January 01, 2002

General Counsel is awarded the Employer of Choice Award by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA).

January 04, 2002

Jim Parker and Herb Kelleher were named joint winners of the Morningstar CEO of the Year Award for 2001.

January 07, 2002

Colleen Barrett and Jim Parker noted as People to Watch in Fortune Magazine.

January 21, 2002

Wireless provider Nextel has been added to the Southwest list of Rapid Rewards Preferred Partners.

January 22, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks 24th on RQ Gold 2001 by harrisinteractive.com.

January 23, 2002

Southwest announces an enhancement to its Next Flight Guaranteed (NFG) product that allows Customers to ship a package with same-day delivery, from doorstep to doorstep.

February 01, 2002

The September 11th Security Fee goes into effect. The fee will apply to all airline tickets and frequent flyer award travel and will be used to pay the government's cost for providing Federal civil aviation security services.

February 07, 2002

Southwest Airlines is presented with the New Mexico Tourism Ambassador Award.

February 12, 2002

Southwest ranks number twenty in the Business Ethics Magazine annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens poll. Southwest ranks number one in the Employee Relations category because of no layoffs, employee stability, congruence of mission, and amiable relationships with unions.

February 14, 2002

Finance Payroll Department is named Southwest's 2002 Heroes of the Heart.

February 15, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks second in America's Most Admired Companies and the #1 Airline for 2001, according to Fortune Magazine.

February 18, 2002

Southwest Airlines is awarded for 2002 Hispanic Corporate 100 by Hispanic Magazine.

February 20, 2002

Southwest Airlines is named an A-Rated Company for the year 2001 by PlanetFeedback.com.

February 22, 2002

Colleen Barrett is nominated to serve a one year term on the Board of Directors of the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Dallas, Inc. Colleen Barrett is named Texas Business Woman of the Year for 2001 by the Women's Chamber of Commerce Texas.

February 25, 2002

Internet service provider Earthlink joins the list of preferred partners Southwest Airlines frequent flyers can use to earn credits as part of the carrier's 15th Anniversary of the Rapid Rewards program.

March 04, 2002

URC receives 2001 Reservation Center of the Year Award.

March 06, 2002

AUS is named Station of the Year for 2001 El Paso is honored as the Station of the Year (for Medium, Small and Very Small Stations) in 2001. Las Vegas is honored as the Station of the Year (for Mega and Large Stations) in 2001.

March 07, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks 20th on Business Ethics "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list.

March 10, 2002

The first phase of an overall plan to improve traffic flow in and around Love Field kicked off with the doubling of capacity at security checkpoints, which were expanded from three lanes to six.

April 08, 2002

Southwest starts offering Customers a selection of popular Kraft products on flights longer than 450 miles. Customers who travel on flight of less than 450 miles will still receive peanuts or pretzels. Customers traveling on flights between 450 and 1,120 miles will receive a sweet Nabisco brand cookie pack, like Lorna Doone or Snack Well's, on morning flights or a salty crack snack, like Cheese Nips or Wheat Thins, on afternoon or evening flights. For those Customers traveling on flights of 1,121 miles or more, a full "Snack Pack" will be served, which includes an attractively boxed trio of packaged goodies – Oreo's, Cheese Nips, and Nabisco Fruit Snacks. Southwest ranks fourth in the 2001 Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study.

April 10, 2002

Colleen Barrett and Herb Kelleher receive the Kupfer Distinguished Executive Award from Texas A&M.

April 11, 2002

Southwest begins installing American flag decals on all of our aircraft.

April 12, 2002

John T. Monford, senior vice president-legislative and political affairs for SBC Communications is nominated for election to Southwest's Board of Directors. Subject to Shareholder approval, his term will begin at the Annual Shareholders Meeting on May 15, as two longtime Boardmembers, Sam Barshop and Gene Bishop, retire from service.

April 15, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks 34th in Forbes 500 in Forbes Magazine. Southwest Airlines ranks 317th in the Fortune 500 in Fortune Magazine.

April 18, 2002

Southwest Airlines' net income for first quarter 2002 was $21.4 million, compared to first quarter 2001 net income of $121.0 million, a decrease of 82.3 percent. Total operating revenues decreased 12.0 percent to $1.26 billion, compared to $1.43 billion for first quarter 2001. Revenue passenger miles decreased 2.5 percent, compared to a 4.2 percent increase in available seat miles, resulting in a load factor of 62.9 percent versus the first quarter 2001 load factor of 67.3 percent.

April 25, 2002

Herb Kelleher is inducted into the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Leadership Hall of Fame by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

May 01, 2002

Jim Parker receives the Best of the Best award from Fast Company.

May 08, 2002

Southwest Airlines is honored in the Freddie Awards by Inside Flyer Magazine.

May 10, 2002

Southwest holds the annual Phoenix LUV Classic Golf Tournament and Party. $220,000 was donated to the Ronald McDonald House in the following manner: $52,000 to STL, $52,000 to PHX, $52,000 to TUS, $20,000 to LAX, $52,000 to SNA, $20,000 to Camp Ronald McDonald. Southwest Airlines is named the Best Low Cost Airline by the Official Airline Guide (OAG).

May 16, 2002

Senator Trent Lott appoints Joyce Rogge, Senior Vice President Marketing to the National Commission to Ensure Consumer Information and Choice in the Airline Industry.

May 21, 2002

Southwest Airlines Cargo Department is awarded ACCA Airline of the Year. Southwest Airlines ranks 15th in D-FW Top 100 list according to the Dallas Morning News.

May 23, 2002

Colleen Barrett is recognized by Business Wire, Inc. in their eComm Ten Awards. Because of a decline in usage, Southwest discontinues the use of local phone lines at eight of the airlines nine Reservations Center. (Chicago did not have a local line.) The switch to all "800" numbers improves the Company's ability to route calls between Centers.

May 29, 2002

May 29, 2002 Southwest issues the first automated boarding pass to Ms. Martha McNaul during a test phase at Houston Intercontinental.

May 30, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks first (with an overall index of 100) for Jupiter Airline CORE on Jupiter Media Matrix. Vice President Special Marketing, Camille Keith, was recognized for her achievements by the Women's Museum in Dallas.

June 01, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks 18th in The Top 20 Companies for Leaders by Chief Executive Magazine.

June 06, 2002

Herb Kelleher is awarded as One of the Top 25 Most Influential People in the Business Travel Industry by Business Travel News.

June 10, 2002

Colleen Barrett receives the Lousie Raggio Pathfinder Award from the Dallas Fort Worth chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

June 17, 2002

Southwest begins the gradual retirement of its reusable plastic boarding card in favor of an automated system that issues a paper boarding card at more locations within the airport.

June 18, 2002

31st Anniversary.

July 02, 2002

Rapid Rewards Members can receive credit for flights they complete by providing their membership number when they book a reservation. That means the Member no longer has to present a membership card at checkin to receive credit, but will automatically receive it within seven days of completing the flight.

July 15, 2002

Nonrevs can now list for their flights via an automated telephone voice response system.

July 18, 2002

Southwest Airlines' net income for second quarter 2002 was $102.3 million compared to second quarter 2001 net income of $175.6 million, a decrease of 41.8 percent. Total operating revenues decreased 5.2 percent to $1.47 billion, compared to $1.55 billion for second quarter 2001. Revenue passenger miles increased 1.8 percent, compared to a 4.4 percent increase in available seat miles, resulting in a load factor of 69.9 percent. Southwest ranks 6th on The Worlds Best Awards for best domestic airline by Travel & Leisure Magazine.

July 25, 2002

Southwest teams with IBM to offer the first of more than 250 airport self-service checkin kiosks that will be available nationwide. The first RAPID CHECKIN kiosks are operating in Dallas, with additional kiosks planned for San Antonio, Phoenix, Nashville, Houston Hobby, Chicago Midway, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, Orlando, and Baltimore/Washington.

July 26, 2002

Employee Communications celebrates the 737th issue of Today@SWA, the Company's daily newsletter. The "daily" was first published on September 20, 1999. Southwest Cargo earns the 2002 Quest for Quality Award for outstanding Cargo performance. The Logistics Management & Distribution Report determines the award based on a survey of 3,000 shippers.

August 19, 2002

Marketing Groups and Meetings receive Incentive Magazine's 2002 Platinum Partner Award from Incentive Magazine.

August 20, 2002

SWAPA, representing Southwest's Pilots ratifies a two-year extension to their agreement with the Company. The contract will now be amendable on September 1, 2006.

August 22, 2002

Southwest Airlines is listed on Corporate Spotlight-Best Practices List by Unmarried America. Colleen Barrett receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia Aviation Conference.

August 23, 2002

Last-minute fares are capped at $299/one way. The highest one-way fare any Customer will have to be is $299 plus taxes and feed.

August 28, 2002

Flight Instructors represented by the Southwest Airlines Professional Instructor's Association agree to extend their contract by two years. The agreement will extend through December 31, 2012.

September 11, 2002

On the one-year anniversary of 9/11, Southwest remembers the thousands of Americans who lost their lives in the attacks. At Headquarters, hundreds of Employees gathered in front of the building to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, sing "God Bless America" and the "Star-Spangled Banner."

September 15, 2002

Southwest begins its first regularly schedule nonstop transcontinental flights with service between BWI and LAX.

September 27, 2002

Three new Vice Presidents are announced. Being promoted to Vice President Systems is longtime Employee Bob Jordan. Another Southwest veteran, Rob Myrben is promoted to Vice President Fuel Management, while Ray Sears is promoted to Vice President Purchasing.

September 30, 2002

Colleen Barrett ranks 13th on The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business by Fortune Magazine.

October 09, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks first on the 30 Year Super Stocks in Money Magazine.

October 10, 2002

Southwest Airlines receives the Civic Award of Excellence from Oakland Civic Pride.

October 11, 2002

Southwest Airlines' 1,300 Mechanics, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, ratifies an agreement extending their contract through August 16, 2005. The contract includes pay increases for all Mechanics, along with stock options, to be granted at today's fair market value of Southwest Airlines stock. LUV Classic golf tournament at Bear Creek. $505,000 was donated to Ronald McDonald Houses in the following manner: $120,000 each to Dallas, San Diego, Palo Alto, and Long Island. Colleen Barrett is honored with The Women's Leadership Exchange Compass Award by Women's Leadership Exchange.

October 15, 2002

Southwest Airlines is selected as finalist in the Global Corporate Achievement Awards 2002 by The Economist.

October 17, 2002

Southwest Airlines' net income for third quarter 2002 was $74.9 million, compared to third quarter 2001 net income of $151.0 million. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 8.1 percent from third quarter 2001.

October 21, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks first in the Best Companies in North America for 2002 from Global Finance Magazine.

