join our room in the five (5) minutes following the Tweet.  Once the Southwest Turntable.FM room is full or upon expiration of five (5) minutes, the room will be ‘locked’.  Participants will be asked a question by the Promotion moderator.  The first five (5) Participants to answer the question correctly will be the Entrants in the Promotion.  Entries are limited to one (1) per person. Entrants must have a valid Facebook account to access Turntable.fm and must have their own turntable account or a Facebook friend with a Turntable account.  In the event of a dispute over identity of the on-line entrant, entry will be deemed submitted by holder of the email linked to their Turntable account at the time of joining the Southwest Turntable.FM room.  Entrants and Participants acknowledge that the Promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Facebook or Turntable.fm.  Any information provided during the Promotion is being provided to Sponsor and not to Facebook. 5.  GRAND PRIZE/APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE.  The two (2) grand prizes will consist of one (1) Southwest Airlines ticket each – good on published Southwest Airlines flights.  Tickets are subject to Southwest terms and certain restrictions may apply.  6.  POTENTIAL WINNER DETERMINATION  The Entrants aka DJs will have 30 minutes to compile a 1 hour play list for judging by the remaining Participants aka the Audience.  Sponsor reserves the right to edit the playlist and playlist will be subject to the terms and conditions of Turntable.FM.  Chosen songs may not exceed 5 minutes, may not contain explicit or offensive lyrics, and playlists may contain up to 3 songs by the same artist.  Entrants may be disqualified if their Playlist contains lengthy or explicit/offensive songs.  Entrants must remain at their keyboard during the hour or face disqualification.  Once the five playlists have been finalized, Participants remaining in the Southwest room, will judge the individual songs on the playlists, using the “lame” and “awesome” buttons.  The Entrant with the most Awesome playlist (i.e. who has accumulated the most Awesome points during the hour) will be the potential winner.  The decision of the Participants will be final.  Odds of winning will depend on the audiences preference for the songs chosen.  In the event of a tie, we will unveil another trivia question, where the first person to answer wins.  Potential winners 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.  In the event that we are unable to contact a potential winner or the Affidavit and Releases are not returned in the required time, the Sponsor will award the Prize to next highest score, subject to timely return of the Affidavit and Releases.  Tickets are not transferable, assignable, or redeemable for cash.  Acceptance of a 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.  Inquiries regarding winners may be sent via email after 6:00p.m. CST on September 13, 2011 to write.southwest@wnco.com.  The winner's name will also be published on Southwest Airlines Web Site blogsouthwest.com after 9:00a.m. CST on September 14, 2011.  Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of comparable or greater value in its sole discretion.  Sponsor reserves the right to amend, suspend, or terminate Promotion at any time.  8.  LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Neither Southwest Airlines, Turntable.FM, Facebook, 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 the prize description.  Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify Promotion if fraud or technical failure compromise the integrity of the Promotion as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.  This Promotion offer is being made exclusively by Sponsor. Sponsor is 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. 9.  SPONSOR. Southwest Airlines Co., P.O. Box 36611, Dallas, TX.  75235-1611   ... View more

This week's SWA Stew is lightning fast. Okay, it's pretty average in speed (and in comic relief), but we got some pretty solid storm sound effects from the peanut gallery.    We kicked it off with everyone's favorite dog bone and elephant ear enthusiast: Gordon Guillory.    Viewers also wanted to know what's up with our new drink coupons.    Get ready, Spring Breakers. We just opened up our schedule so you can now book through April 9, 2012.   NFL legend Carl Banks' new fashion line is out.  You can learn all about that here.   Topping this edition was Halloween. It's time to make suggestions for Gary's costume this year.     ... View more

DALLAS, TEXAS – September 7, 2011 – Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today reported August 2011 combined traffic results for Southwest Airlines and AirTran.  AirTran became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. (“the Company”) on May 2, 2011.  For purposes of comparability, the Company is providing combined traffic results for Southwest Airlines and AirTran for periods prior to the acquisition date.   See the accompanying tables for combined results. The Company flew 9.3 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in August 2011, compared to 9.0 billion combined RPMs flown in August 2010, an increase of 3.9 percent.  Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 4.2 percent to 11.3 billion from the August 2010 combined level of 10.9 billion.  The load factor for August 2011 was 82.6 percent, compared to the combined load factor of 82.8 percent in August 2010.  For August 2011, passenger revenue per ASM (PRASM) is estimated to have increased approximately six percent as compared to August 2010’s combined PRASM. For the first eight months of 2011, the Company flew 70.8 billion combined RPMs, compared to 65.4 billion combined RPMs flown for the same period in 2010, an increase of 8.1 percent.  The combined year-to-date ASMs increased 6.2 percent to 87.0 billion in 2011, compared to the combined level of 82.0 billion for the same period in 2010.  The combined year-to-date load factor was 81.3 percent, compared to the combined load factor of 79.8 percent for the same period in 2010.  This release, as well as past news releases about Southwest Airlines Co., is available online at southwest.com.   ... View more

