07-22-2014
12:12 PM
8 Loves
This guest post from Illinois high schooler Hannah Munson originally appeared in the July 2014 edition of our onboard magazine, Spirit. Southwest Airlines has proudly supported the Congressional Art Competition for 13 consecutive years. In 2014, 370 congressional offices participated in the Congressional Art Competition. Southwest donated complimentary airfare to more than 350 students to travel to Washington, D.C. to see their award-winning artwork hang in the Capitol. Additionally, Southwest Airlines donated airfare for guardian guests to accompany the students to the Capitol, totaling more than 700 roundtrip ticket donations. Winning students who live in cities without convenient service to D.C. or the surrounding area were awarded alternate grand prizes. Hannah Munson created her winning work (above) with pencil.
For as long as I can remember, I have doodled and drawn in my notebooks. I enjoyed it but never considered myself an “artist.” That changed a few years ago, thanks to my high school art teacher. She encouraged me to challenge myself artistically and helped me see the potential in my art. Later, she continued to cheer me on and asked me to submit my work for consideration in the Congressional Art Competition, a nationwide event sponsored by the Alexandria, Virginia–based Congressional Institute. High school students from participating districts across the country enter for the chance to have their artwork placed within our nation’s Capitol for an entire year.
I had entered contests before, but winning this one would come with a bonus: two roundtrip tickets to Washington, D.C. (courtesy of Southwest Airlines), to attend the national reception and view the winning artwork on display in the Capitol. In 2013, Southwest supported a record 369 district competitions in this way.
Alongside many other talented artists, I submitted my work. I was elated and proud that my piece titled “A Hero’s Stolen Heart” was selected as my district’s first-place winner and would hang on the walls of our nation’s most treasured building.
Traveling to the national capital to represent the 16th Congressional District of Illinois at the competition was an exciting experience unlike anything I’d ever done. My dad and I attended the reception together and enjoyed all that Washington, D.C., has to offer. The experiences of visiting the city for the first time; meeting my congressman, Rep. Adam Kinzinger; and seeing my work displayed in the Cannon Tunnel, which connects the Cannon House Office Building to the Capitol, were all amazing.
Winning the Congressional Art Competition was a turning point for me: It solidified my desire and confidence to pursue my passion for the arts. My goal is to use my creative talents to help others through art therapy.
On behalf of aspiring artists everywhere, thank you to all who support the Congressional Art Competition. Because of you, my future—like my canvas—is open to endless possibilities!
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05-21-2014
10:05 PM
If this is a major point with Southwest, build into the pricing screen that you are paying this amount in taxes and add a link on the final confirmation screen to a "petition to reduce taxes" website or screen. All the DOT regulation does is asks the airline to price airfares the way is gasoline is priced after-tax. Those considering other transportatin that is priced before tax can walk through the screen and get the after tax price.
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Southwest Airlines and Dallas have a long and spirited Love story. Through good times and some tough times over the last 43 years, Southwest has shown a strong commitment to our hometown, Dallas. With the departure of the Wright Amendment just around the corner, we have some exciting times ahead!
Southwest wants to show Dallas even more LUV by adding 12 new, nonstop cities for a total of 20 additional nonstops from Love Field. We need your support to make this happen! Visit www.LUVingDAL.com to learn more and find out how you can help!
So, what’s Love got to do with it, exactly? Everything. Let’s take a closer look at our LUV story with Love Field and Dallas:
Through a partnership with the City of Dallas, Southwest has been instrumental in transforming Love Field into a world class airport.
Southwest Airlines is headquartered in Dallas and is one of Dallas County's largest taxpayers, paying $16 million in annual property taxes.
In 2013, Southwest donated more than $970,000 (in cash and ticket donations) impacting a total of 428 Dallas-area organizations.
Southwest Employees over 7,700 local Employees in the Dallas area. Last year, these Southwest Warriors contributed nearly 30,000 volunteer hours within the region.
Southwest wants to grow our service at Dallas Love Field and add additional low fare options for North Texas Consumers. We are asking the Dallas City Council to grant us permission to use two additional gates at Dallas Love Field. These gates are available as a result of the U.S. Justice Department requiring American Airlines to give up the two gates it has under lease at DAL as a condition of its merger with US Airways.
