June 18, 1971

Dallas Provisioning base opens.

June 18, 1971

Southwest Airlines begins service to DAL, SAT, and IAH. Our flight schedule starts with six roundtrips DAL-SAT and 12 roundtrips DAL-IAH with $20 one-way fares.

November 14, 1971

Begins service between HOU-SAT - closing triangle.

November 22, 1971

Cancels Saturday service.

May 14, 1972

Southwest transfers all Houston service to Hobby.

March 21, 1973

Southwest consolidates reservations and the Dallas Reservations Center (DRC) opens. DRC closes on Feb. 28, 2004.

December 08, 1974

Southwest moves to new facilities in original terminal at Hobby, remodeled at cost of $400,000 by Southwest. The new facilities will include two jetway-equipped boarding gates and two 2500-square-foot departure lounges.

February 11, 1975

Southwest begins service to Rio Grande Valley through Harlingen Airport (HRL) with four roundtrip flights each business day after the TAC grants authority to expand service on February 6.

March 24, 1976

Southwest files application with the TAC to extend service to AUS, CRP, ELP, LBB, and MAF

June 06, 1976

Southwest opens, expands, and remodels gate and lounge area at SAT.

December 01, 1976

TAC grants Southwest right to expand service to AUS, CRP, ELP, LBB, and MAF.

March 01, 1977

Southwest begins service to CRP with four roundtrip flights each business day between DAL, HOU, and SAT.

May 20, 1977

Southwest begins service to LBB and MAF with four roundtrip flights each business day between DAL, HOU, SAT, CRP, and HRL.

June 30, 1977

Southwest begins service to ELP with up to six roundtrip flights each business day between DAL, HOU, SAT, CRP, HRL, LBB, and MAF.

September 15, 1977

Southwest's fifth city in one year opens! Service to AUS begins with six roundtrip flights each business day between DAL, CRP, ELP, MAF, and LBB.

January 31, 1978

The Civil Aeronautics Board begins hearings in Washington, D.C., January 31, on Midway (Southwest) Airway Co. application to serve the STL, MCI, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, CLE, and Pittsburgh from Midway Airport at fares as much as 53% lower than rates currently charged. Midway (Southwest) is the subsidiary company of Southwest that filed application before the CAB on December 10, 1976 for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to service the high-density air markets out of Chicago's Midway and the cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Pittsburgh, MCI, and CLE would be $25 Pleasure Class, $40 Executive Class. If Midway (Southwest) should be granted authority to serve the proposed routes, nine Boeing 737's would be needed. M. Lamar Muse, President of Southwest, estimates that early 1979 would be the soonest operation could begin.

February 01, 1978

San Antonio Cargo facility opens.

February 13, 1978

With the delivery of two new Boeing 737-200 jets, the following service begins: AUS-HOU, AUS-HRL, nonstop HOU-LBB, nonstop HRL-AUS, AUS-CRP tripled, increased Pleasure Class flights out of MAF, and generally increased the number of flights between several Southwest cities.

March 31, 1978

Southwest's new Maintenance Operations Center opens at Love Field.

April 19, 1978

Southwest files application with the Texas Aeronautics Commission seeking new route authority to serve AMA and Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange. The Civil Aeronautics Board gives tentative approval to Midway (Southwest) prospect to start commuter service at MDW to serve the cities of Detroit, STL, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Pittsburgh, MCI, and CLE.

July 14, 1978

Southwest receives final approval from the CAB for Midway (Southwest) Airway Co. to serve the cities of STL, MCI, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, CLE and Pittsburgh from MDW.

August 11, 1978

Southwest announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Midway (Southwest) Airway Co., will for the time being, defer its plans for the commencement of service from MDW.

October 19, 1978

The Texas Aeronautics Commission grants Southwest authority to serve AMA and Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange.

November 28, 1978

Construction begins on an additional Southwest passenger holding gate at SAT. A mid-December completion date is projected for gate 16 and a new curbside package express freight counter.

December 12, 1978

AMA service begins with five roundtrip nonstop flights each business day to DAL. Through and connecting service will be offered to AUS, HOU, SAT, CRP, and HRL.

January 25, 1979

MSY service begins with one daily HOU roundtrip. This marks our first scheduled interstate flight, the first time Southwest flies outside the State of Texas.

March 05, 1979

Service begins from Jefferson County Airport (Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange – BPT) to DAL with four nonstop flights each business day. Continuing and connecting service offered to MAF, LBB, ELP, and AMA. Service from BPT ends on Sept. 5, 1980.

August 01, 1979

The Corporate Headquarters move from 1820 Regal Row to 8008 Aviation Place is complete.

October 01, 1979

Announcement made that during the first quarter of 1980 Southwest will open a 25,000 square foot Consolidated Reservations Center in SAT at a location west of IH-10 on Medical Drive.

February 08, 1980

Southwest announces plans to start service to OKC April 1; TUL April 2; and ABQ April 3.

April 01, 1980

Southwest inaugurates service to OKC with seven roundtrips weekdays.

April 02, 1980

Southwest inaugurates service to TUL with seven roundtrips weekdays.

April 03, 1980

Southwest inaugurates service to ABQ with three roundtrips weekdays.

September 05, 1980

Service terminates at Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange (BPT) for economic reasons.

September 08, 1980

Southwest reinstates DAL-IAH service with seven roundtrips weekdays. In conjunction with the reopening, Southwest offers its $24 Pleasure Class fare on all 118 seats between DAL-IAH for 30 days. Complimentary cocktails are offered, as well as inflight contests on selected flights. Service from IAH ends on Apr. 2, 2005.

January 01, 1981

Houston (Hobby) Provisioning opens.

February 04, 1981

San Antonio Reservations Center (SRC) opens and becomes our second Reservations Center.

