Southwest Airlines Community

#ihateyouroneseeds.  We hear you.  Everybody loves an underdog.  It’s lonely at the top for our four one seeds, but the selection committee feels strongly that their place is right and just in each region.  And haters gonna hate no matter what.  But for those needing a little more insight, here’s why your favorite city isn’t number one. Salt Lake City: has your city hosted a Winter Olympics?  Why don’t you call me sometime when the whole world is watching your city all day, every day, for the better part of three weeks.  Oh, and while you’re at it, try being awesome at everything. Philadelphia: in what is clearly a stacked region, admittedly this wasn’t an easy choice.  Each city is loaded with historical significance and talent, but only one city has a statue of Rocky Balboa presiding over it.  Everybody loves a good come-from-behind story of the underdog, and never has that been epitomized more than from the rise to the top of the City of Brotherly Love.  Yo, Adrian! New Orleans:  Beignets for breakfast every single day.  Regardless of whether that is actually a common practice, everybody else in America wishes they did—every single day.  And while breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, we strongly encourage you to save room for Muffulettas for lunch, King Cake for an afternoon snack, and round out the day with a bowl of Gumbo before stuffing your face with some Jambalaya or a Crawfish Etouffee.  ‘Nuff said. Aruba:  on the heels of one of the most brutal winters in recent memory, who cares who is number one or number four in this region of the bracket?  If you’re lucky enough to be heading out to any one of these beautiful, sunny destinations this spring, you’ll put as much thought into as we did.  We clearly just ranked these destinations alphabetically.  “Aruba, Jamaica, ohh I wanna take ya…”  We don’t care where you take us, just take us. We're begging you. Just because these four are sitting on top of their regions doesn’t mean they’ll be dancing for long.  Vote with your fingers and tell us why we’re wrong! And while the bracketology in the Destination Bracket might be totally fake, the destinations aren't! You can book right now at southwest.com! ... View more

Our very own fearless Leader, Gary Kelly, was recently asked to join the exclusive LinkedIn Influencer group.  This impressive group of Leaders is comprised of more than 400 top world and business leaders, who share professional insights with LinkedIn’s members. Gary graciously accepted the invitation and has recently contributed content to his profile, including a post that went live today where Gary shares his thoughts on the state of our industry.  Be sure to check out this post and follow Gary’s profile here. ... View more

One of the very cool nuances to Southwest’s story is that our Founder and Chairman Emeritus Herb Kelleher—and our current Chairman, President, and CEO Gary Kelly—share the same birthday, which happens to be today, March 12 th ! Herb and Gary share a lot more than just a birthday.  They both share a deep passion and LUV for Southwest Airlines.  They recently had a chance to sit down together and talk about Southwest, the future, and thoughts on Leadership.  We thought it was only appropriate to share a couple minutes from their conversation on their birthday.  We hope you’ll enjoy the video, and please join us in wishing these two Southwest Legends a very Happy Birthday!  Cheers, fellas! ... View more

We’ve made no bones about it—Southwest Airlines LUVs Denver!  Since starting service to the Mile High City in January 2006, we’ve made it our mission to be an active part of Denver’s vibrant community.  You’ve seen it with the Southwest Porch at Skyline Park, the Southwest Rink at Skyline Park, free Pedi-Cab rides throughout downtown, and a whole host of sponsorships and community support—from the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater to our role as the official airline of the Denver Nuggets.  Being a part of the communities we serve is in our DNA, and it allows us the opportunity to engage with our Customers where they work and live.  This spring, we’re professing our LUV to the Mile High City once again when we team up with the Downtown Denver Partnership to introduce the Southwest Court at Skyline Park.  The Southwest Court will be located in the heart of Downtown Denver at Skyline Park adjacent to the historic Daniels and Fisher Clocktower along the 16 th Street Mall—in the same location where the popular Southwest Rink was located this winter.  The Southwest Court will be a full-sized outdoor basketball court that will officially open to the public on March 15 and run through mid-April.  We know Denver loves basketball and outdoor activities, and the Court will offer both with ongoing programming for basketball enthusiasts, fans, friends, and family to come out to Skyline Park and “hoop it up.”  Stay tuned to www.southwestcourt.com for additional details on events and programs at the Court.  So if you live in Denver or have plans to travel to the Mile High City this spring, lace up your hi-tops and head on over to the Southwest Court at Skyline Park and get in the game.  We’ll see you there!   ... View more