With these two gates, Southwest is proposing to add 20 flights to 12 new nonstop destinations, and will provide one-stop or connecting flights to dozens of other communities. Learn more about these gates and how you can help by visiting www.LUVingDAL.com.
Please help us respectfully request that these two City-owned gates be granted to the airline that can produce the greatest benefit for Dallas taxpayers, businesses, and consumers: Dallas-born, Dallas-based, Dallas-invested Southwest Airlines.
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03-18-2014
12:00 PM
5 Loves
KC to DC: More Competition, Lower Fares, Larger Planes and a Lot of LUV
Southwest Airlines wants to show you the way to DCA! But, we need your help saving our MCI-DCA nonstop!
On March 25, Southwest Airlines will file an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to continue operating the only daily, low-fare, large-jet nonstop service between Kansas City International Airport (MCI) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). We need your help to keep this flight, which could go to another airline and another market.
How can you help?
Please join the growing list of travelers who support our application by adding your name to the online petition at www.kctodc.com! The petition process is short and simple (less than two minutes!) and will send a loud and unified message to the DOT. Help us respectfully urge the DOT to approve Southwest's application to serve the KCI-DCA market on a permanent basis.
Background
After Frontier Airlines ceased nonstop MCI-DCA service in January 2014, Southwest stepped in, per DOT’s approval, to assume this important flight. Specifically, DOT granted Southwest temporary use of two “slot exemptions” at DCA, until it could begin a formal proceeding to reallocate these slot exemptions permanently. Without Southwest’s entry into this market, MCI-DCA consumers would have been left with monopoly, small-plane service (i.e., three regional jet flights by US Airways).
It is significant that Southwest's one daily nonstop flight – operated with a 143-seat Boeing 737—represents nearly 50 percent of the daily seats along this nonstop route, which underscores how underserved the MCI-DCA market would be if Southwest is unable to retain this flight.
The MCI-DCA market is of the size and importance where a low-fare option is particularly critical for local consumers. Moreover, as MCI's largest airline, Southwest provides important one-stop and connecting options for DCA-bound Passengers from other parts of the United States.
Let’s us show you the way to DCA with More Competition, Lower Fares, Larger Planes and a Whole Lot of LUV! Take action now!
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Happily signed :-)
Paul In CRP
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07-28-2012
06:41 PM
24 Loves
As a Houstonian I think its only fair that Southwest make those shirts available for purchase!
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05-30-2012
11:24 AM
349 Loves
Today was an exciting milestone in our efforts to FREE HOBBY! This morning, our HOU and HC Employees took City Hall by storm as we delivered crates filled with pages upon pages that included the names of our Free Hobby petition advocates. Local Employees made personal visits to City Council Members to deliver the crates showcasing our groundswell of support. In total we had 33,682 supporters from Houston and across the country who voiced their support of international service from Houston's Hobby Airport. Council Members were amazed at the vast amount of support from both the local voices and across the country. Additionally, each City Council Member received a Free Hobby shirt with signatures from our local Employees. Below, Southwest Supporter and Houston Councilman Burks sports his Free Hobby shirt with a group of HC and HOU Employees. A huge thank you to all who signed the petition! You are a part of Free Hobby history and helped us make a huge impact today. Up next in our fight is a vote by City Hall, currently scheduled for this afternoon. Stay tuned!