When asked how I planned to cut my hair, I knew I had possibilities. There's the well-known "Bowl Cut," which was never really in the running. "The Executive," which is all business. "The Faux Hawk," which is for those who stand in the ocean but never go in past where swimming is required (or is that too abstract?).   Confession: this could go on for a lot longer, but I don't think haircut banter is really our core competency on the Nuts blog.    This episode, ATL barely snagged the fifth spot (but we still have mad LUV for you, and can't wait for February).   Hurricane Irene swept through the East Coast, and left just as quickly as she arrived (enough to leave a mark as the fourth top post).   Third came the latest installement to our One Report series.   Gordon Guillory submitted a great post about "whatchamacallits," basically funny names for our Maintenance Employees' tools, and for airplane parts, too.   The top post goes to Capt. Frog Peele and his son, First Officer Justin Peele.  The two recently flew commercially together for the first time, thanks to tinkering with their schedules (and help from some very accomodating fellow Employees!).   ... View more

Featured on Ragan.com by Russell Working When frequent flyer Paul Lovine wanted to propose to his girlfriend, aSouthwest Airlines plane seemed like an ideal place to culminate what had long been a commuter relationship. After she accepted, he blogged and tweeted about what happened, and Southwest's social media team picked up on the mentions. So the airline contacted him and ended up writing a heartwarming story for its blog. All of which proves that Twitter and other social media are not only conduits where passengers complain about delayed flights and lost baggage, but are also a source of stories. "Content is everywhere, especially on Twitter," says Brooks Thomas, emerging media coordinator, and speaker at Ragan's upcoming Best Practices in PR conference. "Every tweet is essentially a story idea." Social media fits differently into various organizations' communications and customer relations strategies, from a vital interactive tool to a way of shooing people onto the website. At Southwest,Twitter and Facebook serve as tools both to help make customers happy and to mine feel-good stories that promote its brand. "It's an extension of our corporate newsroom, it's an extension of our customer service efforts, it's an extension of our PR arm, and it's also an extension of our marketing," Thomas says. "It's all those things." Watching the Web As for Lovine and his fiancée, Southwest had long played a role in a commuter relationship, so employees knew the couple. On the day of the proposal, she was planning to fly from Burbank, Calif., to San Francisco to see him, but Lovine flew earlier to her airport. Southwest employees sneaked him onto her plane before boarding began, and he hid in the back. As the flight was under way, he brought out his guitar, sang a Beatles song and knelt to propose. A fellow passenger photographed everything, and Southwest's blog later ran those pictures. In addition to its main Facebook page, the airline produces local "station pages" run by staff at each airport it serves. The Make-A-Wish Foundation, which enriches the lives of children with life-threatening illnesses, asked whether a boy could ride in one of the tractors that push back the airplanes in Chicago's Midway Airport. The boy would also drop by the cockpit of a plane, visit the air traffic control tower, lunch with firefighters and fly in a helicopter. The Southwest employee who manages the local Facebook page contacted Thomas, suggesting it as a story. Another Southwest employee, who drove the tractor, put together an entry for the blog, writing, "This was one of the best days of my career." "We're not positioning our employees in any sort of way to be corporate shills or anything like that," Thomas says, "but we're allowing them to be empowered like that and to seize opportunities." Southwest also directs mainstream media to its blog through tweets, although reporters often call first when they see a promising tweet or Facebook entry. Media willing to use corporate video Southwest has increasingly found the media willing to use the video its shoots, including brief interviews. With staff at stations nationwide winnowed by cuts, TV producers have become more willing to snatch up the video, known as B-roll, that they can weave into their reports. Thomas distributes the video to interested media using a Dropbox link. "I'm an ex-news guy," Thomas says, "and even four years ago, I don't think that an assignment editor would say, 'Yes, give me that video,' just because of objectivity and wanting to use their own stuff. But they're willing to use it these days." As for the more serious side of Twitter—dealing with customers' gripes—Southwest hired a new five-member social media customer relations team in March. Its members monitor social media, blogs and aviation forums, solving problems in a few minutes that used to take communicators hours. (Southwest uses Radian6 and CoTweet Enterprise to monitor mentions online.) This is because customer relations has the databases to bring up people's information and resolve issues without calling around to baggage or other areas. "They immediately reach out to the customer, they look in their database, they see what they can do, and they do it," Thomas says. "As this has ramped up, the quality of our content has increase multifold." A reservoir of good will Southwest can draw story ideas from customers because it has a reservoir of good will from its brand culture, Thomas says. It has also encouraged employees to suggest ideas, leading to an idea from a father and son who got to fly together as pilot and co-pilot. The dad ended up writing a first-person piece for the blog. Southwest spreads the word among its employees about the need for ideas through its internal blog called SWALife. Step One in building a good brand name is to generate content, Thomas says. That requires organizations to ask themselves what impact they are making on the community and their customers. "If you give them content, you're going to start getting more fans," Thomas says. ... View more

