Southwest Airlines Community

In its 12th year, Southwest Airlines’ Continuing the Legacy in Aviation program assembled for several days of learning at the Company’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Since 2007, the program has partnered with Tuskegee Airmen Inc. to provide middle school through college students with hands-on aviation and educational experience. Throughout the year, these students are mentored by a group of Southwest® Employees known as Southwest Ambassadors.     While in Dallas, 37 students had the chance to learn from Leaders in various Southwest departments, including Network Operations Control, Inflight Training, Flight Operations Training, and Technical Operations. Students also toured the Frontiers of Flight Museum, with continued historical learning at the Commemorative Air Force Red Tail Squadron traveling exhibit.   During the three-day program, students enjoyed access to the Southwest Airlines 737 flight simulators and listened to legendary stories from the Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen who attend the program annually. For their many years of support, Southwest is extremely grateful to the living and deceased Tuskegee Airmen and their families (Lt. Calvin J. Spann, Capt. Claude R. Platte, Master Sgt. Joseph Montgomery, Flight Officer Dr. Robert T. McDaniel, Lt. Col. Robert Ashby, Lt. Col. George Hardy, and Brigadier General Charles McGee). These World War II heroes have inspired the CTLA graduates to attend the Naval Academy and other college aviation programs, earn fighter pilot licenses and commercial pilot ratings, and serve as role models for their peers.   To top off the program in Dallas, Southwest Ambassadors awarded a trophy and certificate of completion to each student. Southwest also celebrated Documented Original Tuskegee Airman Col. Charles McGee’s 100th birthday and presented a $100,000 check—funds raised from the 2019 Southwest Airlines LUV Classic golf tournament—to the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. National Youth Activities. For more information about CTLA, including application details, visit tuskegeeairmen.org. ... View more

Southwest Airlines® has proudly worked alongside the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) for more than 10 years in an effort to find the most innovative solutions for our supply chain needs. Because the NGLCC operates an extended network of 50-plus affiliate chambers across the country—and nearly every airport we fly to is in close proximity to one of those affiliate locations—Southwest has been able to further expand our reach in the communities we serve.   The NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference is the largest LGBT business event on the planet. One of the highlights of the weeklong celebration of LGBT economic success is the “induction ceremony” for newly certified LGBT-owned businesses. The business owners introduce themselves and their services to the sold-out crowd of corporate buyers, government procurement leaders, and fellow entrepreneurs from around the world. In addition, Southwest’s Supplier Diversity Program Leaders mentor NGLCC members and meet one-on-one with LGBT Business Enterprises at the NGLCC’s annual conference. The NGLCC began in 2002 when co-founders Justin Nelson and Chance Mitchell realized that the impact of the LGBT community on the American economy had gone largely unnoticed, despite economic equality being an important component of the LGBT equality movement. The co-founders wanted to showcase that many members of the LGBT community are business owners, employers, taxpayers, health care providers, and an essential part of the U.S. economy’s small-business engine. Southwest is one of more than 200 corporate and government partners that have joined together to support the NGLCC.   To take our partnership one-step further, Southwest actively participates in both the NGLCC Procurement Council and the Corporate Advisory Council. Our participation in these councils has allowed us to engage in discussions on LGBT-inclusive supplier diversity, supplier trends, and promoting new opportunities among colleagues across all industry sectors. As part of its Supplier Diversity Initiative, the NGLCC offers LGBT Business Enterprise certification (LGBTBE) for qualifying businesses. Benefits of becoming a certified LGBTBE include building relationships with top corporations, generating prospective business, teaming up with fellow LGBTBEs for contracting opportunities, and receiving access to scholarship programs and leadership training.   To learn more about these opportunities, visit NGLCC.org. ... View more

It's certainly true at Southwest Airlines that “Without a Heart, it’s just a machine.”  Twenty-four BWI Employees put their Heart into showing how they are more than just a 365-day operation. The Southwest BWI Employees served up a heaping amount of Hospitality by hosting 13 aviation-curious students from the First Baptist Church of Glenarden (FBCG) Aviation Career Education Camp.  The Maryland middle and high school students enjoyed a "Southwest Day" of hands-on learning with tours by various BWI departments including: Provisioning where they saw all the items used to stock the planes and feed our Customers; Cargo where they witnessed firsthand the processing of live gold fish and live crabs for Next Flight Guaranteed (NFG) shipping, as well as observing the K9 sniffing packages for hazardous materials Pilot Base where they observed how pilots check in for flights; Inflight Training where they actually sat in a training raft and learned about emergency preparedness; T-Point where they toured three baggage processing areas and learned about international baggage processing versus domestic processing; Customer Service where they learned about Customer flight check-in; and the Command Center where they watched the entire BWI operation on monitors and heard the communication between the pilots and operation staff.   To add a cherry to the top of the visit, the BWI Station Leadership, Chief Pilots, and Maintenance spent a great deal of time answering questions about aviation and the Southwest operation from very curious and intrigued students. In addition to the Southwest Day, the students met the FAA Director and U.S. Secretary of Transportation as well as visited the Potomac TRACON and Air Traffic Control Systems Command Center, Patuxent Naval Air Station, Washington Reagan National Air Traffic Control Tower, and flew Cessnas 172.  The FBCG capped off the week with a cookout and thanked the BWI Employees for making a HUGE impact in the lives of these developing students. In August, to make a positive difference for youth in Baltimore, BWI and Southwest Airlines HDQ Employees from various departments will host another Southwest Airlines day.  Southwest has partnered with TSA, AirMall, Maryland Aviation Administration, and the city to host 60 students in a summer initiative camp.  The students attend for one week and have been selected from five recreation centers that were located in the middle of the Baltimore civil unrest.     ... View more

