Southwest Airlines Community

Ah, Daylight Saving Time.  The two days each year that mess around with our sleep patterns (and I don’t count New Year’s Eve—that’s self- inflicted!).  This weekend, Sunday, March 8 to be exact, is the one where we LOSE an hour of sleep.  But, we trade an hour of early morning sunshine for an hour of evening sunshine, so after the sleep deprivation wears off most of us appreciate the change! Daylight Saving Time (DST) has a history that goes back thousands of years. Many ancient civilizations including the Greeks, Romans, Aztecs and Mayans used to practice something similar to what we know as DST. Still, the United States didn’t adopt what we know now as DST until World War I as an energy-saving measure in 1918.  What’s interesting from our perspective is that for the first 11 years of our existence, Southwest didn’t really have to worry about time change.  All the cities we served up until 1982 all observed DST, all on the same day (by national decree), and since we didn’t fly overnight flights we didn’t have to jump through a lot of hoops.  But in June of 1982 we brought LUV to the Valley of the Sun, and because Arizona doesn’t observe DST, Southwest had to start dealing with how to handle the shift in time zones.  Then we added Indianapolis, which also at the time didn’t observe DST, then we added Tucson.  Then Indiana decided to start observing DST so we had to adapt again.  So we’ve gotten good at dealing with the bi-annual DST change in America! All US cities and states that use DST make the change on the same two dates. It’s predictable, doesn’t change often, and all we know this drill.  But now that Southwest is a player (and a growing one!) in the international arena, we have LOTS of new Daylight Saving Time rules…and they change, sometimes suddenly!  Many destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America don't observe DST, others do on the same dates as the United States, still others observe DST but change on different dates than the USA, and a few have different sets of rules for the nation depending on what region you’re in.  And many of you may ask how other airlines (including AirTran and Morris) were able to handle this for so long.  Easy answer:  we’re different!  Seriously, we are, in terms of all of our operating systems.  The majority of them were internally developed for Southwest’s unique operating profile.  And now…we get to change again to handle more international ops! So as we get ready to lose an hour of sleep in most of the USA, it might be a good opportunity to lay out how nations around the world handle Daylight Saving Time. The Bahamas. Of the nations we serve, the Bahamas are easy—they observe DST and change on the same dates most of the USA does.  Aruba, Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica do not observe DST at all. Mexico. Mexico is unique among the nations in the Western Hemisphere in that not only do they have one state that doesn’t observe DST (specifically, Quintana Roo, home to Cancun), the ones that do don’t all change on the same date.  (How confusing must THAT be??)  Regions along the border within 20 miles of the US observe the same change dates as the USA, while rest of Mexico moves from Standard to Daylight Saving Time on first Sunday in April and back on the last Sunday in October. And beyond. And if we look even farther afield, the rules get even more confusing.  Most of Europe is unified but on different dates than the US, Springing Forward the last Sunday of March, and Falling Back on the last Sunday in October.  Most of Asia doesn’t observe DST at all.  And diving WAY South of the Equator, since North America DST is designed to give us more daylight in the evening, in much of the Southern Hemisphere it’s reversed, as are the seasons.  There, it is Fall Forward, Spring Back! Next week, as you’re waiting on the caffeine to kick in, think about how the rules may be different but nearly two billion people on our planet at some point have to go through the same “DST Blues.”  And as we grow to be the world’s most loved, most flown, most profitable airline—we get to keep embracing change!  Let me know, as always, if y’all have questions or comments.  Enjoy your weekend! ... View more