January 31, 1982

Phoenix Provisioning base opens.

January 31, 1982

Southwest inaugurates service from LAS with five daily flights to eleven cities; PHX with 13 daily flights to twelve cities; and SAN with six daily flights to eleven cities.

February 18, 1982

Service from Kansas City (MCI) opens with six daily flights.

April 01, 1982

Houston Ground Service (GSE) opens.

September 18, 1982

Southwest inaugurates service from LAX with three daily flights.

October 31, 1982

Southwest inaugurates service from SFO, our sixth new market in 1982, with four daily flights. SFO closes on Mar. 4, 2001 and reopens on August 26, 2007.

December 16, 1982

Official opening of $2.2 million expanded and remodeled facilities at HOU.

February 10, 1983

An expanded and convenient 4,000-square-foot freight facility opens at HOU.

May 26, 1983

Southwest inaugurates service from Denver (DEN) with six roundtrips per day. DEN closes on Sept. 30, 1986 and reopens in 2006

July 01, 1983

El Paso Provisioning opens.

October 26, 1983

Albuquerque Provisioning opens.

January 23, 1984

Southwest moves to Terminal One, officially opening the new facilities at LAX. Southwest occupies the first ticket counter at Terminal One as well as the first baggage claim area.

February 27, 1984

Southwest inaugurates service to LIT with six daily flights.

June 01, 1984

Houston Pilot Base opens—our first crew base outside of Dallas.

January 29, 1985

Announces plans to start service to STL, and MDW on March 17.

March 17, 1985

Southwest inaugurates service on St. Patrick's Day out of STL, with 19 daily flights, and MDW, with eight daily flights, and offers introductory fares of $17 for 17 days. St. Louis Provisioning Base opens.

May 15, 1985

Service begins from ONT with five daily flights and an introductory fare of $9 for 9 days.

August 29, 1985

Southwest breaks ground for multi-million dollar flight training center at Love Field. Target date for completion is mid-1986.

October 01, 1985

Southwest moves to a new location at LAS. Southwest's new location is in Satellite Concourse C, operating from gates 21, 22, and 23. Southwest will also provide ground handling for Muse Air from the same gate area at McCarran. Operations from the new facilities begin October 10. First Message to the Field was held.

December 04, 1985

Opened new RUSH cargo facility at ELP.

December 21, 1985

Southwest inaugurates our first flight to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for ski season. The flight departs each Saturday from HOU and will be available through April 5, 1986.

February 05, 1986

Southwest opens new RUSH facility at LAX.

March 18, 1986

Inaugurates service to BNA (with eight daily flights) with an introductory fare of $25 to HOU and MDW through March 26.

August 01, 1986

Southwest's and TranStar's Drive Through Ticket Counter, adjacent to the new Love Field Parking Lot, officially opens. It was constructed in order to provide convenient parking for traveler's during construction at Love Field.

August 28, 1986

Southwest's multi-million dollar Training Center for Pilots and Flight Attendants officially opens to a host of city, community and airline officials, as well as Southwest Employees. The 21,000 square-foot Training Center houses the new $8 million Boeing 737-200/-300 aircraft simulator designed by Rediffusion Simulation, Inc. of Great Britain-the only one of its kind in the United States.

September 04, 1986

Celebrates the opening of three new gates at PHX, a $2 million expansion that increased the number of gates to eight. Southwest currently provides 64 daily flight departures from PHX.

September 30, 1986

Southwest ceases operations at Denver Stapleton International Airport (DEN).

February 01, 1987

Albuquerque Cargo facility opens.

March 01, 1987

Phoenix Reservations Center (PRC) opens.

March 10, 1987

Birmingham (BHM) service begins, with nine daily flights. Southwest launches our latest advertising campaign and becomes known as "The Company Plane."

April 01, 1987

Southwest opens three additional crew bases—Inflight Bases in Houston and Phoenix and a Pilot Base in Phoenix.

April 03, 1987

Announces plans to inaugurate service to Detroit on June 4, 1987.

June 04, 1987

Detroit (DTW) service begins, from the city's Metro Airport, with twelve nonstop flights daily.

July 01, 1987

Chicago (Midway) Provisioning Base opens.

July 29, 1987

W.W. Franklin, President and CEO of TranStar announces that the Board of Directors of TranStar has made the decision to permanently cease all airline operations effective with the close of business on August 9, 1987, after which time TranStar will proceed with an orderly process of liquidation. Herb emphasized that the announced cessation of operation by TranStar would have absolutely zero effect on Southwest's present or future operations.

August 09, 1987

TranStar (Southwest's wholly owned, but independently operated, subsidiary) permanently ceases all airline operation effective at the close of business today, after which TranStar will proceed with an orderly process of liquidation.

August 11, 1987

Houston Reservations Center (HRC) is opened.

September 16, 1987

The City of Detroit and Southwest today jointly announce plans for Southwest to commence commercial air service at Detroit City Airport, located five miles from downtown Detroit. Airport improvements and scheduled air service will begin in May 1988.

March 09, 1988

Begins construction of its $5.7 million maintenance facility at HOU.

May 04, 1988

Herb and Detroit Mayor Coleman Young announce that through the cooperative efforts of the City of Detroit, the FAA, and Southwest, Southwest will commence service to Detroit City Airport on July 6, 1988.

July 06, 1988

Southwest expands its service to offer almost 900 flights each day across its route system, which covers 27 cities in 13 states. In all, the airline flies approximately 2.3 million plane miles per week. Southwest becomes the first commercial passenger-carrying airline to provide service from Detroit City Airport (DET) in over 40 years. Herb and Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young preside over an official first-flight ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:45 a.m. on the second floor of the newly renovated terminal. We start with 13 daily nonstops. Expands gate facilities at HOU by 6, adding Concourse C to the nine gates currently used in Concourse A. These gates were formerly used by TranStar Airlines. With the addition of new service, Southwest will offer up to 122 flights daily from HOU to 27 cities Reduces fares in several markets.

