Southwest Airlines pilot saves the day – turns screaming boy into honorary pilot

by Scott Carmichael on

We all know that flying has its challenges – and most of us know that flying when trapped inside the metal tube with a screaming kid only helps make things worse. That was the prospect facing passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Houston to San Antonio earlier this week.

When Captain Joe Gautille was preparing for his flight, he heard the screams of three year old Alex coming down the jet bridge.

At many other airlines, he would have ignored it and finished his work, but the captain on this flight walked back to Alex and his parents and invited the kid to visit the cockpit. Apparently, little Alex was scared to fly as his incoming flight had been very rocky due to some turbulence.

After a couple of minutes up front (with the captains hat on), Alex was completely relaxed – and the passengers could fly to San Antonio without having to endure a screaming kid (at least not this one).

We’ve seen more stories like this in the past from Southwest Airlines — something about their proactive attitude and friendly actions just seems to bring out the best in people.

You’ll find the entire story over at the Southwest Airlines blog – Nuts About Southwest.

[Photo: Southwest Airlines Blog/Captain Joe Gautille]

Twenty free iTunes downloads – courtesy of Southwest Airlines InAirtainment

by Scott Carmichael on

What better way to end the work week than snagging twenty free song downloads from iTunes, courtesy of Southwest Airlines?

To celebrate forty years of flying and the launch of their new InAirtainment portal, Southwest put together a list of artists “about to fly”. In the lineup, you’ll find songs from artists like Laura Jansen and a personal favorite of mine – Ellie Goulding.

To get your iTunes promo code, head on over to the Southwest Airlines InAirtenment page and click on the large iTunes banner. You can read more about the promo on the excellent Nuts About Southwest blog.

Southwest Airlines new Rapid Rewards program: what it means for travelers

by McLean Robbins on

Today Southwest Airlines announced changes to its popular rewards program, Rapid Rewards. the all-new program, which promises to eliminate blackout dates and allow redemption for international flights for the first time, will launch March 1 and will will allow members to redeem points for any seat on any flight, with no blackout dates or seat restrictions.

AOL Travel has covered the basic information about the Rapid Rewards program restructuring, but we’re offering a bit more insight into what the program will mean for travelers.

A Brief History of the Rapid Rewards Program

Southwest’s frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards, previously allowed customers to earn a free roundtrip ticket to any of their domestic destinations after the accumulation of 16 credits per 24-month period. The program also allowed a half-credit for using a Southwest partner to book car and/or hotel stays. Members also earned one credit per $1,200 spent on Chase’s Rapid Rewards-branded credit cards. Select merchants can earn double reward points.

In February of 2006, Southwest issued capacity control limits on its Rapid Rewards redemptions. This potential travel blackout will be removed with the new program. Details of how the Rapid Rewards program will integrate the A+ Rewards program of recently-acquired AirTran Airways have not yet been released.

According to FlyerTalk.com member NSK:

Rapid Rewards 2.0 is a perfect fit with Southwest’s brand as a no-gimmicks airline. The program may not be the most generous, but it is simple and completely free of any hidden catches. Unlike mysterious capacity controls, price-based redemption provides us an excellent ability to predict ability to redeem for free travel.

How Is Rapid Rewards 2.0 Different?

Southwest has assured its customers that existing credits and travel awards will remain available for use after the new system takes effect on March 1. Instead of a one-for-one system, travelers will now accrue points based on the fare and type of fare purchased, and redemptions will work the same way.

Wanna Get Away fares, the cheapest available, will accrue 6 points per dollar; Anytime fares 10 points per dollar, and Business Select fares 12 points per dollar. Travelers can also earn miles from shopping and dining partners.

Members’ accounts will automatically be transferred to the new program on March 1, 2011; no re-enrollment is needed. Points will not expire unless members have no earning activity in a 24-month period.

Truly frequent fliers will benefit from enhanged A-List and Companion pass award availablity. A new status, A-List Preferred, will accure 100% earning bonsuses. A-List Preferred can be achieved by flying 50 one-way trips or accruing 70,000 tier points. The highlight of this elite status is the 100% earning bonus as well as priority standby, sercurity and early boarding status, free Wi-Fi and a dedicated phone line.

Similar to other airline reward programs, members can also purchase points through the new program in 1,000 point groupings. The minimum purchase is 2,000 points.

A major program change is the ability redeem award points any of the more than 800 destinations in the Chase travel program, including internationally. More information about the Chase integration is expected to be released early next week.

Will the New Rapid Rewards Program Mean to Consumers?

