Southwest Airlines Story Leads

To make your job easier and to give you some ideas for stories, following are a few leads. If you would like to learn more about any of the following story leads, feel free to contact the Southwest Airlines public relations team at 214-792-4847.

1. Have you ever wondered how Southwest gives back to the 62 communities it serves? Check out our "Share the Spirit" site on southwest.com. Just click on "About Southwest," and then on the left navigation bar, click "Community Service." These items are refreshed often to add new and different activities featuring Southwest Employees working with a variety of organizations across the country.
2. Don't miss our new "Gallery" of images, including high resolution photographs, logos, art, and videos. The image gallery can be found by visiting swamedia.com, and any images published to this site are available for download and use by your news organization.
3. Wright is Wrong….Take a look at Southwest's newest "Anti Wright Amendment" television ad, set to the tune of the classic country song "Release Me," by visiting setlovefree.com. Background: As you know, Southwest Airlines is currently engaged in a fight to have the Wright Amendment lifted. The Wright Amendment is a 1979 federal law making it illegal to fly from Southwest's home airport, Love Field in Dallas, to points beyond the four states surrounding Texas, plus Alabama, Mississippi, and Kansas.
4. Southwest delivers catchy DING! alert messages that address the current travel environment such as, “Gas prices are high. It’s no joke! Fly on Southwest to avoid going broke.” Southwest Airlines became the first airline to revolutionize the Customer relationship with the launch of its new product DING!, the first-ever “direct link” to Customers’ computer desktops. DING! is the latest technological tool available, and only Southwest Airlines has it! In early 2005, the airline launched the first "system tray" icon for retail use that allows Customers to learn about the hottest fares available by a DING! sound on their desktops. Since the introduction of DING! on February 28, Customers have booked more than $10 million worth of fares through DING!
5. It's happened to everyone. You lost something on a trip with little hope of ever getting it back. Just what happens to that cell phone, planner, pair of sunglasses, or digital camera that you left in the airport or on an airplane? Well, at Southwest Airlines, a group of "detectives," better known as our Lost and Found Department representatives, have an impressive record of reuniting Customers with the lost belongings. One of our representatives recently sent a Customer back a video camera with prized footage of a family's first Disney trip. The representative watched the video until he could catch a name or detail that allowed him to then search on the Internet for its owner. These and other stories, as well as statistics about the number and kinds of items lost and reunited with owners is available by calling the Southwest Airlines Public Relations Department.
6. Southwest is reaching out to the many diverse communities it serves. One of Southwest’s biggest successes came with the launch of the Spanish online booking web site, www.southwest.com/vamonos. This service allows Customers to make reservations and check flight and airport information completely in Spanish. Last year, Southwest initiated its African American and Hispanic Community Affairs Teams, which seek to build relationships with organizations, civic and business leaders, and key legislators within the African American and Hispanic communities. The Community Affairs Teams focus on grassroots community efforts and work closely with Hispanic and African American Chambers of Commerce and Urban Leagues at both national and local levels. The team has created successful partnerships with the NAACP, LULAC, the National Council for La Raza, and the Tom Joyner Radio Show.
7. Traveling with small children? Learn from the expert on traveling with kids, Eileen Ogintz, family travel guru and author of “Taking the Kids.” See her regular column, Kids Korner, on southwest.com by clicking on “Programs and Services.” She gives great tips for planning, booking, and taking a trip with little ones.
8. Travel can be grueling. New security measures, new rules, and new technology can all collide to make travel more confusing than ever. Enter Southwest Airlines. An airline born from sketches on a cocktail napkin has always strived to keep things simple, from its single aircraft type (the Boeing 737) to its quick and easy to use Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program. As technology has "crept" into the travel arena, Southwest has implemented only functionality that allowed the airline to be both "high tech and high touch." Southwest operates differently than most airlines, with a live voice that greets all calls to its six Reservations Centers; a simple easy to use web site that has become the nation's most popular airline web site; and customer conveniences at the airport that free up our Employees to provide personal help to Customers who need it (like a single mom carrying a heavy load, or an elderly Customer who needs wheelchair assistance). Southwest, with its low fares and friendly service, has embraced technology where it made sense, but it still remembers the value of a smile. Travel on Southwest is about connecting people for the really important events in their lives. We know why you fly, and we want to make that experience as pleasant and convenient as possible. Ask us about our tech enhancements and unique brand of travel.
9. Did you know that Southwest Airlines is "home" to more than 1,000 married couples? Nepotism is actually encouraged at the nation's largest airline in terms of domestic boardings! We have many more familial relationships, including a mother, father, and daughter who are all Southwest flight attendants as well as a family in Chicago that has more than 15 family members working for the airline. Luv is in the air at Southwest. Find out how this airline's unique corporate culture and family-friendly environment makes flying a pleasant and hospitable experience. Call the Southwest Airlines Public Relations Department to learn more and schedule interviews.
10. How does an airplane fly? How does a pilot get his or her training? These and other questions are answered for fifth grade students across the country participating in Southwest’s premier community program, Adopt-A-Pilot. More than 500 classrooms across the country adopt their own Southwest Airlines Pilot for a four-week educational and mentorship program. Pilots volunteer their time in adoptive classrooms and correspond from the “road” via e-mail and postcards. Classrooms chart the Pilot’s course through an official U.S. route map, and the students record daily flying statistics sent by their Pilot in the provided Adopt-A-Pilot curriculum to research careers, believe in themselves, and realize the importance of achieving in school. To learn more about the program, interview a participating teacher or pilot, contact the Southwest Airlines Public Relations Department.