Southwest Airlines

Big day for Dallas Love Field

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Love FIELD - SIGN

It’s a big day for Dallas Love Field.

The Wright Amendment – which since 1980 has imposed restrictions on air service and operations at Love Field – lifts today, October 13, 2014.

To mark the day, Southwest Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly will be taking boarding passes and sending off the airline’s first non-restricted flight of the day: Flight #1013 to Denver.

Southwest, which currently operates 16 of Love Field’s 20 gates, begins nonstop flights today from Love Field to Denver, Chicago, Baltimore/Washington, Washington, D.C. (Reagan National), Orlando, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles (LAX). On November 2, eight additional nonstop flights will start to New York (LaGuardia), Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa Bay, Phoenix, Orange County, and San Diego, Nashville, and Atlanta.

DallasDowntownExpress_Crop-1_edited

Virgin America, which is launching service at Love Field today from two gates, is kicking off the day with a very short “Downtown Express” flight that will travel from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Dallas Love field with Sir Richard Branson on board and an inflight performance by Grammy award-winning country star Kacey Musgraves.

I’m going along for the ride and will share details from the day here.

Greetings from Dallas Love Field

Art, Aviation history, family travel, , , ,

Love FIELD - SIGN

Dallas Love Field is getting ready for its big day.

For years, the Wright Amendment placed tight restrictions on the flight services allowed to operate from Love Field. Most of those rules will be lifted on October 13 and that means lots of new direct flights and added service from carriers such as Southwest Airlines and Virgin America – and lots more passengers having the opportunity to travel through the new and improved terminal, which is filled with some really great art.

Here are some snaps from my pre-party tour of Love Field.

Love Field - Virgin America

VIrgin America will operate two of the 20 gates at Love Field beginning on October 13

There’s still some drama over whether or not Delta Air Lines will get a space to operate at Love Field, but right now Southwest Airlines controls 16 of airport’s 20 gates, United has two gates and, starting October 13, Virgin America will have two gates.

The Love Field Art Program is already in place, with more than a dozen new and renewed works.

World Map - courtesy Love Field

World Map – 1959 -by Luighi “Tony” Flabiano. courtesy Love Field & Office of Cultural Affairs

detail from Sky by Brower Hatcher & Marly Rogers.

A detail from Sky – by Brower Hatcher & Marly Rogers. One of the art pieces at Love Field.

Kids area at LOVE FIELD

The play area at Love Field will have floating clouds and more play structures by October 13.

Love Field - Nursing Room

A Nursing Room is open – and waiting for some finishing touches as well.

Southwest Air & others urged to cut SeaWorld ties

Animals, , , ,
SHAMU

Shamu-themed plane. Courtesy Southwest Airlines

 

The documentary film “Blackfish” has created a wave of controversy over claims of animal cruelty for SeaWorld Entertainment’s chain of marine animal theme parks. Amid calls for boycotts, performers such as Willie Nelson and Trisha Yearwood are refusing to play concerts at SeaWorld venues, but some of the company’s marketing partners, such as Southwest Airlines said that, for now, no changes are planned.

Southwest is “in a listening and education mode,” airline spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said last week in blog post responding to the delivery of a Change.org petition with 27,000 signatures urging the airline to break ties with SeaWorld. For now, “our partnership with SeaWorld will continue,” she said.

SeaWorld and Southwest have worked together since 1988 in what McInnis told CNBC is a “mutually beneficial partnership” that “is based on travel and bringing families together.”

Co-branded programs include vacation packages and several Boeing 737 specialty jets painted with images of marine park animals. Two planes, Shamu Two and Shamu Three (Shamu One has been retired), feature images of Sea World’s performing orcas. A huddle of gentoo penguins are painted on the newest themed plane, Penguin One.

Southwest Airlines isn’t the only corporate entity being pressured to sever ties with SeaWorld. On Change.org alone, there are more than two dozen “Blackfish”-inspired petitions, including one asking Toys R Us to stop selling a SeaWorld-themed Barbie and another asking Groupon to stop featuring discounted SeaWorld deals.

The “Blackfish” documentary by filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite examines the history of killer whales in captivity and, in particular, the story of Tilikum, a captive orca that has been associated with the death of several people, including of a trainer in 2010 at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. Petitioners have called for the release of Tilikum and changes to the way in which SeaWorld treats animals in its theme parks.

“These campaigns against our partners are generally orchestrated by animal rights organizations whose views are extreme and entirely out of step with U.S. public opinion,” said SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs, who calls them a form of “digital harassment.”