Judge Smails: Ty, what did you shoot today? Ty Webb: Oh, Judge, I don't keep score. Judge Smails: Then how do you measure yourself with other golfers? Ty Webb: By height.  If you’re a Caddyshack fan like me, you’ll certainly recognize the dialogue above from the 1980s cult classic movie.  My friends and I could quote lines from the movie for hours on end, as I’m sure many of you can.  Chevy Chase’s famous dry, cool sense of humor is on display throughout the entire movie, evidenced by the quote above when the uptight Judge Smails is trying to size Ty’s golf game up.  So what is this doing on an airline’s blog?   If you follow the industry closely, you’ll notice that there are many different ways to measure an airline’s size, or “market share.”  There are Revenue Passenger Miles (RPMs), Enplanements, Onboards, or O&D (Origin & Destination) passengers.  Many people are surprised when I tell them that Southwest Airlines is the largest U.S. carrier based on domestic passengers (O&D) carried (as of Dec. 31, 2010—the latest available Department of Transportation statistics).  Let’s go through each one to explain the difference, and why Southwest uses the O&D passenger count and views this as the most accurate portrayal.  Revenue Passenger Miles/Kilometers (RPMs/RPKs):  A revenue passenger mile is literally defined as one passenger being flown one mile. Because it is based on distance, flying a longer distance will disproportionately inflate this metric. This is why longhaul international airlines almost always look larger than domestic airlines. For example, one 4,751-mile flight from Dallas to London Heathrow with 300 passengers has the same number of RPMs as 2,610 passengers flying the 546-mile route from Dallas to St. Louis.  It also counts the distance a passenger travels to/from a hub, and since Southwest carries the most domestic nonstop passengers of any airline, it doesn’t accurately show Southwest’s size since our Customers can often skip flying to another airport just to connect.  It’s a useful metric to show distance flown, but it doesn’t really accurately portray how many people the airline carries. Enplanements:  An enplanement is defined as one passenger boarding an airplane, or literally one passenger walking through the airplane door.  On the surface, that’s not a bad metric, but it means that if a passenger has a connecting flight, they’re counted twice, while a nonstop passenger (or a direct/no plane change passenger) is only counted once. This tends to favor airlines with significant connecting traffic over their hubs since it makes them look bigger. Meanwhile, an airline with a lot of convenient nonstop flights, like Southwest, looks smaller. Onboards:  A very simple metric, an onboard is defined as one passenger in a seat onboard the airplane when it takes off.  A passenger is counted for each flight, regardless if they changed planes or stayed on the same plane for a stop.  If somebody flies Omaha-Denver-San Francisco on a direct flight on Southwest or via a connection on another airline, they’d be counted twice in both cases.  The challenge here for measuring is that it looks higher when people have to stop on their way to their final destination.  Since Southwest flies more passengers nonstop to their destination than other airlines, it looks like Southwest carries fewer passengers if you just look at onboards. O&D Passengers:  This is the metric that we use the most because it’s one of the cleanest ways to measure market share using a level playing field.  An O&D passenger is one passenger flying between their origin and their destination, regardless of the number of stops or connections along the way.  It counts every passenger flying from Phoenix to Newark the same whether they fly nonstop or if they connect somewhere in between. We count each Customer once on each O&D, so if they fly roundtrip we count them twice—once on the outbound flights, and once on the return. Because our Customers book tickets by looking at an entire journey, not a separate ticket for each individual flight, we think this is the best metric to truly measure the number of Customers each airline carries. We also refer to O&D passengers as “originating passengers boarded” in some contexts, but it is the exact same statistic. So, when you read a report that references the size of an airline relative to the rest of the industry, it’s important for you to also look at what metric is being used in the report.  Obviously, all of the numbers are important for different reasons.  And now you know how Southwest measures itself against other golfers, er, airlines. ... View more