Initial consumer feedback indicates that Rapid Rewards 2.0 makes earning and achieving reward travel slightly more complex, but more in line with other major carriers like American Airlines, United and Continental. A positive outcome suggests that because award redemption is now based on length of flight, travelers wishing to redeem awards for short-haul travel won’t feel as if their certificates are used in vain.

The basic component of the program – one free trip for every eight – is still in place.

Frequent flier Mark V. suggests that for long-haul and travelers frequently purchasing Business Select seats, the new program will actually enhance overall customer experience, allowing for faster rewards.

NSK says that “Elimination of extraordinary effective rebate ratios makes [Rapid Rewards] 2.0 much less interesting to FlyerTalkers than programs that still offer such opportunities,” but acknowledges that the program’s greater ease of redemption may be appealing to travelers who “decide that they prefer a program that delivers what it promises without any drama.”

Mark V. champions Southwest Airlines’ transparency in rolling over old credits in to the new program, stating that the shift is “nothing like what other airlines have done in the past. Earning opportunities are still there, and current points are not being devalued like mainline carriers have done in the past.”

NSK admits that “although the new program is significantly less rewarding than Rapid Rewards 1.0 for short-haul discount fare customers, it is financially sustainable and it is customer-friendly enough that we will learn to love it.”

Travelers hoping to use short-haul travel to accrue longer rewards tickets will suffer most, Mark V. notes. “The sport of flying cheap to get free awards is pretty much over.”

Naturally, we at Gadling will keep you updated on new developments as they arise. Feel free to weigh in with your opinion in the comments section below.

[Image via Flickr user ColumbusCameraOp]

Southwest launches “12 days of luv” Twitter promo

by McLean Robbins on

We at Gadling are big on contests – particularly when the prize involves deeply discounted travel. As the song goes, for 12 days in December, your “true love” is supposed to give you gifts. Well, this year, Southwest Airlines wants to be your own “true LUV,” minus those silly Turtle Doves and annoying Drummer Boys.

They’re giving away 12 $1,000 gift cards, one each day during the “12 Days of LUV” promo (sponsored by Visa).

To enter, follow their Twitter account (@southwestair) and submit a themed FUN holiday photo that corresponds with the tweeted request. To be included in the contest, Twitterers must include the #12daysofluv hashtag and the requested original photo in their tweet.

The judges will be judging on the following qualities:

* Creativity and Originality: 20%
* Entertaining: 25%
* Southwest Appeal: 35% photo should reflect our Culture and Fun-LUVing Attitude.
* Rules: 20% Read and complied with the official rules.

Sounds simple, right? Now get tweeting.

Oh, and don’t forget to follow us while you’re at it (@Gadling).

[Flickr via YoLoPey]

Airlines, airports and passengers: nothing but gains this year [INFOGRAPHICS]

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There are a whole lot more of us flying this year: 4.3 percent more, to be exact. That’s the increase in domestic air traffic from September 2009 to September 2010, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. In that month, U.S. airlines had 57.3 million passengers, leading to the largest year-over-year gain since September 2007. Meanwhile, international passenger traffic on U.S. flights surged 9.4 percent year over year.

For the first three quarters of 2010, scheduled domestic and international passengers were up 1.5 percent, suggesting that the recovery has gained momentum throughout the year. Domestic passengers gained 1 percent, with international passengers up 5.3 percent. Relative to 2008, though, passenger traffic is off 6.8 percent.

So, who wins? Of course, the airlines have had a relatively fantastic year, especially the worst of them. Delta, considered bottom of the barrel, surged from #3 in September 2009 to #1 in September 2010, with more than 9 million enplaned passengers, up 68.6 percent year over year (but don’t forget that the Northwest merger plays a role in this. Delta‘s also the top dog for the first nine months of the year for the same reason, followed by Southwest, American Airlines and United Airlines.


Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport remains the busiest in the United States by a considerable margin. Close to 32 million passengers passed through in the first nine months of 2010, an increase of 1.1 percent year over year. Atlanta led Chicago O’Hare, which came in second, by more than 9 million passengers so far this year. For the greatest gains, look to Charlotte: it was eighth on the list but posted a growth rate of 6.5 percent YTD.

Las Vegas was the only airport in the top 10 for the first nine months of 2010 to post a year-over-year decline. The number of enplaned passengers dropped by a rather substantial 3.6 percent year over year, hardly surprising given the fact that the Las Vegas tourism business has been slammed by the recession. Also, outbound traffic from Las Vegas is likely constrained by the local economy, which has been battered pretty badly (as real estate prices indicate).


Even though the number of passengers increased for airlines and airports, the number of flights operated slipped 1.2 percent from the first nine months of 2009 to the first nine months of 2010. Likely, the airlines were tightening up their flights, making better use of available seats and cutting expenses.

[photo by Yaisog Bonegnasher via Flickr]