Carrier Updates on Five-year Plan of
Investment and Evolution across Customer Experience; J.D. Power
Recognizes Southwest for Highest Customer Satisfaction in
North America among Economy
Carriers
DALLAS, May 11, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), today
awarded the 2022 J.D. Power Award for Highest Customer Satisfaction
among Economy carriers in North
America, announces next steps in its plan to bring the next
generation of Customer Experience in travel with Southwest
Airlines®, through more than two
billion dollars in planned investments. These initiatives
are designed to enhance and simplify Customers' journeys—from
booking trips, to traveling through airports, and while
inflight—delivering an even more enjoyable, efficient, and
productive Customer Experience.
On the ongoing journey to modernize the Customer Experience,
Southwest revealed commitments to:
- Bring enhanced WiFi connectivity onboard aircraft;
- Install latest-technology onboard power ports to charge
personal devices at every seat;
- Offer larger overhead bins with more space and easier access to
carryon items;
- Launch a new fare category with added flexibility and value,
Wanna Get Away Plus™;
- Introduce more entertainment options and a wider selection of
refreshments in the cabin; and,
- Enable new self-service capabilities to bring elevated ease in
doing business with Southwest, benefiting Employees and
Customers.
Learn more at Southwest.com/experience.
"You can never stop working to get better, and as our beloved
Founder Herb famously said, 'If you rest on your laurels, you'll
get a thorn in your butt!' We have a long and proud history of
offering Legendary Customer Service and warm Hospitality, and we
have bold plans and significant investments to modernize and
enhance the Southwest Experience," said Bob Jordan, Chief Executive Officer. "As we
continue to welcome back loyal Customers and win new ones, these
initiatives, combined with the best People in the industry, support
our Purpose of connecting People to what's most important in their
lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air
travel."
Commitment to Connectivity
"Top of our list is giving our Customers reliable connections in
the air to those things that are important and accessible to them
on the ground," said Ryan
Green, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing
Officer. "We're investing in our onboard connectivity and bandwidth
available to each Customer with upgraded technology that's now
installing across our existing fleet, a strategy to diversify our
WiFi vendors on upcoming aircraft deliveries, and plugging
Southwest Customers into in-seat power to keep them charged while
in the air."
- Southwest is upgrading WiFi equipment on its existing fleet
with longstanding connectivity provider Anuvu's
latest-generation hardware capable of providing a significant
improvement in speed and bandwidth up to 10 times the current
hardware onboard.
- Plans are for the Anuvu latest-generation hardware to be
onboard 50 in-service aircraft by the end of May, with a projected
350 aircraft upgraded by the end of October.
- Testing the upgraded WiFi equipment is now underway on some
routes over the western mainland U.S. As part of the test,
Southwest is offering free WiFi to all Customers on select flights
to understand how the upgraded equipment performs with a large
number of Customers using the equipment simultaneously.
- Alongside its relationship with legacy connectivity provider
Anuvu, Southwest recently entered into an agreement with
industry-leading satellite connectivity provider Viasat to provide
high quality internet and live television programming onboard newly
delivered aircraft beginning in the fall of this year.
Southwest pioneered gate-to-gate connectivity in 2010, becoming
the first major airline in the United
States to offer satellite-based connectivity on domestic
flights. The first generation technology brought free live TV,
streamed on individual devices. The airline continues to heavily
invest in its WiFi product aimed to meet Customers' connectivity
expectations.
Leaping to the Latest In-Seat Power
Southwest plans to install latest-generation onboard USB A and
USB C power ports on every seat in the aircraft, with a
space-saving system that will not compromise legroom. The airline
plans to bring this new convenience and capability onboard 737 MAX
aircraft beginning in early 2023.
"The ability to keep your devices charged while you are
connected inflight is a request that we've heard consistently in
ongoing conversations with our Customers," said Tony Roach, Vice President of Customer
Experience and Customer Relations. "With so much that our Customers
love about doing business with Southwest, we're constantly
listening to our Employees and our Customers for improvement
opportunities, and we're excited to share some additional news and
updates on this ongoing work."
Wait…there's more!
- Bin here, bin there: Alongside its famous "Bags Fly
Free" promise that provides every Customer onboard a Southwest
flight the option to check two bags for free (weight and size
limitations apply), the carrier is making room in the cabin for
carryon items with larger overhead bins that also bring easier
access to store and retrieve luggage onboard. The larger overhead
bins will be on aircraft deliveries beginning early next year.
- Online, not in line: New functionality for the carrier's
digital platforms and airport kiosks give Customers the ability to
handle common requests and help them move more efficiently from
curb to gate. By late summer 2022, Customers will be able to
purchase Upgraded Boarding A1-A15 positions (when available) on
their mobile devices without standing in line at the airport. Also
on the horizon, an ability to add lap child travelers when booking
online, and the airline recently added lap child check-in at
self-service kiosks. Introducing more self-service options builds
on the carrier's effort to reduce wait times with improved and
simplified online change functionality; recent improvements have
reduced the need for Customers to call to make flight changes, and
subsequently reduced hold times to allow Southwest Representatives
more availability for specialized Hospitality and Customer
Service.
- More flexibility takes flight: The carrier's
previously announced additional fare, Wanna Get Away Plus, is
expected to become available to Customers later this month,
bringing a new ability to transfer travel funds1
and to confirm a same-day change2 to an available
seat on a different flight between the same origin and destination,
without a change in base fare. Southwest also offers a wide variety
of accepted payment methods, and provides My Account information in
mobile friendly views across the carrier's digital
platforms.