I wanted to provide you all with an update on how things are going since we launched the All-New Rapid Rewards program last week.  To say it’s been a crazy past week and a half is an understatement, and I know you all have experienced and expressed your frustrations with the launch of the new program and the challenges we have faced with the rollout.    If we were a sports team, you could say that we’ve been in a slump the last week and a half.  It happens to even the best teams, and when it comes to Customer Service and meeting and exceeding our Customers’ expectations, I feel that Southwest is the best in the game.  Like a slumping sports team, we have heard all about it from our fans, which is to be expected and certainly fair.  The truth is we haven’t lived up to our standards or expectations for delivering Customer Service this past week and a half.  For that, we sincerely apologize.  I can tell you that we have been working around the clock to recover and get back to our winning ways.  We are seeing improvements, and each day is better than the one before.      One of the biggest challenges we have experienced, that we know has a bigger impact on you, is our higher than normal call volumes, as well as unusually high e-mail inquiries.  Unfortunately, that has meant that your wait time to speak to someone has been longer than normal, and at times, you have been unable to get through.  Likewise, it has taken us longer to respond to your e-mails.  Fortunately, we have seen steady improvements since the launch, and we are hoping to be back to the level of Customer Service you expect from us soon.  Please trust me when I tell you that we do have all hands on deck working around the clock to answer your calls and e-mails.  Combined, our Customer Service Representatives have worked thousands of hours of overtime, and we have brought in temporary Employees to help.    Additionally, as with anything new, there is a learning curve to becoming familiar with the changes on the web site, so our Members naturally have questions about where to find certain features and how to navigate the site, which can be frustrating.  We know there is opportunity for making the new account screens more intuitive so you can more easily find your information.  A few of these have already been implemented, and we continue to work on further enhancements.  Last week, we posted a blog and video with answers to some frequently asked questions about how to navigate the web site, so I encourage you to check that out if you haven’t already.   With regard to functionality on southwest.com, most all functionality is working as designed.  Yes, we are still experiencing a few bugs here and there, and we have only one main outstanding issue we are working diligently to address.  Members who are using Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) are unable to login to their account.  We are aware of this issue and are working to fix it as soon as we possibly can.  I’m including a link to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 if you are interested in upgrading:  http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/worldwide-sites.aspx, and again, we are working to fix this on our end as quickly as we can so that those with IE6 can login to their accounts.                Again, we are seeing improvements across all fronts, and we are working as hard and fast as we can to get back on track.  We know you expect a lot from Southwest Airlines, and we’re sorry we haven’t been able to live up to your (or our) expectations.         ... View more

We know the last two days certainly have been challenging for you. Murphy’s law was an unwelcome Passenger yesterday when we had two, separate situations that affected our operations and web site accessibility. Through it all, our Employees did their very best to serve you, but we understand that many of you have had frustrating moments.   Our first issue came yesterday morning when we flipped the switch for our All-New Rapid Rewards program. Throughout the day, southwest.com had intermittent issues regarding functionality and accessibility. We had a Command Center in place and our folks were ready to immediately spring into action to address and fix the "bugs" as they were discovered. Their work continued all day and through the night, and they were able to implement some fixes that have helped get us back up and running online today.   As Murphy and his law would have it, in a completely unrelated event yesterday evening, our primary telecommunications provider experienced an outage that affected the network connectivity at some of our airports and call centers nationwide. This resulted in long lines of Customers at many airports. Immediately, an emergency command center effort was mounted to find a solution to get the connectivity repaired. The safety and security of our flights, Customers, and Employees remained our focus as we worked to minimize the impact to our Customers and our operation. The outage affected our operation for approximately 2.5 hours.   We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and frustration you experienced the last two days.  To our fans, followers, and Customers, we know you expect great Customer Service, and that’s our expectation too.  Yesterday wasn’t our best day, but today is looking better.  We hope to see you on a Southwest flight soon.   ... View more