November 15, 1988

Southwest breaks ground for a new corporate headquarters at Dallas Love Field, which will house our general office personnel.

November 29, 1988

Southwest officially opens the $5.7 million Houston Hobby Maintenance Base.

January 30, 1989

Southwest more than doubles its future capabilities to handle Customer flight reservations and information requests in the Dallas Metroplex and surrounding areas when it opened a new reservations center located in Grand Prairie. A ribbon-cutting ceremony held today at the new reservations center, formerly the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, was officiated by Herb and attended by several hundred Southwest Employees, civic and community leaders from the greater Dallas and Grand Prairie areas.

April 03, 1989

Service begins from Indianapolis (IND) with 11 daily flights.

May 15, 1989

Southwest inaugurates service at OAK with 14 daily flights.

April 25, 1990

Southwest officially opens the new $15-million Corporate Headquarters Building at 2702 Love Field Drive on the west side of Love Field Airport. Kelleher cut a ribbon at the entrance to the building's spacious lobby to commemorate the occasion. Two thousand Employees and guests from the media, local businesses, and the civic community are treated to tours and refreshments throughout the day. Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, a Houston-based architectural firm, designed the three-story, 254,000 square-foot building, and Dallas-based Austin Commercial, Inc., was the general contractor.

July 16, 1990

Oakland Provisioning Base opens.

October 02, 1990

On November 15, Southwest will begin service to RNO with six roundtrips between RNO and LAS and six roundtrips between RNO and OAK. Unrestricted fares will be $49 to OAK and $59 to LAS. These are the highest fares. Unrestricted coach fares on other airlines are $174 from RNO to the Bay Area and $135 from RNO to LAS. Fun Fares will start as low as $49 for a 21-day advance purchase fare to OAK and $39 to LAS. Also on November 15, Southwest will add new nonstop ONT-LAS service and one-stop service to RNO. Southwest will offer five daily nonstop roundtrip flights to LAS. Regular unrestricted coach fares will be $59 to LAS.

November 15, 1990

Reno/Tahoe (RNO) service is inaugurated with 12 daily flights; six roundtrip flights daily each to LAS and OAK. Board of Directors declares a quarterly dividend of 2.5 cents per share on all shares currently issued and outstanding. This 57th consecutive quarterly dividend will be paid on December 20, 1990, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 5, 1990.

February 19, 1991

Oakland Cargo facility opens.

April 30, 1991

Announces daily service from SMF effective on June 17, making it the 34th airport to be served by the airline. The airline will offer six daily nonstop roundtrip flights between SMF and BUR and six flights between SMF and ONT, beginning June 17. On July 25, Southwest will begin six daily nonstop roundtrips between SMF and SAN.

June 17, 1991

Service to Sacramento (SMF) begins with 12 daily flights. SMF is our 34th airport.

July 01, 1991

Las Vegas Provisioning opens.

August 16, 1991

Sacramento Provisioning Base opens.

September 03, 1991

Will begin site preparation by Sept. 15 on its $10 million maintenance base at PHX.

November 08, 1991

Chicago (MDW) Line Maintenance begins operation.

January 08, 1992

Announces daily service from CLE effective February 13. The announcement was made with Cleveland's Mayor Michael White at City Hall.

February 13, 1992

Southwest sends a Valentine to Cleveland's travelers with the inauguration of service. The airline will offer six roundtrip flights daily between CLE-MDW and four roundtrips daily between CLE-STL.

March 18, 1992

Announces daily service from CMH effective June 4, 1992. The announcement was made with Columbus' Mayor Greg Lashutka. Five daily nonstop flights to MDW and three daily nonstop flights to STL

April 01, 1992

Our PHX Aircraft Appearance Department opened for business.

May 12, 1992

Chicago Reservations Center (CRC) takes its first call, becoming Southwest's fifth Reservations Center.

June 04, 1992

Columbus (CMH) service begins with five daily nonstop roundtrip flights to MDW and three daily nonstop flights to STL.

August 01, 1992

Chicago (Midway) Pilot Base opens.

August 28, 1992

Announces opening of a new reservations center in Albuquerque in early 1993. Announces teaming up with Fiesta Texas and Sea World of Texas, both in SAT, to offer weekend travel package to SAT starting at $179 per person.

October 09, 1992

Phoenix Maintenance Hangar opens, becoming Southwest's largest Maintenance facility–a $10 million project at PHX. When fully staffed, the center will employ 250-300 Maintenance personnel. Net income for the third quarter of 1992 was up 71.0% to $26.9 million, compared to the $15.7 million earned in third quarter 1991. Earnings per share were $.28 versus $.18 in third quarter 1991, an increase of 55.6%. The increase in earnings was principally caused by an increase in operating income of 73.1% to $53.9 million. Revenues for third quarter 1992 increased 25.9% to $447.3 million, compared to $355.3 million for third quarter 1991.

February 02, 1993

Announces daily service from SDF effective May 24, 1993 with six daily nonstops between SDF and MDW, four daily flights between SDF and STL, and one daily flight between SDF and BHM.

February 08, 1993

Albuquerque Reservations Center (ARC) opens and accepts first Customer calls today. The center is expected to employ about 425 Sales Agents and 40 management and support staff by third quarter 1993. Patricia "Cookie" Poe is the Manager.

February 10, 1993

St. Louis Line Maintenance opens.

March 25, 1993

Dedicates ARC. The state governor, Bruce King, and Albuquerque Mayor Louise Savedra are among the officials in attendance. More than 190 reservations sales agents are now answering calls with "CALK-RES" already in operation.