Beginning October 13, Dallas Love Field is FREE!  The restrictions of the Wright Amendment will be gone, ushering in nonstop destinations that span from coast to coast.   Southwest has been counting down the years and weeks (literally—we have a billboard at the Love Field entrance and a countdown clock in our Headquarters lobby) until we can say, “Goodbye, Wright Amendment. Hello, America!"   We are excited to begin this new era by serving five new nonstop destinations on October 13, followed by ten additional new nonstop destinations on November 2.  The addition of these 15 new nonstop destinations will bring Southwest to a total of 31 nonstop destinations from Love Field. In anticipation of this momentous event, each week we will take a look at one of the cities that North Texas Customers will be able to soon visit nonstop on Southwest.  Each post is written by a Southwest Employee who is affiliated with the city and can give an insider’s view of what to see and do while visiting.  Enjoy! I’ve since moved away from Washington D.C., but I fondly remember running along the Potomac River and enjoying the Smithsonian museums and festivals on the weekend.  Also, my family and I enjoyed packing a picnic lunch, sitting near the Potomac River on the grassy area with other families, and watching the planes take off and land at Reagan National.  Now, we have the pleasure of watching the Southwest Airlines red belly planes fly over our heads, which makes the roar of the engines even more enjoyable. In terms of daily departures, Washington D.C. has almost thirty, connecting ten cities.  And I can’t wait for the Nonstop service from Dallas Love Field to start!  I lived there for almost four years, so there’s lots I can recommend—her are some of my favorites. Your Washington D.C. to-do list: To Eat: Busboy and Poets:  This chic, hip, casual dining restaurant has character and offers vegetarian and vegan menu choices as well as an assortment of American food.  They display art and host live streams of various performances, and the building also serves as a bookstore.  Check out one of their locations for some good food and a late night Poetry Slam. Red Velvet Cupcakery:  Located near the Verizon Center at Penn Quarter, Red Velvet Cupcakery has been spotlighted on several media outlets for their delicious creations.  Stop by for a cupcake—or two!  It’s a quick treat, you won’t regret. To Do: Bike and Running Trails: Washington D.C. hosts a bunch of great bike and running trails.  I prefer to run the Smithsonian Mall, around the Nation’s Capital, but the views alongside the Potomac Gorge are beautiful as well.  You can always find overlooks and picnic areas for pit stops, so you can enjoy the area and get a workout in! Tidal Basin: See the Jefferson Memorial and surrounding scenery—like the delicate cherry trees—from the water!  At a relatively reasonable price, the paddle boats are available to rent by the hour.  Spend some time in the sun enjoying the Washington D.C. air! To See: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial:  Opened recently in perspective to other Washington D.C. Memorials, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is home to a larger-than-life statue of the memorial’s namesake.  The beautiful MLK statue is definitely a must-see site on your visit. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial: The FDR Memorial is a series of memorials with carved quotes and sculptures highlighting pieces of FDR’s history.  Along with the MLK Memorial, the FDR is near the National Mall, an iconic site for our Nation. My City Secret: Kennedy Center Millennium Stage:  Catch a free (no tickets required) performance at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.  Shows start every day at 6:00 p.m. (EST), and the Kennedy Center also offers other free events and exhibits. ... View more

In celebration of Black History Month, my Team, the Southwest Airlines Community Affairs & Grassroots Department sponsored The Washington Informer First Annual African American Heritage Tour in the District of Columbia.  Nicole Watson and her family receive the grand prize from Karen. Two of the 600 participants took home the grand prize of two roundtrip Southwest Airline tickets for correctly answering trivia questions taken from the Black History Journal written by Robert Taylor. The Washington Informer is an African American and woman owned weekly newspaper established in 1964 with a mission to educate, empower and inform readers about the positive news in the Black community.  Therefore, The Washington Informer does not cover crime news.   The three-hour tour was conducted by Capital Entertainment Services, an African American-owned tour and transportation company, located in DC.  CES has received national recognition for its African American tours, which have been featured on travel shows and magazines across the country. Participants enjoyed a continental breakfast, catered lunch, a presentation by a Frederick Douglass animatron, a visit to the White House grounds, Frederick Douglass’ home, and Lincoln Park.  For more info, click here for a video. I think that education through various resources is a key component to empowerment. Southwest Airlines is proud to support this and other Washington Informer Charities events like the D.C. Spelling Bee, which helps students to be empowered through words. ... View more