  At Southwest Airlines, we make it our mission to become engaged and involved in the communities that we serve in a meaningful and relevant way. It’s a way for us to make a positive contribution in each one of our 69 "hometowns" across the country, and one of the neat things is that our efforts take on many different forms, depending on what is important to the individual community. It’s no secret that we LUV being a part of the Denver community. When we talk to Denverites and organizations like our friends at the Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP) and ask them what they’d like to see in Downtown Denver, far and away the thing we hear the most is they want an ice rink. We heard them loud and clear, and today we are very proud to team up with the DDP and make this dream a reality for this city when we launch the Southwest Rink at Skyline Park this winter.   The Southwest Rink at Skyline Park will kick off the holiday season, opening on Friday, Nov. 26. The rink will be FREE and open to the public with the option to bring your own skates or rent a pair at a minimal cost. The Rink is conveniently located adjacent to the newly opened Southwest Porch at Skyline Park, which we unveiled last month to much fan fare. We’ll be serving up some food and snacks at the Porch as part of a special winter menu before or after you lace up your skates and hit the ice. If you live in Denver or have plans to visit this winter, be sure to bring your skates and a friend to the Southwest Rink at Skyline Park – we’ll see you there! ... View more

Since we started service to Denver four and a half years ago, we have grown at record pace, we have engaged in countless community programs and partnerships, and we have introduced our fun personality to the good people of Colorado.  Well, we are ready to take our relationship to the next level by officially announcing that Southwest is “Dedicated to Denver!” What does that mean?  Well, first and foremost, we have built a robust flight schedule out of Denver International Airport (DIA), so we fly where and when our Denver Customers want to go (not to mention people who want to visit Denver!), and we have done it with our low fares, legendary Customer Service, and popular Bags Fly Free policy.  But we have also committed to being actively involved in the Denver community, as evidenced by our sponsorship of the Denver Nuggets, the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheater, the Larimer Arts Chalk Art Festival, Denver’s Road Home, and the Denver Rescue Mission, and so much more that I haven’t even scratched the surface. And we’re not done yet!  Last week we launched a Denver-specific advertising campaign professing our dedication to the market with a tagline of, “Say Yes, Denver!”  Our very own Denver Employees star in the Ads, which are shot in popular Denver locations including Red Rocks, the 16th Street Mall, and the romantic Rioja restaurant, asking viewers, “Denver, will you fly us?” Today, we are announcing our latest display of dedication, equipped with a Southwest-branded fleet of 25 pedicabs that will roam downtown Denver over the next six months.  For 20 events throughout those six months, we will be giving away FREE RIDES on the pedicabs, starting a couple hours before tomorrow’s baseball game at Coors Field.  So, if you’re going to the game, be on the lookout for a Southwest-branded pedicab with a “FREE RIDES” flag on the back, and let us take you where you want to go, and stay tuned over the next six months for our FREE RIDES events in Denver.  After all, Southwest wants to take you places, and in Denver, that extends beyond the airport to where you work and live. Also, we are partnering with the Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP) to become the Exclusive Airline of DDP's Skyline Park Events, including Mile High Movies and the free Summer Concert Series throughout July and August.  Our Movies in Skyline Park sponsorship kicks off this Saturday, July 3, with Field of Dreams, and we hope you’ll take in a movie or a concert this summer and enjoy some Southwest hospitality, including FREE (there’s that word FREE again!) cupcakes during the movies!  We fully support the DDP’s mission to create a unique, diverse, vibrant, and economically healthy urban core for the Rocky Mountain region. After all, Southwest is Dedicated to Denver!           ... View more