March 27, 1993

OAK Line Maintenance officially opens.

April 07, 1993

Announces daily service from SJC effective June 1, 1993 with 11 daily nonstop roundtrips--six daily flights between SJC-BUR, five daily flights between SJC-LAS. The low unrestricted fare between SJC-BUR is $69 one-way; the fare between SJC-LAS is $79 one-way.

May 24, 1993

Southwest celebrates new service from Louisville (SDF) with a tailgate party. Service begins with six daily nonstop roundtrips to MDW, four daily nonstop roundtrips to STL, and one daily nonstop roundtrip to BHM. SDF is our 35th city. President Bill Clinton selects Herb to serve on a 90-day Commission titled the "National Commission to Ensure A Strong Competitive Airline Industry."

June 01, 1993

San Jose (SJC) service begins with 11 daily flights and celebrates our strong presence in California by inaugurating the use of a special brightly colored plastic boarding pass in the shape of California. A class from Randol Elementary School won the field trip of a lifetime as part of the inaugural ceremonies. Southwest Airlines receives the award Best Airline for Traveling Families from Austin Child Magazine.

July 02, 1993

Southwest officials, along with city and civic leaders, break ground for HRC. Called "Field of Dreams" because the Employees have been dreaming of a new location for months.

July 14, 1993

Announces daily service from BWI effective September 15, 1993 with five daily flights BWI-MDW and five daily flights between BWI-CLE. The unrestricted one-way fare is $49 to CLE and $89 to MDW.

September 15, 1993

Southwest consolidates all flight operations in Detroit to DTW because runway improvements at Detroit City Airport (DET) were not forthcoming. The consolidation will result in the addition of ten new daily departures at DTW for a total of 16 daily departures. Southwest starts service to Baltimore, making it a coast-to-coast carrier, with eight daily flights and a baseball theme as a tribute to the All Star City. (Southwest flew 49 elementary children to CLE's Metroparks Zoo. MDW festivities included a First Family look-alike contest. CLE held a Presidential look-alike contest.)

December 01, 1993

San Jose Provisioning facility opens.

January 17, 1994

Herb presides over the grand opening of the new location of the HRC. Over 470 Employees are expected to staff the Center by the end of the first quarter.

February 11, 1994

Morris Air announces it will discontinue service from Eugene.

February 18, 1994

Morris Air announces it will discontinue Bullhead City/Laughlin city service effective May 2, 1994. Service to and from SJC will cease May 2, 1994, and service to and from SLC will cease on June 6, 1994. Southwest's consolidated net income for the month ended January 31, 1994, including Morris Air, was $8.8 million.

March 02, 1994

Initiates nonstop service LIT-PHX with one roundtrip each day. The flight offers one-stop service to BUR, LAS, LAX, OAK, ONT, SAN, SFO, and SJC. Chicago (Midway) Inflight Base opens.

March 21, 1994

Announces details of plans to begin service at SNA with seven daily flights between SNA-OAK and eight daily flights between SAN-SJC effective May 26, 1994. Announces service to GEG with four daily flights to SEA, three daily flights to PDX, and one daily flight to OAK, effective June 6, 1994. Announces service to PDX with three daily flights to GEG, and four daily flights to OAK, effective June 6, 1994.

March 22, 1994

Announces addition of 26 roundtrip flights to system this summer beginning in May. Will include new service from BWI, STL, and SDF. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Herb celebrate the opening of the new MDW Flight Attendant Base.

May 01, 1994

All Employees hired from Morris Air Reservations in Salt Lake City become official Southwest family members as we toast our newest Reservations Center (URC).

May 13, 1994

Morris Air announces that it will discontinue its daily service to and from Anchorage effective September 7, 1994.

May 18, 1994

Announces service to TUS effective October 1994, offering eight daily flights from TUS, four to LAX, two to LAS, and two to SAN.

May 26, 1994

Southwest launches service at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County with a "show down" between ten John Wayne sound-alikes. Service begins with 15 daily flights from SNA--seven between SAN-OAK and eight between SNA-SJC.

June 01, 1994

Las Vegas Line Maintenance opens.

June 06, 1994

Southwest begins service in Spokane (GEG) with eight daily flights. Celebrations include a "flying fieldtrip" for more than 30 Garry Middle School seventh-graders. Service begins in Portland (PDX) with seven daily flights. Celebrations include "flying fieldtrip" for more than 30 Capitol Hill Elementary School students. Service is launched in Seattle (SEA) with eight daily flights. Celebrations include a "flying fieldtrip" for more than 50 local fifth- and sixth-graders. Seattle Provisioning Base opens.

June 15, 1994

Announces details of plans to begin service at SLC with 41 daily departures and BOI with seven daily departures effective Oct. 4th. Announces STL-SLC service effective Oct. 4, 1994 with five daily roundtrip flights, and increased service to PHX with one additional trip. Announces plans to begin service at TUS on Oct. 4, 1994 with eight daily flights to LAX, SAN, and LAS. The unrestricted one-way fare to and from TUS on all eight flights is $59.

August 25, 1994

Herb and Governor Jim Guy Tucker of Arkansas announce today that the airline will build a new reservations center to employ 900 in LIT.

October 01, 1994

Oakland Inflight Base opens as our fifth home for our Flight Attendants. Southwest Airlines receives the award for Best Airline in SR Texas.

October 04, 1994

Tucson (TUS) service begins with eight daily flights: four to LAX, two to LAS, and two to SAN. Begins service in Boise (BOI) with seven daily nonstop departures. Service begins in Salt Lake City (SLC) with 41 daily flights to 13 cities, completing the nine-month transformation of Morris Air to Southwest Airlines. Salt Lake City Provisioning Base opens.

