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A Fun-LUVing Attitude is a required skill for working at Southwest. That’s why when Nintendo asked if we would like to create our own level in the new Super Mario Maker™ game for the Wii U™ console, we jumped at the opportunity. Beginning today, Wii U users can play the Southwest Air Adventure level by visiting Course World in Super Mario Maker. Users will take to the skies in an air-travel adventure, with unique Southwest-themed obstacles before ending at our signature Southwest Heart, made out of coins, of course! The Southwest level for Super Mario Maker also offers players the exclusive chance to unlock the Sky Pop costume in the game. Once players locate a Mystery Mushroom in the Southwest Air Adventure level, they are able to play the level in the classic Super Mario Land plane costume. Also, by completing the level, players can use the costume in future levels of their choosing! Play and enjoy  Southwest Air Adventure, and share your  clear time with us at @SouthwestAir! If you’re up for an even greater challenge, you can also try to set the World Record for fastest clear time!

Southwest Airlines partnered with GenHERation, a network where young women and companies connect, for Discovery Days 2017. A group of 50 young women from GenHERation, ages 14-22, visited Southwest headquarters in Dallas for an immersive Discovery Days event to learn about Southwest and hear career advice from Southwest Leaders.

 

In addition to the young women from GenHERation who participated in Discovery Days, we had another very special guest: Lilly Santiago. Earlier this year, Southwest shared Lilly’s story. You may recall that Lilly’s father, Southwest Airlines Ramp Agent Will Santiago, reached out to his Cohearts on Facebook with a request to show Lilly that there are women working on the ramp at Southwest. Will’s post received an overwhelming response with dozens of Southwest women responding to Lilly’s question and encouraging her to follow her dreams. Shortly after, Lilly spent a day in the field at our Baltimore station to see and experience all the jobs women accomplish in our operation.

 

We invited Lilly to join in on the Discovery Days fun to show her even more of the work women are doing at Southwest Airlines. Lilly joined the girls from GenHERation for a scavenger hunt to learn about Southwest history and meet our Campus Reach Internship team.  The group also heard career advice and lessons learned from Elizabeth Bryant, Vice President Southwest Airlines University; Leah Koontz, Vice President Controller; Linda Rutherford, Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer; and Ellen Torbert, Vice President Diversity and Inclusion. Lilly joined a team of GenHERation girls to design a marketing campaign to encourage students to fly with Southwest. 

 

The morning with GenHERation was packed full of fun events, but the day didn’t end there. Lilly and her family continued to meet incredible women at Southwest by visiting the Network Operations Center and meeting Dispatch Trainer Carla Caisee. With Carla’s help, Lilly was even able to help send Pilots messages during their flights. To show Lilly what it was like to work in Technical Operations, Katelyn Dittman, Technical Operations Staff Engineer, walked Lilly around the Dallas Hangar. Lilly also spent some time learning all about how Southwest Airlines Employees are trained to do their jobs.

 

At the end of her fun-filled day, Lilly shared that “women can do all the jobs and nothing can stop them." Lilly, we couldn’t agree more!

 

We first started traveling to baseball games on a fairly regular basis around 2005 when it was cheaper to fly to Baltimore to watch the Red Sox than to pay for parking and tickets at Fenway Park. On at least one occasion, my buddies and I flew from Manchester, NH to Baltimore to catch an afternoon game, and flew home that same night.

 

My wife, Nan and I have two sons, Paul and Chris, both of whom played sports in high school, and are big fans of all the local Boston teams. The day after each of them completed their junior year in high school, that son and I would fly Southwest from Manchester to San Francisco and start a three-week adventure driving across the country in a Mustang convertible on two-lane blacktop highways to visit colleges, national parks, landmarks, cities, small towns, and ballparks. On the second trip, in 2006 with my son Chris, we saw games at the Major League Baseball parks in Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, St, Louis, Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. The following spring all three of us were in New York City for a Celtics vs. Knicks game, and we took a drive out to Queens to take a look at Citi Field. On the drive out there, my son Paul asked, “How long would it take us to see all the Major League Baseball parks?” He knew exactly what he was doing when he asked, and I immediately replied “Let’s find out.”

 

There is a great book called “30 Ballparks in 30 Days” where two guys created an algorithm so that they could see games in all 30 parks in 30 days by car. It was fun to read their story, but we decided on a more leisurely and comfortable pace. We have tried to visit two parks per year, within one trip, when possible. For example, we flew Southwest to Denver for a game, and the next day flew to Kansas City where we saw a few games and visited family. In other trips we have flown to Houston and then on to Dallas, or to Tampa and then on to Miami, or to Chicago and then to Milwaukee. Years ago, in one trip we saw games in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit, but drove between cities—that’s when we made the decision to always fly between cities.