“We do not have any plans at this time to remove the Barbie I Can Be SeaWorld line from our stores,” said Kathleen Waugh, vice president of corporate communications for Toys R Us. Groupon declined to comment for this story.

SeaWorld defends its practices and, in a variety of public statements, accuses the “Blackfish” film producers of painting “a distorted picture that withholds from viewers key facts about SeaWorld—among them, that SeaWorld is one of the world’s most respected zoological institutions, that SeaWorld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year and that SeaWorld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research.”

Still, citing the “Blackfish” documentary and petitions signed by fans, performers such as Martina McBride, 38 Special, REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Trisha Yearwood, Heart and Willie Nelson have canceled their events at SeaWorld venues.

“I understand there are petitions going around with thousands of people’s names on it, so I had to cancel,” Nelson said in a CNN interview. “Also, I don’t agree with the way they treat their animals, so it wasn’t that hard a deal for me to cancel.”

For other performers and companies being urged to cut ties with SeaWorld, the decision may not be as easy, said Shailendra Jain, chair of the department of marketing and international business at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Some may choose to encourage dialog “to get to the bottom of the matter,” said Jain. Others may need to “examine analytically the costs and benefits of discontinuing SeaWorld as a co-brand,” staying with them for the long run or, in the short run, adopting a “wait and watch stand—as Southwest is doing,” he said.

Meanwhile, the “Blackfish” film controversy doesn’t seem to be having a negative effect on SeaWorld’s bottom line.

On Monday the company, which operates 11 theme parks in locations including San Diego, Orlando and San Antonio, said it reported preliminary revenue for 2013 of about $1.46 billion. That would represent a record revenue year for SeaWorld Entertainment, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

For its peak summer quarter, which ended Sept. 30, the parks hosted 8.9 million customers who paid an average $38.38 for admission and an additional $22.36 on food, merchandise and other items, according to the financial filing.

SeaWorldEntertainment held its initial public offering in April and is majority owned by 10 limited partnerships owned by affiliates of The Blackstone Group and co-investors.

(My story about Southwest Airlines and others being urged to sever ties with SeaWorld first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior.)

 

In-flight social gifting – the next big thing?

Shopping, , ,

klm wanna gives

In a move to make flying a bit more friendly—and to raise revenues—airlines are bringing social media-style giving to the skies.

This week Southwest Airlines introduced a Facebook option that enables people to pool funds to buy a Southwest gift card for a friend or family member.

“It allows a group to come together to give a gift as a thank you or as congratulations for a wedding, a birthday or a major life milestone,” said Southwest spokesman Dan Landson.

In April, Virgin America introduced an in-flight, seat-to-seat drink and snack delivery program that Virgin Group founder Richard Branson described as a way passengers might increase their chances of “deplaning with a plus one.”

And earlier this month social media-savvy KLM introduced an option that expands on the Dutch airline popular program of surprising its passengers with personalized gifts.

The new KLM Wannagives lets people prepurchase gifts—from chocolate and perfume to jewelry or a Delft Blue singing, floating egg-timer—that are delivered by crew members to a passenger during a flight.

“The strength of Wannagives lies not in the fact that we give something extra to our customers, but that we enable people to give each other something special,” KLM’s social business manager Lonneke Verbiezen wrote in a blog post introducing the program.

It’s also a way for the airline and other companies to increase retail sales.

“There’s always a commercial component to these efforts, as there should be. This is business,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst with Hudson Crossing.

“Airlines are becoming much more entrepreneurial and innovative when it comes to securing additional revenues from passengers, be it via preordering duty free or investing in digital platforms for on-board retail,” said Raymond Kollau of Airlinetrends.com. “KLM’s Wannagives is a good example of airlines’ newly found retailing mind-set.”

Items made available as Wannagives are drawn from KLM’s current online shop, with a few products added. Since the program’s Dec. 9 rollout, Champagne with a crystal glass and Godiva chocolates are the most ordered items, said KLM spokesman Koen van Zijl.

“We think the service is a win-win for both our passengers and for the company,” van Zijl said. “We were asked often if it is possible to surprise a passenger on board, and Wannagives now makes this happen. And sure, we aim to increase in-flight sales.”

Looking forward to 2014, industry experts expect the social gifting trend to continue.