October 18, 1994

Senator Nicholas Petris and OAK Mayor Elihu Harris celebrate the opening of new OAK Flight Attendant base. The new base, which became operational on Oct. 1, will serve 495 Flight Attendants.

October 19, 1994

Patricia "Cookie" Poe is named LRC Manager, which will open in January 1995.

January 09, 1995

The Company, including Morris Air, flew 1,777.2 million consolidated RPMs in December 1994, an 11.0% increase over the 1,601.4 million consolidated RPMs flown in December 1993. Consolidated ASMs increased 15.3% to 2,861.4 million from the December 1993 level of 2,471.4 million. Consolidated load factor for the month was 62.1%, compared to 64.8% for the same period of a year ago. Announces service from OMA effective March 4, 1995 with nine daily nonstops to three cities. Announces relocation of 250-300 Pilots at new OAK Pilot Base expected to open in March.

January 13, 1995

Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating; Mayor Ronald J. Norick of Oklahoma City; John Denison, Executive Vice President Corporate Services; and William G. Thurman, M.D., Chairman of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce announce a new reservations center to employ over 1,000 in OKC. Announces that Pilots, represented by SouthwestPA, have officially ratified a new ten-year contract, which had been negotiated between the Company and the SouthwestPA negotiating committee. Ratification became official after a vote of all eligible SouthwestPA members.

January 24, 1995

Southwest opens our Little Rock Reservation Center (LRC) with capacity for over 900 Agents.

March 15, 1995

Hold an Irish-themed party today in celebration of LRC opening

June 05, 1995

Oklahoma Reservations Center (ORC) takes its first call today. ORC is Southwest's ninth Reservations Center, employing over 1,000 in Oklahoma City.

July 13, 1995

Announces daily service to Florida effective first quarter 1996 with 26 daily flights from TPA and FLL, followed by MCO service in second quarter 1996 with 19 daily flights and increases in service to total 52 daily flights.

July 26, 1995

Celebrates the grand opening of ORC.

January 09, 1996

Announces service from MCO effective April 7, 1996 with 12 nonstop flights to seven cities. Fares will be as low as $59 each way. The airline will offer five daily nonstop flight to FLL, two to BWI, one to MSY, one to BNA, one to IND, one to CMH, and one to STL.

January 15, 1996

Nashville Provisioning Base opens.

January 22, 1996

Service starts in Tampa (TPA) and Ft. Lauderdale (FLL). The inaugural celebration included Southwest and local dignitaries in TPA and FLL christening one of Southwest's specialty planes with Florida orange juice. Children from each city were flown on the inaugural flights to spend the day in the other city. Service begins with 12 daily flights out of Tampa and six out of Ft. Lauderdale.

February 02, 1996

Will award a free roundtrip ticket to any of its fare-paying passengers departing BOI between Feb. 8 and Feb. 22, 1996. Reno Cargo facility opens.

March 13, 1996

Herb and Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk jointly announce that Southwest will lease approximately 10 additional acres from the City of Dallas for construction of a new pilot training facility, expansion of existing Headquarters building, and the addition of related parking.

April 07, 1996

Orlando (MCO) service begins today with 12 daily flights to destinations in and out of Florida.

April 22, 1996

Baltimore Line Maintenance opens.

June 06, 1996

The Company flew 2,276.6 million RPMs in May 1996, a 15.3% increase over the 1,975.0 million RPMs flown in May 1995. ASMs increased 12.9% to 3, 448.2 million from the May 1995 level of 3,054.0 million. The load factor for the month was 66.0%, compared to 64.7% for the same period of a year ago. Announces daily service from T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island effective Oct. 27, 1996.

July 30, 1996

Announces service from PVD on Oct. 27, with 14 nonstop flights to five cities: BWI, MDW, BNA, MCO, and TPA.

January 15, 1997

Service begins in JAX - the 50th destination. New service will include 14 daily nonstop flights to cities including BWI, BNA, IND, and MSY, as well as service to TPA and FLL.

January 16, 1997

Tampa Line Maintenance opens.

January 22, 1997

Our Utah Reservations Center (URC) gets a new home, and an open house is held to celebrate. Southwest begins a test program with Icelandair to link CLE with Europe through a single-route marketing agreement.

February 17, 1997

Inaugurates service from 51st destination - JAN- in August 1997 with nonstop service to BWI, MDW, HOU, and MCO.

April 01, 1997

Kansas City Line Maintenance opens.

June 23, 1997

Groundbreaking for new $2.1 million Provisioning Station in PHX.

July 04, 1997

Baltimore Provisioning Base opens.

August 09, 1997

JAN service begins--making it Southwest's 51st city.

April 01, 1998

BWI Pilot Base opens today.

April 08, 1999

Inflight announces that SWA's next Inflight Base will open in Baltimore in July 1999. The first month of operation, there will be approximately 300 Flight Attendants at the base. This number will grow to about 800 by year's end.

January 21, 2001

Southwest Airlines begins service from Palm Beach International Airport with 13 daily nonstop flights to four cities: Baltimore/Washington, Nashville, Orlando, and Tampa Bay. Southwest will employ 40-50 people when operations are fully staffed. With the addition of West Palm Beach, Southwest will serve 58 cities (59 airports) in 29 states.

January 22, 2001

Southwest inaugurates West Palm Beach by opening a giant balloon-filled treasure chest to reveal a Southwest Airlines model jet, signifying the golden opportunity Southwest has at Palm Beach County International Airport.

January 23, 2001

Southwest announces the cessation of operations at SFO to be effective on March 5. The airline cites a lack of terminal facilities and limited runway capacity and delays, among other causes. The 72 SFO Employees will be guaranteed equivalent jobs elsewhere on the system.