One of the things I enjoy the most about working for this Company is that I am constantly blown away by the actions of our Employees—especially when dealing with adverse circumstances.  Recently, I received a call from the ABC affiliate in Denver asking about one of our Flight Crews who served pizza to our Customers on a flight last week from Ft. Lauderdale to Denver.  The flight was diverted to Pueblo, Colorado, due to weather in Denver.  Upon hearing the news that the flight would have to wait two hours to depart to Denver, our Flight Crew contacted the folks at the Pueblo Airport to order Little Ceaser’s pizza for our Customers, had it delivered to the aircraft, and then personally served the pizza while they waited for the weather in Denver to clear so they could depart.  While our Customers weren’t thrilled about the delay, which was beyond our control, they appreciated the gesture so much that they contacted the local news in Denver upon their arrival to brag about how our Flight Crew made a lasting impression on them in the face of an adverse set of circumstances. To read the resulting media story and see a slideshow, visit: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/23620842/detail.html.  Just another example of how our People make the difference for our Customers.  Only at Southwest would our Employees turn a diversion and delay into a pizza party.   ... View more

Southwest Airlines is sporting our version of a “double header” in Denver this weekend by offering special promotions for baseball’s Opening Day 2010 on Friday and the Denver Nuggets game against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.   To celebrate Opening Day, Southwest Employees dressed in full-uniform (that's Southwest uniforms, not baseball uniforms) will be walking around the “LoDo” (Lower Downtown) area and Coors Field between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday handing out Southwest Airlines branded baseball cards inviting Denverites to participate in our “Denver Baseball Vacation” online sweepstakes, with a chance to win a baseball getaway for two.  The getaway for two includes tickets on Southwest Airlines, hotel accommodations, and game tickets to a Rockies away game.  To register, Customers will visit southwest.com/denverbaseball. As the official airline of the Denver Nuggets, Saturday will be designated “Southwest Airlines Night with the Nuggets.”  To celebrate, Southwest is throwing a tailgate party beginning at 5 p.m. at a Southwest Airlines tent outside the Pepsi Center.  The first 80 Nuggets fans who show up at the Southwest tent, find the Southwest mascot, and say, “Bags Fly Free only on Southwest Airlines,” will win tickets to Saturday night’s game.  The tent will be marked by a Southwest Airlines cold-air balloon and will be located on the West Side of the Pepsi Center.  Southwest will also have local Denver musician, Angie Stevens, performing at the tent between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.   In addition to the tailgate party, Southwest will be handing out a $25 off fare-saver coupons to the first 7,000 fans that arrive at the Denver Nuggets game.   Southwest Airlines began service to Denver on January 3, 2006, with 13 daily nonstop departures to three destinations.  We currently operate 113 daily nonstop flights from the Mile High City, making Denver the fastest growing city in our Company’s history.  In May 2010, Southwest will operate 129 daily flights, and by August 2010, Southwest will operate 144 daily nonstop flights from Denver, making Denver our fifth largest market.  Check out Southwest’s new landing page just for Denver at: southwest.com/denver!    I hope I see you at the game. ... View more

