LUVLines Q4 2022

LUVLines

Meet the Aircraft On Ground Service

Personal Perspectives

Talent Acquisition Specialist Manzie Chapman shares his perspective on overcoming obstacles and persevering to achieve his dreams.

A Note

Taking a Page from Henry Ford

I closed my mid-year update by saying, “We’re moving forward. And there’s no going back.” But as we close out 2022 and move forward into 2023, we can look back on history to inspire the same spirit of Teamwork, innovation, and efficiency, that’s set us apart for more than five decades.

At the beginning of the year, we outlined our five focus areas for 2022, and we ran at them to get stable. And while we aren’t done yet, we did a pretty darned good job. Now, we need to move from stable to thriving. In my mid-year update, I asked you all to focus on productivity and efficiency, and modeling that in ways both big and small. One of the goals we’ve communicated publicly is to match our pre-pandemic efficiency levels by the end of 2023. We have work to do here. Efficiency and productivity are foundational to who we are, to low costs, and to low fares. Ultimately, they’re essential to our survival and return to prosperity.

Efficiency is in our Vision—to be the world’s most loved, most efficient, and most profitable airline. It’s critical to our goals in 2023 and beyond. But I’ll admit, it’s a pretty technical word on its surface. The definition is “work performed to energy expended.” Well, that’s not super inspiring, and it can be misunderstood as simply “work harder.” We need to shift our mindset and see efficiency as something to aspire to daily—to always work smarter, develop new tools, be ready, and keep our tempo. In fact, Efficiency is one of our Values: Don’t make the easy hard, keep costs low, and stay agile. We defined it as embracing simplicity, looking for ways to improve, and being flexible and open to change. We pride ourselves on being a disrupter, and as we focus on regaining our efficiency, I think we can pull some inspiration from one of history’s

famous disrupters—Henry Ford. In 1913, Ford installed the first moving assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile. His innovation reduced the time it took to build a car from more than 12 hours to just one hour and 33 minutes.

Ford made his operations as efficient as he could. He revolutionized assembly line production for the automobile, making the Model T one of America’s greatest inventions. He was able to remove manufacturing obstacles and bring the automobile to the general public—kind of like how Southwest gave America the freedom to fly! And, Ford used those efficiency gains to fuel profitsharing.

We must shift our focus to regain our excellence and our historic efficiency. That doesn’t mean we need to work harder—just smarter. We’re not an assembly line, but we’re a well-oiled machine, and it takes every person to make the machine run to its full potential. There are so many ways to talk about this concept, and we’ve done our fair share at Southwest: Herb cautioned against tribalism. We rallied, “One Team. All Heart.” Unified, we’re unstoppable.

Beyond the words is the desire to get back to the feeling of Team above self, and it consistently comes up in my conversations with you all.

Henry Ford said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Working together, Ford and his team changed the way manufacturing plants operated. They were even able to change the economy of a city. And they changed the way people travel to this day. The same could be said about Southwest’s past. Now, together, unified, let’s go write our future!

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Bob (aka “Super Mario”) greets our New Hire class on Halloween. He’s joined by some very special friends.

Sometimes I get so tired of making decisions. Some decisions are monotonous—chicken or pasta for dinner. Others are huge—parenthood or child-free. Whether large or small, as adults, we make decisions and choices daily. I’m grateful for the freedom and free will at my core, but sometimes I want someone to tell me what to do. But alas, it’s up to me.

There’s beauty in free will. Nothing is as satisfying as seeing the cumulative results of your decisions. Like an impressionist painting, individually each choice seems insignificant but together they create a picture of who we are and who we strive to be. It’s how we grow and improve. The same goes for Southwest Airlines.

Each day, the Leaders of this airline make decisions. Some are small such as what paper towels to use in the bathrooms, and some are giant such as determining our Company Values. Like me, I’m sure they get tired of deciding things. But then they see the big picture. Like how choosing the more affordable paper products helped fund the war chest we desperately needed to weather the largest economic downturn in our history. During the pandemic, the easy decision would’ve been to lay People off. But our Leaders decided that’s not who Southwest is. They chose to stand by The Southwest Way and take care for our People. After 24 years with the Company, I still believe our Leaders lead with Heart.

As we reflect on 2022, I’m amazed at how far we’ve bounced back as a Company from 2020. Our Leaders made many decisions—sun-setting the CS&S Centers, creating the Customer Experience & Engagement (CXE) Department, and enhancing the Employee Experience through the Employee Service Center—some of which wasn’t easy. But you all made important decisions as well.

Every day, you choose to be a part of this organization. Some of us see Southwest as a means to an end—getting paid. After all, you need money to provide for yourself and your family. Like many of you, I choose to invest time and energy in caring for my Customers and Cohearts while earning a paycheck. Each day we choose our attitudes alongside this shirt or that dress. Alone, our actions represent ourselves as individuals. But together, they’re compounded into something bigger than their individual parts. The masterpiece is Southwest Airlines.

VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH Laurie Barnett

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Todd Painter

MANAGING EDITOR

Millie Tidwell

CONTRIBUTORS

Audra Cobin

Lori Crabtree

Melissa Ford

Kristen Francis

Lisa Goode

Melanie Graham

Cindy Hermosillo

Melanie Jones

Erin McCann Carolyn Nutting

Emily Samuels

Ashley Warren Omondi Michelle Williams

CREATIVE

Sonia Avila

Eric Daniels

Trent Duran Rob Izumi

John Jones Brianna Juda Stephen Keller

Taylor Lumsden Maria Nieto Abbey Server Schelly Stone

Also available on SWALife -For LUVLines information and advertising inquiries, email luvlines@wnco.com

“The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice.”—George Eliot

LUVLines Managing Editor Millie Tidwell

These Cohearts are veterans and serve as Military Ambassadors. The decision they made to serve the U.S. was honored when Southwest unveiled Freedom One as part of our 50th anniversary. Thank you all for your service.

Blue Skies During Stormy Weather

By Sr Hospitality Consultant Kristen Francis

On a recent weekday in Atlanta, Mother Nature was angry along with many of our Customers. The storms resulted in delays and airport shutdowns, which caused a long day at the airport for many Passengers and Employees alike. But there was a calm among the storm … and her name is Carol Blue.

As a Customer Service Agent, Carol, who goes by her last name Blue, accepted the challenge to alleviate some of the dismay. In the words of one Customer, she showcased “grace under pressure,” responding kindly and gently to each Passenger who was angered and frustrated by the circumstances. Not only was Blue’s demeanor cool as a cucumber, but she also did what many do during these situations— helped Customers pass the time with gate games, including trivia.

Blue often rallies Customers to play a trivia game even when things run smoothly. She also found snacks for Customers who were stuck waiting on their flights. As it turns out, Blue has a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Tourism with a minor in Airline and Hotel Management and has been in the Customer Service industry for 42 years.

Kudos to Blue for taking Hospitality to the next level by exceeding expectations with snacks and creating memories with games and trivia.

✈

Total Rewards End-of-Year Checklist

By Vice President Total Rewards Danny Collins

As the end of 2022 quickly approaches, this checklist can help you make the most of your Total Rewards through the end of this year and into 2023.

Closing out 2022

Schedule an annual physical before Dec. 31, 2022. If you haven’t already, get your annual physical (at no cost to you if you’re in a BenefitsPlus plan!) with a primary care physician. Don’t forget to make vision and dental appointments, too!

Get a flu shot, and check with your doctor on any boosters or immunizations you might need.

Shipping gifts? Don’t forget about the Employee Shipping Program via Southwest Cargo, and our FedEx discount.

Spend those FSA dollars! Flexible Spending Account (FSA) money you’ve set aside doesn’t roll over, unlike Health Savings Account (HSA) money. You can use your FSA money for claims incurred until Dec. 31, 2022, and you must submit all claims for reimbursement by March 31, 2023. This rule is for both the Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts. Learn more at workperks.swalife.com under MyChoice Accounts.

Check your guest pass expiration dates, and opt-in to the Travel Rewards Program or update your selection before Dec. 31, 2022, to receive the first quarter distribution. Choose the option that best suits your needs: Two round trip Guest Passes or 12,500 Rapid Rewards points. For more details on how to opt-in and choose your preferred Travel Rewards option, check out the How to Make Your Travel Rewards Selection document on the Travel Rewards Program page. For great information on nonrevenue travel, visit the Travel Services page For tips and tricks on how to be the best nonrevenue traveler, read this post.

Getting the most from your benefits in 2023

Plan a nonrev trip! Enjoy unlimited, space-available travel on Southwest and other airlines using our pass agreements.

Save some dough. When you’re making a purchase, working out, renting a car, or booking a hotel, don’t forget about the many discounts Southwest offers.

Don’t leave money on the table! Our 401(k) Plan offers a generous dollar-for-dollar match up to 9.3% of eligible earnings for all Employees (except Pilots who have a different plan). To take full advantage of this generous Company match, you’ll want to contribute 10% of your eligible earnings. If contributing at 10% is more than you can manage at this time, set a long-term goal for yourself and take advantage of our automatic increase feature to increase your contribution rate over time. Find more information about your 401(k) at SWALife >Employee Services >Benefits & Perks >401(k) Plan or freedomtoretire.com

New(ish) to Southwest? If you have retirement funds from previous employers, you can consolidate all of your retirement assets in one place. For more information about initiating a qualified rollover, call Empower Retirement at (866) 588-2728 or email freedomtoretire.com.

Look into the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). ESPP offers eligible Employees the opportunity to purchase shares of Southwest stock at a 10% discount. Visit the Fidelity website at netbenefits.com to enroll and elect a payroll deduction amount that fits your budget.