October 22, 2002

Herb Kelleher receives the 2003 Bower Award for Business Leadership from the Franklin Institute Awards.

October 27, 2002

Lidia Martinez is honored with the KSWB Unsung Hispanic Heroes by KSWB 5/69 in San Diego.

November 11, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks 46th on InfoWorld 100 by InfoWorld Media Group.

November 15, 2002

southwest.com received a new look of canyon blue and the spirited, friendly faces of our SWA Employees from Reservations, Customer Relations, and SOS. A restored Vietnam-era Huey UH-1H helicopter lands at Headquarters for a special event honoring Southwest's veterans. The aircraft is the subject of a documentary, In the Shadow of the Blade, which looks at the conflict from the perspective of the helicopter.

November 22, 2002

Southwest Airlines is named the Best Low Cost Carrier by Business Traveler Magazine.

December 06, 2002

Southwest Airlines' Ramp, Operations, Provisioning, and Freight Agents, represented by the Transport Workers Union of America, ratify an agreement extending their contract, which formerly became amendable on June 30, 2006, through June 30. 2008. The contract extension provides stock options, to be granted at fair market value of Southwest Airlines stock on the date of ratification.

December 12, 2002

Southwest Airlines ranks 39th in the Div50 by Div2000.com.

December 20, 2002

Security Documents are now available on southwest.com, as well as the ability to retrieve the Hotel Itinerary.

December 26, 2002

The IAM and Southwest reach tentative agreement on a new contract for the airlines' Customer Service and Reservations Employees.

December 27, 2002

Colleen Barrett and Jim Parker are awarded Business People of the Year by Dallas Business Journal.

December 31, 2002

2002 Milestones: 240,969,000 Revenue Passengers: 63,045,988 Trips Flown: 947,331 Fleet: 375 Employees at yearend: 33,705 Load factor at yearend: 65.9% RPMs at yearend: 45.4 billion ASMs at yearend: 68.9 billion Station of the Year: SAT Res. Center of the Year: HRC Provo Station of the Year: SJC DOT Stats: First in customer complaints, sixth in ontime performance, and fourth in baggage handling

December 31, 2002

388 Southwest Maintenance Employees are awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in its Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) awards program, which recognizes aircraft mechanics for participation in initial and recurrent training. 280 of the Mechanics received the two highest levels of the FAA award: Ruby and Diamond. The TSA begins screening all checked bags. Colleen Barrett and Jim Parker are named in the Best Managers list for 2002 by Business Week. Southwest Airlines is honored as Salvation Army 2002 Volunteer Partner of the Year.

January 13, 2003

Southwest's first nonstop transcontinental flights begin with a flight between BWI and SJC.

January 20, 2003

Southwest Airlines Vacations unveiled its newly redesigned Website – swavacations.com.

January 22, 2003

Southwest Airlines net income for fourth quarter 2002 was $42.4 million, compared to $63.5 million for fourth quarter 2001. Net income diluted share was $.05 for fourth quarter 2002, compared to $.08 in fourth quarter 2001. The Company also reported the 30th consecutive year of profitability.

January 24, 2003

BusinessWeek names Southwest Airlines CEO Jim Parker and President Colleen Barrett in their "Best Managers" list for 2002.

January 24, 2003

Southwest Airlines is honored on the Top Companies for Building Executives Within by Hewitt Associates, Inc.

January 27, 2003

Air Transport World selects Southwest Airlines the Airline of the Year for 2003. The editors praised Southwest for being profitable for 30 consecutive years, while providing affordable fares for millions of passengers. Southwest ranks second on TravelQuality.com Aviation Awards 2003 by travelquality.com. AMFA (Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association) is the new union representing Southwest's Mechanics.

January 29, 2003

Southwest Airlines' 10,000 Customer Service and Reservations Agents represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), ratify an agreement extending their contract through November, 2008. The contract will include pay increases and stock options.

February 12, 2003

Southwest Airlines ranks 22nd on RQ Gold 2002 by Harris Interactive.

February 18, 2003

The new HOU Central Concourse celebrates its grand opening.

February 19, 2003

Southwest Airlines ranks second in America's Most Admired Companies and the #1 Airline for 2002, according to Fortune Magazine.

February 21, 2003

The change Itinerary feature goes live on SWABIZ.

February 26, 2003

Southwest Airlines President and COO, Colleen Barrett, is honored by Fast Company magazine as one of the "Fast 50" of 2003. The annual "Who's Fast" list highlights the business elite who demonstrate the power or persistence, the value of values, the rewards of solving problems, and the business of culture.

March 06, 2003

The NBA and WNBA select Southwest as their Official Airline.

March 10, 2003

San Antonio is chosen as Station of the Year for 2002. Over the weekend, Southwest completed the eight-month task of installing the reinforced cockpit doors on all of its aircraft.

March 18, 2003

Southwest Airlines is honored for "Comraderie" by the Great Place to Work Institute.

March 20, 2003

Louis Caldera and Nancy Ann Brown Loeffler are elected to the Southwest Airlines Board of Directors. Louis Caldera is the Vice Chancellor for University Advancement of the California State University System and President of the CSU Foundation. Nancy Ann Brown Loeffler is a Member of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors, and serves on the Board of Regents at St. Mary's University, the South Texas Community Foundation, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the Vice President' Residence Foundation in Washington D.C., the Capitol Advisory Committee for Texas Lutheran University, and the Blanton Museum of Art located on the University of Texas campus.

March 31, 2003

Southwest Airlines is honored as the "2003 Airline of the Year" by the Air Couriers Conference of America (ACCA). The annual award is based on surveys completed by actual ACCA members. Southwest Cargo ranked first in three categories: service, communication, and tracking and tracing.

April 07, 2003

Southwest finished third among the ten major airlines in the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study ranking U.S. carriers on performance criteria in 2002. SWA ranked third overall, sixth for ontime performance, eighth in denied boarding, fourth for mishandled baggage, and first for complaints.

April 10, 2003

For the third year in a row, Southwest is recognized as the Best Low Cost Airline at the OAG (Official Airline Guide) Airline of the Year awards.

April 21, 2003

Southwest Airlines' net income for first quarter 2003 was $24 million, compared to first quarter 2002 net income of $21 million, an increase of 14.3 percent. Diluted net income per share was $.03 in both first quarter 2003 and first quarter 2002. Total operating revenues for first quarter 2003 increased 7. 5 percent to $1.35 billion, compared to $1.26 billion for first quarter 2002. Revenue passenger miles increased 4.8 percent in first quarter 2003, compared to 5.3 percent increase in available seat miles, resulting n a load factor of 62.6 percent versus the first quarter 2002 load factor of 62.9 percent.

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.

May 12, 2003

Women in Aviation International name Colleen as one of the top 100 women in aviation.

May 19, 2003

Southwest is named Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Award winner in the airlines category. The annual Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Awards honor the companies that are most single-mindedly devoted to creating loyal customers.

May 20, 2003

Southwest ranks first among airlines (with a score of 75 out of 100) for the highest customer satisfaction according to the survey, which it calls the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). ACSI scores are produced by an econometric model that combines several components including customer expectations, evaluation of quality, evaluation of value and intention to repurchase.

May 21, 2003

Southwest's financial discipline and strong employment numbers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area combine to rank Southwest in the 16th position on The Dallas Morning News' 2003 "D-FW Top 200" listing of the largest public companies in the area.

June 10, 2003

RAPID CHECK-IN kiosks are installed in STL, making the units available to our customers at each of our airports Systemwide.

June 17, 2003

Southwest Airlines announces that it will add performance-enhancing blended winglets to its current and future fleet of Boeing 737-700's. The visually distinctive winglets improve performance by extending the airplane's range, saving fuel, lowering engine maintenance costs and reducing takeoff noise

June 18, 2003

32nd Anniversary

June 20, 2003

Aviation Week magazine names Herb as one of the "Top 100 Stars of Aerospace." The list includes Leonardo daVinci, Charles Lindbergh, and Chuck Yeager. Southwest Captain and former Astronaut, Robert "Hoot" Gibson is selected to NASA's Astronaut Hall of Fame.

June 23, 2003

Southwest announces its partnership with A&E Network for an all-new, real-life adventure series – a behind the scenes look at the drama surrounding commercial airline travel. AIRLINE will focus on Employees, Customers, and operations at our LAX and MDW Stations and the ten half-hour episodes will debut in first quarter 2004.

July 08, 2003

Karen Price-Ward becomes the first female African-American district marketing manager for Southwest Airlines and at the Company's busiest East Coast destination, BWI.

July 16, 2003

Customers can now change their itineraries at southwest.com.

July 21, 2003

Southwest Airlines' net income for second quarter 2003 was $246 million, compared to second quarter 2002 net income of $102 million. Diluted net income per share was $.30 for second quarter 2003, compared to $.13 for second quarter 2002. Total operating revenues for second quarter 2003 increased to 2.9 percent to $1.52 billion, compared to $1.47 billion for second quarter 2002. Revenue passenger miles increased 4.6 percent in second quarter 2003, compared to a 4.2 percent increase in available seat miles, resulting in a load factor of 70.1 percent versus the second quarter 2002 load factor of 69.9 percent.

August 01, 2003

Southwest Shortcut debuts on southwest.com. The Southwest Shortcut provides Customers with a color-coded calendar indicating which rates are available in the market for which they are interested.

August 11, 2003

Southwest announces new capabilities on the corporate travel booking tool, SWABIZ. Improvements include virtual credit cards, traveler accounts, real-time flight status, booking and tracking expenses, online itinerary changes, e-mail capabilities, ability to apply funds to future travel, and Rapid Rewards double credit.

August 14, 2003

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics announces that Southwest carried more domestic passengers in May than any other airline, marking the first time a low-fare airline has topped the monthly rankings.

August 25, 2003

Flight Status Text Messaging is added to southwest.com.

September 02, 2003

Effective today, Southwest Customers with cell phones onboard may begin using them after the flight attendant gives permission to do so upon landing at the destination and taxi to the airport gate.

September 10, 2003

Operations Agents at MAF begin real-world testing of our new Gate Readers, which are mobile, touch-screen computers used to scan the bar codes on Automated Boarding Passes.

September 29, 2003

After 16 years of offering paper Award and Companion Travel Tickets, Rapid Rewards goes paperless.

October 03, 2003

SeaWorld tickets became available for sale on southwest.com.

October 10, 2003

Chief Executive magazine places Southwest Airlines into its Top 20 list of companies the produce great Leaders. Southwest ranks tenth, up from its 18th place rating the year before.

October 14, 2003

Southwest takes delivery of its first winglet-equipped aircraft, N444WN. The aircraft is dedicated to Southwest friend and publisher of Texas Monthly, Mike Levy, whose picture will appear on the winglets for one month.

October 20, 2003

Southwest reports its 50th straight profitable quarter with earnings of $106 million.

