Nonprofit Organizations Benefit Thanks To Southwest Airlines' 33rd Annual LUV Classic Golf Tournament

Carrier Celebrates More than $500,000 in Donations to Charitable Causes

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Dec 03, 2018, 12:30 ET

DALLAS, Dec. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today announced it is donating more than $500,000 to charitable organizations across the nation thanks to the carrier's 33^rd Annual LUV Classic Golf Tournament.

Supporting Children's Charities
The carrier continues its support of children facing serious illness by helping organizations with dollars they can use to improve the lives of kids who are receiving treatment. Following the successful golf tournament, and thanks to the generous donations of sponsors and participants, Southwest donated the following:

Make-A-Wish^®: $150,000

University of California San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco: $100,000

Ronald McDonald House Charities^®: $100,000

Ronald McDonald House of Cincinnati: $75,000

Ronald McDonald House of Hawaii: $50,000

With this year's donations to Ronald McDonald Houses, Southwest has now donated to a Ronald McDonald House in every state the carrier serves*

*Southwest has announced its intention to serve Hawaii, subject to requisite governmental approvals.

To celebrate Southwest's 33^rd annual tournament, the carrier held a 33 FORE 33 drawing allowing one of its platinum level sponsors to choose a children's charity to receive a $33,000 donation on behalf of the 33^rd annual LUV Classic. This year's winner, Coca-Cola^®, chose the Children's Miracle Network as its organization to receive the donation.

In total, the carrier has donated more than $17,500,000 to charities across North America since starting the tournament in 1985.

"We are honored to be able to provide much needed funding to organizations that are making a huge impact across the United States," said Laurie Barnett, Southwest's Managing Director of Communications and Outreach. "We look forward to seeing our partners put the dollars to good use as they help provide for children who are sick and for families and caretakers who put everything on hold while caring for their loved ones. At Southwest, it is in our DNA to give back to communities where our People and Customers live and work."

In addition to the cash donations, 260 Employees volunteered more than 2,100 hours at this year's LUV Classic, earning each of the 2018 recipients six roundtrip flight tickets through Southwest's "Tickets for Time" program. This program allows each Southwest Airlines Employee who volunteers a certain amount of time in a year to earn roundtrip tickets for a nonprofit organization of their choice to use for fundraising efforts or transportation needs. Click here to learn more about Southwest's community outreach programs and how the Company encourages Employees to give back to their communities.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can support next year's tournament, which is scheduled for Oct. 11, 2019, visit this link.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
In its 48th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 58,000 Employees to a Customer base topping 120 million passengers annually. Southwest became the nation's largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. In peak travel seasons, Southwest operates more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 99 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries. Southwest has announced its intention to serve Hawaii, subject to requisite governmental approvals.

Southwest coined Transfarency^® to describe its purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and fairly, and low fares actually staying low. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free^® to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some carriers offer free checked bags on select routes or in qualified circumstances), and there are no change fees, though fare differences might apply.

Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online at Southwest Airlines or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.