Know your wellbeing resources: Clear Skies, our Employee Assistance Program, offers a mental health navigator (to help you assess your overall wellbeing), therapy via text with Textcoach, in-the-moment support and short-term counseling, and tons of information and resources. NEW! Effective Oct. 1, 2022, Southwest Employees receive eight counseling sessions per person, per issue, per calendar year at no cost to you. Visit SWALife >Employee Services >My Life Events to learn more about the resources available to you for your physical, mental, and financial health.

Update your beneficiaries. Designating beneficiaries on your benefits is essential in case something happens to you. This way, your hard-earned money will go to exactly who you want it to go to. Review and update your beneficiaries for your:

• 401(k) and ProfitSharing Plans at freedomtoretire.com (and Charles Schwab if you’re a Pilot at workplace.schwab.com/swapa).

• Company-paid and optional life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), and critical illness plans at metlife.com/myBenefits.

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) at netbenefits.fidelity.com.

• Health Savings Account (HSA) at optumbank.com

**Did you know? Even if you have a will, you must still designate a beneficiary for your benefits.**

Create or update your will. MetLife provides a free will preparation service through a partnership with Hyatt Legal Plans Inc. at no additional cost to Employees enrolled in BenefitsPlus optional life insurance. This service covers attorney fees for preparing and updating a will when using a participating attorney. To find out more about this service, contact MetLife Legal Plans Inc., at (800) 821-6400 (use group number 96676).

Prepare for the unexpected. Visit SWALife >Employee Services >My Life Events >Preparing for Your or Your Loved One’s End of Life for information on resources like will preparation and accelerated benefit options, as well as what to do in the event of a death in your family. Tell your family where all your important paperwork and passwords are located and to contact your Leader in the event of your death so they can get the support and resources they need from Southwest.

Heard & Overheard: Southwest’s Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results

By Content Strategy Consultant Millie Tidwell

Each quarter, Southwest reports our financial results and our Sr. Leaders hold a conference call where they add color and take questions from financial analysts and reporters. These calls are available for anyone to listen to live and an archive is available on the Southwest Airlines Investor Relations website. Below is a compilation of quotes from the most recent call on October 27, 2022, that paints a picture of Southwest’s third quarter 2022 financial results, outlines what impacted our performance, and explains the expectations moving forward.

The Numbers

“Thanks to all of our Employees for their remarkable job throughout the quarter. In addition to delivering a high-quality experience for our Customers, their efforts led to a solid third quarter performance. The strong demand trends from summer continued in the third quarter, which resulted in record third quarter revenue and record third quarter revenue Passengers. Our third quarter operating revenues grew a healthy 10.3% versus 2019, aided by a very strong other revenue performance.

Our fuel hedge continues to perform well in this environment, where market prices remain volatile and elevated, saving the Company about $220 million in fuel expense in the third quarter alone. We are 61% hedged for the fourth quarter, and we currently estimate our fourth quarter fuel price to be in the $3.15 to $3.25 per gallon range, which would be a sequential improvement from the third quarter’s fuel price based on current prices. That estimate includes $0.37 of hedging gains, which equates to cost savings of more than $185 million in the fourth quarter, which would put our full year 2022 fuel hedge benefit at roughly $1 billion. We recently added to our 2023 fuel hedge portfolio and are now 50% hedged, with a fair market value of around $390 million for full year 2023.

Turning to our fleet. Our planning assumption for Boeing aircraft deliveries this year remains unchanged from what we shared in July. While our contractual order book still reflects 114 aircraft in 2022, we continue to expect 66 -8 MAX deliveries this year due to supply chain challenges that Boeing is dealing with as well as uncertainty regarding the timing of the -7 MAX certification. However, we are encouraged to have received all 23 -8 MAX aircraft in the third quarter as expected and continue to expect 31 -8 MAX aircraft deliveries here in the fourth quarter. We do not expect to take delivery of any -7 MAX aircraft this year. We continue ongoing discussions with Boeing and just recently made some modifications to our order book. In short, we converted more -7 MAX aircraft to -8 MAX aircraft in the near term.”—EVP and CFO Tammy Romo

All quotes and information are as of October 27, 2022

The Current Landscape

“I’m just really pleased to report another solid profit in the third quarter of $316 million, excluding special items, or $0.50 a share. All in all, the third quarter’s bottom line results came in almost right in line with our expectations back in July, slightly better, in fact, and that really speaks to the more stable environment that we are operating in today versus where we were just two quarters ago. While not fully recovered yet, it makes a big difference in our ability to more effectively plan, set our flight schedules and avoid revising them, and deliver a more reliable operation both for our Customers and our Employees. That’s exactly what we’re doing in the second half of 2022, and that’s what we plan to do going forward.

We want to get properly staffed, and that’s going very well. We remain on track with adding over 10,000 new Employees this year, net of attrition, and we are getting much better staffed in key areas, with the exception of Pilots, where our aggressive hiring efforts continue. And we are on track to hire 1,200 Pilots this year and 2,100 Pilots next year as planned.

We wanted to restore our operational Reliability, and we are headed in the right direction, having made a lot of solid progress. As we shared previously, we restored some of our short-haul flying in the third quarter, which was a little early, and at the expense of revenue now knowing where business demand has ended up. But the goal was to help the operation, and I believe we got the desired results in the third quarter.

While we expect a healthy amount of capacity growth next year, it is nearly all going back into key Southwest markets. These are markets that we borrowed from to fund new airport expansion during the pandemic. And as business demand improves, we have opportunities to build those back up. And this is lower-risk growth primarily in markets where we have the #1 share and a strong Southwest Customer base, so we don’t believe the capacity additions carry near the risk of adding a new market. Our goal is to have the network fully restored by the end of 2023. And by summer 2023, we should be about 90% done.”—CEO Bob Jordan

We continue to be very pleased with the performance of our loyalty program and its significant revenue and earnings before interest and taxes contribution. Our ancillary products also performed well in the third quarter, in particular, our upgraded boarding product. This allows Customers to purchase any unsold Business Select boarding positions in the A1 to A15 boarding group on the day of travel. We recently rolled out a new digital self-service option to purchase this product, which was previously only available to purchase at the airport gate.

Our portfolio of new cities and development markets performed in line with expectations in third quarter. Hawaii outperformed our expectations, primarily due to stronger Mainland to Hawaii performance as we further invested in and re-optimized our Hawaii franchise. And these actions are paying off. Our Hawaii interisland service will take longer to develop, and our primary goal at this point is to generate awareness among local travelers and incentivizing them to try Southwest and experience our product. This is not uncommon with the introduction of new service.”—Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson

“We’re now through the busy summer travel season. And aside from some weather that the industry had to deal with, I am very pleased with the Reliability of the operations that our Employees delivered in the third quarter. They’re working very hard to take great care of each other and our Customers. And we’ve made tremendous progress in several areas, including getting properly staffed in most workgroups, and we have more Employees that have completed their initial training, and they’re now contributing on the frontline. So over 95% of our hiring has been in frontline and operations groups.

“In July and August, we saw a step back in close-end business demand, but that was coupled with stronger advanced purchase leisure demand. In September, we saw a nice sequential improvement in managed business revenues, and leisure demand remained stronger than anticipated and was particularly robust for a typically weaker leisure shoulder month post-Labor Day. September managed business revenues finished down 25% versus third quarter 2019. So while the third quarter took a bit of a step back on business trends, we finished the quarter on a strong note, and revenue momentum is picking up steam.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day, the heavy summer travel season, we improved year-over-year across nearly every operational metric, including our ontime performance. And our flight completion rate was 98.6%, which means we canceled slightly more than 1% of our scheduled flights, and that’s in line with our pre-pandemic performance, and that’s really where we aim to be. Digging into ontime performance for the third quarter, our ontime performance was 71.2%, which is referred to as A14 by the Department of Transportation, or getting Customers to their destination within 14 minutes of their scheduled arrival time. So if you look at getting our Customers to their destination within 30 minutes, our ontime performance increased to 81.7%, and it was 90.4% within an hour.

We aim to continue improving. We’ve got great momentum here in October with our ontime performance running in the low 80% range. We continue to hire and train new Employees. And that should have us well prepared for the upcoming holiday season, and we should continue just to get better as we continue our network restoration through next year and get even more Employees through training.”—President Mike Van de Ven

Q&A with Analysts and Reporters

Great to see the traction on the operational Reliability thereafter, obviously, a little over a year of trying. So I just wanted to get a sense of how robust or fragile that is given—like if we had a really bad winter storm or there was a huge surge in travel like for—like one or two days during Thanksgiving or something, do you feel like there’s enough slack in the system to be able to support some of that?—Ravi Shanker, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Bob: I think there are several things in here that are just macro helping drive the operational improvement. Number one is getting staffed. I mean, when you’re understaffed, it affects everything, you don’t have the margin to deal with any kind of issue, and we are so much better staffed today than we were even three to four months ago. Obviously, we have ways to go with our Pilots. But really, what’s happening there is we just aren’t—we are just under-flying our aircraft because of that. The other big thing is we committed, I think, late in the spring, early in the summer, we committed to not republishing our schedules any longer because it’s really hard on our Employees, it’s very hard on our Customers. And then republishing just—it’s part of what adds operational difficulty. So post the summer, we are committed to not republishing schedules, and you’ve seen improvement operationally in September and a real improvement here in October. I think our ontime performance (OTP) in October is low 80s and our Net Promoter scores are in the 60s. And so yes, you’re always going to have irregular operations, but I think the base stability of the operation is much better for those reasons.

You talked a fair bit about just training in general, and it seems like that’s one of your biggest problems from a Pilot standpoint. Is there anything you can do to bolster the throughput there? Like I feel like this has been an issue for a while, and I’m just surprised that it hasn’t been fixed, but like there hasn’t been a better solution in the near term that could drive some efficiencies there.—Conor Cunningham, Melius Research LLC

Bob: Conor, I just want to clear up, sometimes it’s confusing between hiring and training. I just want to point this out, we’re not having any trouble hiring Pilots. We’re getting all the Pilots, good, great Pilots that we need. That’s different than getting everybody through the training process … the training pipeline is full. …Our plan this year was to hire 1,200 Pilots, and we will hit that. The plan next year is to hire 2,100 Pilots, and we will hit that. And then the plan is to have sort of the Pilots catch the aircraft late next year so that we’re flying the whole fleet.