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.

November 14, 2003

The "late bag check" cutoff time is changed from 20 minutes to 30 minutes to better reflect the new security environment. Southwest was the last airline to make this change.

November 24, 2003

Southwest begins adding onboard personal wheelchair compartments to all (except remaining -200s) of its aircraft. The project, which will be completed be the end of 2004, provides storage for one collapsible wheelchair.

December 09, 2003

Downloadable schedules for PDAs in pdf format becomes available.

December 12, 2003

Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridges selects Herb to serve as Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Private Sector Senior Advisory Committee.

December 17, 2003

To honor the 100th anniversary of the first successful powered flight by the Wright Brothers, Southwest Airlines takes delivery of N448WN at the exact time Orville and Wilbur Wright recorded that 12-second flight: 10:35 EST.

December 31, 2003

2003 Milestones: 442,000,000 Revenue Passengers: 65,673,945 Trips Flown: 949,882 Fleet: 388 Employees at yearend: 32,847 Cities opened: n/a Load factor at yearend: 66.8% RPMs at yearend: 47.9 billion ASMs at yearend: 71.8 billion  

January 05, 2004

The day-to-day experiences of Southwest Employees and Customers at LAX and MDW will take center stage tonight when the new real-life series Airline debuts on A&E. The television network will air 18 30-minute episodes on Mondays at 10 p.m. EST to an estimated audience of 1.1 million viewers per episode.

January 08, 2004

Southwest gains the home-field advantage in Philadelphia with the signing of three sports sponsorship agreements. Southwest now reigns as the Official Airline of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Philadelphia 76ers, the National Hockey League's (NHL) Philadelphia Flyers, and Major League Baseball's (MLB) Philadelphia Phillies. Southwest's Philadelphia sports sponsorship agreements include signage, broadcast partnerships, and charitable and community outreach. Fans attending select Flyers, 76ers, and Phillies events also will have the opportunity to win free trips on Southwest Airlines through specific promotional giveaways.

January 19, 2004

Revenue Ticketless Customers at AMA and MAF are now able to print their boarding passes from southwest.com as Ground Ops begins the long-awaited launch of Internet Checkin. The Internet Checkin option is available only for the first leg of outbound travel from AMA or MAF–transfer and return boarding passes will be available online later this year. Additional cities will receive this capability in the coming weeks–including ABQ, BNA, and FLL–with systemwide rollout planned for early spring.

January 22, 2004

Southwest recorded a profit of $66 million during the fourth quarter of 2003, compared to fourth quarter 2002 net income of $42 million, marking our 51st consecutive profitable quarter. In addition to our quarterly earnings, Southwest also reported our 31st consecutive year of profitability, with annual net income of $442 million, up from $241 million in 2002. Excluding special items in each year, 2003 net income was $298 million compared to $198 million for 2002.

February 05, 2004

Customers systemwide who are traveling with an electronic Ticketless reservation now may print a Boarding Pass online from southwest.com. Previously, an online Customer would print the southwest.com confirmation page and present it to a Customer Service Agent or Skycap at the airport to receive a Boarding Pass. The new online Boarding Pass, however, allows a Customer entry through the airport Security Checkpoint and onboard their scheduled flight, without making an additional stop.

February 11, 2004

Southwest lifts a number of restrictions on our H and M fares to provide our Customers with greater value, more convenient and flexible booking options, and to remain competitive with offerings of other carriers. As a result, the roundtrip, overnight, and "combinability" restrictions that previously affected these fares have been removed. Advance purchase requirements are still in effect, however.

February 16, 2004

The People Benefits Department is named 2004 Heroes of the Heart.

February 24, 2004

Southwest is named America's most admired airline–and the third most admired company overall, down from second last year–in FORTUNE magazine's latest listing of "America's Most Admired Companies." Wal-Mart topped the list for the second straight year, with Berkshire Hathaway finishing second. Rounding out the top ten were GE, Dell, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Starbucks, FedEx, and IBM.

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).

March 04, 2004

Jim and Colleen host first Message to the Field event of the year at Hard Rock Live at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

March 09, 2004

Southwest announces that construction crews soon will break ground on the latest addition to our corporate campus: a five-story addition next to the current five-story portion of Headquarters. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2005.

March 17, 2004

SWALife is launched, allowing Employees to access Company information from any computer, any time, anywhere. SWALife is a secure, password-protected web site, and, unlike FreedomNet, it can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

March 25, 2004

Before Southwest even begins flying at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Herb announces that Southwest will add 14 daily nonstops to our PHL schedule on July 6, doubling the number of daily flights at the airport less than two months after the inauguration of service on May 9.

March 30, 2004

Southwest gives Customers the freedom to book a cruise online at southwest.com. This exciting new functionality will make southwest.com even more of a one-stop shop for all Customer travel needs.

April 05, 2004

Southwest comes in at 310th on this year's FORTUNE 500 listing of the largest U.S. corporations, down four spots from 306th the previous year.

April 06, 2004

For the second year in a row, Southwest finishes third among the largest U.S. airlines in a study ranking carriers on performance criteria ranging from ontime arrivals to mishandled baggage. The top finisher was JetBlue, followed by Alaska.

April 15, 2004

Southwest recorded a profit of $26 million during the first quarter of 2004, compared to first quarter 2003 net income of $24 million, marking our 52nd consecutive profitable quarter.

April 17, 2004

Southwest's 31st and Last Annual Chili Cookoff was held near DAL.

April 19, 2004

At the Dallas Message to the Field, Jim Parker announces that Herb will take over Flight Attendant negotiations because they have "gotten very personal, and therefore, have gotten off track.

April 29, 2004

Southwest's Rapid Rewards frequent flier program is honored with first place awards for Best Award Redemption, Best Customer Service, Best Web Site, Best Award, and Best Bonus Promotion at InsideFlyer magazine's 16th annual Freddie Awards ceremony. In addition to first place awards, Southwest is honored with second place awards in the categories for Program of the Year and Best Newsletter.

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.

May 19, 2004

Southwest's Annual Shareholders' Meeting is held at Headquarters.

May 27, 2004

Jim and Colleen announce a one-time early retirement offer called "Freedom '04" that is available to any Employee with at least one year of service. The program is offered through June 25.

June 05, 2004

The Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas opens its new facility, and one of the main exhibits is the nose section of a retired Southwest 737-200.

June 18, 2004

Southwest celebrates its 33rd anniversary with a ceremony at DAL MX Hangar C, where more than 3,000 Employees gather to witness the christening of another Company milestone: Southwest's 400th aircraft (N467WN)!

June 25, 2004

Southwest launches a Spanish language online booking engine at southwest.com/vamonos in an effort to tap into the nation's largest minority group.

June 26, 2004

Annual Awards Banquet is held at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel in DAL.

June 28, 2004

Southwest and TWU Local 556, which represents Flight Attendants, reach a tentative contract agreement after more than two years of negotiations. The contract must be approved in a vote by the Flight Attendants before it is approved.

July 07, 2004

Customers get the ability to obtain both origin and transfer boarding passes at the start of their trip either at the airport or online at southwest.com.

July 15, 2004

Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Parker announces his retirement from Southwest. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Gary Kelly is named by the Board to fill both positions, effective immediately. Gary joined Southwest as Controller in 1986, and became Vice President Finance and CFO in 1989. In 2001, he was named Executive Vice President and CFO. Filling Gary's spot as CFO is Laura Wright, who formerly served as Vice President Finance and Treasurer. Laura joined Southwest in 1988.

August 02, 2004

TWU 555, representing Southwest's Flight Attendants, ratifies the new contract.

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.

August 05, 2004

Southwest realigns it's organizational structure and fills several new positions, in addition to the previously announced promotion of Laura Wright: Ron Ricks becomes Senior Vice President Law, Airports, and Public Affairs. Tom Nealon becomes Senior Vice President Technology and Chief Information Officer. Dave Ridley fills the Senior Vice President People and Leadership Development position. Bob Jordan becomes the new Senior Vice President Spend Management. Ginger Hardage is named as Senior Vice President Corporate Communications. Beverly Carmichael is the new Senior Vice President Employee and Labor Relations.

August 06, 2004

The first two Southwest aircraft with production-installed winglets–N475WN and N476WN–were delivered separately this week, bringing the fleet to 409 Boeing 737s. Previously, aerodynamic winglets were installed after the jets left the factory.

September 02, 2004

Vice President Safety, Security, and Flight Dispatch Greg Wells is named the Company's new Vice President Ground Operations. Greg started his career with Southwest in 1981 as a Ramp Agent, moving on to nine different cities within Ground Ops in the positions of Ramp Agent, Ops Agent, Ops Sup, Manager of Ramp & Operations, Station Manager, Regional Director, and Senior Director. In 1998, Greg became the Director of the Flight Dispatch Department. In October 2001, he was promoted to Vice President of Safety, Security, and Flight Dispatch.

September 13, 2004

After extensive evaluation of the Dual Boarding Bridge (DBB) project, the decision is made to discontinue the use of the DBBs at DAL Gate 8 and AUS Gate 9. Both bridges have been decommissioned and will remain in use for nose-loading only.

September 16, 2004

Southwest's approximately 1,500 mechanics represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) approve a three-year extension to their agreement with the Company, which was scheduled to become amendable in August 2005. The extended agreement now becomes amendable in August 2008.

September 23, 2004

Inflight Training Class 208–consisting of 114 new Flight Attendants–receive their wings at a Headquarters ceremony. In keeping with Southwest's "Going Where We're Growing" effort, all 114 members of the class were internal applicants who transferred to the Inflight Department.

September 28, 2004

1ST HTML email sent for Click ‘n Save.

October 04, 2004

As part of the Company's ongoing effort to give Employees the "Freedom to Stay Connected" by giving Employees access to all the information they need to do their jobs and continue providing unrivaled Customer Service, CEO Gary Kelly begins recording his thoughts about Southwest's challenges and opportunities weekly on the Employee News Line.

October 08, 2004

Southwest dedicates its newest signature aircraft, "The Spirit of Hope," at a surprise ceremony at Boeing Field in Seattle. The special jet features original overhead bin artwork created by children from Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Western Washington. The overhead bin doors inside the aircraft's cabin are uniquely embossed with brightly-colored crayon drawings of happy hearts, brilliant rainbows, oversized flowers, and smiling faces. "The Spirit of Hope" departed Boeing Field for additional celebrations in DAL, SAT, and PHL. In honor of the 30th birthday of the Ronald McDonald House® program, 30 families from various Ronald McDonald Houses across the southwest flew from Dallas to San Antonio for a vacation to SeaWorld San Antonio. The specialty aircraft joined Southwest's permanent fleet and systemwide schedule on October 11 by making its inaugural public flight from PHL–the birthplace of the first Ronald McDonald House 30 years ago this month.