“In the digital world we live in, everyone craves more personal connection,” said Brian Erke, CEO and co-founder of social gifting site Gratafy. “This new adventure in simple yet personal gifting offers a sense of camaraderie and the ability to be there for someone, even when you can’t actually be there.”(M

(My story about in-flight social gifting first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior)

Airlines encouraging disaster relief donations

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Heartbroken over the images and stories coming out of Oklahoma?

Oklahoma Tornados 2013

Courtesy American Red Cross

 

 

Airlines are joining in to encourage you to help out by donating some money or miles.

Here are a few that have posted notices on their websites:

Through June 30, 2012, American Airlines AAdvantage members can earn a one-time bonus of 250 AAdvantage miles for a minimum donation of $50, or 500 AAdvantage miles for a minimum donation of $100 or more to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. More details here.

You can also to donate to disaster relief through the Alaska Airlines Charity Mile Pool  and through Southwest Airlines, which is working with American Red Cross Disaster Relief to raise funds to help those affected by the tornadoes, as well as for military members and their families and other relief services.  

Southwest fliers can board early – for a $40 fee

Fees,

southwest

 

 

Southwest Airlines, known for open seating and boarding passengers in bunches, announced this week that fliers can buy a priority spot in boarding group “A” for $40 per flight.

Southwest will put unsold slots in the A1-15 boarding group up for sale, when available, at the gate beginning 45 minutes before departure. Passengers will then be able to use a credit card to buy an early boarding spot. The airline tested the program in San Diego in December and received positive feedback.

“We have continued to look for ways to increase revenues in challenging economic times by offering optional services for which there are optional service charges,” said Southwest spokesperson Brad Hawkins. “These are not punitive against other customers.”

Southwest “has arrived late to the airline industry’s ancillary revenue gouge-fest” with the $40 per-segment access “to its otherwise signature ‘cattle car’ boarding process,” said airline industry analyst Bob Mann of R.W. Mann & Company.

The boarding option may not be a good fit for some passengers. “In many markets a customer would be better off buying up in the fare structure to Business Select, which also conveys in-flight amenities and extra Rapid Rewards frequent flier credit,” Mann said.

“This just confirms my decision to avoid Southwest,” said author and education technology consultant Susan Brooks-Young, who logs more than 150,000 miles in the air each year. She said she’s never been thrilled with Southwest’s policy of unassigned seating, but chose to fly with the airline when it was the best price and because they don’t charge for checked luggage. “Now that they are tacking on fees just like everyone else, there’s no reason for me to ever book with them,” she said.

Southwest passengers already have a few options for ensuring they’re among the first on the plane. They can pay $10 each way for EarlyBird Check-In and get a boarding group assignment 24 hours before other passengers, or they may purchase a Business Select fare which guarantees a spot in the A1-15 boarding group and some additional perks.

While “monetizing” the boarding process has become an airline-industry standard, Southwest’s new  option may serve to “dramatically increase the amount of gaming that takes place among travelers,” especially those who might have purchased the higher cost Business Select fares anyway, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst with Hudson Crossing.

It also may be a sign that what Hawkins refers to as Southwest’s “crusade against nickel and diming our customers” may be waning.

In order to generate new revenue, Southwest “has limited options and is stuck with what they can do,” said Harteveldt.

He thinks the airline might next explore charging passengers for checking a second bag and securing an assigned seat in certain rows.

“Southwest’s days of advertising itself as a fee–free airline are over.”

(My story: Southwest fliers can board early – for a $40 fee first appeared on NBC News Travel)

 

Nine-year-old girl at center of Southwest mix-up

Air Travel, Kids, Kids travel, ,

Southwest Airlines is apologizing to a Clarksville, Tenn., family and investigating how a 9-year-old girl flying as an unaccompanied minor from Nashville to New York on Tuesday ended up re-routed and delayed for five hours without the airline notifying the family.

Chloe Boyce is fine and will be getting a special patch from her junior Girl Scout troop to mark her adventure, but her mom, Elena Kerr, is upset.

“The flight arrived and my daughter didn’t get off,” Kerr told me. “Someone went on the plane to see if she was there and my sister called me and said, ‘Where’s Chloe?’ The Southwest guys told her there were no unaccompanied minors on that flight.”

Kerr had put Chloe on a flight in Nashville headed for New York’s LaGuardia Airport with scheduled stops in Columbus and Baltimore.

Southwest’s policy only allows unaccompanied children to be booked on itineraries that don’t include plane changes. Chloe’s flight, however, made an extra stop in Cleveland due to weather, and upon arriving in Baltimore she was rebooked on another flight to New York.