 

Last year we went to Atlanta and stayed for three games, and the year before that we saw three games in Minnesota. We try to see the Red Sox play wherever we can. We also buy our tickets from the local club’s website the day and minute they go on sale, to be sure to get decent tickets at face value.

 

On every trip we meet interesting people and usually find nice people that are doing the same thing we are. Based upon the number of books and websites dedicated to visiting every park, it is obviously a very common hobby; or as I keep telling my wife “We are not crazy”.

 

We do our best to visit a national or state park in each city, and visit other important landmarks or sites; and also find some of the more interesting local cuisine and breweries. Not every restaurant is a homerun, but on average we have done very well. We recommended our friends who were lucky enough to have tickets to the Super Bowl to make a reservation at Butcher and the Boar in Minneapolis. We still dream about the smoked meats from Dallas and Atlanta, and laugh about the grilled oysters outside Houston. We also sample the food specialties inside the parks, and we highly recommend the Lobel’s roast beef in Yankee Stadium and everything by Andrew Zimmer at Target Field. Try to avoid the Bacon Challenge in Cincinnati.

 

One of our more memorable trips started in Chicago for a White Sox game and included a Chicago River cruise, lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern, a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry, and a few other stops. We also drove to Milwaukee and went on the Miller Brewery tour, spent the afternoon at the Milwaukee Brewfest (which has to be the best brew festival in the country), and then we were off to Miller Field.

 

My brother-in-law and his buddies from New York are also visiting every MLB park, and we have coordinated some of the trips together. One year they were heading to Cincinnati, and they had extra game tickets so they called me about a day before the trip. I booked my flight on Southwest and beat them to the hotel. The spontaneous trip reminds me of one of my trips to Cleveland to meet Chris (who was attending college at Penn State) for a Red Sox vs. Indians game. The morning of my flight there were some weather problems that had delayed some flights, including mine. I was dressed in a Red Sox shirt and hat and explained to the Southwest Customer Service agent at the gate in Manchester that I needed to get on any flight that would get me to the Sox game on time. I was the last Passenger to board the next plane, and I got to Cleveland ahead of schedule.

 

We have booked our flights to Seattle for this June for a five day trip to see the Red Sox play the Mariners, and enjoy some of the local sites, food, and events. Next year we will go to San Diego and Anaheim and visit my 30th park. In the following years, we will visit the few parks that my sons did not see with me, and click off more games at big time college football stadiums.

 

Thank you Southwest for helping me show my sons the country, Major League Baseball Stadiums, and National Parks. Your one-way tickets, flight options, and amazing Customer Service will keep my family coming back.

Southwest is honored to fly 50 families to Orlando for a magical 5-day all-expense paid trip to Walt Disney World for the 2017 Kidd’s Kids trip. This is the 11^th year for Southwest to partner with Kidd’s Kids. The below is a guest blog post from Traci Liberto, the mother of two Kidd’s Kids participants.

 

I joined the Southwest Airlines Family in 1998 as an Employee in the finance department in Dallas and later transitioned to a job in Provisioning. I loved my job, made incredible friendships, and felt truly blessed by the Company. However, after nine years I left Southwest to pursue a new job that gave me the title of “stay at home mom.”

 

 

My oldest daughter, Melissa, was born with Cystic Fibrosis in 2007. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. My husband and I now have two daughters, and our youngest daughter, Makayla, was also born with Cystic Fibrosis. Melissa and Makayla never get a break from CF. Their mornings start early with hour-long breathing treatments, where they inhale medicines that help open airways or thin mucus. These medicines include antibiotics to fight lung infections and therapies to help keep the airways clear. Melissa and Makayla do at least three different inhaled medicines in the mornings along with airway cleaners. Their treatments start all over again in the evenings, but if they are sick they will do additional treatments throughout the day.  With every meal and snack, Melissa and Makayla also have to take a handful of medications for CF.

 

 

My daughters are both active girls! They attend public school, love playing outside, and enjoy singing and dancing. While my daughters don’t let having CF stop them from doing the things they love, there are days where the girls get really sick and have to miss out on a lot of fun things. 