Some of you may remember the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” that came out in 1998.  It was quite the thing then and it was all about how people deal with change. In the 16 years since, it’s safe to say that Southwest has seen its fair share of changes. From new cities and new airplanes to international service, Southwest’s cheese has moved a lot as we’ve grown in the last decade and a half.  But with all that cheese-movin’, sometimes unexpected things burst through the front door like rowdy guests at a surprise party. This is one of those times!  We found out last week that the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico—which includes Cancun—has decided to change its time zone during Standard Time (i.e., not Daylight Saving Time) to “spring forward” an hour.  Changing time zones for an airport or a state is highly unusual anywhere on the planet—I can only recall it happening a couple of times in my 37 years in the airline industry.  But we’re equipped to handle change like that. But the rowdy-surprise-party-guest kicker?  The change is effective February 1; less than 2 weeks from today!  SAY WHAAAAAT? After close synchronization between Network Planning, Technology, Legal, and lots of other workgroups, we came up with a solution and it tested fine.  So today, Friday, January 23, we changed the schedule.  It’s really not as scary as it sounds, as only the arrival and departure times in Cancun are changing—they’re all shifting an hour later, and only for the date range of February 1 through April 4.  No domestic departure or arrival times are impacted.  Plus, our partners at Amadeus have created a script that will take care of much of the manual reaccommodation work for affected Customers’ reservation.  Additionally, individual Departments will notify their workgroups of any impact. El Estado de Quintana Roo has made a good case to the Mexican Federal Government to enact this change, effective sooner rather than later.  The biggest benefit is giving the huge tourist trade an extra, useful hour of sunlight, which makes sense.  After all, right now sunrise in Cancun is about 6:40am, and sunset is about 5:30pm, and this change will shift both of those an hour later.  And really, who is up in Cancun at 6:40am?  A secondary benefit of the change is energy savings, brought about by not needing to turn on the lights in homes and commercial establishments until an hour later. Not all questions have been settled.  Remaining unanswered is whether Quintana Roo will “spring forward” for Mexican Daylight Saving Time which this year runs April 5 through October 25.  If they do, there’s another schedule change in Cancun’s future!  But just as we learned how to handle moving cheese over all these years, we’re learning how to deal with moving queso.  Can we get chips with that? Comment if you have questions, and have a great weekend! ... View more

Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots on their wins last night! You know what that means—both teams are headed to the Phoenix area for the biggest annual football show-down in America. Earlier this morning Southwest introduced extra sections, and added connecting itinerariesgiving party people and football fanatics more ways to fly Phoenix’s favorite airline to and from the Valley of the Sun. And why not?  Southwest carries more Phoenix Customers than any other airline—so we’re proud to bring even more people to Arizona to enjoy the party of the year.  But book these quick, as I can’t imagine they’ll stay available for long! So…who are YOU rooting for? Better yet, since my Cowboys are out of the running, who do you think that I should root for—and why?  Leave a comment and me know!  Have a great week! ... View more

It’s the 49ers vs. the Ravens in the big game!  As soon as the games in Foxborough and Atlanta were over, both Southwest and AirTran got busy adding extra flights to accommodate the additional demand to the NFL Championship in New Orleans on February 3. We’ve added the following: Thursday, January 31: Atlanta-New Orleans:  One extra AirTran flight for a total of five nonstops that day. (No, the Falcons didn’t win, but this is for connectivity!) San Francisco-New Orleans:  Two nonstops on Southwest. (Special nonstop service!) Baltimore/Washington-New Orleans:  Two added nonstops on Southwest, for a total of four. Monday, February 4: New Orleans-Atlanta:  Two extra AirTran flights, making a total of six for the day. New Orleans-Baltimore:  Two added Southwest nonstops, for a total of four. New Orleans-San Francisco:  Two Southwest nonstops. (Special nonstop return service!) AirTran flights are available on airtran.com, and Southwest service is available on southwest.com.  As the big game is just before Mardi Gras, something tells me New Orleans is going to make this one incredibly special event.  Southwest and AirTran will help our Customers get to the party!  Please help spread the word by making sure your friends and family know we’ve got this extra service out there.  Have a great week! ... View more

Southwest Airlines is making the right call for college sports fans planning to travel to Miami for the Bowl Game on Jan. 7, 2013.  Today we introduced additional flights to accommodate Customers traveling to South Florida, including service not normally offered between Birmingham (BHM) and Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), specifically for the big game.   Additional flights added to accommodate Customers traveling to South Florida include the following and are on sale now at southwest.com! Southwest Airlines Additional Service on Jan. 5: Two daily nonstops between Chicago-Midway and Ft. Lauderdale Two daily nonstops between Birmingham and Ft. Lauderdale Southwest Airlines Additional Service on Jan. 8: Two daily nonstops between Ft. Lauderdale and Chicago-Midway Two daily nonstops between Ft. Lauderdale and Birmingham AirTran Airways Additional Service on Jan. 5: One daily nonstop between Chicago-Midway and Atlanta AirTran Airways Additional Service on Jan. 8: Three daily nonstops between Ft. Lauderdale and Atlanta Southwest Airlines is showing its support by dedicating these extra flights to the fans.  Flight #120 and Flight #505 from Chicago-Midway to Ft. Lauderdale celebrate Blue and Gold’s 12-0 season and star players who both wear #5; and Flight #42 from Birmingham to Ft. Lauderdale is for the Crimson fans cheering on their star running back! Doesn’t matter to us who you’re rooting for … let us take you to the game!  Visit www.southwest.com or call our amazing agents at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA and book today! ... View more