Southwest Airlines

Snaps from Southwest Airlines’ new Terminal 1 at LAX

Airport shops, Airport Terminals, , , ,

Southwest Airlines has a new and improved 13-gate Terminal 1 at Los Angeles International Airport.

The $516.7 million overhaul brings lots more light and seating, a more efficient centralized screening checkpoint and all new dining and retails outlets.

I was on hand for the celebration. Here are some snaps from the day:

 

Ribbon cutting for Southwest T1 at LAX

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly and Danny Trejo at Trejo’s Taco first airport branch.

In additon to Trejo’s Tacos, the dining and retail outlets include Urth Caffe, Cassell’s Hamburgers, Reilly’s Irish Pub, Rock & Brews, and Beaming Organic Superfood Cafe as well as Be RElax, I Love L.A., Treat Me Sweet, New Stand newstands, and SOL Surf. 

 

Courtest LAX

LA Original is the first shop passengers encounter when they leave the checkpoint and take the escalators up to the terminal. The shop showcases LA-branded locally designed, assembled or manufactured goods. Proceeds go to supporting the Downtown Women’s Center’s “Made by DWC” program that teaches job training and maker skills to women transitioning out of homelessness.

In addition to rotating art installations, the new Southwest T1 at LAX features this specially-commissioned, photo-friendly piece by Pilar Castillo.

Marvin Earl brings his complimentary shoe shine service to Southwest T1 at LAX. Morris Biggers was  delighted to be the first customer.

More snaps and info on Southwest’s new T1 at LAX to come.

(All photos by Harriet Baskas, except where noted.)

Southwest Airlines tighens rules on emotional support animals

Animals, Uncategorized, , ,

Southwest Airlines is the latest airline to tighten its policies on passengers traveling with trained service and emotional support animals.

The new rules go in to effect Monday, September 17, 2018.

Under Southwest Airlines’ new rules, each customer will only be able to travel with one emotional support animal (or ESA) and ESAs will be limited to only cats and dogs.

During travel, the airline will always require each ESA to be kept in its carrier or be kept on a leash.

Customers traveling with ESAs will continue to be required to present a complete, current letter from a medical doctor or licensed mental health professional on the day of departure.

As part of these new policies, Southwest is also recognizing fully-trained psychiatric support animals (PSAs) as trained service animals.

The airline said it informally accepted PSAs as trained service animals in the past. Now the airline will formally accept this type of service animal. PSAs are animals that are specially trained to perform a task or work for a person with a mental health-related disability. To travel with these animals, the airline will require only a credible verbal assurance.

When it comes to traditional trained service animals, Southwest says it is going to adopt the DOT guidelines and accept only dogs, cats, and miniature horses.

“For the health and safety of our Customers and Employees, unusual or exotic animals will not be accepted,” the airline said in a statement and, “As is the case today, the Customer with the disability must be able to provide credible verbal assurance that the animal is a trained service animal.”

“We welcome emotional support and trained service animals that provide needed assistance to our Customers,” said Steve Goldberg, Southwest’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Hospitality said in statement, “However, we want to make sure our guidelines are clear and easy to understand while providing Customers and Employees a comfortable and safe experience.”

Southwest’s new rule announcement comes affter Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, and United have also updated their policies.

What do you think of the new rules? Fair?

Southwest Airlines has served its last little bag of peanuts

Airlines, Food, , ,

 

Southwest Airlines has served its last little bag of peanuts.

Earlier this month Southwest Airlines announced that, in the interest of the health of passengers with peanut allergies, the airline would stop serving peanuts during flights starting August 1.

“Peanuts forever will be part of Southwest’s history and DNA,” the airline said in a statement, “However, to ensure the best on-board experience for everyone, especially for customers with peanut-related allergies, we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue serving peanuts on all flights…Our ultimate goal is to create an environment where all customers—including those with peanut-related allergies—feel safe and welcome on every Southwest flight.”

 

To mark the day, Orlando International Airport set aside a display case containing the ‘relics of aviation history.’

Will you miss the peanuts?

Southwest Airlines nixes peanuts starting August 1

Flights, Food, , ,
Giving way to the concerns of passengers who have peanut allergies, Southwest Airlines has announced that, as of August 1, it will stop serving those tiny little packets of peanuts during flights.
“Peanuts forever will be part of Southwest’s history and DNA,” the airline said in a statement, “However, to ensure the best on-board experience for everyone, especially for customers with peanut-related allergies, we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue serving peanuts on all flights beginning August 1.”
On its website, Southwest has told passengers with peanut allergies that if they made a note in their reservation, an effort would be made to make sure no peanuts would be served on their flights. But that didn’t always work out.
Other airlines stopped serving peanuts long ago, but for Southwest peanuts are part of the company’s branding. The airline is often “nuts” about this or that and has a quarterly newsletter called “In a Nutshell.”
Starting next month, the airline hopes passengers will pleased with the pretzels that continue to be served on flights, along with the other free snacks distributed on longer flights.

“Our ultimate goal is to create an environment where all customers—including those with peanut-related allergies—feel safe and welcome on every Southwest flight,” Southwest said in its statement.