 

 

I share this story with you to help you understand just how thrilled my family is to be a part of the 2017 Kidd’s Kids trip! When I learned that my family would be traveling to Walt Disney World because of Kidd’s Kids and Southwest Airlines, I was beyond excited and started crying tears of happiness.  My family has been looking forward to the time we will spend together and the memories that we will make since we were told that we were selected for the trip. My girls look forward to meeting all the Disney characters, visiting the Haunted Mansion and getting princess makeovers at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

 

 

I can’t wait for them to have the chance to experience all of those things and more, and I can’t thank Southwest Airlines enough for all that you do for families like mine through your work with Kidd’s Kids.

It all began in the fall of 2001. I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be really cool to check out the Super Bowl host city and maybe even see The Game?" 

 

Then I looked at the logistics from Denver and thought better. But there was word that SBXXXVI would be rescheduled and so I, being the crazed football and Broncos fan that I am, stayed up all night scoping out New Orleans hotels. Previously, undesirable hotels or locations were available below the cost of a second mortgage. In this brief window of time, I found a $119 hotel in the Central Business District and embarked on what has become an amazing, almost-annual NFL super fan Super Bowl winter vacation ritual.

 

From 2002 through 2006, I attended my first three Super Bowl weekends in New Orleans, San Diego, and Detroit. During my time in the host cities, I attended the great free or low-cost events like the Super Bowl Experience, Pepsi Smash concerts, VIP events, 1iota free audience events, and more that the NFL graciously offers to all fans. I was in sports utopia, and it was all about to get better thanks to Southwest Airlines. 

 

In 2006, Southwest began service in Denver. Travel for me has never been the same thanks to the airline that I LUV. For example, because of the great fares and flexibility, I was able to do Arizona SBXLII Week for a couple days and then hop to Vegas for Super Bowl weekend, a 2-in-1 great adventure. Then when a friend backed out of going to the Tampa SBXLIII weekend the next year, I was close to canceling because of a far-away hotel and no rental car. However, with a little creative thinking and Southwest to the rescue, I crafted another plan. I arrived the weekend before with tons of events, activities, and fewer crowds combined with cheap top-notch hotels on opaque travel sites.

 

I could go on and on about how many incredible experiences I have had. I am at the point where I attend Super Bowl Week every year. There is always something new and unique—and a great, usually warm city to check out. Part of the adventure is throwing my hat into various contests for prizes, meet-and-greets, and merchandise giveaways because someone has to win. Regardless, the fallback is a great winter vacation with a top-notch hotel for around $80 and reasonable flights with little advance planning.

 

Sometimes I am having so much fun that I have almost forgotten when I was supposed to go home. Thanks to Southwest, I have all the contingencies covered. Many times, I have that longing look—hating to leave a great Super Bowl city to go home. But what if I won tickets to a fantastic event or even the game itself?

 

I ended up with a surprise in New York City during the SBXLVIII. My favorite team, the Denver Broncos made it to the Super Bowl and added to the excitement. I planned my adventure with all the travel contingencies. I thought, what if I somehow won tickets, didn’t have a place to stay, and didn’t have any flights booked? In an effort to avoid disaster, I priced a few hotels and several Southwest flights. Out of the blue, a major 4-star hotel chain offered an extended rate in Midtown Manhattan, which translated to an amazing $80/night opaque rate. Immediately I booked it for 10 nights.

 

While enjoying all that NYC has to offer—outdoor NFL game, various football, and cultural events—I went out to Super Bowl Boulevard dressed in Broncos orange from head to toe. I had a blast telling my story and hoped that a game ticket might be in my future. A columnist from The Denver Post labeled me a true “Broncomaniac” while secretly thinking, "He’s crazy" regarding my Super Bowl ticket aspirations.

 

On the Thursday morning before the game, I checked out ESPN’s “Mike and Mike,” which had Jerry Seinfeld as a guest in the Herald Square studio. I stumbled upon a clothing store ad promoting Super Bowl ticket drawings in conjunction with an international soccer star’s new underwear line in a local newspaper. After a work meeting, I headed to the store to check out the competition.

 

Upon arrival, there was no signage anywhere but the security guard pointed me to a tent in the back. I thought I’d put my name in a bowl and resign a “hey I tried” mentality when I didn’t win. But then an employee mentioned that to enter the contest you had to do so via scratch-off card and kick a virtual reality soccer or football field goal first. As I went into the tent, I explained how I was from Denver and how this was my eighth Super Bowl host city visit.

