DALLAS,
Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Airlines unveils today
an updated gate design to customize and enhance the airport experience for
Customers. The carrier's new boarding, which was announced last month,
alleviates the need for Customers to "camp out" in line at the gate. Now, the
airline is providing Customers a comfortable and productive space to enjoy
their preflight moments. Combined with the airline's new organized style of
boarding, Southwest continues to upgrade and refresh its brand-while keeping
its Maverick character intact.
"We recently announced a change to our boarding that will give Customers
back their time in the gate area -- no more standing in line," said Gary
Kelly, Southwest Airlines' Chief Executive Officer. "The new gate
architecture we are introducing is designed to improve the airport experience
for each type of Customer-families, leisure travelers, and business road
warriors alike."
As part of the "gate makeover," the carrier will eventually install
stainless steel columns and television monitors to support its new numerical
style boarding at all of the airline's 64 airports. The enhanced gate area
also exhibits new elements that cater to different types of Customers,
including: a family area containing small-sized tables and chairs, "kid
friendly" programming displayed on a flat screen television, and low to the
ground power stations for charging electric devices; and a business/leisure
section with padded seats, tables with power outlets, power stations with
stools, and flat screen televisions with news programming. San Antonio
International was the first airport to adopt the new look, and Dallas Love
Field Customers will reap the rewards of the new boarding system and gate
redesign on Oct. 15, 2007. The airline will implement its new boarding at its
other 62 airports in early November 2007 and anticipates a full gate makeover
in the first half of 2008. For a virtual view of the new gate design, please
visit http://www.southwest.com/makeover or
http://gallery.swamedia.com/photos/value=open/type=jpg for photos.
"We understand that the Southwest experience begins the minute you step
into an airport," Kelly said. "Our Employees work hard to safely and
efficiently fly our Customers to their destination. We are confident that the
new gate design will provide the most comfortable and productive lounge area
while they wait to board."
The new boarding will start systemwide in early November. Southwest tested
the new gate design this summer in San Antonio International Airport and
tweaked the elements based on Customer and Employee feedback. The fine-tuning
included changing furniture colors, increasing the number of power outlets,
and installing stools to provide more comfortable charging stations for
Customers.
"We do not take change lightly, and we depend heavily on input from our
Customers and frontline Employees to make sure we are making the right
choices," Kelly said. "As far as costs are concerned, we consider the
expenditures to refresh our gates as an investment for our Customers. And of
course, in typical Southwest fashion, we've successfully created a design that
is bold in look and functionality but not in costs!"
Southwest Airlines announced a plan to enhance its product in late June
2007. Today's announcement is the second step in a list of items the carrier
will introduce before the end of the year (last month's enhanced boarding
announcement was the first). The carrier plans to announce additional
initiatives that will allow product customization and additional incentives
for the business and leisure traveler.
Southwest Airlines is one of the most honored airlines in the world.
Among Southwest's recent honors was being named to Business Week's first ever
list of "Customer Service Champs," which ranks the best providers of Customer
Service. For eight years in a row, Southwest Airlines was named to Business
Ethics magazine's list as one of America's "100 Best Corporate Citizens" for
excelling at serving a variety of stakeholders and for leadership roles in
corporate citizenship. And, for an impressive 11 consecutive years, FORTUNE
magazine recognized Southwest Airlines as one of America's Top Ten most
admired corporations.
http://www.southwest.com
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