With nearly 25 years of service at Southwest Airlines, Linda Rutherford has been named one of PRWeek’s Top Champions in PR! From her beginnings at Southwest as a coordinator in what was then called Public Relations, to becoming Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, Linda demonstrates what it means to be a trailblazer.
Before Linda found a home here at Southwest, she was an aviation reporter for the Dallas Times Herald and often worked with the Southwest PR Team from the other side of the desk. When the Herald closed its doors, Ginger Hardage, recently retired SVP Culture and Communications, championed for Linda to come to Southwest. With this award, we definitely understand why!
Congratulations on being a Top Champion in PR, Linda!
PRWeek’s April issue will feature inspiring champions in PR nominated by their peers and colleagues who set the bar higher within their organizations. These U.S. Communication pros are up for every challenge and ready to go above and beyond to ensure results exceed business goals and achieve creative excellence.
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I waited for the season premier with much anticipation and couldn't wait to "meet" the Southwest Flight Attendants who have taken on this incredible challenge. I, too, was proud of our Jodi and Christie and look forward to cheering them on in future episodes!
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10-15-2007
08:31 AM
285 Loves
A friend reminded me that Saturday marked the first anniversary of a day I thought would never come. It was Oct. 13, 2006, that President Bush signed an amendment that contained what many call the "Love Field compromise." The compromise allowed, for the first time in more than 26 years, the sale of flights from Dallas' Love Field airport to destinations beyond Texas and its contiguous states. The result is that travel to Dallas has gotten cheaper and more plentiful. (See this Dallas Morning News article from Sept. 30, 2007, which has a lot of great facts.)
"Air fares to and from Love Field went down almost immediately after repeal of the anti-competitive Wright Amendment," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas' senior senator who helped lead the way on the compromise effort. "We are now at the one year anniversary of the repeal being signed into law. Our collective effort was a long process, but I am proud that all parties could come together to provide more competition and significantly reduce prices for North Texas travelers."
Having only lived in Dallas for 13 years, I often struggled to explain the Wright Amendment to friends, family, and perfect strangers. Since 1979, this now former Congressional amendment prevented Southwest from selling a ticket or marketing flights to its home airport from cities that knew darn well Southwest served it. We even had people call to complain that our web site was "broken" because it didn't list service to Dallas from the majority of our destinations. It generally took more than seven to ten seconds to explain why that was so, and how the US Congress could have approved such a thing. In my line of work as a spokesperson to the media, you rarely get more than ten seconds to explain anything. But, about the time I had somewhat perfected my ten-second quip, our CEO Gary Kelly shifted the sand in 2004, and we would embark upon one of the biggest legislative efforts in our history.
The solution would put us in the room with our cross-town rivals, American Airlines, and bring together the cities of Dallas and Ft. Worth which often were likened to the Hatfields and McCoys. Where once we were divided over a piece of legislative paper, we now were united with a presidential signature for the benefit of the entire region.
"In just the first year, travel to North Texas is easier and more affordable than ever," said our great Leader, Herb Kelleher, who is no stranger to the workings of Congress. The compromise immediately allowed "through-ticketing" of flights from Love to all Southwest's destinations, which still includes an interim stop, but nonstop flights will once again be allowed from Love in 2014. "Thanks to the hard work and support of Leaders such as Sen. Hutchison, it is the consumer who is the ultimate victor."
My friend's reminder was a great reason to look back at how far we continue to come, and I truly appreciate what it is that bolts me out of bed in the morning to see what happens next!
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