On the MAX 7 certification, just curious if you could share anything? When did it become clear to you that, that certification wasn’t going to happen this year?—Alison Sider, The Wall Street Journal

Mike: We talk to Boeing continuously, and they’re working diligently with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide the information we need to get the airplane certified. And at this point in time, Boeing believes that there’s a chance to get certified at the end of this year or early next year. I don’t have anything more to add other than that.

All quotes and information are as of October 27, 2022

Thinking about just MAX 7, do you have a contingency or a Plan B for it if it’s not certified this year?—David Slotnick, The Points Guy

Mike: Boeing is very confident that they’ve got a path to either certification or an extension. And I believe that that’s going to happen as well. But if for some reason, by off chance it doesn’t happen, of course, we have plan Bs, but we’re just not publicly discussing them at this point.

Andrew: And as Bob mentioned, we can easily tolerate that next year. In fact, our network plan and business plan for next year assume no MAX 7 deliveries. And so you’ve already figured out that we can operate 2023, just fine with all MAX 8s and the 700s we have today. So beyond that, we continue to take in MAX 8s for a period of time as well. The benefit of having such a decentralized network and kind of really good options around the country is that we can rejigger our network without kind of unwinding it.

The big three carriers that have been talking about a little bit of narrowing of demand, the variation in demand across days of the week and even across hours of the day due to hybrid work schedules and ‘bleisure’ (business and leisure) travel. Are you all seeing any of that?—Robert Silk, Travel Weekly

Andrew: So we did see in COVID, when business travel was much reduced, we did see leisure travel and periods where you often didn’t see it before. So you still have more leisure travel in July than you do in September. The surprising finding is there’s more leisure travel in September than used to be. And now during COVID, that led to kind of more—you had peaks and valleys that were kind of more prevalent in COVID because of the absence of business demand. Now as business demand comes back, as we discussed earlier, that leisure demand is staying. And that’s a surprise. It’s not the case that, as we rotate out of the pandemic and go back into the office, that leisure demand goes away in the off period of time. It appears to stick. And so that’s quite welcome.

Bob: What I think we want to be careful with is trying to decide that this is forever. I think as we continue—as the business travel continues to restore and as people’s work habits, if that’s a piece of this, as they continue to move, I think it’s going to take a while for all of this to settle down, and I do think it continues to change. So I would—I’ve personally been slow to decide that we have a new trend, and that’s the trend for a long period of time.

All quotes and information are as of October 27, 2022

Back to Basics: Return to Consistent Profitability

By Vice President Investor Relations Ryan Martinez

This is the third article in our series about Bob’s Blueprint for Success, which outlines our five-year strategic priorities and our focus areas for 2022.

Our focus for 2022 was to get “Back to Basics” in five specific areas:

• Get properly staffed.

• Focus on our People and our Culture.

• Get back to our historic operational Reliability and efficiency.

• Restore our Customer Service advantage.

• Return to consistent profitability.

As we wind down the year, let’s look at the last of our five focus areas and the one our longterm prosperity depends upon: Return to consistent profitability.

After losing billions of dollars in 2020 and 2021, we’ve made tremendous progress in 2022—in particular, in the second and third quarters. Demand for leisure travel has been strong, and business travel continues to improve.

Based on current trends and barring any significant unforeseen events, we continue to expect to be profitable in the fourth quarter and for full year 2022, which would put us on our path back toward consistent profitability.

Cost inflation is rising, and there’s concern about a recession. We must stay vigilant in controlling costs, working efficiently, and caring for each other and our Customers.

Keeping costs low is crucial to our business model. It’s been part of Southwest’s DNA and our success since day one.

Show up to work engaged and ready to contribute to a great Team effort.

Focus on efficiency and eliminating waste while never compromising Safety.

The Scoop - From Our Heart: Employee Spotlight

Earlier this year, we introduced “The Scoop,” a new digital publication available to Customers via the e-reader on the Inflight Entertainment Portal. Included each quarter is an Employee Spotlight that celebrates our Employees and the amazing work they do each day to go above and beyond for our Customers. Here is the spotlight for this quarter.

Employee Spotlight

Lead Aircraft Records Specialist Thomas Rathbun

In his role Thomas keeps track of things … many things. Every part and piece of an aircraft has a serial number and a history. That coffee pot in the forward galley? At any given time, Thomas and the entire Aircraft Records Team can tell you what aircraft it’s on and where it’s been. Seriously. Ensuring impeccable record keeping and federal regulatory compliance is job one for Thomas and has been his priority since day one at Southwest. Hired as a Contractor in 2014, he became a full-time Employee in 2017 and a Team Lead in 2019. When asked about the best part of his job, the answer comes easily to Thomas, “This is’t a job to take lightly, and I love knowing that what I do truly makes a difference.”

Indeed, making a difference is a core value in how Thomas leads his life. Nowhere does that commitment shine brighter than through his involvement with the Southwest Animal Transport Team (SWATT). SWATT is a Team of Southwest Employees, otherwise known as Southwest Flight Angels, who volunteer their time to transport animals in rescue shelters to locations across the United States. While scrolling through Facebook a couple of years ago, he saw a post from SWATT seeking Employee volunteers. Thomas and his wife, Karen, are “pet parents” to four dogs and seven cats, all of whom are rescues. This opportunity didn’t just tug at his heartstrings, it began what would become a huge part of their family’s life.

Since February 2021, they’ve facilitated more than 50 animal transports, 30 of which Thomas completed by himself. In fact, he and Karen have a standing competition for who ultimately completes the most. Given the investment of time and resources to complete a transport, this truly is a glimpse into Thomas’ heart and that of everyone involved in SWATT. Members of SWATT use their travel privileges to make the magic happen! Typically, SWATT Flight Angels meet the rescue group representative at the airport a couple of hours prior to departure to receive the animal in an approved carrier, pay the pet fare (covered by the rescue group), and board the flight. Upon arrival, the Flight Angels meet the receiving rescue group or adopter in a designated area to make the exchange and then return home. Although every transport is special, one pup stands out in Thomas’ memory. Sterling—a mixed breed—had been through quite a journey as a stray. It took extra effort to clean and prepare him for travel, and it warmed Thomas’ heart to see this little pup wearing a baby’s onesie in anticipation of soon meeting his “fur-ever” family.

We’re thankful to have folks like Thomas in the world, and especially in our Southwest Family!

Kelby Tansey

Manager, Recruitment Marketing

Kelby is approaching her seventh year at Southwest, all within our Talent Acquisition Team in the People Department. She’s been involved in many initiatives during her tenure, including implementing a new careers site and Candidate relationship management platform, launching our Employee Referral Program, and introducing various technologies to support the Candidate Experience. Kelby now leads the Recruitment Marketing Team, which supports our enterprise-wide hiring efforts.

What’s Recruitment Marketing?

The Recruitment Marketing Team, formally established in mid-2021, supports hiring across the Company from initial interest through hire by marketing career opportunities at Southwest to attract and retain quality Candidates. We support the Candidate Experience, connect Candidates to the best role for their skillset, and share the Heart of our Employees through their stories. From there, we strategically share these stories, information about Southwest as an employer, and details about the roles we offer in places like our careers site, social media channels, email campaigns, digital ads, and more to attract Candidates to apply.

How does the Recruitment Marketing Team support our hiring and onboarding efforts?

We manage our internal and external careers sites and the technology system that supports them. These features include automated job alerts, an active talent community for those interested in learning more about careers at Southwest, the Employee Referral Program, a blog featuring the stories of our Employees, and more. We’re also responsible for writing and reviewing all communications for our Talent Acquisition Team as part of the Candidate journey. We strive to provide a best-in-class experience for every Candidate who interacts with Southwest. We know that majority of our Candidates ultimately don’t end their journey with us as Employees. Did you know that we only select ~40% of Candidates from their 1:1 interview to join the Southwest Family? Regardless if they get the role they’ve applied for, we want them to think well of Southwest and experience our legendary Hospitality.

What makes you most proud?

My Team and their agility over the past 18 months inspire me daily. They not only rose to the occasion but went above and beyond to quickly learn new skills, processes, and technology to support our hiring efforts. A few of our accomplishments this year include redesigning our external careers site to feature on-the-job Employee videos, launching a new Careers with Heart blog featuring first-person Employee stories, implementing two new technologies to support the Candidate Experience, and developing custom Recruitment Marketing strategies for all the workgroups we support. My Team’s passion for sharing what a special place Southwest is to work and highlighting the stories of our Employees to attract the best to join our ranks is infectious. The historic levels of hiring this year—more than 15,700 new Employees as of Nov. 1—is an accomplishment worth celebrating for every Employee in Talent Acquisition and anyone involved in hiring and onboarding efforts! I’m proud of all the Heart dedicated to getting Southwest “staffed and stable” this year.

What are you looking forward to in the year ahead?

We’ll launch a new Candidate survey tool in the first quarter of 2023 that I’m excited about as it allows us to gain real-time feedback from our Candidates about their experience so we can continuously improve. Candidates have high expectations for what their experience entails and even more so at a Company well known for Hospitality and transparency. We take that to Heart and work hard to meet or exceed that expectation. Feedback is a gift—it makes us stronger in a competitive labor market!

Here for You in the Moments That Matter

By Sr Employee Services Representative Michelle Hannawalt

In my tenure at Southwest, I’ve had the pleasure of working with both our External and Internal Customers during their moments that matter. I have to admit, though, my favorite Customer is YOU—my fellow Cohearts—and I have the honor of supporting you via the Employee Service Center.