October 12, 2004

Southwest holds third annual full-scale emergency response exercise, using Employees at Headquarters, HOU, two Reservations Centers, the National Transportation Safety Board, and several Houston-area agencies to test the Company's preparedness in the event of a crisis.

October 14, 2004

Southwest posted a profit of $119 million in the third quarter, compared to a profit of $106 million during the same period last year–an increase of 12.3 percent.

October 27, 2004

Colleen announces that Airline will be filmed for a third season, with HOU Station joining BWI, LAX, and MDW.

October 31, 2004

Southwest's new, "optimized" base schedule takes effect today, resulting in a shift in departure times on over 90 percent of our flights. Along with a shift in flight times, 38 additional nonstop flights took to the air in the biggest schedule shift in Southwest's history. Two of the cities most affected by these new routes are MDW and PHL. MDW is proud to offer a total of eight additional nonstop flights to/from LAX, OAK, TPA, MCO, and PHL; while PHL boasts 13 additional nonstop flights to/from BDL, JAX, OAK, MCO, FLL, LAX, MDW, and MHT.

November 08, 2004

Southwest unveils a new look for the blended winglets featured on its Boeing 737-700s: a southwest.com logo treatment on the inside and outside of the winglets.

November 10, 2004

Southwest and legendary Texas grocery chain H-E-B begin crossing the roads and skies of Texas to make the largest single-event contribution to Texas food banks ever. With a fleet of newly designed trucks and a new Southwest jet filled with food, the "Flight to Fight Hunger" landed in six major cities to donate more than one million pounds of packaged, non-perishable food products among 18 affiliates of America's Second Harvest–The Nation's Food Bank Network.

November 12, 2004

At a meeting of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Gary announces that Southwest is no longer "passionately neutral' about the Wright Amendment. This event is the first of a series of events that will lead to major changes in the law affecting Love Field that culminate in the signing of the Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006. Multi-Passenger Internet checkin becomes available. Quick booking module goes live on southwest.com.

December 10, 2004

Southwest formally submits our bid in the federal bankruptcy court of Indianapolis for certain ATA Airlines, Inc. (ATA) assets, including a commitment to connect and exchange passengers with ATA, and various financing agreements. Total cash consideration and financing in the ATA bid will exceed $100 million. Southwest's bid includes the acquisition of six Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) gates currently under lease to ATA. The addition of these six gates increases Southwest's capacity by 32 percent, supporting further expansion plans. As part of the bid, Southwest is willing to enter into a code share agreement with ATA, covering certain flights from MDW to approximately nine ATA domestic nonstop destinations. The code share, which will commence next year, could generate additional annual revenue in the $25 to $50 million range for each airline.

December 13, 2004

Booking calendar becomes available on southwest.com.

December 21, 2004

Southwest's bid for various assets of ATA Airlines, along with debtor-in-possession financing, is approved in federal bankruptcy court proceedings. Southwest's approved bid calls for $80 million cash at closing to ATA. Assets acquired include the leasehold of six Chicago Midway Airport gates and an aircraft maintenance hangar. The purchase price for the assets is $40 million, with the remaining $40 million in debtor-in-possession financing. In addition to the cash, Southwest will guarantee payment of an ATA construction loan to the City of Chicago for $7 million. Upon ATA's emergence from bankruptcy, Southwest has committed to convert the debtor-in-possession financing to a term loan, payable over five years. Additionally, Southwest committs to purchase $30 million of convertible preferred stock, in cash, for 27.5 percent of the new ATA. The stock is nonvoting, and it is Southwest's intent to liquidate that position in an orderly manner over time.

December 31, 2004

2004 Milestones: 313 million Revenue Passengers: 70.9 million (81.1 million enplaned) Trips Flown: 981,591 Fleet: 417 Employees at yearend: 31,011 Cities opened: PHL Load factor at yearend: 69.5% RPMs at yearend: 53.4 billion ASMs at yearend: 76.9 billion Station of the Year: LAX DOT Stats: 2nd in Customer Complaints, 4th in Ontime Performance, and 4th in Baggage Handling. Specialty Aircraft Spirit of Hope (Signature Series)—Oct 8

January 04, 2005

Gary Kelly announces Southwest will participate in the international effort to provide aid to victims of the disastrous Asian tsunamis.

January 06, 2005

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

January 07, 2005

The Department of Transportation concludes its review of the code share agreement with ATA Airlines, allowing Southwest to put the agreement into service.

January 07, 2005

Southwest receives DOT approval for the ATA codeshare agreement.

January 17, 2005

Southwest celebrates the retirement of the last Boeing 737-200 at a special event at the DAL Maintenance facility. Wearing pajamas and bathrobes, Chairman Herb Kelleher, CEO Gary Kelly, and President Colleen Barrett joined Employees at the early morning event bidding farewell to N95SW. Herb, Gary, and Colleen speak to the crowd about the contribution of aircraft like N95 to the founding and current success of our Company.

January 19, 2005

Southwest posted a profit of $56 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $66 million during the same period last year. This is the 32nd consecutive year of profitability, with net income of $313 million for 2004—down from a profit of $442 million in 2003.

January 24, 2005

Southwest is featured prominently in the "How'd They Do That" episode of the hit ABC primetime television show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Due to the partnership with the show, the airline donates several plane parts to be used in a teenager's airplane-theme room. Thirty Mechanics, Flight Attendants, and Pilots pitched in to build the boy's room. Southwest declines an incentive offer from the DFW Airport to move flights to that facility, citing the airline's preference for it's home airport, Love Field.

January 25, 2005

Southwest teams up with Movielink to offer Customers discounted movies. Exclusively at southwest.com, Customers can download popular movies and shows onto their own PC or laptop for use before, during, or after their flight

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.

February 04, 2005

Disneyland tickets are now available on southwest.com.

February 15, 2005

The Schedule Planning Department is named 2005 Heroes of the Heart.

February 16, 2005

Southwest Employees raise $570,502.94 in the tsunami relief effort.

February 23, 2005

Southwest is named most admired airline and fifth most admired company overall, down from third last year in FORTUNE Magazine's latest listing of "America's Most Admired Companies."

February 24, 2005

Former Southwest Executive Vice President and CFO John Denison is named ATA CEO.

March 01, 2005

Southwest launches the first-ever direct link to Customer's computer desktops. DING! lets Customers know directly when the hottest deals are available at southwest.com.

March 04, 2005

Daryl Krause is named the new Vice President Inflight. Daryl joined Southwest in 1979 as a Ramp Agent and worked his way up the ladder to Vice President.

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.

March 11, 2005

The Express Delivery and Logistics Association names Southwest "Airline of the Year" for Cargo. This was the sixth year the award had been given with Southwest Cargo winning three times and placing second three times.

March 17, 2005

Southwest celebrates 20 years of service at MDW by hosting a block party in downtown Chicago. There was also an announcement of 18 new flights at MDW over the next five months.

March 31, 2005

At its Dallas Maintenance Base, Southwest honors the Tuskegee Airman of World War II. The ceremony, which features vintage aircraft, salutes 13 veterans of this prestigious unit.

April 05, 2005

For the third straight year, Southwest ranks third among the largest U.S. airlines in the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) ranking carriers on performance criteria ranging from ontime arrival to mishandled baggage.

April 07, 2005

Southwest Airlines Albuquerque Reservations Center celebrates Selena's musical legacy with a "fiesta" including music, food, decorations, and a Selena-themed office-decorating contest. Southwest served as the Official Airline for the "SBC Selena Tribute Concert."

April 12, 2005

President Colleen Barrett is honored as one of the ten inductees into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.

April 14, 2005

Southwest announces 1Q profits of $76 Million, compared to $26 million during the same period last year. The quarter marked the 56th consecutive quarterly profit.

April 20, 2005

For the second year in a row, Southwest earns an "A" ranking in Caller Satisfaction and Call Completion in the Vocal Laboratories SectorPulse Airlines report.

May 02, 2005

Season three of People's Choice Award nominee, Airline, premieres

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.

May 05, 2005

Southwest's Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program receives first place for Best Award Redemption at InsideFlyer magazine's 17th annual Freddie Awards ceremony for the 7th consecutive year. Southwest also received first place for Best Customer Service and Bonus Promotion, and second place for Program of the Year, Best Web Site, and Best Member Communications

May 06, 2005

To support the efforts to repeal the Wright Amendment, Southwest launches www.SetLoveFree.com. Colleen Barrett receives the 2005 George E. Haddaway Award for her contribution to aviation.

May 09, 2005

Southwest is featured on "Extreme Makeover: Wedding Edition," a new installment to the "Extreme Makeover" series. While the "I Do Crew," a team of wedding planners and designers, planned a wedding for a couple in three days, Southwest provides flights to family and friends of the bride and groom for the wedding day.

May 13, 2005

Southwest works with the Las Vegas Centennial Committee to celebrate Las Vegas' 100th Birthday with 100 Weddings. Five Southwest Employees were given the chance to win one of the wedding ceremonies. 5th Annual PHX LUV Classic. $275,000.00 raised. $37.500 each to PHX and TUS houses with $100,000.00 each to BWI and BOS/MHT houses.

May 18, 2005

The American Customer Satisfaction Index places Southwest at the top of its rankings of overall customer satisfaction levels in the air transportation industry with a 74 out of 100.

May 19, 2005

Launched MySouthwest for Customers to set up profiles online.

May 20, 2005

Launched MySouthwest for Customers to set up profiles online The North Dallas Chamber of Commerce announces support for a gradual phase-out of the Wright Amendment.

May 26, 2005

Southwest holds an emergency response exercise, using Employees at Headquarters, San Antonio, and two Reservations Centers to test the Company's preparedness in the event of a crisis. Dallas area Congressmen Jeb Hensarling and Sam Johnson introduce the "Right to Fly Act" which would repeal the Wright Amendment. Herb holds a press conference in Washington, D.C. to praise the Leadership and vision of these two men. Herb cites the "DFW Tax" or subsidy on North Texas air travelers due to a lack of competition.

June 01, 2005

As part of The Dallas Morning News's "World Class Headquarters DFW," Southwest is featured in 28 issues highlighting the Dallas area's top companies. Redefining Excellence rolls out, with PHX the first station to undergo a thorough comprehensive look at its operations. Its goal is to improve the Customer Experience, improve the quality of life for Employees, to maintain Southwest's Low-Cost Leadership, and to improve efficiency.    

June 07, 2005

Southwest's senior Leaders hold a press conference to discuss the results of the study by the outside commercial aviation consulting firm, Campbell-Hill Aviation Group. The study was commissioned by Southwest and explained the consumer penalty imposed by the Wright Amendment and the positive economic impact to be gained from its repeal.

June 14, 2005

An event is held to unveil Maryland One and show Southwest's "LUV" for the state of Maryland. Southwest begins a petition drive to Senators Hutchison and Cornyn in support of the repeal of the Wright Amendment.