Unfortunately, no one from the airline called Kerr to inform her of the delay. The airline also did not contact Chloe’s aunt, who was waiting at the gate in New York.

Kerr said she started frantically calling Southwest and that it took more than an hour for the airline to locate Chloe and even longer to explain what happened.

“At BWI, the flight attendant took her off the plane, walked her to Hudson News to get her a drink and some snacks and the pilot bought her dinner,” Kerr told me. “But while she was there no could tell us where she was.”

Kerr said her family is a military family that has spent time living in Alaska and that she understands delays. “We just don’t understand why we weren’t called, especially because the Southwest policy states that someone must be available to answer phone calls during the flight time in the event of a flight irregularity.”

Southwest Airlines has apologized to Kerr and refunded the cost of Chloe’s ticket.

“Our unaccompanied minor policy aims to minimize these kinds of situations … by only ticketing them on itineraries that don’t require an aircraft change,” said Southwest spokesperson Brad Hawkins via email.
“In this case, the unscheduled change of planes resulted in the connection, a delay and distress for the family which we certainly regret and have apologized for in our conversation with the family of our customer.”

Kerr is not convinced she should let Chloe fly alone again.

“We don’t trust Southwest,” said Kerr. ” I’m going to be driving the 17 hours to New York to get her.”

(A slightly different version of this story first appeared on msnbc.com)

Prize patrol: because you can’t win if you don’t play

Contests, , ,

Throw your name in the hat for a chance to win free travel and assorted prizes in some of these sweepstakes.

From now through June 16th, 2011, Wyndham Rewards is asking vacation-deprived people (pretty much all of us) to send in a photo and a short explanation of why they need a vacation. Judges will pick seven finalists and the public will choose a grand winner who will receive enough Wyndham Rewards points for a seven-night vacation at a Wyndham property, a $7,000 Visa Gift Card a seven-night Alamo car rental certificate. You can enter online, via email (deserve@wyndhamrewards.com) or via Facebook.

Southwest Airlines and SeaWorld are giving away 40 trips in 40 days. Prizes include tickets for four to SeaWorld in Orlando, San Diego or San Antonio, hotel accommodations for two nights in that city, meals, and round trip tickets on Southwest Airlines. Enter here. Deadline: June 21, 2011.

And here’s a chance to help your favorite airlines win awards: the Passenger Choice Awards is inviting travelers to weigh in on check-in, frequent flyer programs, entertainment options and more.

Prize Patrol: because you can’t win if you don’t play

Air Travel, Airlines, Contests, Free Stuff, , , ,

 

Here’s some free stuff, a few contests and two travel discounts you may want to take advantage of.

If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area this week or in New York City next week, keep an eye out for folks from Austrian Airlines.  As part of their Café in the Clouds promotion the airline will be serving complimentary Meinl coffee – the coffee served onboard Austrian flights – in a different Washington neighborhood each day through Sunday, May 1st. Check here for the Café in the Clouds DC schedule.

In New York, the plan is to have chefs on bikes out delivering Austrian bundt cakes. The schedule for the NY Café in the Sky event will post on May 1st.

Coffee and cake is nice, but what about travel?  If you’re not in New York or D.C., you can skip the cake the coffee and go directly to the entry form to enter a contest to win two round trip tickets from Washington, D.C. or New York to Vienna on Austrian Airlines. (Contest ends May 20, 2011)

File these under “Every bit helps:”

Through April 30th, anyone with a Visa card that has “Visa Signature” printed on it (very common) may be eligible for a 15% discount on Southwest Airlines.

Virgin America will give you a promo code good for 20% off a flight if you vote for your favorite photo or video in a contest the airline is having in connection with new service to Chicago. Deadline to vote is May 11.

And you have until May 27, 2011 to enter the American Airlines anniversary miles giveaway sweepstakes. The prizes: they’re giving away 30,000 miles a day.

Airports – and an airline – celebrate Valentine’s Day

Food, Free Stuff, Holidays, , , , , ,

If you find yourself at an airport on Valentine’s Day, buy yourself and your sweetie some chocolate. And some flowers.

On Monday, these airports are among those that will be offering a little extra love:

The Food & Shops in the Central Terminal Building at New York’s LaGuardia Airport will be handing out free chocolate kisses.

Volunteers at Florida’s Jacksonville International Airport will be handing out carnations;

At Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Amy’s Ice-Cream has a pop-up kiosk in the baggage claim area selling chocolate-covered strawberries (2/12 -2/14);

And passengers on Southwest Airlines can celebrate the day with a complimentary adult beverage on all flights.