DALLAS, June 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest
Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is bringing the Heart of their
Employees front and center with the announcement of the carrier's
first-ever Employee-designed uniforms and Boeing 737-800 aircraft
Heart interior featuring the new Heart galley and
seat.
"Introducing our new uniform designs and fully branded 737-800
Heart interiors into the fleet is an accomplishment directly
resulting from our hardworking Employee design teams," said
Gary Kelly, Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer for Southwest Airlines. "Southwest
continues to enhance our unique brand that brings reliable comfort
and outstanding Hospitality to 98 destinations in eight
countries."
Southwest first introduced the bold new look of its iconic brand
in September 2014, unveiling a new
logo, airport experience, and aircraft livery, Heart. Since
then, the carrier continued this momentum with the roll out of the
Heart brand, largely due to the hard work of Employee design
teams and departments from across the Company.
New uniforms Designed by Employees for Employees
With the last complete redesign in 1996, Southwest has selected
a new uniform designed by our very own Employees along with our
partners at Cintas.
Southwest's nearly 40,000 frontline Employees are anything but
uniform, so it only made sense that a group of 43 vibrant
individuals from Ground Ops, Inflight, Provisioning, Technical
Operations, and Cargo departments discussed, debated, and designed
with Fellow Employees in mind. Once the design was complete, more
than 120 Employees across 37 cities tested pieces for fit and
comfort, performance and functionality, durability, aesthetics,
style, and ease of care.
"Our energetic Employees are the Heart of our airline, and they
were the perfect choice to design and develop our new look," said
Sonya Lacore, Vice President Cabin
Services and Executive Sponsor of the uniform redesign project.
"Our brand, our planes, and our People are bold and modern, and the
new uniform represents who our Employees are—spirited,
professional, unique, and approachable."
The new uniform collection embraces the brand colors with
splashes of Bold Blue and pops of Signature Red. The final
selections will now move into manufacturing, and all Employees will
begin wearing the new uniform in mid-June
2017.
New Seats Join the Fleet
The new seat brings Customers additional space and comfort with
more leg room. As the widest economy 737 seat, the bold blue seat
features an adjustable headreast, enhanced back and bottom comfort,
and more room to hold personal belongings.
The seats are upholstered in Southwest's Bold Blue eLeather, a
composition leather made of natural leather fibers. eLeather, which
made its debut on Southwest aircraft in 2012, is manufactured using
eco-friendly technology including state-of-the-art techniques which
recycles 95 percent of the processed water and converts its own
waste streams into energy, feeding back into the process.
Serving up Southwest Hospitality
A group of frontline Southwest Employees worked together to
create a cutting-edge galley design, which will allow Flight
Attendants to serve Customers even more efficiently than before.
Unique in the airline industry, the transverse (aft) galley on our
new 737-800 aircraft does not have carts (resulting in lighter
weight), which means Flight Attendants can quickly prepare and
serve Customers via trays—and our Customers can move about the
cabin with ease once the seatbelt sign is off.
With the addition of the new G7 galley (located just past the
forward-entry door), Flight Attendants will be able to more quickly
accommodate Customers in the forward part of our new 737-800
aircraft. Additionally, new space in the forward galley area for
required emergency equipment means more overhead bin space for
Customers.
Currently, Southwest has three 737-800 aircraft with full
Heart interiors flying in the system. The carrier
plans to have 28 by year's end. Stay tuned for more tales
from the runway, as Southwest Employees are certain to steal the
show!
For images of the new uniforms, Heart interior, Galley and
Seats, visit swamedia.com.
ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
In its 45th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines
(NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air
carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than
50,000 Employees to more than 100 million Customers annually.
Southwest operates more than 3,900 departures a day during peak
travel season across a network of 98 destinations in the United States and seven additional
countries. Southwest has applied to serve three
destinations in Cuba with nonstop
service from its Florida gateways,
providing connections between the island and dozens of U.S.
cities.
Based on the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent
data, Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms
of originating domestic passengers boarded. The Company operates
the largest fleet of Boeing aircraft in the world, the majority of
which are equipped with satellite-based WiFi providing gate-to-gate
connectivity. That connectivity enables Customers to use
their personal devices to view video on-demand movies and
television shows, as well as more than 20 channels of free, live TV
compliments of our valued Partners. Southwest created
Transfarency℠, a philosophy which treats Customers honestly
and fairly, and in which low fares actually stay low. Southwest is
the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free® to
everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and
weight limits apply, some airlines may allow free checked bags on
select routes or for qualified circumstances), and there are no
change fees, though fare differences might apply. In 2014, the
airline proudly unveiled a bold new look: Heart.
The new aircraft livery, airport experience, and logo, showcase the
dedication of Southwest Employees to connect Customers with what's
important in their lives.
From its first flights on June 18,
1971, Southwest Airlines launched an era of unprecedented
affordability in air travel described by the U.S. Department of
Transportation as "The Southwest Effect," a lowering of fares and
increase in passenger traffic whenever the carrier enters new
markets. With 43 consecutive years of profitability,
Southwest is one of the most honored airlines in the world, known
for a triple bottom line approach that contributes to the carrier's
performance and productivity, the importance of its People and the
communities they serve, and an overall commitment to efficiency and
the planet. The 2015 Southwest Airlines One Report™ can be found
at SouthwestOneReport.com.
Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online
at Southwest.com or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.
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SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.