Southwest Airlines Celebrates 30 Years of Service With Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

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Feb 02, 2012, 11:00 ET

DALLAS, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) celebrates 30 years of service today at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with a day-long anniversary party in Concourse D to thank the community for choosing the LUV airline as their hometown carrier. To commemorate the occasion, Employees and Customers will have the opportunity to enjoy food, FUN, games, and music. Since 1982, Southwest has spread the LUV in Phoenix by giving the community the Freedom to Fly with low fares, its Bags Fly Free policy, and Legendary Customer Service.

"For 30 years Southwest has been proud to call Phoenix home, and we thank the community for choosing Southwest time and again to fly them across the nation," said Southwest Airlines Phoenix Station Leader Mike Miller. "Our more than 4,000 Employees who work and live in Phoenix remain dedicated to taking care of our Customers and constantly finding ways to bring value to the Customer Experience."

Phoenix has four local Southwest Employees who have worked for the airline since it began service there three decades ago with just 13 daily nonstop departures to six cities. These original Employees will be recognized with an Arizona One model aircraft for their dedication to the airline and for providing the Phoenix community with its legendary Southwest hospitality throughout the years. Now, 30 years later, Phoenix is Southwest's third busiest airport with 172 daily nonstop flights to 48 cities.

"We are so proud to have Southwest Airlines call Phoenix home for the past 30 years. They are outstanding partners here at Sky Harbor, and we look forward to many, many more successful years together," said Danny Murphy, City of Phoenix Aviation Director.

Southwest Employees in Phoenix also Shared the Spirit for their 30th anniversary by assembling 500 family kits for the Armed Forces Foundation to be donated to local families who have a family member serving in the military. The airline's Employees proudly Share the Spirit through volunteering in the communities where they work and live.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines 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 and has recently acquired AirTran Airways, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. Southwest serves 72 cities in 37 states and 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/citizenship to read the Southwest Airlines One Report™ . Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more than 37,000 Employees systemwide.

- www.southwest.com –

SOURCE Southwest Airlines