Souvenir Sunday at Frankfurt & Austin Bergstrom Int’l Airports

Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs, , ,

Today is Souvenir Sunday – a day to look at some of the fun things you can buy – or just look at – when you’re stuck at the airport.

This week’s treats come from Frankfurt Airport, where I ended up spending the night on my way home from a visit to Florence, Italy, where I spotted these champagne cork-shaped seats at a bar in the Amerigo Vespucci Airport (FLR).

At the Frankfurt Airport, I came across plenty of Christmas-themed souvenirs, including nutcrackers and ornaments shaped like pickles. Why pickles? Evidently the tradition of hiding a pickle-shaped ornament in your Christmas tree and giving an extra present to the first person who finds it orginated in Germany.

And lucky travelers on one special Southwest Airlines flight from Austin Bergstrom International Airport to Chicago last Thursday got some great souvenirs.

The airline teamed up with Austin-based jeweler Kendra Scott and gave all passengers on the flight a free drink, goodie bags and gift boxes filled with – you guessed it – jewelry! – at baggage claim delivered by a yellow-clad Santa.

If you see a great souvenir when you’re stuck at the airport, please take a photo and send it along. If your photo is featured on Souvenir Sunday I’ll send you an aviation-themed souvenir.

 

Southwest Airlines celebrates Shark Week

Contests, liveries,

Shark Week is coming to the Discovery Channel July 23 – July 30 and, once again, Southwest Airlines is jumping in with a shark-themed 737-700 featuring five shark species on the fuselage.

 

The shark plane will fly through Aug. 31, 2017, but on all WiFi-equipped Southwest planes passengers will be able to watch a pre-premiere episode of African Shark Safari on the on demand Shark Week channel.

During Shark Week, passengers can watch the programming live on the Discovery Channel.

And to kick off Shark Week, Southwest and Discovery are planning to do a surprise takeover of a special flight.

Shark fan or not, you might want to enter the Dare to Dive sweepstakes to  Grand Cayman.
The prize includes round trip travel for the winner and three guests,  a $2,000 Ritz Carlton gift card, and a $1,000 Visa gift card for an aquatic adventure. Enter by July 31, 2017. Good luck!

 

Hard hat tour of Southwest’s Houston Hobby terminal

Airports, ,

Houston Hobby Airport - hat keychains

In October, 2015, Houston’s Hobby Airport will celebrate the opening of its international terminal, featuring a new concourse with 5 gates (but space for up to 12), a Federal Inspection Services (FIS) facility, a new parking garage with more than 3000 spaces and assorted roadway modifications and improvements.

The $156 million project is a joint effort between HOU and Southwest Airlines, currently the airport’s largest carrier, which will initially operate four of the five gates in the new terminal with plans to add flights to and from several cities in Mexico, Costa Rica and Belize. Southwest currently serves Aruba from HOU.

Here are some pictures from a recent hard hat tour of the terminal:

Houston Hobby - shovelHouston Hobby - stiltsP1010371 (2)

houston Hobby Airport - Southwest Terminal - escalator

Souvenir Sunday: bags made of Southwest Airlines seats

Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs, ,

Southwest Airlines duffle

When Southwest Airlines did a cabin design that included, among other things, 80,000 lighter seats, they were left with 43 acres of leftover leather.

That leather ended up in Portland, Oregon with Looptworks, a company that takes high-quality excess material and upcycles it into limited edition, high-quality goods.

In this case, Looptworks has taken the leather from those old Southwest Airlines seats and turned it into a line of fashionable and functional bags that include a convertible tote ($150), a duffle ($225) and a backpack ($250). In addition to keeping the leather out of the garbage, the company partnered with a non-profit to employ disabled adults to deconstruct and clean the repurposed material.

Southwest LUV SEAT

The duffle and the tote are available on a 4 week turnaround time and Looptwork is about to launch the backpack and a toiletry bag.

Travel Tidbits: FAA vs. Southwest +Air New Zealand at LAX

Lounges, Safety, , , , ,

southwest

After failing to come to a settlement, the Federal Aviation Administration has filed a $12 million suit again Southwest Airlines over allegations that repairs made to 44 airplanes by a contractor did not meet safety standards.

 

Air New Zealand Hobbit plane2

Starting December 3, 2014, AIR New Zealand will switch terminals at Los Angeles International Airport from T2 to the lovely Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). That, of course, means ANZ passengers will be able to enjoy all the new art and amenities in the revitalized terminal. But it also means that qualified ANZ passengers will able to use the swanky Star Alliance lounge in that terminal, which is operated in partnership with Air New Zealand.

LAX TBIT STAR ALLIANCE LOUNGE OUTDOOR TERRACE - BASKAS

Dallas Love Field gets a re-boot

Airplanes, Airports, , ,

Here are some snaps from Dallas Love Field, where celebrations were underway and finishing touches to the terminal were on display in celebration of the lifting of the Wright Amendment on Monday, October 13. The ruling, created in 1979 to foster growth at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, had imposed flight restrictions on long-haul flights from Love Field.

 

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