 

The words “Super Bowl” were revealed to me after scratching the card. I thought, “Oh great, I won commemorative Super Bowl soccer underwear, right?” However, the store marketing rep said, “You just won tickets to the Super Bowl!” I almost passed out processing what I had just heard. I started coughing, wheezing, and went into panic attack mode. I couldn’t believe it was happening to me.  

 

I won Super Bowl XLVIII tickets and my brother flew in to attend the game with me—our first football game together in 30 years. The game may not have met my hopeful Broncos expectations, but I am still so grateful for the experience. 

 

Although I am not sure I can ever top the NYC Super Bowl excitement, I know darn sure it would have never come together without the help of Southwest Airlines. This past weekend, Southwest even took me to Minneapolis for the Super Bowl LII Weekend. 

 

Southwest Airlines, thank you for creating a sports traveler who absolutely adores you for enabling these incredible life experiences. I'm a Customer for life who LUVs Southwest. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

 

 

Have you ever thought that one trip would change your life forever?

 

 

 

 

This happened to our Customers Michelle and Rocky. Michelle, a young talented hair stylist travelled for work. Her flight got delayed and she had to change flights to avoid misconnection. As she boarded her new aircraft looking for her seat, she found one that she thought was a nice, peaceful place where she can get comfortable and listen to her music and just enjoy the ride.  She asked a man, with the calm energy, if she could sit in his row. He stood up and allowed her to get settled. Rocky (the calm energy guy) who flies on Southwest Airlines frequently and has held A-List Preferred status for almost 10 years met his new seat mate on that day and she has been intriguing him ever since.

 

Their friendship grew deeper like nothing they have ever experienced. Michelle has become a RR companion as he continues to add number of flights on his A+ status in the friendly sky on his favorite airline.

 

 

 

 

Spring flowers are blooming as well as love between Michelle and Rocky. Rocky had a bright idea of moving his commitment to the next level. He wants Michelle to be his companion for life. Where is the best place to create BIG magic? Of course where they first met and gotten to know each other. Rocky made a call to Southwest Airlines for assistance and planning the proposal.

 

 

 

 

On February 26^th Rocky and Michelle boarded the flight from Austin to Orlando. Once the seat belt sign turned off, Rocky shared how much he loves Michelle over the PA system and to Michelle surprise, he got on one knee and asking her to be his LUV and companion for life! It was magical and beautiful. Each Customers congratulated them. A little girl told Michelle that she was a princess. The Captain let the newly engaged couple sit in the cockpit for pictures.

 

 

 

 

 As Michelle and Rocky walked down the jet way, the door was shut. Rocky knocked and opened the door to a huge celebration! Everyone cheered for them. Flowers, Mickey Mouse style bride and groom hats, a bouquet of balloon flowers made by a Southwest Airlines Customer waiting to board his flight, and a bottle of champagne were given to the lovely couple. A Southwest Airlines Employee serenaded them with a beautiful song while Michelle and Rocky enjoyed posing for many pictures as the gate area was decorated to welcome them on their special day.

 

 

 

 

To Michelle and Rocky, congratulations LUV birds!

 

—Noparat "Boom" Elg, Manager of Customer Service at Southwest Airlines Co.

 

Having spent a grand total of 10 hours in a canoe, the first time my husband floated to me the idea of participating in a 340-mile, non-stop canoe race across the state of Missouri, I dismissed it immediately as idle talk that would go nowhere.

 

 

But six months later we brought in 2016 together — sipping champagne in a hotel room in Dallas — by registering for the race at 12:01 a.m., the minute registration for the 11th annual MR340 began.

 

The MR340 is billed as the longest non-stop river race in the world, and our four-man race team was comprised of me, my husband Matthew Wilson, 32, my sister-in-law Emily Bowers, 29, and her husband, Clint Bowers, 29.

 

Preparing for this race was not easy, but the things that could have been a real hassle — like flying myself and my husband from our home in Houston to the other half of our team in Kansas City for a little paddle practice without breaking the bank — were made possible by choosing Southwest. Also, "bags fly free" had never meant as much as it did when we were able to cart all of our gear, including paddles, life vests, water coolers and other large, bulky items to our starting point without incurring any additional costs. 

 

A heavy rainstorm, record-high temperatures and a lack of rest proved too much for our team, and we had to call it quits after about 150 miles. But, it's still an incredible experience that I'm glad to have shared with those I love.

Captain Lou Freeman was Southwest's first African American Pilot, and the first black Chief Pilot at any major U.S. carrier. But he doesn't see himself as a history-maker, just a Pilot who loves to put smiles on people's faces. That's his legacy.