Southwest Airlines announced the first three destinations”Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, Bahamas; and Aruba”which will see flights under the Southwest banner starting on July 1, 2014. All of the routes are currently operated by Southwest’s AirTran subsidiary; those operations will cease as Southwest takes over the flights.
Southwest Airlines plans to sell live television service on five planes and expand it to 20 by mid-July.
The airline said Thursday it would offer seven sports and news channels for passengers to watch on their own devices.
Southwest said it will test prices from $3 to $8 during a trial period. Passengers will need a Wi-Fi-enabled device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop computer.
Live TV will be offered separately from wireless Internet access, and customers won’t have to buy Internet access to watch TV.
source: lubbockonline.com
The woman at the centre of a ‘too fat to fly’ controversy has announced that she is suing Southwest Airlines, who refused to allow her on a flight in April 2011.
New Orleans resident Kenlie Tiggeman is taking on the airlines controversial ”Customers of Size” policy which requires passengers to buy a second seat if they can’t fit between the 17-inch wide armrests.
In her quest to seek an injunction against the Dallas headquartered carrier, Tiggeman alleges that Southwest ignored her ”constitutional rights” and is involved in ”discriminatory actions towards obese customers”.
source: Dailymail.co.uk
Southwest Airlines and Amadeus IT Group announced last week that they have entered into a joint contract for Amadeus’ Altea reservations solution that would support the carrier’s international service. Now that the contract is finalised, the two companies will work closely together to implement Amadeus’ technology to allow Southwest to operate international flights in 2014.
AirTran Airways, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines, currently serves international destinations. As the AirTran international flights transition to Southwest, Amadeus will support Southwest’s international flying.
source: breakingtravelnews.com
You’ll have more company on some full Southwest Airlines flights beginning this summer.
That’s when the Dallas-based low-cost airline begins a $60 million overhaul of the interiors of its Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The upgrade process will mean installing new carpet and new seats. In the process, Southwest’s 737-700s will gain six seats each, raising capacity from the present 137 to 143.
But Southwest claims you’ll hardly notice if you’re a passenger. The new seats are both lighter ” by about 6 pounds each ” and thinner, said the airline.
source: seattletimes.nwsource.com
Southwest Airlines is giving its most loyal customers a double whammy of deals starting this week through its newly launched Rapid Rewards Shopping program with Cartera Commerce Inc. that rewards its frequent fliers for online shopping. This marks the first time that Southwest, one of the biggest airlines in the US, is offering rewards for shopping at online retailers.
Similar to its competitors, Southwest now has a sort of online mall where shoppers can sign in with their Southwest Rapid Rewards login information and shop with around 700 online retailers. Consumers will receive discounts off products and also be rewarded with loyalty points they can use toward the purchase of airline tickets.
source: internetretailer.com
Billie Joe Armstrong, the lead singer of the band Green Day was ejected from a plane at Oakland airport after a stewardess became upset that his jeans were “‘sagging’†to reveal his underpants.
The incident took place on a taxi-ing flight bound for Burbank, in Southern California. It prompted Armstrong to vent his frustration via Twitter. “‘Just got kicked-off a Southwest flight because my pants sagged too low,’†he told 170,000 followers. “‘What the f**k? No joke!’â€
When Southwest had become aware of exactly who Mr Armstrong is – Green Day has sold over 65 million records, and their album American Idiot swept the Grammys – they offered to re-seat him on a later flight.
source: Independent.co.uk
US Airways landed at the bottom of the list for overall satisfaction, also receiving the lowest marks for cabin-crew service. The airline was also ranked lowest in 2007, when the last Consumer Reports airline rankings were released.
Southwest Airlines topped the rankings for overall satisfaction, with JetBlue Airways coming in second in the survey of nearly 15,000 passengers.
The pileup of added fees during or after check-in is contributing to many travelers’ decisions to fly less, according to the survey. Of the respondents who said they’ve cut back on flying, 40 percent cited fees as the major reason.
Southwest Airlines won U.S. government approval on Tuesday buy out AirTran Holdings Inc in a deal that will add East Coast muscle to Southwest’s operations as it takes on bigger rivals.
Antitrust enforcers at the ‘Justice Department’ signed off on the $1.04 billion deal with no conditions, concluding it would not hurt competition or raise fares.
“‘The merged firm will be able to offer new service on routes that neither serves today,'” the agency said in a statement.
source: Reuters
Southwest Airlines is willing to expand inspections for its older Boeing 737 aircraft but sees no reason for concern a week after one of its jets made an emergency landing with a hole in its fuselage, the discount carrier’s chief executive officer said on Friday.
An older-model Southwest Airlines 737-300 was forced to make an emergency landing in Arizona on April 1 when a 5-foot (1.52 meters) tear opened up in its fuselage 20 minutes after takeoff.
The incident prompted Southwest, the largest domestic airline by passengers flown, to ground planes and cancel hundreds of flights over the weekend so it could inspect more than 70 of its older model 737-300s.
source: reuters.com