- Mixing it up: Adding to an expansive beverage selection
featuring a number of alcohol options, additional refreshment
offerings will begin this summer with a Bloody Mary Mix, followed
by a ready-to-drink cocktail in September, alongside new options of
Hard Seltzer, and Rosé.3 Southwest also will
enhance its inflight entertainment portal to more than double the
number of free movies currently available by end of year and coming
late May will update the flight tracker to provide 3-D views that
offer aircraft information and customized destination guides based
on your flight itinerary.
"We listen to our Customers, and their insights help us deliver
on and exceed their expectations," Jordan said. "Behind these
commitments stand the legendary People of Southwest Airlines—ready
to welcome Customers onboard with warmth, Hospitality, and
LUV."
The aforementioned investments were included in the Company's
five-year annual targets through 2026 for operating costs and
capital spending provided at its Investor Day in December
2021—annual inflation in operating expenses per available seat mile
(CASM, or unit costs), excluding fuel, profitsharing, and special
items, in the low single digits range, and average annual capital
spending of approximately $3.5
billion—and do not change guidance provided in the Company's first
quarter 2022 financial release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include,
without limitation, statements related to (i) the Company's
expectations with respect to enhanced WiFi and other Customer
Experience enhancement initiatives; (ii) the Company's expectations
regarding expenditures in connection with Customer Experience
enhancement initiatives; (iii) the Company's expectations with
respect to its new fare category Wanna Get Away Plus; (iv) the
Company's plans and expectations with respect to winning new
Customers; (v) the Company's fleet plans with respect to updated
WiFi, power ports, and bin space; (vi) the Company's expectations
regarding Customer self-service capabilities and associated
productivity benefits for Company Employees; (vii) the Company's
expectations regarding its onboard menu and entertainment options;
(viii) the Company's financial and operational outlook,
expectations, and projected results of operations, including
factors and assumptions underlying the Company's expectations and
projections; and (ix) the Company's plans and expectations related
to capital spending. These forward-looking statements are based on
the Company's current estimates, intentions, beliefs, expectations,
goals, strategies, and projections for the future and are not
guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements
involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that
are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to
vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them.
Factors include, among others, (i) the Company's dependence on
third parties with respect to the Company's initiatives,
strategies, expectations, and goals, and the impact on the
Company's operations and results of operations of any third party
delays or non-performance; (ii) any negative developments related
to the COVID-19 pandemic, including, for example, with respect to
the duration, spread, severity, or any recurrence of the COVID-19
pandemic or any new variant strains of the underlying virus; the
effectiveness, availability, and usage of COVID-19 vaccines; the
impact of government mandates, directives, orders, regulations, and
other governmental actions related to COVID-19 on the Company's
business plans and its ability to retain key Employees; and the
extent of the impact of COVID-19 on overall demand for air travel
and the Company's related business plans and decisions; (iii) the
Company's dependence on its workforce, including its ability to
employ sufficient numbers of qualified Employees to effectively and
efficiently maintain its operations; (iv) the impact of fears or
actual outbreaks of other diseases, extreme or severe weather and
natural disasters, actions of competitors, fuel prices, consumer
perception, economic conditions, fears of terrorism or war,
socio-demographic trends, and other factors beyond the Company's
control, on consumer behavior and the Company's results of
operations and business decisions, plans, strategies, and results;
(v) the Company's ability to timely and effectively implement,
transition, and maintain the necessary information technology
systems and infrastructure to support its operations and
initiatives; (vi) the impact of governmental regulations and other
governmental actions on the Company's business plans and
operations; and (vii) other factors, as described in the Company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the
detailed factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2021.
1Transferable Flight
Credit:
Transferable flight credit allows you to
transfer your flight credit to someone else. Both must be Rapid
Rewards® Members and only one transfer is permitted. The
expiration date is 12 months from the date the ticket was booked.
For bookings made through a Southwest® Business channel, there is
a limitation to transfer only between employees within the
organization.
2Same-Day Change/Same-Day Standby
If there's an open seat on a different flight that departs on the
same calendar day as your original flight
and it's between the same cities, you can get a seat on
the new flight free of airline charges. If
there isn't an open seat on this different flight,
you can ask a Southwest Gate Agent to add you to the same-day
standby list for a flight between the same city pairs that departs
on the same calendar day prior to your originally scheduled
flight, and you will receive a message if you
are cleared on the flight. For both the same-day change and
same-day standby benefits, you must change your flight or request
to be added to the same-day standby list at least 10 minutes
prior to the scheduled departure of your original flight or the
no-show policy will apply. Based on the flight status contact
preference selected during booking, the message regarding your
standby status will be an email or text message with a link to
access the boarding pass via the Southwest app, mobile web, or you
can visit a Southwest Gate Agent to print off the boarding
pass. If there are any government taxes and fees associated with
these itinerary changes, you will be required to pay
those. Your original boarding position is
not guaranteed.
3Food and Beverage
On flights less than 175 miles, food and beverage service will be
limited to water only. Customer must be 21 or older to consume
alcoholic beverages.
ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world's most
admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and
Hospitality at 121 airports across 11 countries. More than 50 years
after its first flight in 1971, Southwest continues
to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and
low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying
nonstop within the United States
than any other airline4. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first
corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of
no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering
its nearly 59,0005 People to deliver unparalleled
Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty
among as many as 130 million Customers carried a year. That formula
for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive
years6 of profitability for Southwest
Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest continues to develop tangible
steps toward an environmental sustainability goal of achieving
carbon neutrality by 2050, including offering an opportunity for
Customers to contribute toward helping Southwest offset its carbon
emissions. For more information, please visit
Southwest.com/wannaoffsetcarbon. Learn more at
Southwest.com/citizenship about how Southwest Airlines leverages a
unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the
world.
4. U.S. Dept. of
Transportation most recent reporting of domestic originating
passengers boarded
|
5.
fulltime-equivalent active Employees
|
6. 1973-2019 annual
profitability
|
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SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.