Southwest

Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier airline. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company was founded by Rollin W. King and Herbert D. Kelleher on March 15, 1967. As of 2018, Southwest carried more domestic passengers than any other United States airline. To date, Southwest schedules flights to 111 destinations in 40 states and 10 additional countries, operates in U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. 

The new logo is blue lettering in a title case, placed on the left from a delicate heart, composed of three diagonal lines — blue, red, and yellow. The lettering is executed in a fancy modern sans-serif typeface with smooth lines, rounded angles, and straight cuts.

The airline's current slogan is "Low fares. Nothing to hide."

 The airline offers ancillary services such as early bird check-in, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors.

Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) is the sole bargaining unit for the over 9,700 Pilots of Southwest Airlines. Southwest Pilots are leaders in aviation industry productivity and are the world's leading experts on flying the Boeing 737. Southwest Airlines operates a growing fleet of the 737-700, 737-800, and 737-MAX. Since its inception, Southwest Airlines has almost exclusively operated Boeing 737 aircraft, except from 1979 to 1980 and from 1983 to 1985 it leased and operated a few Boeing 727-200s. Southwest is the world's largest operator of the Boeing 737 and was the launch customer of the 737-300, 737-500, and 737-700. In the future, it will be the launch operator of the 737 MAX 7.

In October 2020, it was reported that Southwest was considering the Airbus A220 as an alternative to the MAX 7. However, speculation ended in March 2021 when Southwest announced an order for 100 MAX 7 jets and said that negotiations with Airbus were never initiated.

The Boeing customer code for Southwest Airlines is H4 for the Classic and NextGen 737s. For example, the -700 would be 737-7H4, and the -800 would be 737-8H4. These codes do not apply to recent aircraft types, including the 737 MAX 8 and 737 MAX 7.

SWAPA is in its 43rd year of service to the Pilots of Southwest Airlines. Before the Union's beginnings in 1978, Pilots worked with the Company to compile work rules for safe, efficient operations. Since that time, SWAPA has successfully negotiated nine labour contracts.

SKYTRAX-listed Southwest Airlines as a 4-Star Low-Cost Airline for the quality of its airport and onboard product and staff service. Product rating includes cabin comfort, baggage/seat charges, onboard food & beverages, cabin cleanliness, and service rating for cabin and ground staff.
“Southwest Airlines operates as a hybrid low-fare airline with baggage, drinks, and snacks included. Customers can pay for a better priority boarding position, and there is a paid bar for premium beverages. WiFi and App-streamed IFE are available on many aircraft. Staff continue to deliver fairly good and consistent service standards.”