Fri, Aug 26, 2011Customers encouraged to check airline web sites for flight-specific information DALLAS and ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) and its subsidiary, AirTran Airways, have each made service adjustments in advance of Hurricane Irene's arrival, to ensure the safety of the carriers' Employees, Customers, and aircraft. Southwest expects to cancel some 400 flights along the eastern seaboard through Monday. AirTran expects to cancel approximately 300 during the same time period. Customers should contact the airline on which they are booked for travel (Southwest Reservations (800) 435-9792, or AirTran Reservations (800) 247-8726), or look for updated travel advisories and reaccommodation tools on their respective carrier's web site: Southwest Airlines http://www.southwest.com; or AirTran Airways http://www.airtran.com. Customers traveling to/from the following cities within the specified timeframe may change their reservation* for another travel date, without penalty: Richmond, Va (RIC)**, Norfolk, Va(ORF), Newport News, Va (PHF)**, Atlantic City, NJ (ACY)**, Newark, NJ (EWR), Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)**, Washington-Dulles International (IAD), Baltimore/Washington (BWI), Philadelphia (PHL), Allentown/Bethlehem, PA (ABE)**, Boston Logan (BOS), Providence, RI (PVD), Manchester, NH (MHT), Portland, ME (PWM)**, LaGuardia, NY (LGA), Islip/Long Island, NY (ISP), Albany, NY (ALB), White Plains, NY(HPN)**, Hartford, CT (BDL), Charleston, NC (CHS), Raleigh-Durham, NC (RDU), and Nassau Bahamas (NAS)**. **AirTran-only service *Reaccommodation policies, by carrier: Southwest Airlines: Customers holding reservations for travel to/from the affected cities starting Saturday, August 27 thru Monday, August 29 are eligible to reschedule their flight in accordance with our accommodation procedures. Customers may rebook their flight in the original class of service or travel standby (within 14 days of the original date of travel between the original city-pairs) without paying any additional charge. AirTran Airways: Passengers who are traveling to or from the affected cities on August 25 through August 29 may adjust their travel 3 days prior through 7 days after the original scheduled departure date, based on space availability, without change fees or fare adjustments. For specific airport information including number of daily departures and number of Employees, please visit http://www.swamedia.com . SOURCE Southwest Airlines ... View more

Confession: I watched a news clip about Lovine's engagement story, and learned I have been mispronouncing it this whole time.  Love-een.  Love-een. Say it with me.  Okay, good.    You're probably as surprised as I am that we've made it to twenty episodes (especially you first-time watchers).    The SWA Stew is a place where we showcase the Top 5 blog posts of the week on Nuts About Southwest.   This week, that included: Like Father, Like Son Stay Cool, Dudes and Dudettes! Charlie's Wish LUV at 30,000 Feet ATL, We're Comin' Your Way! ... View more

Southwest Airlines Cargo was recently honored to receive the 2011 Quest for Quality Award, awarded by Logistics Management Magazine. In addition to the award recognition for top air cargo carriers, Southwest Airlines Cargo received the highest overall score among all air cargo carriers. Southwest topped three of five critical categories including: Ontime Performance, Value, and Customer Service. Vice President of Southwest Airlines Cargo & Charters Matt Buckley said, “Quality and overall Customer Experience are key to the success of Southwest Airlines Cargo.  We are honored to be recognized by Logistics Management readers as we strive for continuous improvement in our overall experience and value.  I applaud the superb teamwork of our Employees across our system for their dedication to excellence.” Quest for Quality is the most extensive market research study conducted in the logistics industry. Each year, the study evaluates and measures transportation service providers, determines relevant criteria when selecting a provider, and examines performance measurements and expectations of each provider. For the past 28 years, Logistics Management’s Quest for Quality has been regarded in the transportation and logistics industries as one of the most important measures of Customer Satisfaction and performance excellence. Group Editorial Director of Peerless Media and publisher of Logistics Management Michael Levans said, “The fact that Southwest Airlines has maintained this high level of scoring over the past few years is a true testament to the carrier’s commitment to customer service. While every freight transportation mode faced monumental operating challenges during the Great Recession, no other mode had to navigate the level of volatility that the air cargo sector faced. To come out on top during this period is an admirable achievement.” Congratulations to the Cargo, Ramp, and Operations Employees across our system for this prestigious award!” ... View more