Happy President’s Day!   In recognition of President’s Day, I was able to sit down with our own President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Gary Kelly, to ask him to reflect on our nation’s top job, and he shares his thoughts below.  Q:  You recently visited the White House with other business leaders from around the country to talk about Customer Service.  What was that like? A:  I always find Washington, D.C. inspiring.  First, one has to marvel at the architecture and the beauty of the city.  Of course, The White House is a magnificent site, steeped in history.  I have been to the east Wing of The White House, several times before, for meetings with various staff members.  This time, I actually had two meetings at two different locations on The White House grounds.  One was in a West Wing office of The White House.  The bigger meeting was in the Eisenhower Building, which is essentially on The White House grounds on the west side.  Our CEO group had a short briefing by The President, and then we met in small groups with deputy members of the Cabinet.  It was very worthwhile to meet some of the leaders of our Federal government, and a real honor for Southwest to be included.  For me, it was a real kick!     Q:  Which of our nation’s past Presidents do you admire the most, and why? A:  That one is easy and predictable: Abraham Lincoln.  He was confronted with awesome challenges that he essentially had no experience from which he could draw upon.  For all to see, his many talents and his character were on full display.  He was brilliant, passionate, eloquent, moral, and principled.  Clearly, his magnificent leadership was responsible for saving our union and abolishing slavery.   And, one cannot imagine the burden he felt to wage war against fellow countrymen and suffer such enormous casualties.  He was the greatest of many great Presidents.  Last Friday was the 201st anniversary of his birth, and President's Day was adopted in February to commemorate his and Washington's (February 22) birthdates. Q:  Do you have a favorite quote from your favorite President?  A:  I have a couple, again, from Lincoln.  He had such eloquence, but also brevity.  One of the greatest speeches of all times was the Gettysburg Address, which was less than 300 words, and took less than three minutes to deliver.  Further, it was delivered in an age when two hour speeches were the expected norm.  I used the occasion to read up on my Lincoln history over the weekend.  I’ll offer two favorites.    The first was a conversation, that was confirmed in a letter to newspaper publisher Albert Hodges.  Lincoln was consistent throughout his life in opposing slavery, but slavery was legal, and Lincoln's duty was to uphold the law.  He issued his executive order to free slaves (the Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863) but slavery was still legal.  As part of Lincoln's argument to defend his order and to change the constitution to make slavery illegal, he said and then wrote, "If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."  It seems so simple today, but in those times, it was not only a bitterly divisive issue, but fought over with 1.1 million casualties.  Lincoln had debated slavery for decades, famously, with Senator Stephen Douglas beginning in 1854.  Finally, at Lincoln's urging, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment in early 1865, while Lincoln was still alive, which made slavery illegal in December 1865, after the civil war was over.  I love this famous quote because it has such searing clarity, and with just eight words.   The second quote was part of his second inaugural address, delivered just days before he was tragically assassinated, but after Lee had surrendered his confederate Army of Northern Virginia to Grant at Appomattox.    It is inscribed in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.  The the war basically was over, but Lincoln was pressing, already, to reconcile North and South.  Brilliantly, he knew blaming the South would only prolong the bitter divide.   “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations’ wounds, to care for him who has borne the battle and for his widow and orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”   It is a long sentence, but an extraordinary one.  There were many who wanted to punish the southern states, but Lincoln clearly did not.  With one sentence, Lincoln said we are all Americans, and we all have honor and dignity.  I dare say, our nation would have healed and progressed much more rapidly had Lincoln lived to guide our Country through reconstruction.  It was profound and magnanimous thinking. Q:  If you were President of the United States for a day, what would you do?  A:  Wow, just a day!  I think I’d ride around in Air Force One and lobby Congress to cut taxes and reduce spending! Q:  In a sentence or two, what does Leadership mean to you?  A:  Great Leaders must be competent but also have a cause and a vision; can listen, communicate, and inspire; have strong character and are decisive; and passionately care about the people they lead.  However, given those traits, overwhelmingly, the most important aspect of Leadership is courage.  To name a few:  Courage of convictions; courage to do what is right no matter the opposition; courage to admit mistakes and take corrective action.  Clearly, President Lincoln demonstrated supreme courage.     ... View more