February 14, 2001

Pass Bureau Department is named 2001 "Heroes of the Heart." Southwest Airlines announces plans to establish its seventh crew base in Orlando by July 1, 2001. When MCO is fully staffed, it will employ 750 pilots and 900 flight attendants. Southwest Airlines' Adopt-A-Pilot Program takes flight with over 7,500 fifth-grade students. As participants, these fifth-grade students will adopt more than 200 pilot as classroom mentors in more than 70 cities.

March 04, 2001

The final Southwest flight from San Francisco International Airport departs, bringing an end to 19 years of service at SFO.

March 07, 2001

Chicago Midway's new terminal is unveiled, including: passenger drop-off, ticketing, passenger pick-up, expanded baggage claim areas, and a connected parking garage. Restaurants and retail areas will open in late Spring and the next phase of construction will include Southwest's new gate areas. Southwest Airlines ranks 26th in the Best Corporate Reputations in America by The Wall Street Journal.

May 25, 2001

Southwest announces plans to begin flying to Southern Virginia via Norfolk International Airport on Oct. 7, 2001.

July 24, 2001

Planet Feedback, the nation's leading online consumer feedback service, selects Southwest as one of our "A-Rated Companies" for 2001. Southwest announces flight schedules and destinations for ORF, which will open on October 7. Seven flights a day will serve BWI, to between JAX, one to LAS, and two to MCO.

August 07, 2001

Southwest unveils its newest Pilot and Flight Attendant Crew Bases at Orlando International Airport. AMA rolls out a new automated bag tag system. The new system showed immediate ticket counter and ramp handling improvements in efficiency and selectee procedures (a lot of minutes saved by not writing; as well as complete compliance with the FAA on selectee procedures).

October 07, 2001

Southwest begins service to Norfolk, Va., (ORF) our 59th airport and 30th state, when flight #1238 departed ORF for BWI. ORF-LAS becomes one of our longest daily nonstop flights at 2,148 miles.

October 08, 2001

Southwest christens service at Norfolk International Airport today with the breaking of confetti-filled champagne bottles and warm words from local dignitaries and Southwest representatives.

November 01, 2001

MSY Provisioning becomes the 20th Provisioning Base today. Southwest equips aircraft with flexible wrist restraint devices as items of aircraft emergency equipment. Colleen Barrett ranks 20th in America's Most Powerful Businesswomen by Fortune Magazine.

February 18, 2003

The new HOU Central Concourse celebrates its grand opening.

April 24, 2003

The Franklin Institute presents Herb Kelleher with the 2003 Bower Award for Business Leadership for his remarkable contributions to the aviation industry. Southwest Airlines crosses the finish line with lightening speed today in its race to be the first carrier operating from Bradley International Airport's new East Concourse in Terminal A. Rapid Rewards is honored with first place awards in three categories: Best Award Redemption, Best Bonus Promotion, and Best Customer Service. This is the fifth year for Rapid Rewards to receive first in the Best Award Redemption category.

October 28, 2003

Southwest Airlines announces that Philadelphia will become our 60th destination in May 2004 when we launch service to MDW, TPA, MCO, PVD, LAS and PHX out of four gates at PHL.

November 05, 2003

After extensive deliberation, Southwest announces that our nine Reservations Centers will be consolidated into six on February 28, 2004 resulting in the closure of DRC, LRC and URC on that date.

February 28, 2004

Southwest completes the consolidation of our nine Reservations Centers into six when our Centers at Dallas (DRC), Little Rock (LRC), and Salt Lake City (URC) concluded business today. Our six remaining Centers are Albuquerque (ARC), Chicago (CRC), Houston (HRC), Oklahoma City (ORC), Phoenix (PRC), and San Antonio (SRC).

May 09, 2004

Southwest inaugurates service from the City of Brotherly Love (PHL) when the first flight departed at 6:50 a.m., bound for MDW. The following morning, a press conference was held at the airport, where Chairman Herb Kelleher and other Southwest Leaders joined Philadelphia Mayor John Street and PHL officials to honor the occasion. Service began with 14 daily nonstop flights from PHL to LAS, MCO, MDW, PHX, PVD, and TPA.

August 04, 2004

Southwest Airlines and the town of Islip open a new $55 million concourse at MacArthur Airport (ISP), featuring spacious new gate areas and a range of shops and restaurants. 25 daily nonstop flights from the facility will operate out of four gates in the new 114,254-square-foot terminal.

January 06, 2005

Pittsburgh will become Southwest's 60th city in May.

January 28, 2005

A difficult decision is made to cease flight operations at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) at the end of day April 2.

March 08, 2005

Southwest unveils the new D Concourse at Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). The new facility included eight new gates, a six-lane security checkpoint, and new concessions. It will be used, in part, to expand the codeshare agreement with ATA Airlines to PHX.

May 04, 2005

Southwest launches service to Pittsburgh (PIT), our 60th city, with ten daily nonstop departures to Philadelphia, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Orlando.

June 27, 2005

Southwest announces service will begin to Fort Myers in October, making it the sixth Florida station.

October 02, 2005

Southwest inaugurates service at Ft. Myers, Florida (RSW) with nine nonstops to BWI, MDW, ISP, PHL, and MCO.

October 20, 2005

Southwest reported third quarter 2005 net income of $174 million, or $.21 per diluted share, compared to $119 million for third quarter 2004, or $.15 per diluted share, up 46.2 percent. These third quarter 2005 results exclude $87 million (before income taxes) in unrealized gains associated with derivative instruments that will settle in future accounting periods. Including these unrealized gains, our third quarter 2005 net income was $227 million, or $.28 per diluted share. Southwest announces that we will begin service from Denver International Airport (DEN) beginning in early 2006. Southwest had served the Mile High City through the old Stapleton Airport from 1983 to 1986.