I’m actually a boomerang! My Southwest journey started in 1999 as an MCI Customer Service Agent. I wanted to work for the Company so much that I moved my wedding—even after we printed our invitations—to make my start date! Soon after, I became a Customer Service Supervisor until my family moved to Oklahoma for my husband’s job. Our kids were young, and since we didn’t know anyone where we moved, we decided for me to stay at home and raise our boys.

In 2016, after moving to Iowa, I had the opportunity to work as a general manager for a contract company overseeing Southwest’s operation at Des Moines International Airport. By 2017, I was ready to return to Southwest! I started my boomerang journey on our Travel Services Team. With the Employee Service Center launch in 2020, I knew the services the Team offered to our Employees and Retirees were right up my alley!

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Enjoy the Work You Do

There are so many reasons I love working for the Employee Service Center. I’m a people person. I enjoy assisting our Cohearts and Retirees with the moments that matter the most to them. Sometimes we need a little direction or assistance on how to find the best information, which is how Employee Service Center Representatives support you. We launched right before the pandemic, and during the past two years, I’m happy to say I’m where I want to be—providing my Southwest Family a listening ear, guidance, support, peace of mind, and comfort. So many things arise that we as Employees or Retirees need help with, and supporting you is a passion of mine (and my Team Members). We want to ease your mind and get you the right resource you need.

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We've Got You Covered

I always like to say if you’re unsure about who to reach out to, let the Employee Service Center be your first stop! We’re here to help whether you need benefits resources, to locate your payslip, update your direct deposit, or find payroll and tax resources. Reach out for assistance with answering questions about your travel privileges or navigating our tools like Workday, the Employee Services Portal, and SWALife. If we don’t have the answer, we’ll point you in the right direction.

A Starfish Approach to Kindness

By VP Inflight Operations Sonya Lacore

“An old man, walking the beach at dawn, noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up with the youth, he asked what he was doing. The young man said that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. ‘But the beach goes on for miles and miles, and there are millions of starfish,’ countered the man. ‘How can your effort make any difference?’ The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves.

‘It makes a difference to this one,’ he said.”

I love this story and use it as an illustration often. It’s a reminder that kindness can be given freely—and can make all the difference in someone’s day. Kindness has always been a passionate subject for me and a value I try to promote. That’s why when we were given the unique opportunity to create a campaign centered on kindness, I knew we had the perfect partner in Coca-Cola.

While we’ve gladly served Coca-Cola products onboard our aircraft since long before this campaign was born, we recognized there was even greater potential for how our two renowned brands could partner together— ultimately to make the world a better and kinder place.

An Inflight Kindness Campaign Recognizing Flight Attendants is Born

Upon brainstorming what this partnership could look like with a focus on recognizing Flight Attendants, Crew Schedulers, and some of our Business Support and Services (BS&S) Team for the outstanding work they do, the Kindness Campaign was born. At its inception in 2017, this campaign provided the Inflight Operations Team with an opportunity to recognize behavior that seems so simple, yet makes all the difference: kindness.

In the beginning, we read through LUV Reports and worked with Base Leadership to select both Flight Attendants from each base along with members of our Crew Scheduling and BS&S Teams to be recognized and celebrated for going above and beyond with their acts of kindness. Each year, a new set of Kindness Campaign winners are selected to represent their base locations or business areas. The only difference is that the nominations are now selected from all the peer-to-peer recognition programs submitted through SWAG.

In the same way the young boy in this story is committed to making a difference to the ”one starfish,“ the Kindness Campaign serves as a reminder to our People to inspire, spread, and foster an environment of kindness. While this one recognition campaign alone could never be enough to change the world, in Inflight Operations, we’re committed to changing one life at a time—because that random act of kindness surely makes all the difference to whoever is on the receiving end.

As you go on about your day, your month, or your year, ask yourself, “How can I go out of my way to be kind to one person today?” You just might surprise yourself when you look back and see how you really are changing the world around you, one act of kindness at a time.

While this one recognition campaign alone could never be enough to change the world, in Inflight Operations, we’re committed to changing one life at a time—because that random act of kindness surely makes all the difference to whoever is on the receiving end.

Hospitality, the Foundational Five, and Our Company Values

By The Hospitality Operations Support Team (HOST)

Hospitality is a key piece of our Company priorities. Making Employees and Customers feel welcomed, cared for, and appreciated differentiates Southwest from our competition and other companies across industries. Opportunities exist all around to deliver Hospitality to our Cohearts and Customers.

Earlier this year, Bob announced our Foundational Five, which are five strategic priorities for the next five years. Take a look below to understand how Hospitality applies to each of these priorities and how you can uphold them just by delivering Hospitality.

Connect with a Coheart!

Our Cohearts are own biggest advocates, and it’s important to make them feel welcomed, cared for, and appreciated.

• Find something personal to make a connection with a Coheart

• Welcome each Coheart at the start of every day or shift

• Thank one Coheart each day for making a difference at Southwest

Wow a Customer!

We wouldn’t be where we are today without our Customers. Many times the biggest moments for them stem from the littlest actions from us.

• Welcome Customers as they board the plane—first impressions matter

• Use Customers’ names to say thank you when serving them in the airport

• Thank Customers as they deplane with your words and presence

Hospitality at your fingertips!

Use your resources to create special moments for Customers while serving them in the operation.

• Turn an unfortunate situation into a happy memory with the Heart Cart

• Play games, trivia, or sing songs from the Games from the Heart book

• Celebrate Customers with surprise and delight moments

Hospitality is FREE!

Build a better tomorrow!

Hospitality is powerful and it starts with you.

• Come to work each day with a Hospitality mindset

• Make your Cohearts and Customers feel welcomed, cared for, and appreciated

• Help drive Southwest’s success by making it a better Company each day

Going above and beyond to deliver Hospitality doesn’t cost a thing. Not providing Hospitality could cost us future Customers. Here are some ideas that cost nothing.

• A warm smile

• A welcoming greeting

• A genuine thank you

• Friendly eye contact

• Using someone’s name

Next Level Hospitality and Our Company Values

Together, Next Level Hospitality and our Company Values guide us in how we:

• Show up and deliver Hospitality to Customers

• Treat each other and deliver Hospitality to Cohearts

• Succeed as a Company and deliver Hospitality to ensure Southwest remains a welcoming, caring, and appreciative environment for all Employees and Customers

When we elevate our Hospitality by Connecting, Exceeding, and Captivating as well as exemplifying the three areas of our Values—Me, We, and Southwest—we make tremendous impacts on our Cohearts, Customers, and Company. Use the nine questions at the intersections of the Hospitality Levels and Values to challenge yourself and Cohearts to make an impact.

ME How I show up WE How we treat each other

What are ways you can make a lasting memory for a Customer?

What are ways you can exceed a Customer’s expectations? What are ways you can personalize the interaction and connect with a Customer?

What are ways you can make a lasting memory for a Coheart? What are ways you can exceed a Coheart’s expectations? What are ways you can personalize the interaction and connect with a Coheart?

Southwest How Southwest succeeds

What are ways you can make a memory that creates passionate Cohearts and Customers?

What are ways you can make Southwest better today than it was yesterday? What are ways you can make a welcoming, caring, and appreciative environment for all?

Congratulations

to our 2022 Winning Spirit Recipients!

The Winning Spirit Award honors Employees who represent the Heart of Southwest Airlines through sacrificial actions, personal initiative, and extraordinary acts of service. Visit SWALife to read your Cohearts’ inspiring stories.