June 16, 2005

Southwest announces that it is exploring moving its Seattle service from SeaTac to close-in Boeing Field.

June 17, 2005

To celebrate new non-stop service between Buffalo and Chicago Midway, Southwest entertains Customers with a live jazz band and Chicago-style pizza.

June 18, 2005

Southwest celebrates 34 years of operations.

June 22, 2005

Southwest honors Dallas radio personality, Ron Chapman, by unveiling a decal on one of our 737-700s that declares "LUV was in the Air."

June 27, 2005

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

July 06, 2005

Southwest surpasses the 3,000-daily-flight mark.

July 14, 2005

For the second quarter, Southwest reports a $159 million profit, as compared to the $113 million profit in the same quarter of 2004.

July 18, 2005

Southwest reaches a milestone by breaking the 200 daily flight mark at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport (LAS). On Sunday, the airline added one daily nonstop apiece from LAS to SAN and OAK, bringing its total number of daily flights at LAS to 201. With the additional flights, LAS is now the largest airport in Southwest's 60-city operation in terms of departures.

July 20, 2005

Southwest Airlines applauds the introduction of the American Right to fly Act, a U.S. Senate bill sponsored by Senators John Ensign (NV), John McCain (AZ), Sam Brownback (KS), and Joe Lieberman (CT) that would amend the 26-year-old Wright Amendment.

July 21, 2005

Southwest secures two remote gates at LAS in the B Concourse, B9 and B10. For a shortterm solution, Southwest has worked with LAS officials to develop a shuttle bus operation to transport connecting traffic to/from the two concourses. Longterm, we are building a connector that will accommodate connecting traffic while containing them in one secured area.

July 22, 2005

Southwest releases an economic proposal outlining a $130 million capital investment at Seattle's King County International Airport (KCIA) that would involve the construction of facilities to enable us to move our airport operation from Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Southwest introduces the online availability of senior fares on southwest.com, making affordable fares for those over 65 more convenient than ever before.

July 26, 2005

Southwest and the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) expand their marketing partnership with a new multi-year agreement that will increase the community outreach efforts of the three organizations to feature a new tour of a civil rights basketball exhibition and the expansion of the "Shoot For Hope" program to the WNBA.

July 27, 2005

Colleen rides to the top of the Headquarters building in a cherry picker to hang a "Wright is Wrong" banner, which is visible from the main runway.

July 28, 2005

BWI becomes our 31st Gate Service location.

August 01, 2005

President Colleen Barrett is ranked 52nd in this year's listing of the 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes magazine. In last year's inaugural list, Colleen ranked 63rd. Colleen ranked above ABC's Diane Sawyer (55), CNN's Christiane Amanpour (72), and Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (75), but below Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (1), Oprah Winfrey (9), and Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton (26).

August 02, 2005

A few words of wisdom from President Colleen Barrett are featured in a new book aimed at sharing advice and encouragement with young girls. Called "A Gift for Girls: Words of Wisdom from Successful Women," by TV news reporter Shirley Washington, the book is a collection of stories from some from the country's most successful women, including an astronaut and the owner of the Colorado Rockies. Colleen's chapter, titled "The Sky is Not the Limit," provides a brief glimpse into her life and early career, as well as a summary of her life at Southwest Airlines.

August 11, 2005

Southwest makes a number of changes to our award-winning Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program. Members have 24 months (instead of the current 12 months) to earn credits toward free travel. Blackout dates are removed, and seat limitations go into effect.

August 12, 2005

Southwest's temporary staffing agency, Today's Staffing, moves into an office at Headquarters in the employment area of the People and Leadership Development Department.

August 16, 2005

To celebrate the one-millionth download of the new product, DING!—the first-ever "direct link" to Customers' computer desktops, delivering discounted fares to a variety of Southwest destinations—Southwest holds a one-day fare sale. The one-millionth Customer to download DING! is in Los Angeles, one of the top cities in our system to download DING! Other top cities to download DING! are Baltimore/Washington, Chicago, Houston, Oakland, and Phoenix. The popularity of DING! is evident: Customers have booked more than $30 million in DING! fares since its introduction in Feb. 2005, amounting to more than $1 million in DING! bookings each week.

August 19, 2005

Southwest will add several new flights this fall from new Pennsylvania Stations—Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The airline will add eight daily nonstop flights this fall at PIT, bringing the daily total nonstop departures to 19. Pittsburgh Customers can take advantage of the boost in service between existing cities, as well as brand new nonstop service to TPA and PHX. The airline also is adding two additional daily nonstop departures at PHL, bringing the daily total nonstop departures in that city to 51.

August 22, 2005

CEO Gary Kelly reports that Executive Vice President Aircraft Operations Jim Wimberly has decided to retire early next year. Southwest announces the promotion of Barry Brown as our newest Officer and Vice President of Safety and Security. Barry recently celebrated his 15th anniversary with Southwest.

August 24, 2005

Southwest Founder and Chairman Herb Kelleher is named one of the top three CEOs of all time by his peers, according to an article that will run in Chief Executive magazine. Herb ranked third behind Jack Welch of GE and Bill Gates of Microsoft in the top-ten listing.

August 29, 2005

Southwest switches to a new, thinner stock for our boarding passes which will save the Company roughly $720,000 annually. The new stock will be available to order in SWEEP. Hurricane Katrina comes ashore as a Category 4 hurricane. Service is discontinued at MSY until at least 3:00 p.m. August 31; JAN until at least 11:30 a.m. on August 31, and BHM through August 30.

August 31, 2005

Southwest mobilizes Employees to assist in the Katrina recovery effort by requesting donations to the Southwest Airlines Employee Catastrophic Assistance Charity.

September 01, 2005

Southwest discontinues all scheduled service to/from MSY through at least Monday, September 12 due to Hurricane Katrina. We also temporarily suspended accepting all reservations to/from MSY in order to minimize our Customers' inconvenience due to the ever-changing circumstances affecting our flight schedule. Service resumes to JAN.

September 02, 2005

Southwest adds PeoplePC Online, a leading provider of high-quality, value-priced Internet services, to our network of Rapid Rewards partners.

September 06, 2005

Southwest flew 5.7 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in August, a 13.7 increase. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 12.2 percent to 7.5 billion. The load factor for the month was 76.1 percent.

September 07, 2005

Mike Van de Ven is named Jim Wimberly's successor as Executive Vice President Aircraft Operations when Jim begins his retirement.

September 08, 2005

Southwest finally makes contact with all 247 MSY Employees, and all are well. Service to MSY is cancelled indefinitely.

September 12, 2005

Southwest's newest television ad about the anti-competitive Wright Amendment begins airing in Dallas. The ad features the country classic "Release Me." Southwest teams up with the Red Cross in addition to the Southwest Employee Catastrophic plan for payroll deduction donations. The Company will match Employee donations on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

September 14, 2005

A web site, flyboeingfield.com is set up to explain the advantages of Boeing Field over SeaTac.

September 19, 2005

Since the beginning of Sept., JAX, IND, CMH, and ELP have been added to our Gate Services operations. This brings the total number of Gate Services cities to 35. AMA, MAF, and LBB will be added by the end of the month.

September 20, 2005

Southwest service resumes at MSY with two daily roundtrips between MSY and HOU. Additional Southwest service in PIT and PHL will commence sooner than previously announced as a result of flight schedule changes due to Hurricane Katrina. A number of the new flights previously announced to begin later this fall will instead begin Oct. 2, 2005.

September 21, 2005

Southwest Airlines Customers no longer have to wake up at midnight to check in for their flights. Now they simply log on to southwest.com up to 24 hours prior to their scheduled departure (and until one hour before departure) to check in for their flights and retrieve and print their boarding pass(es).

September 29, 2005

Southwest announces our newest Rapid Rewards Preferred Partner: InterContinental Hotels Group.

October 02, 2005

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

October 04, 2005

Southwest flew 4.7 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in September, an 18.9 percent increase from the 4.0 billion RPMs flown in September 2004. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 11.5 percent to 7.0 billion from the September 2004 level of 6.3 billion. The load factor for the month was 67.4 percent, compared to 63.2 percent for the same period last year. Beverly Carmichael, Vice President Labor and Employee Relations leaves the Company.

October 11, 2005

American Airlines issues a study conducted by the Eclat Consulting firm that claims repeal of the Wright Amendment would cost North Texas the loss of service to cities in 22 states and up to 436 flights. Southwest Airlines sharply disagrees.

October 13, 2005

King County (Washington) Executive Ron Sims rejects proposal by Southwest to begin service at Boeing Field, citing noise and traffic impacts, the need for taxpayer money, and possible extended litigation. As a way of recognizing that Southwest Employees are committed to their communities across the country, our new "Share the Spirit" initiative is launched to help "brand" community and charitable events with a Southwest identity.

October 17, 2005

Kevin Krone is promoted to the newly created position of Vice President of Marketing, Sales, and Distribution.

October 18, 2005

GE and Southwest sign an eight-year agreement worth $1.5 billion for the overhaul and maintenance of the airline's nearly 600 CFM56-7B jet engines.

October 19, 2005

Colleen announces at a pep rally that more than 250,000 Texans have either signed a petition or written letters to their Senators as a result of the Employee-driven effort to repeal the Wright Amendment.

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.

November 01, 2005

MDW Chief Pilot Lou Freeman, the first African-American Chief Pilot for a U.S. airline, played a role in history as he flew the body of Rosa Parks on a Southwest airplane to memorial services in Montgomery, AL, and Washington to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. Lou flew nearly 100 people to the services, at one point circling Montgomery and dipping a wing as a tribute to the civil rights pioneer. Southwest received a full standing ovation at Ms. Parks' memorial service when the president of the NAACP announces our gift of airline service. Southwest introduces the southwestgiftcard, available for purchase at southwest.com.

November 04, 2005

In honor of our "official airline" status with the NBA, Southwest unveils its newest specialty plane, Slam Dunk One.

November 07, 2005

Citing a shift in programming direction, A&E decides to not renew Airline for a fourth season. Even though the ratings were still strong for the show, Airline no longer fits A&E's "cornerstone programming efforts."

November 10, 2005

Herb presents testimony in favor of repealing the Wright Amendment during a hearing held by the United States Senate's Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee's Subcommittee on Aviation.

November 14, 2005

Senate and House Transportation Subcommittees approve an exemption, introduced by Missouri Senator Kit Bond, that would move Missouri into the Wright Amendment service area. The full House and Senate must still approve the legislation.

November 16, 2005

The rollout of new Flight Information Display System (FIDS) begins at each of our airports across the system. By the end of 2006, every Station should have the new FIDS equipment. The Company's goal is to have consistent, accurate, and timely flight time information available internally and externally.