January 03, 2006

Southwest commences service DEN with 13 daily nonstop flights to the following cities: MDW (four daily), LAS (five daily), and PHX (four daily), with direct or connecting service to 36 additional destinations, such as FLL, PIT, BNA, MCO, and SEA. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Denver International Airport Co-Managers Vickie Braunagel and Turner West joined Gary today at the event. The gate areas were decorated in a New Year's theme, and the event was kicked off with Southwest Employees declaring their New Year's resolutions for our new Denver service.

April 05, 2006

Southwest requests two gates at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) for service that we intend to start in the fall of 2006. IAD is one of three major airports within the sprawling Washington, D.C. metro area, which has a population of approximately eight million people. Along with BWI—Southwest's fourth-largest airport with 165 daily departures—and Ronald Reagan National Airport, some 65 million people travel into and out of the area each year.

October 05, 2006

Southwest begins service to Washington Dulles (IAD).

August 26, 2007

Service to SFO resumes with 18 daily nonstop flights to MDW, SAN, and LAS. The airline participates in several Share the Spirit events with the SFO community as part of the inaugural.

November 05, 2007

The new Pilot and Flight Attendant bases in LAS open with 394 Pilots and 460 Flight Attendants. LAS is the airline's eighth Crew Base, and Southwest plans to double the square feet of the base in 2009.

December 04, 2007

The grand opening for the new Maintenance hangar in Dallas marks the end of a one-year construction period. The 80,000 square foot hangar can handle three winglet-equipped 737-700s at once.

August 04, 2008

DEN Provisioning Station opens and becomes Southwest's 22nd Provisioning location. In 2009, DEN Provisioning will move to a larger permanent location.

October 01, 2008

Gary announces that Southwest will begin flying between MDW and MSP in March. This will be the first time that Southwest will only serve one nonstop market from a new city. Fares and schedules will be released later.

November 06, 2008

At a media conference held at the Mall of the Americas, Executive Vice President of Corporate Services Ron Ricks announces that Southwest will begin its previously announced Minneapolis St. Paul service with eight daily nonstop flights to Chicago Midway on March 8. Southwest's March 8 schedule will feature 70 new daily nonstop flights, while at the same time, the airline will pare 39 existing roundtrip flights.

January 14, 2009

Beginning on May 9, Southwest will begin service between San Francisco International and Orange County's John Wayne Airport with five daily flights.

February 19, 2009

Southwest announces its intention to serve Boston Logan International Airport in the fall of 2009. Additional details including the cities served will be announced later in the year.

March 08, 2009

Minneapolis/St. Paul becomes Southwest 65th destination as the airline inaugurates service to the Twin Cities. Southwest begins with eight daily flights from the airport's Humphrey Terminal to Chicago Midway. To celebrate the new service, Southwest Employees gather approximately 2,300 pounds of canned chili for donation to the Second Harvest Heartland Food Bank.

April 07, 2009

Details of Southwest's inaugural service to New York's La Guardia are announced, and the service will begin on June 28, 2009 with eight daily nonstop flights. Five flights will operate between La Guardia and Chicago Midway and three beween Baltimore/Washington and La Guardia. In addition to the nonstops, direct or connecting service will be offered in 45 markets.

April 14, 2009

Service to Boston Logan will begin on August 16, 2009 with ten daily nonstops—five to Chicago Midway and five to Baltimore/Washington.

August 16, 2009

Service to Boston Logan begins with ten daily nonstop flights. To celebrate the new service, festivities on August 17 include New England Clam Chowder, a Minuteman Marching band, and a town crier. CEO Gary Kelly arrives at the airport in an amphibious duck boat.

November 01, 2009

Milwaukee becomes Southwest's 68th city and Wisconsin its 35th state as service to six nonstop destinations begins. Southwest's Touchdown in Milwaukee celebrations featured a free tailgate watching party for a thousand Green Bay Packers fans. As part of the airline's inaugural festivities, local Employees celebrated Halloween with the families of critically ill and injured children at the Ronald McDonald House of Southeast Wisconsin. Employees painted pumpkins, decorated cookies, and provided trick or treat bags to the families.

May 23, 2010

Southwest Airlines begins service at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) at Panama City Beach, Florida.  The next day, a beach-themed celebration includes plenty of beach balls and local music.  Hundreds of Customers and Employees see Southwest Airlines' Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO Gary Kelly join ECP Airport Authority Vice Chairman Bill Cramer and St. Joe CEO Britt Greene in a morning news conference.  Service begins with eight daily flights, two each to Nashville, Houston Hobby, Baltimore/Washington, and Orlando.

August 27, 2010

Southwest Airlines and Continental Airlines confirm that they entered into a lease providing Southwest Airlines access to 36 Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) slots which are currently held by Continental.  The lease deal, contingent upon the closing of the Continental and United airlines' merger by Nov. 30, 2010, and certain governmental approvals, will give Southwest Airlines the right to operate up to 18 daily roundtrip flights at Newark, New Jersey, with some flights beginning in March 2011 and a full schedule in place by June 2011. The slots are spread throughout the day and will allow Southwest the ability to integrate Newark service conveniently into its extensive national route network.

October 28, 2010

Southwest Airlines announces it will serve Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) with eight daily nonstops flights, six to Chicago Midway and two to St. Louis beginning Sunday, March 27, 2011. To celebrate its 72nd city, Southwest will offer introductory fares of $72 one-way between Newark and both Chicago and St. Louis.  This announcement is the first wave of the carrier's new schedule at Newark International.  Southwest will announce additional Newark flights to begin in 2011 before the end of the year.  “This is a great day for Southwest and for Customers in the New York-New Jersey area. We know the need for great service, low fares, and ontime flights.  Southwest is proud to expand its wings into a very popular market and to provide low fare competition," said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO.  "This proves, once again, the power of our product and the amazing job our Employees have done to position Southwest on the East Coast."

