Southwest Airlines Appoints New Member to Board of Directors

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Nov 18, 2010, 02:26 ET

DALLAS, Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Southwest Airlines Board of Directors today appointed Tom Nealon to the Board, effective December 1, 2010. Nealon is Group Executive Vice President of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. For a photo of Nealon, please visit: www.swamedia.com/photos.

Nealon's JCPenney responsibilities include Information Technology, jcp.com, Corporate Strategy and Planning, and Digital Ventures. Nealon joined JCPenney as Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer in 2006.

"We couldn't be more excited to have Tom join the excellent talent that already resides on the Southwest Board of Directors," said Gary Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer for Southwest Airlines. "Tom's extensive knowledge in technology and his leadership skills will serve Southwest and its People well."

Nealon earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Dallas. Prior to joining JCPenney, Nealon was a partner with The Feld Group, where he served in a consultant capacity as Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer for Southwest. Nealon has also served as Chief Information Officer for Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo. Nealon is the recipient of the 2010 MIT Sloan School of Business Award for Innovation Leadership and was recognized by Information Week as a "Premiere 100 CIO'" in 2006 and 2010.

Nealon will initially serve for a term lasting until the Company's next Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May 2011. Other members of Southwest's Board of Directors are: David W. Biegler; Douglas H. Brooks; William H. Cunningham, Ph.D.; John G. Denison; Travis C. Johnson; Gary C. Kelly; Nancy B. Loeffler; John T. Montford; and Daniel D. Villanueva.

After nearly 40 years of service, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other low fare carriers—offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded, now serving 69 cities in 35 states. Southwest also is one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/cares to read the Southwest Airlines One Report™. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,100 flights a day and has nearly 35,000 Employees systemwide.

www.southwest.com

SOURCE Southwest Airlines