November 18, 2005

The House and Senate approve the Transportation Appropriations Bill which exempts Missouri from provisions of the Wright Amendment. President Bush still has to sign the bill.

November 23, 2005

Linda Rutherford is named Vice President Public Relations and Community Affairs.

November 29, 2005

Greg Wells is promoted to Senior Vice President Ground Operations.

November 30, 2005

The state of Missouri is lifted from the constraints of the Wright Amendment when President Bush signs the Transportation Appropriations Bill. Southwest will begin service between Love Field and both STL and MCI on December 13. American announces that it will return to Love Field as soon as it can obtain and prepare facilities.

December 08, 2005

Herb receives the 2005 Global Services Leader of the Year Award in Phoenix. The award, established by the W.P. Carey School of Business Center for Services Leadership, recognizes business Leaders of international stature who embody excellence in strategic business use of service, and extraordinary service Leadership in his or her communities.

December 08, 2005

Southwest Airlines' Flight 1248 is involved in an incident at Chicago Midway Airport at approximately 7:15 p.m. CST while the aircraft, a Boeing 737-700, was landing. The aircraft veered off the runway onto Central and 55th Avenue, beyond the northwest corner of the runway. Two vehicles were involved when N-471 entered the intersection. A child (six-year-old Joshua Woods) in a vehicle struck by the aircraft was killed.

December 13, 2005

Southwest starts nonstop service from DAL to STL and MCI. Southwest Pilots, in an agreement ratified by SWAPA, agree to increase their monthly flying time by about 1½ hours each month. Southwest's 4,700 Pilots currently fly an average of about 67 hours a month. Pilots at Southwest averaged about 70 hours a month ten years ago, but hours have declined as individuals gained seniority and earned more vacation time.

December 31, 2005

2005 Milestones: 548,000,000 Revenue passengers: 77,693,875 Trips flown: 1,028,639 Fleet: 445 aircraft Employees at yearend: 31,729 Cities opened: PIT, RSW Specialty Planes: Maryland One (Jun.14), Slam Dunk One (Nov 4)

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.

January 04, 2006

Joe Harris is named Southwest's Vice President Labor & Employee Relations. Joe comes to Southwest from Bracewell & Giuliani Law Firm, where he was a partner and practiced labor and employment law in the San Antonio Office. A survey conducted by the American Small Business Travelers Alliance (ASBTA) revealed that Southwest is considered "Best" or "Great" by 39 percent of respondents, leading all other carriers in those categories.

January 05, 2006

Chris Wahlenmaier is named Vice President Station Operations after serving more than six years as Senior Director Ground Operations. Chris joined Southwest in 1989 as a MDW Customer Service Manager.

January 06, 2006

The Southwest Airlines Vacations tab is added on the booking pages of southwest.com, giving our Customers another option for booking a complete Vacation Package. Southwest Airlines Vacations is the leisure vacation package product for Southwest Airlines and is operated by The Mark Travel Corporation (TMTC).

January 13, 2006

A new procurement policy, The Freedom to Buy and Supply: Procurement at Southwest Airlines Co., developed under the direction of Gary, Colleen, and the Senior Management Committee, is introduced to Employees. The policy is both internally and externally focused–for our suppliers, potential suppliers, and for our Employees. It outlines Southwest's procurement process; roles and responsibilities; the approval process for supplier selection, contracting, and payment; and ethics for Employees and suppliers.

January 17, 2006

Institutional Investor surveyed more than 1,700 investment professionals at 475 of the world's leading financial firms in order to rank Corporate America's CEOs. Our own CEO Gary Kelly ranks number one in the airline category, ahead of JetBlue CEO David Neeleman and American CEO Gerard Arpey. Employee W-2's become available online at SWALife, saving the Company a significant amount of money in printing costs.

January 18, 2006

Southwest reports that Net Income for fourth quarter 2005 was $98 million, excluding SFAS 133 items, compared to $68 million for fourth quarter 2004. Our fourth quarter 2005 results included $24 million (before ProfitSharing and income taxes) in additional 2005 federal airport security expenses due to a retroactive assessment by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) made, without notice or opportunity to protest, in January 2006. This assessment was completely unexpected, and Southwest believes it is improper and plans to vigorously contest it. Also this is our 33rd consecutive year of profitability, with net income of $489 million for 2005—compared to 2004 net income of $324 million, excluding SFAS 133 items in both years. Including the SFAS 133 items, Net Income was $86 million and $548 million for fourth quarter 2005 and full-year 2005, respectively.

January 20, 2006

Jeff Lamb is named Vice President of People and Leadership Development after serving the past year as Senior Director People and Leadership Development. Jeff has responsibility for the People and Leadership Development Department, which includes the University for People, MIT, Employment, and Onboarding. Prior to joining Southwest in 2004, Jeff worked for Roger Staubach and Staubach Real Estate Company, where he held various Leadership positions including the head of Human Resources, Technology, Risk Management, Lease Administration, Finance, and Building Services. Wireless Checkin becomes available at southwest.com. Customers can now access several key southwest.com features via their web-enabled mobile device, including: Flight Checkin, Cancel Boarding Passes, SWA Contact Information, Terms and Conditions, and Privacy Policy. All Customers need is a device with data access functionality and a web browser.

January 24, 2006

Southwest announces an expanded codeshare agreement with ATA to include new connecting service through HOU and OAK. The HOU service begins April 2, and will connect Customers from various Southwest cities to ATA flights to New York City's La Guardia Airport. The OAK service starts April 28, and will connect Customers from various Southwest cities to ATA flights to Hilo, Honolulu, and Maui, Hawaii. The codeshare agreement allows Southwest and ATA to exchange passengers and their checked baggage at either HOU or OAK, with a single ticketing option through either airline. The Southwest Board of Directors declare 118th Consecutive quarterly dividend of $.0045 per share to Shareholders of record at the close of business on March 2, 2006, on all shares then issued and outstanding. Our Board also authorizes the repurchase of up to $300 million of Southwest's common stock, or about 18 million shares out of 804 million shares outstanding.

January 27, 2006

Gary presents a cash donation of $20,000 to two New Orleans relief funds on behalf of Southwest at a press conference in New Orleans. We donated $10,000 to the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Disaster Relief Fund and $10,000 to the Friends of the Times-Picayune Relief Fund.

February 03, 2006

San Antonio Reservations Center (SRC) celebrates 25 years of LUV and service. Of the 469 SRC Employees, 26 of them celebrate at least 25 years of service. SRC was the first reservations center built by Southwest Airlines.

February 06, 2006

Tammy Romo is named Southwest's Vice President Controller. Tammy most recently served as Vice President Treasurer for the past year and a half. Tammy will oversee all of the Accounting, Reporting, Controls, and Accounting operations of the Company with more than 200 Employees. Tammy was hired at Southwest in 1991 as our Manager Financial Reporting and Accounting. She started the Investor Relations Department and led it for ten years before becoming Vice President Treasurer.

February 07, 2006

Our Adopt-A-Pilot Program begins its ninth year. More than 30,000 students nationwide will "adopt" more than 650 Southwest Pilots as part of the award-winning educational mentorship program. New to the program this year is the Adopt-A-Pilot Blog, found at adoptapilot.blogs.com. Here Pilots and teachers journal their aviation and classroom experiences in the program, while students and parents respond, post questions and comments, and learn from online educational features. More than 300 Southwest Marketing Employees from across the country travel to New Orleans for Southwest's Annual Marketing Meeting. Southwest is the first major corporate group to hold a conference in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

February 08, 2006

Gary announces the 2005 ProfitSharing contribution in the amount of $142,449,786. The 2005 contribution represents a 7.5 percent allocation to the ProfitSharing accounts of all eligible Employees. By comparison, the 2004 contribution was $89,043,050, a 5.02 percent allocation.

February 11, 2006

The Thompson versus Southwest Airlines race discrimination case (as associated with our Customer of size policy), which has been the focus of significant media attention over the last few years, went to trial on February 7 in a New Hampshire federal courthouse. After four days of testimony, the jury returned a favorable, unanimous verdict for Southwest Airlines.

February 13, 2006

Boeing and Southwest celebrate the 5,000th 737 to come off the production line. The milestone aircraft becomes the 447th 737 to join the Southwest fleet. The Boeing 737 is the best-selling commercial jetliner of all time, with total orders now exceeding 6,000 airplanes. It is estimated that approximately 1,250 737s are in the air at any given moment, with one taking off or landing every 4.6 seconds.

February 14, 2006

Valentine's Day was a special day for our hardworking Legislative Awareness Department as they were named our 2006 Heroes of the Heart in front of a standing-room-only crowd in the Main Lobby at HDQ.

February 20, 2006

Southwest flies the surviving members of the 1966 Texas Western College (which is now the University of Texas at El Paso) Miners basketball team to meet with President Bush for a private screening of the movie "Glory Road" at the White House. The team became the first to win an NCAA title starting five African-American players, and Coach Don Haskins and his 1966 Miners interracial basketball team were the inspiration behind the movie "Glory Road."

February 21, 2006

Southwest teams up with a new company, Sky Media Services Inc., to reinstate our popular Inflight magazine program. In May 2005, our previous supplier of Inflight magazines closed its doors causing us to temporarily suspend the program. Due to the significant expense of having a custom Southwest Airlines' binding, we opted instead to have Sky Media place a custom sticker on the cover of each magazine.

February 22, 2006

Southwest announces the completion of installing life vests under every seat on the entire fleet of 737s. By installing these new life vests, the airline is now allowed to fly planes up to 162 nautical miles from shore. This enables more direct routes between some city pairs, getting there faster and using less fuel.

February 23, 2006

FORTUNE names Southwest the third most admired company in America on its 24th annual list, up from the fifth spot that we held last year. Southwest also is named the second most admired airline, behind Continental.

February 27, 2006

The Legislative Awareness Team recently won the 2006 Grassroots Innovation Award for their "Set Love Free" campaign, developed to help repeal the Wright Amendment. The award was presented during Innovate to Motivate 2006: The National Conference for Political Involvement Professionals.

February 28, 2006

DING! turns one, and Southwest celebrates with DING! fares as low as $28 one-way in select Southwest markets. DING! is the first-ever "direct link" to airline Customers' computer desktops, delivering discounted fares to a variety of Southwest destinations. Approximately two million Customers have downloaded DING! and more than $80 million in DING! fares have been booked since its introduction in February 2005. Codeshare partner ATA Airlines emerges from bankruptcy protection, setting their sights on becoming a profitable carrier capable of weathering harsh economic conditions that have plagued the industry. ATA was carried through its 16-month bankruptcy largely because of a partnership with Southwest Airlines; a $120 million infusion of capital from investors; and concessions from employees. The airline now employs 3,000—about half the number it had before filing for Chapter 11 in October 2004.