March 13, 2011

Southwest Airlines begins service to South Carolina through Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP) and Charleston (CHS).  At the official ceremonies the next day, Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO, joins Greenville-Spartanburg Executive Airport Director David N. Edwards, Jr. and Airport Chairwoman Minor Shaw in the morning at the airport's airside garden to officially launch the airline's new service to Greenville-Spartanburg.  Later in the afternoon, Kelly joins Charleston Aviation Authority Chairman Chip Limehouse, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Chairman Robert Pierce, Charleston Regional Development Alliance Chairman Sean Bennett, and Charleston Convention and Visitor's Bureau Chairman Roger Warren in the airport's atrium to officially launch the airline's new service to Charleston.

March 27, 2011

Southwest Airlines begins service into the New Jersey/New York area via Newark Liberty International Airport.  This new service provides six daily nonstop flights to Chicago Midway and two daily nonstop flights to St. Louis.  On March 28, Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO, joined Chris Bollwage, Mayor of the City of Elizabeth, and Bill Baroni, Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, hold a news conference at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

December 5, 2011

Southwest Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways receive route authority approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for AirTran to operate international flights to new destinations in Mexico beginning as early as May 24, 2012.  AirTran's new international flights will include one daily roundtrip between Orange County, Calif., and Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo and one daily roundtrip between Orange County and Mexico City.  AirTran also will initiate four weekly roundtrip flights between San Antonio and Cancun as well as one daily roundtrip flight between San Antonio and Mexico City.

February 12, 2012

Southwest inaugurates service to Atlanta, making it our 73rd city. Today’s initial schedule consists of 15 flights to five nonstop destinations, with additional same-plane and connecting service to 48 destinations across the country.  Daily nonstop service between Atlanta and Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, Denver, and Houston (Hobby), will grow with the addition of nonstop service to and from both Las Vegas and Phoenix starting March 10.

June 11, 2012

Southwest Airlines officially opens its new Customer Support and Services (CS&S) Center in the City of San Antonio. The new Center, located at Interstate 35 and O'Connor, replaces the old facility located at Medical Drive, where Southwest Airlines' Employees provided service to Customers for more than 30 years. This new location will provide Southwest's Employees with more than 60,000 square feet of floor space with options to extend over time.

July 08, 2012

Southwest begins its first service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) with flights to Austin. The airport, located just across the Potomac River from the nation's capital becomes Southwest's 74th airport.

August 12, 2012

Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) and Dayton International Airport (DAY) become Southwest's 75th and 76th newest destination respectively. In Akron-Canton, Southwest offers two daily roundtrip flights to Southwest's sizable operation at Chicago Midway, as well as one daily roundtrip flight to Denver. Likewise, the airline begins service to Dayton with one daily flight to Denver. Southwest's service in both markets will complement AirTran's existing service in these cities. AirTran's service will continue until time to convert all AirTran's flying to Southwest.

September 30, 2012

Southwest officially lands in Iowa with service at Des Moines International Airport (DSM). Dozens of Southwest Employees are on hand to celebrate the long-anticipated arrival with the Des Moines Community and Iowa. Southwest takes over from AirTran and offers two daily departures to Chicago's Midway International Airport, connecting Iowa Customers to the airline's largest operation in the country, with additional connecting service to more than 75 destinations.

October 01, 2012

Southwest opens its newest Pilot and Flight Attendant crew bases at Denver International Airport (DIA). The new crew domiciles, which are the airline's ninth, will be home to nearly 400 Pilots and 400 Flight Attendants, with potential to grow as needed. The lounges will be located on the third level of concourse C at Denver International Airport (DIA). Southwest Airlines is also starting Line Maintenance in Denver today, which will be the first time the carrier has had this function at its operation at DIA.

November 04, 2012

LUV lands at Key West International Airport (EYW), which becomes the eighth city the airline serves in the state of Florida and the 78th city added to the airline's vast route map. Southwest takes over AirTran's two daily nonstop departures to Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Tampa Bay International Airport (TPA). In addition to the two daily nonstop flights, Southwest will introduce an entirely new market with daily nonstop service to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport beginning on March 9, 2013. With this nonstop service, Key West Customers will have access to Southwest's extensive network with additional connecting service to more than 75 destinations nationwide.

January 10, 2013

Southwest begins offering new nonstop service between Chicago Midway and Montego Bay, Jamaica, Punta Cana, and the Dominican Republic, operated by AirTran Airways.

February 12, 2013

On the one-year anniversary of Southwest Airlines' first flights into the world's busiest airport, Southwest celebrates by opening its Atlanta People Department and announcing the carrier's newest Pilot base at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport opening in August 2013.

March 09, 2013

Southwest announces that LUV is officially landing in Branson, Missouri!  The Branson Community rolled out the red carpet as Congressman Billy Long joined the Branson Airport in welcoming Southwest's first Customers to Branson.

April 14, 2013

Southwest Airlines launches inaugural service to five cities—the most cities the airline has ever opened in one day. Southwest is expanding its footprint as part of the ongoing integration of its subsidiary, AirTran Airways. Southwest will be exclusively serving Charlotte, Flint, Portland (Maine), and Rochester. Both Airlines will be serving San Juan until September of 2013.

June 02, 2013

Southwest launches service to Wichita, Kansas. Southwest has fully converted all flights from AirTran Airways over to Southwest, which previously offered three daily nonstop flights between Wichita and Atlanta.

November 03, 2013

Southwest converts the final three domestic AirTran cities (Richmond, Memphis, Pensacola) to Southwest stations.