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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines stories: 33 news summaries

1 - 20 of 33 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Southwest 
 Adds $10 Fee 
 to Board Early 

Airline with no assigned seats starts charging for first dibs

Sep 2, 09 4:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Southwest Airlines doesn’t assign seats, but now it will start charging for the privilege of finding the best one, the Dallas Morning News reports. For an extra $10, the new “EarlyBird Check-in” allows passengers to board first, or at least right after the Business Select and Rapid... More »

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airline industry • air travel • Southwest Airlines • boarding pass • airline passengers • fees • seating

(Newser) - Southwest Airlines' maintenance practices are coming under tight scrutiny after a football-sized hole opened in the top of a Boeing 737 midflight and forced an emergency landing, reports the Dallas Morning News. Nobody was injured, but the NTSB and FAA have launched probes and lawmakers are being briefed on the... More »

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FAA • aircraft • Southwest Airlines • Boeing 737

Baggage Fees Soar as Fuel Prices Drop

Budget-conscious passengers cram overhead bins

Jun 22, 09 10:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - When airlines instituted new baggage fees, they said it was to offset high fuel prices. Since then, even though energy prices have fallen, the fees haven't gone anywhere but up. In the first quarter, airlines pulled in $566 million in fees, putting them on pace to double last year’s... More »

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airline industry • Southwest Airlines • fees • airlines • baggage

 More Cuts Await 
 Slumping Airlines 

Delta, AA among carriers who can't cover costs

Jun 12, 09 9:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - As rising oil prices and sluggish demand continued to hammer the airline industry, Delta, American, and several other carriers forecast further cuts to service yesterday, reports the Wall Street Journal. Despite massive reductions in service, CEOs said at an industry meeting that they still aren't covering costs. "Earnings are... More »

MORE ABOUT:
airline industry • recession • airline • American Airlines • Continental • Delta • Southwest Airlines • business travelers • swine flu • H1N1 virus

GOSSIP ROUNDUP

 Last Octuplet 
 Goes Home 

Plus, Angelina voted most beautiful woman, more

Apr 14, 09 12:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - The last Suleman octuplet went home yesterday, E! reports. Tiny Jonah went from 1 lb, 8 oz to 4 lbs, 10 oz. Elsewhere:
  • Vanity Fair readers overwhelmingly voted Angelina Jolie the most beautiful woman in the world, MSNBC reports. She claimed 58% of votes, with second place Gisele Bundchen
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • Angelina Jolie • celebrity • gossip • Southwest Airlines • Jamie Foxx • Miley Cyrus • celebrity baby • octuplets • Nadya Suleman

ANALYSIS

Aging Airlines Can't Catch Up to Younger Rivals

Recent changes haven't helped 'legacy' carriers

Apr 7, 09 8:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - Despite many rounds of cost-cutting, so-called legacy airlines—United, Delta, US Airways—still face costs 35% higher than low-fare carriers like JetBlue and Southwest, the Wall Street Journal reports. The younger outfits have maintained a “cost gap” analysts thought their older peers could close over time. For one thing,... More »

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Delta Air Lines • JetBlue • Northwest Airlines • US Airways • United Airlines • Frontier Airlines • AirTran • Southwest Airlines • Continental Airlines • Air Canada • fuel costs • airlines • airplanes • low-fare carriers

GOSSIP ROUNDUP

Jen's 'Do Worth $50K; Paris Pimps Her Ride for $282K

Priceless: Madge loses it over Britney song

Mar 4, 09 12:35 PM CST
(Newser) - Recession? What recession? Jennifer Aniston has a $50,000 hairdo and Paris Hilton, a $282,000 dashboard. Aniston recently insisted that her stylist accompany her to a week of European film premieres to work his $2,000-a-session wonders on her hair, the Post reports. Meanwhile, the Sun says Hilton recently... More »

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Britney Spears • Prince Harry • Paris Hilton • South Africa • Jennifer Aniston • Southwest Airlines • Madonna • soft porn • Chelsy Davy • Bentley • Jesus Luz

 Carry On! 
 Fewer Checked 
 Bags Cut 
 Lost Luggage 

Airlines lost 1.3M fewer bags last year as new fees convinced passengers to carry on

Mar 2, 09 2:05 AM CST
(Newser) - Through their relentless fees, airlines have managed to put the task of transporting often-lost luggage in much safer hands. Last year—as passengers carried aboard the baggage they previously checked for free—airlines lost 1.3 million fewer bags than in 2007, the Chicago Tribune reports. The 33% improvement was... More »

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airline industry • luggage • American Airlines • Southwest Airlines • fees • baggage handling • lost baggage • airlines

(Newser) - Add this to the mix in the Buffalo plane crash: Southwest Airlines warned its pilots just weeks ago about a landing glitch involving the same runway the Continental flight was destined for, CNN reports. It seems an earthen dam near the runway interferes with signals in a so-called instruments landing,... More »

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FAA • plane crash • NTSB • Southwest Airlines • Continental Airlines • navigation error • Buffalo • Flight 3407 • warning

 After Turbulent 
 Year, Airlines See 
 Smoother 2009 

Falling fuel prices and capacity better in line with demand will help profits

Jan 21, 09 9:53 AM CST
(Newser) - The nation’s airlines—which scrambled to retask fleets and ground fuel-guzzling aircraft last year as energy prices rose and passenger miles dropped—are likely to have a smoother flight in 2009, reports the Wall Street Journal. Reduced capacity has allowed them to better match supply and demand, and falling... More »