March 01, 2006

Southwest and ATA take their codeshare agreement to new heights as Southwest begins selling "ATA-only service" to select destinations. In addition, Rapid Rewards Members are now able to earn credit in Southwest's program for the ATA flights.

March 20, 2006

DING! becomes available for Macintosh users.

April 03, 2006

Southwest announces our first Employee Survey that will measure the changing perceptions of our Employees. The survey was open until April 24 (later extended to May 1) and conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

April 04, 2006

Southwest ranks fourth among the largest U.S. carriers in the in 16th annual national Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study. The AQR is a summary of month-by-month quality ratings for the largest domestic U.S. airlines operating during 2005. For the third consecutive year, Jet Blue was the best performing airline, followed in the top five by AirTran, Independence Air, Southwest, and United. Seventeen airlines were studied in 2005. A new feature has been added to the booking screens on both southwest.com and SWABIZ.com. On the "Select Flight" screen of reservations, a new column titled "Travel Time" now gives Customers the total elapsed time for their trip from departure city to final destination including stops, layovers, and time zone changes.

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.

April 07, 2006

Scott Topping is named the new Vice President Treasurer at Southwest Airlines. Scott joined Southwest in 1995 as a Financial Analyst in our Planning Department. In 1996, he moved to our Purchasing Department where he held several positions including Manager Purchasing. Scott returned to Finance in 1999 as Manager Corporate Finance. In 2005, he was promoted to Assistant Treasurer.

April 17, 2006

Southwest disagrees with a jury verdict to award $27.5 million in damages to a woman who claims she was a victim of racial profiling on one of our flights in 2003. The woman, who is of Iranian descent, was accused of interfering with a Flight Crew. The three Flight Attendants onboard said the woman became verbally abusive during the flight, grabbed the arm of one Flight Attendant, and threatened to go to the cockpit if the Captain wasn't summoned. She was arrested by federal authorities upon landing in ELP. The woman denies those allegations, and sued Southwest for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. Southwest does not believe the jury's verdict is justified, and we will pursue all legal remedies before the trial court, and if necessary the appellate courts.

April 19, 2006

David Biegler is nominated for election to the Southwest Airlines Board of Directors. Subject to Shareholder approval, his term will begin at Southwest's annual meeting of Shareholders on May 17, as two members of Southwest's Board, June Morris and Rollin King, retire from the Board. A 40-year veteran in the energy industry, David retired as Vice Chairman of TXU Corp. and is now Chairman and CEO of Estrella Energy LP, a Dallas-based partnership engaged in the natural gas pipeline industry.

April 20, 2006

Southwest reports first quarter 2006 net income of $64 million, an increase of 49 percent compared to $43 million for first quarter 2005, excluding unrealized SFAS 133 "Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities," gains/losses.

April 24, 2006

Southwest will be handing out free drinks to all Customers flying from DAL through the Memorial Day Weekend. The move was prompted by a comment made by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban after American launched a 20,000-ticket promotional give-away during the team's last Dallas home game.

April 27, 2006

Nuts About Southwest Hits the Blogosphere

April 28, 2006

Colleen announces that in the first quarter of 2006, we surpassed our four-to-one goal and received 4.1 commendations for each complaint letter. SWA begins under-the-wing ramp servicing for ATA flights in ONT and OAK. Services include: baggage handling, marshalling, push back, potable water and lavatory services.

May 02, 2006

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards cleaned up at the 18th Annual Freddie Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles last week. Rapid Rewards proudly took home the most coveted award of the evening —"Program of the Year"—and also won top honors for "Best Award Redemption," "Best Web Site," "Best Award," and for the eighth straight year, "Best Bonus Promotion."

May 03, 2006

LUVLines was recently honored by Ragan Communications, a leading corporate communications firm, for winning the Grand Prize for Best Employee Publication from among more than 400 entries. In addition to the Grand Prize, Southwest was also honored with an Award of Excellence for "The Heart of the Woman You LUV," Colleen's profile from June 2005; and honorable mentions for the article "Katrina's Wake" from October 2005, the "Ask Colleen" column, and overall cover design.

May 10, 2006

Southwest Airlines makes Business Ethics magazine's annual list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Companies are ranked on their performance with regard to shareholders, their community, corporate governance, diversity, employees, the environment, human rights, and their products.

May 16, 2006

Jeff Lamb is promoted to Vice President People and Leadership Development.

May 17, 2006

The Southwest Airlines Annual Shareholders' Meeting is held.

May 18, 2006

Nebraska Representatives Lee Terry, Jeff Fortenberry, and Tom Osborne introduce legislation that would amend the Wright Amendment to allow nonstop flights from Nebraska (including OMA) to DAL.

May 24, 2006

The King of Spirit Parties is held in St. Louis on the historic grounds of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.

May 25, 2006

Irregular operations information becomes available on SWALife.

May 26, 2006

Colleen is elected to a three-year term on the Becker College board of trustees. She graduated from Becker College in 1964.

May 31, 2006

Southwest kicks off the "Spread the LUV" to help hungry families. The goal of the program is to collect at least 35,000 jars of peanut butter to go to food banks across the nation through America's Second Harvest—The Nation's Food Bank Network.

June 01, 2006

Congressmen Jeb Hensarling and Sam Johnson announce the end of a self-imposed moratorium on their efforts in Congress to repeal the Wright Amendment.

June 08, 2006

The creation of Southwest Airlines Weather Disruption Response Plan (WDRP) and the Weather Disruption Task Force (WDTF) help improve upon the proactive service that we provide to our Internal and External Customers during inhospitable weather conditions.

June 09, 2006

Southwest asks all third-party web sites selling our "A" boarding passes to discontinue their operations. Southwest files a lawsuit against one of the more well-known sites, BoardFirst.com, after they didn't respond to several requests that they discontinue their operations.

June 12, 2006

SWA discontinues carrying U.S. Mail. The airline was unwilling to comply with the new and onerous terms of the proposed USPS contract. Further, USPS makes no commitment regarding future volumes, while revenue from carrying the mail has steadily declined.

June 15, 2006

At a joint press conference, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and DFW Airport, along with the mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth, announce a proposed compromise to end restrictions on Love Field imposed by the Wright Amendment.

June 18, 2006

35th Anniversary

June 19, 2006

Southwest led the way in domestic enplanements among all airlines for March 2006.

July 10, 2006

In SAN, Southwest begins a two-month test to analyze how various boarding methods will affect our aircraft turn time. The test officially ended on Aug. 18.

July 19, 2006

Southwest reports a second quarter 2006 net income of $273 million, excluding unrealized SFAS 133 "Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities," gains/losses. This represents an increase of 87 percent compared to $146 million for second quarter 2005.

July 21, 2006

Pilot Air Freight recently named Southwest Airlines Cargo their "Carrier of the Year" for 2005.

July 26, 2006

Southwest Airlines makes aviation history again by accepting the Boeing Company's 2000th Next-Generation 737 into our fleet.

August 01, 2006

Southwest Airlines initiates a special entry-level and step 1 wage scale for the BWI and PHL Stations. To become competitive and reduce turnover in two of our toughest job markets, this special wage will be effective August 1, 2006, and will remain in effect through July 31, 2007.

August 01, 2006

Southwest increases general cargo weight limit from 150 to 200 pounds and seafood weight limit from 80 to 175 pounds.

August 16, 2006

Offsite baggage checkin begin at the LAS Convention Center.

August 18, 2006

First phase of assigned seating testing in SAN officially ends. The testing began on July 10.

August 25, 2006

Cargo earns the 2006 Quest for Quality Award for the tenth consecutive year (12th win in total).

August 30, 2006

Southwest unveils our new electronic Travel Voucher, Southwest LUV Vouchers.

August 31, 2006

Reservations begins to sell southwestgiftcards. With 8.7 million Customers, Southwest carried more Customers than any other U.S. Carrier in August, marking the first time we have topped this monthly list for combined domestic and international passengers. We have been the top domestic passenger carrier since May 2003.

September 01, 2006

Executive Vice President Aircraft Operations Mike Van de Ven adds the title, Chief of Operations Greg Wells becomes Senior Vice President Operations. Daryl Krause becomes Senior Vice President Inflight Services and Provisioning. Scott Halfmann becomes Vice President Provisioning. Teresa Laraba becomes Vice President Ground Operations. Chris Wahlenmaier becomes Vice President Ground Operations.

September 07, 2006

Lori Rainwater, hired from Deloitte & Touche, becomes Southwest's Vice President Internal Audit.

September 08, 2006

Southwest begins under-the-wing service for ATA in MDW. This compliments under-the-wing service that is already in place at ONT and OAK.

September 15, 2006

Executive Vice President Donna Conover retires after 29 years.

September 22, 2006

Bob Jordan becomes Executive Vice President Strategy, Procurement, and Technology. Ron Ricks becomes Executive Vice President Law, Airports, and Public Affairs. Sr. Vice President Technology and Chief Information Officer Tom Nealon resigns. Jan Marshall becomes Vice President Technology and Chief Information Officer. Kerry Schwab becomes Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.

September 29, 2006

Congress approves legislation to repeal the Wright Amendment.

September 30, 2006

For the second month in a row, Southwest carries more Customers than any other U.S. Carrier.

October 03, 2006

Rapid Check-In Kiosks changes names to E-Ticket Check-In kiosks.

October 05, 2006

Southwest begins service to Washington Dulles (IAD).

October 06, 2006

20th Annual Dallas LUV Classic. $630,000.00 raised with 1/3 to DAL, 1/3 to ABQ, and 1/3 to ALB RMH Houses.

October 17, 2006

President Bush signs into law the Wright Amendment Reform Act of 2006, which climaxes two hard years of work to repeal Wright. Although complete repeal won't come until 2014, Southwest can now sell through tickets and offer connecting and one-stop direct flights between Dallas Love Field and its entire system.

October 18, 2006

southwestgiftcards now sold at stores such as Albertson's, Kroger, and Safeway.

October 19, 2006

Southwest begins selling one-stop (same plane) and connecting service outside the Wright Amendment restrictions at DAL.

October 26, 2006

Rapid Rewards Awards are made available for use on ATA codeshare flights.

December 01, 2006

Greg Crum becomes Vice President, Director of Operations.