Patricia Baker, BWI Flight Attendant

Tonya Bartlett, MCO Supervisor Customer Service

Mary Betlejewski, LAS Flight Attendant

Tara Bettcher, PC Customer Representative

Justin Bias, AUS Assistant Manager Ramp

D’Nai Burnett, AUS Station Administrative Coordinator

Christopher Capodagli, DEN Ramp Agent

Clark Carroll, HOU Captain

Stephanie Castro, OAK Flight Attendant

Mary Christie, PHX Supervisor Flight Attendants

Tim Cobbs, BHM Operations Agent

Sherry Cookemboo, PHX Source of Support Representative

Marisa Crist, Flight Operations LEAD Ops Associate

John Cross, BNA Provisioning Agent

Shelley Cumberlander, FLL Customer Service Agent

Dusty DE Lange, PHX Flight Attendant

Matthew DiRienzo, BZN Station Manager

Noparat “Boom” Elg, MCO Assistant Manager Command Center

Jaclyn Farrell, ATL Operations Agent

Tammi Feuling, DAL Manager Base Operations

Antonio Flores Rios, FLL Supervisor Customer Service

Lisa Frawley, HOU Supervisor Ramp

Mike Friedman, Senior Manager Technology

Shannon Garber, JAN Customer Service Agent

Cody Glass, MAF Ramp Agent

Allen Gorham, MAF Duty Supervisor

Annette Hall, SC Customer Representative

Angie Hamel, BOI Duty Supervisor

Jamil Hasan, LAS Flight Attendant

Paul Hennigan, MCO Captain

Lisa Hollingsworth, MSY Ramp Agent

Supervisor

Tiffany Hollingsworth, DEN Flight Attendant

Allyson Hovermale, MDW Flight Attendant

Bob Hunt, Flight Operations Simulator Technician

Sean Huss, DEN First Officer

Frank Jacobs, MDW Captain

Falando Jones, CHS Ramp Agent

Mikaela Jones, PHX Flight Attendant

Ken Kemper, DEN Captain

Jonah King, STL Assistant Manager Ramp

Justin King, DAL Flight Attendant

Krystal Kolstad, PC Customer Representative

Johnny Lesmes, ATL Aircraft Maintenance Technician

Yuriy Levchuk, SMF Provisioning Agent

Vicki Lopez, PC Customer Representative

Kristin McKenzie, MDW First Officer

Jarvis Medlin, DAL Flight Attendant

Monica Miller, BOI Duty Supervisor

Nicole Nevins, CHS Operations Agent

Dereck Ortiz, HDQ Senior Desktop Support Specialist

Cara Pasieka, DAL Flight Attendant

Pennie Poe, DAL Assistant Manager

Customer Service

Chasiti Ponder, ATL Base Coordinator

Krista Preston, PHX Customer Service Agent

Ginny Prox, MCO Flight Attendant

John Rattay, HOU Provisioning Agent

Danielle Reid, PC Team Leader CS&S

David Rosales, DAL Flight Attendant

Dorian Russell, ATL Operations Agent

Sam Sanders, DEN Flight Attendant

Kiran Sindwani, Senior Manager Technology

Thania Sonaly Domínguez, DAL Customer Service Agent

Ashley Spaur, DEN Assistant Manager

Customer Service

Jo Stefan, DEN Flight Attendant

Matthew Struble, OAK First Officer

Brenda Thomas, DAL Supervisor Customer Service

Angie Thompson, BNA Provisioning Agent

Lori Todd, MDW Flight Attendant

Sabino Trujillo, Flight Operations Simulator Technician

Alejandro Valenzuela, FLL Customer Service Agent

Rochelle Walker, BNA Provisioning Agent

Tamiko Webb, BHM Duty Supervisor

Laura Weigler, Technology Project Manager

Mary Wharton, Senior Director Technology

Regina Wilcox, CHS Operations Agent

Our Winning Spirit Recipients are selected from External Customer Commendations and internal SWAG recognition. If you see Cohearts providing extraordinary service, please nominate them for a Winning Spirit Award in SWAG

The Scoop - From Your Heart: Customer Spotlight

Earlier this year, we introduced “The Scoop,” a new digital publication available to Customers via the e-reader on the Inflight Entertainment Portal. Included each quarter is a Customer Spotlight that features a Southwest Customer and underscores the Values, Heart, and Hospitality that we extend to each of our Customers. Here is the spotlight for this quarter.

Celebrating an American Hero— My Uncle Vester Owens

Read our Customer LaShunda’s Southwest story, which she shared with us via email.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported in 2021 that 240,329 World War II veterans were still living. According to the National D-Day Memorial website, fewer than 3,000 of those veterans participated in D-Day. I’m blessed to know one of the 3,000—my uncle, Vester Owens.

Vester Owens was born in rural Cross, S.C., in 1922 to a family of cotton farmers. Drafted by the U.S. Army in 1942, my uncle found himself on a ship bound for Europe, where he’d work in a supply unit. On June 6, 1944, he stormed a Nazi-occupied beach in Normandy, France, with more than 160,000 other Allied troops in what is now considered the beginning of the end of WWII. Two years later, Sergeant Owens was honorably discharged from the Army (later, he reenlisted in the U.S. Air Force, ultimately retiring in 1967) and made Texas his home.

Sergeant Owens’ heroism and sacrifice were largely ignored back in the day, except by our family. When he told us that he wanted to return to Cross for his 100th birthday in April, we were determined to make it memorable. I knew we’d need help, and this is where Southwest Airlines came in.

In the past, I’d occasionally travel on Southwest. I remember hearing good things about the carrier but flew one of the other airlines routinely. Let me say, Southwest made me a believer; I’m now a convert!

The way Southwest went above and beyond to make my uncle feel celebrated and appreciated blew our family away. There was something special during every step of our journey between Texas and South Carolina. In fact, several Dallas Police Department (DPD) officers provided us with a driving escort to the terminal outside of Dallas Love Field! After helping us check in and get through security, my uncle received an escort to the gate from a DPD Honor Guard and a warm welcome in the concourse from Southwest Employees holding welcome signs. He also received a standing ovation, with many people thanking him for his service and sharing their personal military stories. Seeing the massive smile on my uncle’s face warmed my heart!

The celebrations didn’t stop there. Southwest rolled out the red carpet for us to board—literally, there was a red carpet! Onboard, the Flight Crew made announcements sharing my uncle’s accomplishments and that he was celebrating his 100th birthday. When we landed in Charleston, S.C., Southwest Employees stood on the tarmac holding signs of welcome, appreciation, and birthday wishes. There was still more in the gate area, which Southwest decorated in red, white, and blue just for Sergeant Owens. They even helped to arrange a police escort from the airport to our family home … 45 miles away!

So yes, I’m now an advocate for Southwest Airlines. It’s very refreshing to see that Southwest doesn’t just want our money but truly cares about those big events in our lives. When I called the Company to ask for assistance celebrating my uncle, I had no idea what they’d plan. My family and I want to thank Southwest and their Employees for their role in giving our 100-year-old WWII Veteran, my uncle, Sergeant Vester Owens, a truly memorable and deserving homecoming!

It’s very refreshing to see that Southwest doesn’t just want our money but truly cares about those big events in our lives.

-LaShunda Ferguson Crowley, Texas

By Sr Engagement Program Manager Roz Nelson

When we opened our first Reservation Center more than 49 years ago in Arlington, Texas, there were 17 Reservations Agents whose primary job was to check fares and book flights for our Customers. Fast forward almost five decades and we’ve evolved into the Customer Support & Services (CS&S) Department with more than 3,600 Employees who live by the department’s vision: To know our Employees and Customers, meet them where they are, and deliver an experience that makes them feel loved.

In 1973, we met our Customers where they were by answering the telephone, and we still do. In fact, we’ve handled almost 15 million inbound calls this year! Today, our Customer Representatives are experts at resolving complex Customer concerns and are empowered to take care of our Customers with a host of resources that allow first-contact resolution. And these days, we connect with Customers over the phone, through email, and chat!

Through the years, our department added a Support Team at our Corporate Campus in Dallas and grew into eight Customer Contact Centers across the country to handle Customer demand. When the pandemic struck in March 2020, we moved quickly to provide remote work. On September 1, 2022, all CS&S Centers transitioned to a fully remote work environment, which aligns with other airline and industry contact centers across the country. The decision to sunset the brick-and-mortar buildings provides great value to our Frontline Employees and offers additional benefits from a business perspective.

In The Evolution of CS&S podcast, CS&S Vice President James Ashworth states, “One of the benefits the pandemic gave was an opportunity to look at remote work, understand how we could successfully work in that environment, if the technology would support it, if we could still deliver the right level of Hospitality. And quite frankly, you know, we've been able to do it, and it's been pretty impressive to watch.”

CHICAGO

Three-time Southwest Boomerang Aimee Oldenburg stated, “I took VSP to help the Company but after the Company rebounded from the pandemic, the completely remote position in CS&S sounded perfect for me. I've returned to the Company I love with the added bonus of working from home. I personally know several People trying to get into CS&S because of the opportunity to work remotely.”

Though our Frontline Employees are now fully remote, we continue our laser-focus on maintaining an engaged and connected Team. Customer Representative Kelvin Walton shared, “It’s my responsibility to know all I can about Southwest Airlines. I stay connected by staying updated on Company news through SWALife, Yammer, Teams chats with my Leader, and by keeping up with email.” Kelvin went on to add, “My Customers expect me to explain Company policies with confidence, and it’s my job to deliver.”

In addition to regular meetings with their Direct Leaders, CS&S Employees receive consistent communication from Department Senior Leaders and hear from departments across the Company at monthly Town Hall meetings. Of course, we like to share our Fun-LUVing Attitudes too, and recently met up in Nashville before the

first

Rounding out the CS&S Department is the back-office Team seated at TOPS, made up of Auditing, Business Readiness & Support, Communications, Data Analytics, Employee Engagement, Payroll, Quality Assurance, Scheduling, Staffing, Strategy, Planning & Project Delivery, and Workforce Systems. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the CS&S Team and we’re One Team. All Heart.

Spirit Party for the

CS&S Meet and Greet.

Aimee Oldenburg

Kelvin Walton

HOUSTON

OKLAHOMA CITY

ALBUQ UERQUE

ATLANT A DALLAS

SAN ANTONIO

Buddy Up! The Power of WingMate and New Hire Connections

By The WingMate Program Team

WingMates are Southwest Employees who volunteer to reach out to New Hires and welcome them to the Southwest Family and our legendary Culture. We introduced the WingMate Program in 2011 to welcome our AirTran Cohearts after Southwest acquired the other airline. We’ve continued cultivating a Culture of caring and relaunched the WingMate Program earlier this year as we work to get properly staffed following the pandemic. Since the relaunch, more than 2,700 WingMate volunteers have taken more than 4,300 New Hires “under their wing.”

Why did you decide to sign up as a WingMate volunteer?

Jyothi: I’ve had a great career at Southwest thus far. I love sharing my enthusiasm with New Hires and thought participating in this program could improve my contributions to our Culture.

How did it feel when you first heard from Jyothi?

Lillian: I missed an email from Jyothi by accident. She thankfully sent another one, and I’m glad she did, or else I never would’ve known! I appreciated that she reached out.

Early in your career at Southwest, did anyone reach out to you?

Jyothi: Yes! Our now Sr Director Technology Jennifer Paine led our Technology LUV Committee (TLC) when I first joined the department and she welcomed me. Because of her I’ve participated in TLC for six of the last nine years—I even served as a committee co-chair. Jennifer showed me an example of what Culture should be.

What have you learned about Southwest’s Culture since joining the Company?

Lillian: To be honest, I’m still learning about the Culture. It’s different from any job or place I’ve worked before, but it makes me proud to be a part of it all!

What was it like to meet each other in person?

Jyothi: We went to a restaurant near Dallas Love Field for barbecue. I didn’t know much about what she did, so we discussed that. Lillian is interested in technology, so we chatted about our backgrounds and experiences.

Lillian: I enjoyed meeting Jyothi, especially soon after starting the job! Although I was a little nervous, it was a great experience. I imagine not all WingMates and their New Hires receive the opportunity to meet up in person as we did.