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airline industry • United Airlines • American Airlines • corporate earnings • Southwest Airlines

Airlines Trim Holiday Flights, Cut Off-Peak Bargains

US Airways will fly 40% fewer flights this Thanksgiving

Oct 21, 08 1:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - As airlines struggle to stay competitive, scheduling changes mean that consumers will see fewer planes and higher fares, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the coming Thanksgiving season, US Airways is flying 40% fewer flights than a year ago. Delta and United have both reduced Thanksgiving flights by more than... More »

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Delta Air Lines • US Airways • flights • Southwest Airlines • Thanksgiving • price increases • Thanksgiving travel • airlines

EARNINGS REPORTS

 Southwest 
 Loses $120M 
 on Bad Oil Bet 

Otherwise, quarter beat expectations

Oct 16, 08 7:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Southwest Airlines posted a $120-million third-quarter loss today, due almost entirely to a one-time $247-million charge on an oil bet gone wrong, the New York Times reports. Southwest aggressively locks in its fuel costs far in advance, which looked brilliant last year, as oil prices skyrocketed. But oil’s... More »

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airline industry • earnings reports • corporate earnings • Southwest Airlines • third quarter earnings • oil prices

(Newser) - American Airlines faces FAA fines of more than $7 million for a series of safety and maintenance violations and for deficiencies in its drug and alcohol testing, the Wall Street Journal reports. In proposing one of its biggest fines ever, the FAA accuses American of knowingly flying planes that needed... More »

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FAA • Delta Air Lines • American Airlines • Southwest Airlines • drug test • fines • Federal Aviation Administration • AMR Corp • McDonnell Douglas • MD-80 • safety violations

 Ads Tap Into That
 'Mad-as-Hell'
 Feeling 

Companies use consumer rage to sell

Jun 26, 08 5:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Advertisers are feeling our pain. So they're tapping into consumer rage over rising prices by saying "we understand," and using that to sell products and services. Take a Southwest ad that asks what the competitors have been smoking. "Apparently, your rolled-up $20s," it quips. A legion... More »

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advertising • Jackson Hewitt • consumer • Eastman Kodak • Harley Davidson • Southwest Airlines • trend • Versus cable

Fuel Costs Bump Up Budget Airfares

Discount carriers
forced to dump
discounts or go bust

Jun 20, 08 3:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Rock-bottom airfares are going the way of the zeppelin as fuel prices continue their climb into the stratosphere, the New York Times reports. Some budget carriers have gone bust. Others have hiked fares and begun to woo more business travelers, blurring the line between big carriers and discount operations. Southwest... More »

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airline industry • JetBlue • airline • gas prices • Southwest Airlines • budget airlines • airline ticket prices • discount carriers

 Airlines Become
 Weight Watchers
 to Save Fuel 

As fuel prices continue to rise, airlines are getting creative in seeking fuel savings

Jun 11, 08 7:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Airlines struggling with soaring fuel expenses are seeking new ways to save, and none is too small, from cutting the amount of water they carry for washrooms to cleaning engines more often to increase their efficiency, reports the New York Times. Some are pulling back on their cruising speed—from... More »

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airline industry • air travel • gas prices • Southwest Airlines • Air Transport Association

Air Passenger Charged After
Not Ending Call

Businessman wouldn't hang up cell phone during Texas flight

May 13, 08 11:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - An air passenger was charged yesterday with disorderly conduct after refusing to stop talking on his cell phone on a flight from Austin to Dallas. A spokesman for Joe David Jones' company told the Dallas Morning News the businessman was trying to reach the hospital where his father was being... More »

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cell phones • Southwest Airlines

Planes Slowing Down
to Save on Fuel Costs

Airlines save millions by adding extra minutes to flights

May 3, 08 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - As airlines feel the pain of higher energy prices, planes are slowing down to save fuel, the AP reports. Southwest, for instance, will save $42 million by adding a few minutes to each flight this year, and passengers are unlikely to notice. But it’s no cure-all: Labor costs go... More »

MORE ABOUT:
airline industry • JetBlue • fuel efficiency • Northwest Airlines • United Airlines • airline • American Airlines • Southwest Airlines • fuel costs

Southwest Tried to Cover Up Safety Issues: Inspectors

FAA too cozy with airlines, they say

Apr 3, 08 9:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Southwest Airlines tried to cover up maintenance problems, and the FAA almost let them, according to two inspectors who will testify before Congress today that the agency is too cozy with airlines. When the inspectors realized Southwest was flying dozens of jets without required inspections, their superiors did nothing, they... More »

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FAA • airline industry • airline safety • inspection • Southwest Airlines

 Southwest Grounds 44 Planes 

Missed inspections for cracks drew fine from FAA—which didn't take immediate action

Mar 12, 08 2:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Southwest Airlines grounded 44 planes today after having admitted to flying aircraft that were past due for inspections for structural cracks, the AP reports. The FAA fined Southwest $10.2 million—the largest ever levied on an airline—but the agency itself is under fire for not grounding the jets... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FAA • safety • airline • airline safety • inspection • Southwest Airlines • Gary Kelly • Boeing 737-300 • bureaucratic blunders • Robert Sturgell

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