December 31, 2006

2006 Milestones Net income: $499 million Revenue passengers: 96.3 million Trips flown: 1,092, 331 Fleet: 481 Employees at yearend: 32, 664 Cities opened: DEN (Jan.3), IAD (Oct. 5) Specialty Planes: None Station of the Year: PIT Res Center (Best Overall): ORC Inflight Base of the Year: BWI Provo Station of the Year: MCI DOT:  Complaints – (#1) 0.18 per 100,000 Customers Ontime – (#3) 80.2 percent Bagagge – (#7) 5.34 per 1,000 Customers Awards: Top Honors in the BTN Survey Named best Low-Cost Carrier by Executive Travel Magazine. FORTUNE named Southwest the third most admired company in America Legislative Awareness Team recently won the 2006 Grassroots Innovation Award for their "Set Love Free" campaign Southwest ranked fourth among the largest U.S. carriers in the in 16th annual national Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study. LUVLines, honored by Ragan Communications, a leading corporate communications firm, for winning the Grand Prize for Best Employee Publication in 2005. Southwest Airlines made Business Ethics magazine's annual list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Pilot Air Freight named Southwest Airlines Cargo their "Carrier of the Year" for 2005. Cargo earned the 2006 Quest for Quality Award for the tenth consecutive year (12th win in total). At the 18th Annual Freddie Awards Ceremony Rapid Rewards proudly took home the most coveted award of the evening —"Program of the Year"—and also won top honors for "Best Award Redemption," "Best Web Site," "Best Award," and for the eighth straight year, "Best Bonus Promotion."

December 31, 2006

Senior Vice President Joyce Rogge retires.

January 04, 2007

Southwest is featured on the PBS Documentary (in HOU), "Good to Great," based on bestselling author Jim Collins' book, in which viewers were taken on a revealing journey through five business and social sector organizations. Southwest celebrates one year in Denver with DING! Fares.

January 11, 2007

Two new Power Stations ‘charge' DAL Customers for free, as Southwest tests a new feature in hopes to enhance the Customer experience. The power stations allow Customers to recharge their electrical devices, such as lap top computers, cell phones, and portable DVD players. They have five outlets, three on one side, and two on the other—so, both sides can be used. Rapid Rewards congratulates the University of Florida's National Championship victory in NCAA football, by giving College Rapid Rewards Members, who were signed up to receive Rapid Rewards E-mail updates and registered as University of Florida students, two Rapid Rewards bonus credits.  The offer also includes triple credit on all flights they purchased at southwest.com and flown between January 10 and April 10, 2007.

January 12, 2007

Southwest carries the most Customers for the third consecutive month based on figures released by the U.S. DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and our domestic passenger figures beat out the other airlines' combined domestic and international passenger figures.

January 15, 2007

Herb is named by the Board of Governors in Washington, to Dallas Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Board for a one-year term.

January 16, 2007

Southwest adds five types of POCs (portable oxygen concentrators) to the list of devices allowed onboard our aircraft including: Inogen One, AirSep Lifestyle, AirSep Freestyle, SeQual Eclipse, and Respironics EverGo.

January 17, 2007

southwest.com gets a fresh new look, and makes it even easier for Customers to navigate around the site.

January 22, 2007

Southwest reveals its new Buddy Pass Program, which allows Employees to earn up to 16 roundtrip, NRSA passes per year, (four per each quarter).

January 30, 2007

Rapid Rewards celebrates 20 years with a DING! promotion in which 20 Rapid Rewards Members (who are signed up for DING!) per day for 20 weeks win fabulous prizes.

February 05, 2007

Southwest ranks 29 out of 60 in the National Corporate Reputation Survey, part of the Annual RQ 2006 study conducted by Harris Interactive, and is the only airplane to place. Lamar Muse, Former Southwest President and CEO, dies after a battle with lung cancer.

February 06, 2007

The Leadership Excellence Magazine ranks the U4P third in the nation as one of the Best Leadership Programs and Practices.

February 13, 2007

Adopt-A-Pilot turns ten.

February 14, 2007

Internal Customer Care is named the 2007 Heroes of the Heart. Colleen is presented the first-ever, special "Heroine of the Heart" Award for a lifetime of dedicated service to the Employees and Customers of Southwest Airlines.

February 15, 2007

Business Ethics Magazine (now CRO) names Southwest as number 33 in the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list.

February 16, 2007

Institutional Investor names Gary one of America's best CEOs.

February 20, 2007

MCI Employees are showcased on the Discovery Channel's new series, "Dirty Jobs." Southwest ranks 37 on the G.I. Jobs 2006 list of "Top 50 Military-Friendly Employers."

March 01, 2007

Institutional Investor Magazine names Laura Wright as one of America's Best CFOs. BusinessWeek places Southwest as number 13 out of 25 Companies who earned the title of "Customer Service Elite."

March 05, 2007

Herb is honored with the "History Making Texan" Award at the Texas State History Museum Foundation's Texas Independence Day Dinner.

March 06, 2007

Southwest ranks 5th on Fortune's "Most Admired Companies" list. The Automated Flight Information System is activated.

March 14, 2007

Mike Haffner is promoted to Vice President Inflight Services.

March 16, 2007

Captain Chuck Magill is promoted to Vice President Flight Operations.

March 29, 2007

Southwest Cargo is named "Airline of the Year" by the Express Delivery & Logistics Association (XLA).

March 30, 2007

Southwest's Drink Coupon Book is revamped, and is now charging $4 for all alcoholic beverages. One coupon is now worth one drink.

April 03, 2007

Southwest ranks third in the 17th annual national Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study, conducted by Wichita State University (WSU).

April 09, 2007

Southwest enhances the Policy Concerning Harassment, Sexual Harassment, or Discrimination to further clarify that complaints of harassing and/or discriminatory behavior are taken seriously.

April 10, 2007

DAL and HOU eliminates city-specific gates.

April 10, 2007

Southwest introduces a new department, the Facilities Maintenance Department, which is part of Corporate Facilities.

April 12, 2007

Colleen is honored as the first female recipient of the Tony Jannus Award.

April 16, 2007

Senior Vice President Corporate Communications Ginger Hardage is honored with the Legendary Communicator Award at Southern Methodist University.

May 09, 2007

Southwest holds their annual Emergency Response Drill in TUL, and for the first time ever, it is taken a step further and we work through an accident scenario step-by-step.

May 17, 2007

Southwest signs a ten-year content distribution agreement with Galileo.

May 31, 2007

Southwest establishes a Safety commitment.

June 01, 2007

Share the Spirit becomes the official term Southwest uses to describe any effort where Southwest is giving back—either through volunteer activities in our communities, or by way of donations to nonprofit and charitable organizations.

June 11, 2007

Southwest Cargo purchases the AdvancedCargo Suite from Lufthansa Systems, and enhances Customer Service.

June 15, 2007

In an effort to provide more consistency, Ground Operations and Inflight update their grooming standards for all Customer-contact Employees.

June 18, 2007

36th Anniversary

June 27, 2007

Southwest Airlines common stock, LUV, celebrates 30 years of being listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

June 28, 2007

Southwest's Employee military heroes deliver the 500th aircraft to the "Let Freedom DING!" celebration at HDQ.

July 09, 2007

PayPal is now accepted as a form of payment on southwest.com.

July 10, 2007

SAT begins testing family boarding.

July 12, 2007

A self-service flight credit option for Rapid Reward Members who are missing credit in their Rapid Rewards account is introduced.

July 16, 2007

Eligible Employees are given the option to participate in the Project Early Departure package.

July 18, 2007

Southwest reports a second quarter net profit of $278 million, or $.36 per diluted share. This is the airline's 65th consecutive quarter of profitability.

July 20, 2007

Southwest announces new contracts for Herb, Colleen, and Gary. Herb continues as Executive Chairman of the Board for one year and steps down from that position at the 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Colleen continues as President for one year and steps down from that position on July 15, 2008. After they relinquish their management and Board positions in 2008, Herb and Colleen remain for five years as Employees of the airline they nurtured from the very beginning, working fulltime at our Dallas Headquarters.

July 21, 2007

Booking travel in K class is no longer available.

August 03, 2007

Hundreds of Employees line the fence at Headquarters to send off trucks containing shipments of goodie bags for over 1,000 military personal in Iraq and Afghanistan. Southwest Employees also contribute over $50,000 in prepaid phone cards for the troops.

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.

August 27, 2007

At ceremonies held at the SFO Airport to celebrate Southwest's return, Gary announces that service between LAX and SFO will begin on Nov. 4.

September 19, 2007

Open seating is here to stay. Southwest announces that it will retain its famous open seating system, but at the same time, it announces enhancements to the boarding process which will begin in November. Customers will now line up by specific numbers within the A, B, and C boarding groups.

October 02, 2007

Southwest announces a partnership with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute to promote educational and youth Leadership programs, and the airline will assist with travel expenses.

October 09, 2007

Cruise ship passengers will have an easier experience thanks to a partnership with Bags to Go Enterprises. At the disembarkation port, Customers can check bags and receive their boarding passes.

October 10, 2007

Details of Southwest's Extreme Gate Makeovers are revealed to the public. All gates will eventually have stainless steel columns and television screens to support the new boarding process announced a month earlier. In addition, there will be charging stations, and seating for both families and business travelers.

October 16, 2007

At an awards luncheon in New York City, Nuts About Southwest receives PR News Platinum PR Award for Best Corporate Blog.

October 18, 2007

During the fourth quarter of 2007, Southwest reports a net income for the quarter of $162 million or $.22 per diluted share. This is the Company's 66th consecutive profitable quarter. Because of rising fuel costs, the airline announces that it is slowing growth for the current quarter and 2008 by about five to six percent.

October 19, 2007

A lucky blogger, along with a companion, wins a free trip to LAS and BlogWorld which is partially sponsored by Southwest Airlines. Hotel lodging is also provided.

October 22, 2007

Southwest announces a partnership with NBC Weather Plus, who will provide detailed weather information and forecasts to users of southwest.com.

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.

November 07, 2007

Several new boarding enhancements are introduced. The Business Select Fare, for a small additional charge, allows Customers to board the aircraft first. The A-List makes life easier for frequent Rapid Rewards travelers by automatically checking in Customers having more than 32 flown flight segments in a 12-month period.

November 08, 2007

Beginning in March 2008, new nonstop service begins between DEN and SAN, PHX and SFO, and between PHL and AUS, SAT, and STL. Additional nonstops will be added in existing markets.

December 03, 2007

Southwest is named the Official Airline of the Bowl Championship Series, and will run commercials on the big college bowl games.

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.

December 23, 2007

Southwest makes Christmas merry for 171 members of the Texas National Guard and their families by flying the Guard members home from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Texas for the Holidays. Their deployment to Afghanistan had been delayed, and they could only go home if all could go home. Southwest made that possible.

December 31, 2007

2007 Milestones: 499,000,000 Revenue passengers: 88,713,472 Trips flown: 1,160,699 Fleet: 520 Employees at yearend: 34,378 Cities opened: SFO (4/26), Specialty Planes: "Heroine of the Heart" (2/14) "500th Aircraft" (6/28) Station of the Year: STL Inflight Base of the Year: MCO Provo Station of the Year: STL DOT:  Complaints – Second Place .26 Complaints/100,000 Enplanements Ontime – Third Place 82.1 percent ontime Baggage – Eighth Place 5.87 Reports/1,000 Passengers