How has Jyothi supported you in your first three months at Southwest?

Lillian: From the beginning, Jyothi made herself available to me to ask questions or reach out if I needed help with anything. It was nice to know that in the event something came up, she was there to support me.

Were there any reservations about becoming a WingMate?

Jyothi: Initially, I wasn’t sure about the time commitment involved. I feel differently now because the program provides recommended email templates and reminders on when best to engage with your New Hire, which made it super easy.

Would you like to become a WingMate after you’ve been with the Company for one year?

Lillian: Yeah! I’d love the opportunity to become a WingMate in the future. I like the concept and think it would be nice to support someone as they begin their Southwest journey.

Did you gain anything from the experience that you didn’t expect?

Jyothi: Being a WingMate is an opportunity to learn what we have in common with others. It also allowed me to share more about my work and learn more about other areas of the operation.

Lillian: The experience itself is memorable! I didn’t anticipate meeting my WingMate in person while attending training in Dallas.

What was it like building a relationship with someone in a different workgroup/department and location?

Lillian: It felt nice to learn about a different area of the Company. I wasn’t aware Jyothi’s role existed until she told me about it. Our conversations made me realize that various opportunities exist at Southwest. It also gave me insight into how each workgroup and department plays a role. I most enjoyed learning about how we all work cohesively yet separately.

Would you like to share anything about the WingMate Program with others?

Jyothi: Remembering why I love my job keeps me motivated and encouraged. Sharing what I do with others also reminds me why I do what I do.

Lillian: Pay attention to your emails! Don’t be like me and miss your WingMate email because you may miss out on an opportunity to meet and connect with someone new!

You’re encouraged to take a New Hire (or up to eight!) “under your wing” and become a WingMate. Take our Culture and our future into your own hands by volunteering as a WingMate today!

Personal Perspectives

By Sr Communications Coordinator Ashley Omondi

Personal perspectives make each of us unique, and at Southwest, we’re lucky enough to have over 60,000 unique perspectives. This quarter, Manzel “Manzie” Chapman shares his perspective on overcoming obstacles and persevering to achieve your dreams. Let’s continue to learn from each other and lean on our perspectives regarding respect, family, and our Company Values.

To bring these stories to life, we asked for volunteers to share a bit about their lives, their journey with Southwest Airlines, and what it’s like to be them. As you read each of these Employee stories, we hope you’re reminded how important it is to love and support one another and continue to live by The Golden Rule. If you’re interested in sharing your own story, email LUVLines@wnco.com

Manzel Chapman Talent Acquisition Specialist

My name is Manzel, but people call me Manzie! I was born in Houston, and have lived in Dallas since I was two. I went to college at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, between San Antonio and Austin, and I’ll forever call Austin my second home. I’m currently a Talent Acquisition (TA) Specialist, and I’ve been with Southwest for four years. My Southwest journey started in Ground Ops Timekeeping, and I believe I’ve found a forever home in TA.

To this day, I still remember my first phone interview with a recruiter for my first “Big Boy” job, and I always thought to myself that I’d love to be the person on the other end of the phone call—talking to people and helping them get their foot in the door at their dream job. Recruiting had always been in the back of my mind and was my goal for so long, but I never knew how to get there as I assumed I needed a Human Resources degree. After the pandemic, a new Team opened up within TA for an Associate Recruiter that didn’t require extensive HR experience, just the Heart and the skills to learn. I landed the role last year, and it was a dream come true; a complete full-circle moment because I was now that person on the other end of the phone call. I’m so thankful for our amazing Leadership for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself and encouraging me to apply to the position I’m in now.

Like many, it may seem like I have it all put together on the outside, but I’m a very insecure, shy, and anxious guy inside. I had a great childhood raised in a middle-class setting; however, while growing up, I noticed I was different than “most,” especially given my family’s religious background. I’m a gay Black male, and I’m grateful society is more accepting than it was in the past. Once upon a time in this country, if you were a queer person, you HAD to stay in the closet to go to school, work, or, depending on where you live, in public and function what was considered “normal”. I know firsthand that hiding and not being able to be yourself affects you mentally and physically and can lead to depression, anxiety, mental disorders, and even death.

I remember being five years old and knowing that I was gay. Realizing how society and those around me deemed gay as being immoral, I always thought something was wrong with me. I remember every night, hoping I’d become “normal,” so I could make my parents happy, get my dream job, and get that stereotypical family dream.

I’ll never forget the one time I tried to be myself back in high school. In the early 2000s, a guy dancing to pop music was considered feminine and automatically marked you as queer. And being queer meant you were a disgrace, not normal, and every guy thought you were staring at them, which caused them to defend their masculinity by physically or mentally harming you—usually with punching and kicking.

I’m known for having an obsession with Britney Spears, something I hid from most people in high school. However, when Britney’s hit song “Toxic” came out, I couldn’t contain my excitement. One day, I played the song on full blast from my CD player and started dancing at the bus stop. The last thing I remember was a huge crowd coming toward me. I was naïve enough to think that others were coming to join my bus stop dance party. It wasn’t

until I woke up in the hospital that I realized I’d been attacked and beaten. I rarely tell this story because I always want to appear strong, but it was a traumatic experience that showed me how dangerous it could be to show my true colors. How scary it could be to be myself. Many queer people have lived a double life because of it, and I think it’s safe to say you can call many of us great actors for pretending to be heterosexual for so long just to be accepted by others. We’ve often spent huge swaths of our lives constantly walking around thinking about how we present ourselves to other people because our survival depends on it.

It wasn’t until I was older that I realized how impossible it is to live a lie. I started to rely on alcohol to deal with the constant stress. While drinking helped me cope with my insecurities and the lies, it eventually landed me in the hospital. I could no longer handle the internal pain. What eventually started me on the road to healing was fully accepting myself. Coming out was life-changing for me, and I was overjoyed to find a Company that’s accepting of every aspect of me … just as I am.

Since starting at Southwest, my career path has become easier due to our Leadership Team and their emphasis on Employee development and longterm growth. In the beginning, it was difficult to start and grow my career because my previous employers didn’t put the employee first. During that time, I was going through a lot personally. I was drinking heavily. From the outside, I just seemed like a social drinker, but in reality, I was drinking to the point I didn’t want to remember anything, and I was drinking alone. While I never drank on the job, my performance and lack of judgment were heavily affected, which caused me to lose my job and rack up $70,000 in debt within three years.

With no income, I was soon on the verge of being evicted and losing my car. One night, I took drinking too far and landed at the hospital, and was advised to be put under a under a 10-day “watch” due to my mental state. During this “watch” I was monitored by doctors to require me to be “sober.” I had no job or insurance. It was another expense to add to my list. On my second day of sobriety, something truly amazing happened. My old best friend visited me, and it was like she was sent to me because it was our first meeting in years. She told me about Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). For the first time, I felt as if I wasn’t alone. She described her drinking behavior that was very similar to mine. From that day, two days turned into 30 days, and so on—and nothing but positive things continued to occur.

During my second month of sobriety, I landed an interview with Southwest. During this time, my mind was clear for the first time in a long while (because when you‘re drinking daily, your mind stays foggy). I remember walking into the Headquarters building. It was the first time I saw People who were happy at work. When you‘re in recovery, you long for happiness. I wanted some of the happiness I saw around me. To this day, I still remember my interview. At this point in my professional career, I’d been through numerous interviews, so I knew what to say and what not to say. Everything I planned to say immediately flushed out of my brain, and I was completely transparent. I told the interviewers I felt like I was walking into “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” I believe my honesty and vulnerability landed me the job. I can honestly say that the Culture, my family [Ronald (Dad), Venay (Mom), and Rachelle Chapman (sister)], and the People of Southwest Airlines saved my life because they’ve inspired me to stay clean and sober.

As a TA Specialist, I’m passionate about the Candidate Experience. I’ve been “on the other side” for so long when looking for a job, and I know how hard it is. Sometimes when you’re a Recruiter, you seem to forget about the person behind “the target you have to meet.” It’s important to take a step back and look at yourself through the Candidate’s lens rather than the Recruiter’s lens. I want to make every interaction I have personable, valuable, and a positive experience, no matter the outcome. I also currently serve as the Culture Ambassador for the People Department. It’s a new, and exciting challenge for me. Culture is a huge part of the reason I’m still sober, and Culture is one of the many things that make the Company so great.

When I think of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the first thing that comes to mind is “Every. Single. One. Of. Us.” It’s not simply about gender or the color of one’s skin. It also includes social class, age, physical ability, marital status, national origin, veteran status, religion, sexual orientation, and diversity of thought. There’s more than one way to think about something, and it’s important to understand that each person interprets and reacts to the world differently. A lot of times, we tend to have a “fixed” mindset. We may say we have a diverse way of thinking, but if you automatically judge someone because of their opinion on something, you’re thinking one way and not for all. DEI is a process, and it takes time. The great thing about Southwest Airlines is it teaches you to have a growth mindset and to listen to someone’s viewpoints rather than judge. We may not reach common ground, but we must learn how to listen and grow with one another. Southwest doesn’t just talk the talk but walks the walk. Four years ago, I was unemployed, in the hospital, and financially destroyed. Fast forward to today, and I’m gainfully employed, have regained my health, and am debt free. My strength was truly tested, as we were in a pandemic, racial revolution, and recession, but my mind remained clear, and I reminded myself that anything is possible when you block the negativity surrounding you. Anything is possible for you as well, and I hope my story gives you some encouragement. My door is always open for those that may need someone to talk to.

At Southwest, we care about you, your mental health, and your overall wellbeing. If you need in-the-moment support 24/7/365, contact Clear Skies at 1 (800) 742-8911.

