Wish Granted: Nate’s Southwest Airlines Wish Comes to Life!

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When Nate, an aviation-loving Make-A-Wish kid, told us his wish was to experience Southwest Airlines, we couldn’t wait to bring him to headquarters and share our Heart with him!

The festivities kicked off at his home airport in Nashville, where our Employees set up a PlayStation for him and his brother before takeoff. Nate made announcements from the PA and played trivia with the passengers in the gate area. All the passengers cheered when Nate made the announcement that the local Chick-Fil-A donated a boxed meal to everyone onboard his flight to Dallas! When Nate landed at DAL, he and his family were greeted on the red carpet with cheers from our Employees. 

Nate’s Southwest experience started in our WINGS facility, where he was fitted for his very own Captain’s uniform before he spent a couple of hours in a flight simulator with a Southwest Airlines Captain. He was treated to a VIP tour of almost every inch of our operation, including our Network Operations Control Center and a visit at our Tech Ops hangar where our Aircraft Maintenance Technicians showed Nate the inner workings of a Boeing 737 and gifted him with a keepsake made from a retired Southwest aircraft window. Nate even got to meet Bob Jordan, who gave him his very own model of Tennessee One!

The next day, Nate and his family received more VIP treatment from the City of Dallas Police Department. Nate’s family was escorted by 56 police officers from his hotel to Dallas Love Field before he spent time with our Employees at DAL. Nate was treated to a front row seat to all things Ground Operations: greeting planes from the command center, loading bags, marshalling planes in, and towing planes out from the gate. He also met Dallas-based Pilots and Flight Attendants, received a Southwest vest with handwritten notes and well-wishes from our Employees, and visited with members of the City of Dallas bomb department and K-9 unit!

It was an unforgettable visit for Nate, his family, and all Southwest Employees involved in granting Nate’s wish. Southwest is proud to partner with Make-A-Wish America and donates over $1 million worth of travel every year to make wishes come true. It was our honor to help Nate’s wish come to life and thank you to all the Southwest Employees who helped make this experience SO special!