Hey, Denver – It’s our Fourth Anniversary, so we got you a FREE FLIGHT!! That’s right – we’re celebrating our four-year anniversary serving the good people of Colorado by giving Colorado Rapid Rewards Members a free flight when they purchase a Business Select Fare in the month of January.  We’ve made no secret of the fact that Southwest Airlines LUVS Denver, and this is our way of thanking the folks of Colorado for supporting our growth and service from the Mile High City.  While our official anniversary was yesterday (January 3, 2010), beginning today, we’re offering frequent flyers of Colorado a free flight when they book a Business Select roundtrip fare from Denver.  The offer is valid for both new and existing Rapid Rewards Members for travel booked by January 31, 2010, and travel completed by February 28, 2010.  To register for the promotion, visit here (see Terms and Conditions on the link).    Existing Colorado-based Rapid Rewards Members must register for the promotion.  Not a Rapid Rewards Member? Colorado residents can join the Rapid Rewards program and be automatically registered for the promotion.  Simply join the program via the link above before completing qualifying travel. In just four short years, Denver has become Southwest’s fastest growing city in our 38-year history, and by August 2010, Denver will become our fifth largest market out of the 69 destinations that we serve. Fitting, given that our Rapid Rewards program offers free flights fast! Thank you, Colorado, for making us feel so LUVed, and Cheers to many more great years of flying high together! ... View more

Southwest is hosting a Career Fair in Denver on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, at the Doubletree Hotel at 3203 Quebec St.  The Career Fair will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom, and Southwest Employees from the Company’s People Department will be available to provide information about career opportunities at Southwest Airlines, in Denver, and in other Southwest cities around the nation.  Southwest has grown from about 40 Employees in Denver in 2006 to more than 380 today.  In the past six months, Southwest has hired more than 50 Employees in Denver.         WHO:   Southwest Airlines Employees Open to the Public WHAT: Southwest is hosting a Career Fair in Denver on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, at the Doubletree Hotel at 3203 Quebec St.  The Career Fair will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom, where Southwest Employees from the Company’s People Department will be available to provide information about career opportunities at Southwest Airlines, in Denver and in other Southwest cities around the nation.  Southwest has grown from about 40 Employees in Denver in 2006 to more than 380 today.  In the past six months, Southwest has hired more than 50 Employees in Denver.        WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Come and go as you please WHERE: Doubletree Hotel – Grand Ballroom 3203 Quebec St. Denver, CO  80207 OTHER FACTS: Southwest Airlines began service to Denver on January 3, 2006, with 13 daily nonstop departures to three destinations.  The airline currently operates 112 daily nonstop flights from the Mile High City, making Denver the fastest growing city in the Company’s history.  Last month, Southwest announced that the carrier will begin new nonstop service between Denver and Boston Logan; Denver and Spokane; and Denver and Reno/Tahoe in January 2010.  With the previously announced service and the new flights being announced today, Southwest will operate 127 daily nonstop flights from Denver to 43 cities by May 2010.   ... View more

Our CEO, Gary Kelly, spoke at the 81st annual AAAE (American Association of Airport Executives) Conference and Exposition in Philadelphia on Monday, and below is a snapshot of his message:    "We need an Industry that is built to last.  An Industry that has a strong foundation to support and contribute to technology, energy, and climate solutions.  And we need appropriate governmental policies, leadership, and and legislation to achieve three main industry-wide goals: We need to operate along optimum flight paths by a network-centric, satellite-based air traffic control system (NextGen).  In essence, we need NextGen to be NowGen! We need to operate in a market with commercially viable, environmentally friendly alternative jet fuels; and, We need to operate with a fleet of more energy-efficient aircraft than we have today.    That is our substantive and credible answer to the need to reduce cost and Greenhouse Gas Emissions -- not a "cap and tax" system that would simply raise costs, destroy more demand, seriously damage local economies, and divert precious capital from the task at hand."   ... View more