Meet the Aircraft On Ground Service Engineers

By Lead Engineer Mahmoud Hassan

Do you remember the movie “Apollo 13”? It’s a much beloved Tom Hanks film about the Apollo 13 lunar mission and how NASA devised a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage, which endangered the lives of the three astronauts on board. In one scene, engineers gathered around a table covered with everything the astronauts had available to use in space. The goal was to invent a procedure to restart the command module for a safe landing on Earth using only what was in front of them. As one of them said, “Failure is not an option.”

Did you know that we have our own group of engineers at Southwest with a similar mission? They’re called the Aircraft On Ground (AOG) Engineers!

Failure is Not an Option

The AOG Service Engineers live by the very same motto as Tom Hanks and the Apollo crew’s motto: “Failure is not an option.” Their job is to use what is at a Flight/Maintenance Crew’s disposal to find creative, airworthy solutions, to get our aircraft safely to one of our main maintenance bases for permanent repairs.

The Aircraft Engineering Team at Southwest is a part of the Technical Operations (Tech Ops) Department. It’s comprised of several groups of Employees that focus on their respective aircraft disciplines, which include Avionics, Systems, Interiors, Structures, Standards, Configuration, AOG Service, Heavy Maintenance Service, and Powerplants.

Always Here for our Customers

The Aircraft Engineering Team is based at the DAL Tech Ops building. The AOG Service Engineering Team specifically, comprises approximately 20 Engineers who provide 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year support for the operation, rain or shine. They’re often deployed across our network at a moment’s notice to provide on-site support for the more complex aircraft damage situations. The Team specializes in repair design for most systems and structures on the aircraft, from nose to tail, with the exception of the engines, (which require the skill and expertise of another highly specialized and skilled group of support Engineers at Southwest, the Powerplant Engineering Team). The AOG Team’s main Customers are Maintenance Control at the NOC and Maintenance Crews at their respective bases. Customers reach the AOG Engineers via a dedicated hotline and/or Technical Service Request application and provide the details of the aircraft situation for which they need an AOG Team solution. That’s when the Team gets to work applying engineering principles and methodology to define, analyze, develop, and execute repair solutions, and subsequently provide repair instructions for maintenance via an Engineering Authorization Document.

Who are the AOG Engineers?

Most of the Team has Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering educational backgrounds, with decades of industry experience in aircraft repair and design, including aircraft manufacturing and military experience.

The satisfaction of returning an aircraft to service safely, efficiently, and as expeditiously as possible is what they love most about their jobs. The AOG Engineers directly contribute to the fulfillment of our Company’s Purpose to connect People to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. After all, “Failure is not an option.”

CaseStudy:AircraftFuselageSkinDamage

TheAOGTeamassessesalltypesofaircraftdamageandmaintenanceissues.Infact,theTeamfindssolutionsforhundreds ofmaintenancesituationseveryyear.Here’soneofourmore recentexamplesofhowweusedathree-stepprocesstofinda solutiontoanaircraftfuselageskindamagedinNashvilledue tocontactwithabaggagecarttuginSeptember.

StepOne:DamageAssessmentandRemoval

Step Two: Design a Solution

The Team sharpened their pencils and got to work analyzing and developing a repair plan to restore the aircraft to an airworthy condition utilizing the resources available at the aircraft’s location. This is where they utilize engineering principles, mathematics, and design software (AutoCAD) to determine a custom-designed repair for the defined damage.

Step Three: Implement the Solution

The fun part for this Team is seeing all of their hard work come to life! We convert the repair design to repair instructions via an Engineering Authorization Document to order materials to install the repair, and ensure the aircraft is good as new from an airworthi- ness standpoint. Then the aircraft will often mainte- nance ferry (meaning no Passengers onboard) to one of our maintenance bases to receive the final touches and a new paint job to make the outside cosmeti- cally match its airworthiness. Finally, after hard work from many Team Members, the aircraft is ready for many more years of connecting Customers to what is important in their lives!

Fun Fact: Oftentimes we park damaged aircraft at remote airport locations while the repairs are underway with no access to a hangar. To provide a sheltered environment for ourTeams to work, we deploy our trusty inflatable shelter, “The Bouncy House.”

If you ever see “The Bouncy House” at your local airport, know that we’re in town!

FunFact: Often,whenAOGEngineersare deployedtorepairdamagedaircraft, theremaybenoaccesstotraditional workfacilities.Duringtheseinstances, thedesignofficemaybecomearow ofseatsononeofouraircraftwith onboardsnacksincluded!

Doing Well by Doing Good: Southwest’s Approach to Corporate Citizenship

By Sr Citizenship Specialist Courtney Miller

Have you ever heard of corporate social responsibility? What about People, Performance, and Planet? Another phrase you may be familiar with is environmental, social, and governance or ESG. These three terms capture what Southwest calls our “corporate citizenship.”

Corporate citizenship focuses on doing the right thing by our People, through our Performance, and in service to the Planet, all surrounded by strong corporate governance. We’re passionate about making a difference in our communities and respecting our resources while following “The Golden Rule”—treating each other and our Customers the way we want to be treated. A sense of responsibility and genuine care for our local and global community has always been at the Heart of Southwest. Corporate citizenship guides the Company in our efforts to be a great global citizen by addressing issues of our time, like the ever-changing landscape of topics such as climate change; environmental sustainability; social justice; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and increased regulatory standards and corporate transparency.

But how do we activate around corporate citizenship and tell our citizenship story? There are many projects this small, but mighty Team is involved with, like overseeing the creation of the One Report, our annual corporate sustainability report. This document is the result of collaboration with many Teams throughout the Company, like Environmental Sustainability, Finance, DEI, People, Southwest Airlines University, Safety & Security, Legal, Creative Studio, and Investor Relations to name a few. The One Report is an opportunity for Southwest to share our message in the areas of People, Performance, Planet, and Governance to a variety of Stakeholders including Customers, Investors, Suppliers, Regulators, and of course, our Employees (and potential Employees)!

There are also external organizations that assess our ESG practices and provide us with a score based on a set of weighted topics and criteria. The information disclosed in the One Report ensures we’re optimizing our scores from the rating agencies. Results from raters and rankers help inform opportunities where we can continue growing our citizenship efforts. A couple of examples of rater and rankers include Standard & Poor’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment, the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, and assessments from Just Capital. These ratings share qualitative feedback on our efforts and an external perspective on areas for continuous improvement.

Sharing our citizenship story internally and externally is a huge part of becoming a strong global citizen. We want to make sure our Employees, Customers, and communities know what we’re doing to make the world a better place. Are you interested in learning more information about these efforts? Check out the newly revamped Southwest.com/citizenship site. These webpages serve as a helpful channel to share diversity, equity, and inclusion content, community outreach happenings, and environmental sustainability efforts and goals.

Game on Game on

It’s the middle of the shift, and it’s already a high-scoring game today for Team MDW. The next play is underway, with reports from the ramp that the Team has a scoring opportunity ahead. On cue, Ramp Agent Al Uzzardo pulls into the Cargo house with a cart of that familiar green-labeled SOS Global Express freight inbound from LAX. Uzzardo passes to Freight Agent Brian Brylewski, and like the pro he is, Brylewski unloads the freight in record time. Freight Agent Terry Moy steps in to assist and begins staging. As the last piece unloads, SOS pulls up the dock door to receive that freight! Score!!

It’s game day—in break rooms, living rooms, and phones across the nation, sports fans are tuned into the big game. Thanks to a variety of camera angles, instant replay, field graphics, and more, the digital experience gives us a front row seat for almost any sporting event. According to playtoday.co, in 2019 more than 150 million people watched live sports once a month. The NFL estimates that 16 million viewers tune into a typical regular season NFL game—more than 112 million viewers watched Super Bowl LVI, this year on Feb. 15. At Southwest, we have an expanse of opinions on the best Team and sport. Regardless of our allegiance, we’re all part of a Team that makes game day happen. SOS Global Express, a longtime Customer of Southwest Cargo, depends on us to get game and broadcast equipment to game day on time. They ship for almost any sporting event, including the NFL, MLB, NCAA, and PGA. In addition to standard season events, we also work with them to send gear to special events like the World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Ore., and the Field of Dreams 7th inning game (where the equipment went to Chicago to support the game in Iowa), the MLB Post Season, and

the upcoming NFL Superbowl in Phoenix. In 2021, SOS Global Express shipped more than 62,000 pieces on Southwest, including cameras, lenses, drones, graphics equipment, umpire gear, game equipment, and even wardrobe for reporters.

Laura Rowlands, Senior Director Operations and Customer Experience at SOS Global Express, shares that the long-term partnership with Southwest is built on dependability, relationships, and “we’ll find a way” spirit. In sports, minutes count, even in getting critical broadcast and game equipment there. Laura shared a moment with our Team where our Team knew the critical nature of the equipment, and even though it required coming in off hours, they still made sure to receive and process the equipment. During more intense game seasons like NFL Playoffs, Superbowl, and MLB Postseason—SOS Global Express appreciates the extra effort our Cargo Supervisors and Agents put into routing their shipments for game day. Laura wants to ensure our Southwest Team knows how much SOS Global Express appreciates what we do for the game.

When that Green Label goes on—the game goes on.

By Cargo & Charters Director Michelle Williams

Top Tips: Staying Cyber-safe This Holiday Season

By The Cybersecurity Program Team

While you may know that Southwest’s Cybersecurity Team is hard at work around the clock keeping our Company’s information safe this holiday season, have you thought about the security of your own data and accounts?

The end of the year often passes in a blur with gift-giving, parties to attend, and families to visit. It’s easy to let your guard down. Did you know that many of the cybersecurity initiatives implemented at Southwest are just as applicable at home?

Here are some top tips for staying cyber-safe this year, whether you’re spending the holidays at home or on the go!

Resist the urge.

Be wary of offers too good to be true—no matter how tempting they might sound. Buy only from trusted and established online retailers and avoid websites of retailers you’ve never heard of.