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The battle rages on in our fight to Free Hobby! Yesterday was a great day in our efforts to make Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) an international airport and the momentum continues to build. On Tuesday, May 8, the City of Houston held a joint committee meeting to hear from Southwest, United, and other speakers such as the Houston City Attorney. Southwest’s Chairman, President and CEO, Gary Kelly testified on behalf of Southwest Airlines. Through his testimony Gary brought to life the benefits Houstonians and international travelers would enjoy with the addition of International service from Hobby. Gary spoke to our 40-year history of low fares and economic stimulation. His testimony was impactful, historically-based, and effective as he made the case that the time is now to relieve international travelers from the burden of limited options and high fares. “Houston deserves more. Houston deserves better”, Gary stated. Houston City Leaders vocally expressed their appreciation that our Commander in Chief took time out of his busy schedule to present on behalf of Southwest. To view the documents that we presented to the Houston City Council and Gary's testimony, visit the resources tab at freehobbyairport.com. Always our greatest strength, our local Employees showed up in full force to show their support (seen above). The front of the City Council chamber was packed with energetic Southwest Employees who donned their Free Hobby T-shirts and buttons. Gary’s testimony was so impactful that it compelled yet another city councilmember to voice his support for our efforts at Hobby. To see a full list of our supporters visit the Our Supporters tab on www.freehobbyairport.com. But the battle isn’t won yet! We must continue to show Houston City Council Members the support both locally and nationally behind our efforts to FREE HOBBY. Join the over 24,000 supporters who are passionate about lowering fares and keeping competition alive by allowing international service at Hobby. Click the tabs under “take action” to sign our online petition and show your support. It only takes a moment. This is a monumental step in our efforts to fly internationally and we need all of our supporters to make it happen! Together, our voice is strong and sends a compelling message to vote with, for and by THE PEOPLE!
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03-17-2012
03:49 PM
8 Loves
Amazing story! Love the Southwest connections! So happy for all the aunts (especially Aunt Ana with Ella Kate!!!) So fun!!!
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11-09-2011
11:51 AM
10 Loves
A couple of points:
1. To use the term "taxes" is misleading. These are user charges (or fees) that pay for airports, air traffic control, and security screening.
2. Nowhere in the White House plan ("Living Within Our Means and Investing in the Future: The President’s Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction, September 2011) does it state that these two particular fees would be used for deficit reduction. The report clearly states that the $100 departure fee would be placed in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which by law can only be used for aviation purposes. Also, the airline industry conveniently omits that the plan calls for an immediate $2 billion in airport investment and $1 billion in air traffic control investments.
3. When a new excise fee is introduced (as in the proposed departure tax) or an existing one is increased (as in the security fee), consumers (i.e. passengers) and suppliers (i.e. airlines) share the economic burden of the tax. How the burden is shared depends on a number of factors, including how price sensitive consumers and suppliers are and the nature of the competition. This is basic microeconomics, but not well understood by either policy makers or the general public.
4. The White House plan calls for the new $5 security fee to be collected "per one-way trip", instead of the current system, in which $2.50 is collected "per enplanement". Consequently, passengers with connections (and that's a lot of passengers) would pay no more than today.
5. The TSA's $2.50 security fee was introduced February 1, 2002 and has not been inflation adjusted a single time since then. The FAA's segment fee, on the other hand, is inflation adjusted every year and the maximum Passenger Facility Charge collected by airports was increased by 50% on April 1, 2001. One can safely argue that tripling the fee is excessive, but there is definitely a valid argument for some sort of increase.
6. When the FAA ran out of its authority to collect taxes earlier this year, pretty much every airline, including Southwest, increased its base fares to keep the expired taxes as added revenue. This undermined a lot of the goodwill the airlines otherwise may have enjoyed in its fight against user fee increases.
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I am very disappointed with southwest! I cancelled 2 tickets on April 25th because of a weather issue at the destination. I was told that I could use the amount for any traveler, not just the ticketed ones. Supposedly on April 29th, you decided to enforce the policy said to have been in place for 10 months and no longer will allow it. My son has been out of the country for nearly 2 years. We were trying to book tickets for my daughter and her boyfriend to meet my son and his fiance in Dallas. My daughter and son have not seen one another since he left. They have not met the other's new relationship. We have planned an entire week of family/friends reunion based on the fact that we had these funds to purchase tickets. Now, they are refusing to let me use the funds.
It is too far for my daughter and her boyfriend to drive because of their commitments at school. If we don't get this worked out, it will be 6 more months before they see each other as he is moving to the east coast the week after the planned events.
This is very upsetting! If that was your policy on April 25th yet not being enforced, why was I told that it could be done?
Please do something to take care of this. I was promised a phone call, but all I got was an email. Makes me feel like a very valued customer. So feeling the LUV this morning!
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My only thought about Flag Day is that I would love to see
one (or more) of your aircraft be totally in Stars and Stripes
"Stars and Stripes One" or "Star-Spangled One" would have
a great ring to it.
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