In 1971, the world was introduced to Southwest Airlines -- a fun, quirky airline with happy Employees delivering Positively Outrageous Service (and uniforms!), transporting Customers from ‘Point A’ to ‘Point B’ ontime, with a free bag of peanuts and a free soda to wash them down.  Fast forward to today (delete the mental image of the hot pants from your mind), and the more you can appreciate that some things never change.      No question, 2008 was one of the most difficult years of the most difficult decade in aviation history.  But true to our roots, we zigged when the other airlines zagged, posting an unprecedented 36th consecutive year of profitability.  How in the world did we do it?  With some of the very same ingredients that set us apart from the very beginning: low fares, legendary Customer Service, the best Employees in the Industry, and the courage and indomitable spirit that is unique to Southwest Airlines and dares us to be different.      Once again, Southwest Airlines received the fewest number of Customer complaints per passenger carried, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT).  Once again, Southwest Airlines was tops in the ontime performance list for the mainland U.S. carriers.  And once again, survey after survey ranked Southwest at or near the top in terms of Customer Service, including being named the 7th most admired Company in the world by FORTUNE magazine.     But 2008 presented some significant challenges, and we’re not out of the woods yet.  Fortunately, we were well prepared for the economic hardships with an investment-grade balance sheet, strong liquidity, access to credit markets, and an incredible group of Employees.     Every year, Southwest hosts an annual Shareholder's Meeting at our Headquarters in Dallas.  The meeting is an opportunity for our Shareholder's to hear directly from our Executives about the Company's performance from the previous year, the current state of the airline, and what lies ahead for Southwest.  Shareholder's also have an opportunity to vote on key issues, nominate and elect Board Members, and, of course, catch up with old friends.  Southwest will host our annual Shareholder's meeting tomorrow (May 20), and we look forward to seeing all of our friends and Family.    An electronic copy of our Annual report is available at www.southwest.com under the Investor Relations tab.  You can listen to a live webcast presentation of its Annual Meeting of Shareholders.  A link to the webcast will be made available via the Investor Relations homepage on the Southwest Airlines web site.  Details of the audio webcast are as follows:            Date:         Wednesday, May 20, 2009            Time:         10:00 a.m. Central Time            Web Address:  www.southwest.com            Contact:      Investor Relations (214) 792-4415 To access the live audio webcast on the Investor Relations homepage, click on "About Southwest" and select Investor Relations from the "About SWA" sidebar menu.  A replay of the webcast will also be available on the Events Calendar in the Investor Relations section of www.southwest.com. Minimum Requirements to listen to broadcast:     The Windows Media Player software, downloadable free from http://www.microsoft.com, and at least a 56K bps connection to the Internet.  If you experience problems listening to the webcast, send an e-mail to:webcast@multivu.com.     If you are unable to click on the link above, please copy and paste the URL below into a web browser http://www.southwest.com/investor_relations/fs_news_releases.html    ... View more

Have you ever attended a concert at 30,000 feet?  Don’t feel bad, most people haven’t.  But that is exactly what Southwest Airlines Customers experienced on a recent flight from Denver to Chicago Midway to Nashville and finally to New Orleans.  For the past two and a half years, Southwest Airlines has been the official airline sponsor of Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre located just outside of Denver, CO.  To help celebrate that relationship, Southwest teamed up with our friends at Red Rocks to host an Inflight concert featuring local Denver artists Jim Dalton of the Railbenders and Angie Stevens, and, needless to say, it rocked!  But don’t take my word for it.  We invited Greg Moody of CBS in Denver along for the ride, and he documented this unique performance better than I can describe.  To view Greg’s story, visit: http://cbs4denver.com/video and search for Southwest Airlines and Red Rocks.  No doubt, the Customers onboard these flights were pleasantly surprised and entertained (and hopefully not tired!), but it’s nowhere close to experiencing a live show at Red Rocks.    If you’ve never been, Red Rocks Red Rocks Amphitheatre is known world-wide for its star-studded roster, natural amplification, and incomparable ambience, as well as awe-inspiring hiking and biking trails.  This acoustically perfect natural outdoor Amphitheatre is flanked by striking 400 ft.-high red sandstone formations.  In the evening, the seats in the Amphitheatre overlook the lights of the city, creating a tremendous panoramic view.  So what are you waiting for?  Jump on a Southwest flight to Denver and experience Red Rocks for yourself.  Or, if you get lucky, look for Jim and Angie on your next Southwest flight, and be sure to sing along.            ... View more