Think before you click.

Pay attention to the emails you receive. Don’t open emails from unknown senders or click on links in suspicious messages.

If you receive a suspicious email on a personal device, delete it immediately. And, of course, use the PhishAlarm button to report emails received on Southwest devices.

Shop securely.

Make sure your internet connection is secure and check that you’re shopping on a site that uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protection. The easiest way to tell is to check your browser’s address bar for “https” in the URL. Sites without the “s” aren’t safe to submit payment information or other personal data.

Pay wisely.

Use a credit card or pre-paid debit card instead of a debit card linked to your bank account. Or, use a reliable, established third-party payment service, such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, or PayPal. Enable MultiFactor Authentication on your most sensitive accounts for an extra layer of security.

Stay up to date.

Did Santa leave the hottest new gadget under your tree? Make sure you’ve updated your electronics with the latest software available. These updates are critical to keeping your devices and network as safe and secure as possible.

Remember, cybersecurity is for everyone! Talk to your friends and family about how to stay cyber-safe through 2022 and beyond. For more tips and tricks, plus updates throughout the year, visit the Cybersecurity Awareness page on SWALife.

Introducing the Safety & Security NOC Team

By Sr. Safety Promotions Specialist Caroline Llewellyn

If you ask Safety & Security Vice President Scott Halfmann where he sees his department, he’ll say, “I’m always looking at future state and not an end state.” As part of our future state, we created the Safety & Security NOC Team (SSNT)—a much-needed centralized resource—in 2016 under Safety & Security Senior Director John Chaussee.

The SSNT, assigned to the NOC Bridge, provides tactical and strategic expertise to Operational Leaders to promote best practices, ensure compliance, monitor and assess risk, and serve as a resource for questions regarding:

• Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

• U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP)

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

• Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT)

• Local, State, and Federal Law Enforcement (LEO)

• Employee injuries

• Aircraft damage/accidents

• Environmental spills

The Safety & Security NOC Team (From left to right): Peter Wynne, Grace Drew, Jason Khalaf, John Chaussee, Courtney Eldridge, Marlana Robinson, and Robert Pollard. Not pictured: Yara Presley

Today, NOC Manager Jason Khalaf leads a powerhouse group of six Team Members. The relationships developed and nurtured by this Team support keeping Safety and Security our No. 1 Company priority.

Following our Gut Instinct

Sr. Safety & Security NOC Partner Marlana Robinson recalls one event that spotlights the power of Teamwork and the importance of communication with this Team:

“NOC Network Director Jordan King pulled me into a conversation with the Superintendent of Dispatch (SOD) and Network Customer Specialists about a call they received from our PIT Station expressing concern about a Young Traveler. The girl was flying alone to LAX with a stop in BNA. Since the flight was in route, I contacted the station to learn more.

I discovered that the Young Traveler gave conflicting information when asked who dropped her at the airport and about the payment for her ticket.

At this point, we all agreed that once the flight landed, BNA Leaders and local Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) needed to meet the flight. Upon arrival, BNA LEOs spoke with her. Based on their assessment of the situation and after following all of our own processes, they allowed her to continue her journey.

After the flight departed, I reached out and spoke directly with the BNA Leader. They shared that while walking the Young Traveler to the next gate, the Supervisor asked her who was picking her up in Los Angeles to which she replied, ‘my mom.’ When asked to call her mom so someone could speak with her, the Young Traveler got nervous and claimed her phone died. The Supervisor plugged in her phone, and when it powered on, the Young Traveler quickly texted someone and then made a call claiming it was her mom on the line, but the name saved for the number she dialed clearly read ‘MY BOO.’ After the Leader described the situation, my ’mom radar’ told me there was more to this story. A number of things didn’t make sense and that raised huge red flags for me.

Armed with this information along with a gut feeling, we escalated the situation to our Safety & Security Corporate Security Team.

Once Corporate Security Manager Ann Marie Donalson was briefed, it was determined this needed to be further investigated upon arrival at her final destination. LEOs, Station Leaders, and if necessary the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would meet the flight. Ann Marie’s Team took over and was in direct communication with LAX Leaders and LEOs.

Through their investigation, they learned that the traveler left home without her father’s knowledge or consent to fly across the country to meet her ‘boyfriend’ with whom she’d been communicating online for the past six months.

By the time she arrived at our LAX Station, her father had reported her missing. During questioning, she admitted their plan to be together. When LAX LEOs tried to contact the ‘boyfriend,’ he didn’t respond and basically disappeared—just like our Young Traveler may have had we not intervened.

This day, this story, and this ending makes me proud. I’m proud of the Teamwork that went into saving this young girl. This is the reason we’re One Team. All Heart and work together, communicate with each other, and challenge each other daily.

Our Frontline Employees are so important—they’re the eyes and ears of our Company with direct contact with our People, our Customers, and in this circumstance, a father’s precious cargo who might never have returned home.

Each Employee in this situation played such a valuable role that if one person had given up, the outcome could have been detrimental. In the words of Mike Van de Ven, ‘Southwest is an Elite Team.’ That day we proved it and I feel privileged to have been a part of it.”

Not every event that the Safety & Security NOC Team supports has the same impact as this story from Marlana, but each Team Member takes pride in utilizing their specialized expertise and relationships to make a positive difference to someone. And that’s what Southwest is all about!

Our Frontline Employees are so important—they’re the eyes and ears of our Company with direct contact with our People, our Customers.

2022 Fall Festivities

Celebrations have been an important part of the Southwest Culture throughout our history! This fall, Employees enjoyed three of our Company’s favorite traditions—Spirit Party, Halloween, and Chili Cookoff. Learn more about Companywide events at SWALife >News & Events >Events

HalloWN

Halloween—or HalloWN around here—is a signature holiday for Southwest because it’s an opportunity to show off our Fun-LUVing Attitudes! Employees got into the spirit across the system.

49th & Last Chili Cookoff

Chili Cookoff is one of our longest-standing traditions at Southwest Airlines. The event in Dallas featured a fierce, but friendly, competition between Southwest cookers, plus fun activities and games for Employees and their guests.

Southwest Spirit Party Spirit Parties returned for the first time since 2018. Employees and their guests ate, drank, and listened to live music in the heart of downtown Nashville!

Culture Around Our System

Southwest’s

Culture sets us apart from other companies. When we invest in each other, we also reinforce the foundation for Southwest’s future. Keep spreading our Culture of caring! If you have fun photos from Around Our System, share them in the SWA Pics Yammer Community.

How sweet it is—BWI Employees felt loved and appreciated with some sweet treats.

Team FLL celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with food, music, and friends!

Employees across the Company demonstrated what our Southwest Heart is all about by sending well wishes and much-needed supplies to our RSW Station after Hurricane Ian.

Party like it’s 1982! Team LAX threw it back to the ‘80s to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Southwest’s LAX service.

OAK Flight Attendant Hannah Scott was surprised by her Cohearts with the Southwest Champion Award. Recognize your outstanding Teammates by nominating them for awards in SWAG!

Long Island Employees enjoyed a Team dinner together. When you’re here, you’re Southwest Family.

Know Before You Throw: Recycling Course Available Now!

By Sr Sustainability ConsultantThea Junt

Each year on November 15, people across the United States take part in America Recycles Day. This day helps raise awareness about recycling and how we can all improve our efforts. At Southwest, we demonstrate our Heart for the Planet through our environmental sustainability efforts, which includes recycling. And our Employees, at work or home, can play a large part in recycling efforts. Recycling reduces waste and helps avoid sending material to landfills, which reduces emissions such as methane–a potent greenhouse gas.

But recycling can be challenging and over the years, the market for recycled materials has changed drastically. Did you know that in 2021, Southwest recycled nearly 600 tons of co-mingled waste paper, plastic, aluminum, and cardboard? While impressive, we know we can do better. We need YOUR help.

Earlier this year, we launched an elective course in the Learning Management System (LMS): Know Before You Throw. This 10-minute course is designed to educate Southwest Employees about recycling. It provides information about:

• Distinguishing what materials can and cannot be recycled

• Avoiding contamination when recycling

• Recycling specialty items

We encourage Employees to take this course and learn more about environmental sustainability at Southwest and our recycling efforts. This course lays the foundation for basic recycling knowledge, but we know there are more specific job-related recycling opportunities to explore. Also, many cities recycle different things—know what your community programs handle by contacting your local government and visiting these additional resources:

• Recycling Center Search (Earth911.com)

• Find a Local Recycling Center (berecycled.org)

As the airline with Heart, we want to treat our Planet like how we treat our Customers, with genuine thoughtfulness that extends beyond takeoff and landing. Ensuring we have a strategic and impactful recycling program is one of the ways we can accomplish this!

Have questions about Companywide recycling? Email us at Recycling@wnco.com!

Know Before You Throw Time to take the course: 10-minutes

• Visit SWALife

• Click on the blue icon that says “LMS” on the right of the main tool bar to launch the LMS

• After logging into the Learning Management System (LMS) with your Employee ID and password, search for the Know Before You Throw video and click the start button

Celebrate Diversity at Southwest

Earlier this year, Southwest Airlines introduced diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused wearables for Employees. These new wearables include cultural, heritage, and pride pins, t-shirts, and lanyards. We also introduced pronoun pins, which indicate an Employee’s preferred gender pronouns such as “She/Her,” “He/Him,” or “They/Them.”

Self-expression is important to Employees. The diversity wearables allow Employees to express their gender identities and recognize cultural, heritage, and pride diversity. At Southwest, we believe that fostering an inclusive and effective work environment allows Employees to bring their best and whole selves to work. The t-shirts ($25), lanyards ($5), and pins ($7) are now available for purchase at Southwest the Store

B a l a n c e s u p t o $ 2 5 k | N o a c c o u n t f e e s | A T M r e f u n d s Open an

account today! Open in online banking, stop by a branch or