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Despite signs of an improving economy, Southwest Airlines Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!luv/quotes/nls/luv (LUV 9.58, -0.46, -4.61%) Chief Executive Gary Kelly said Thursday that the worst was not yet behind the low-cost carrier because of higher energy prices and the lack of business travel. "But we're going to continue to work vigorously on implementing more new revenue initiatives and of course as always, do all we can to control our cost and look no further than the improvement in our productivity in the third quarter yet again," Kelly said on a post-earnings call. Earlier, Southwest reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit on an adjusted...

OAKLAND -- A Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Las Vegas was turned around today after a man apparently stripped off his clothes and harassed fellow passengers. The man was arrested, and a female passenger was taken off the plane to receive medical attention, according to airline officials. Southwest officials confirmed the arrest, and said the flight returned to Oakland International Airport at 8:15 a.m. After an investigation, the flight took off for Las Vegas at about 10 a.m. No further details were available.

Southwest Airlines said Monday it has submitted a binding cash offer of more than $170 million to acquire Frontier Airlines, which will be sold at auction as part of Frontier's bankruptcy case. As part of the offer, Southwest would acquire about 80% of Frontier's existing Airbus fleet, or 40 aircraft, plus all of Lynx, Frontier's short-haul subsidiary. "We believe our bid ultimately should be seen as the strongest offer by all interested parties, including Frontier, its creditors, employees, and customers," said Southwest Air's Chief Executive Gary Kelly in a prepared statement.

Forty-four-year-old Douglas Herbstsommer of Gilbert, Ariz., wasn't seriously injured Sunday when he was stung by a venomous Arizona bark scorpion while going through his luggage.

Jury indicts 2 in scheme to slay 88 BY JOHN KRUPA Posted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted an Arkansas man and his Internet friend for plotting to launch a racially fueled killing rampage that also called for the assassination of Barack Obama. The seven counts of federal law violations are: conspiracy to rob a federal firearms licensee; conspiracy to transport and the transportation of a firearm across state lines; conspiracy to transport and the transportation of a short-barreled shotgun across state lines; possession of a short-barreled shotgun; and making a threat against a...

You're gonna love this video - even if you're not into rap music. This guy has 10,000 times more talent than most of the gangsta rap punks who are making millions selling CD's with "fo-shizz" "smack ma-beetch" "shake yo booty" garbage. Click link for video.

Passengers are angry about being forced to fly on a new Southwest Airlines plane featuring a bikini-clad model, saying it is "soft porn" and is offensive to families. Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, currently dating actor Leonardo DiCaprio, is pictured lying seductively in a revealing white bikini along the length of the Boeing 737 as part of a promotional deal with Sports Illustrated. The latest addition to the US-based airline was unveiled this month and is deployed like other aircraft in the fleet, servicing all its routes.

Southwest Airlines Co. has put a Chicago-based pilot on paid leave and is investigating a Columbus, Ohio, incident Tuesday in which the pilot allegedly prepared to operate a flight with alcohol on his breath.

Pilot Accused Of Drinking, Replaced On Port Columbus Flight Wednesday, January 7, 2009 5:52 PM Print Story E-mail Story COLUMBUS, Ohio — 10TV News learned on Wednesday that a Southwest Airlines pilot has been placed on paid leave after being accused of drinking before getting on a flight at Port Columbus International Airport. According to a Port Columbus Police report, a passenger approached the pilot on Tuesday afternoon, saying he "smelled and looked drunk," 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported. The pilot then went to a restroom and called off sick, the report said. The pilot told police that he was not...

7/15/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Military working dogs transitioning through a base in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility are receiving a "bone-a-fide" upgrade to their accommodations, courtesy of the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron. The renovations, which included floor stripping and resealing, and the installation of air-conditioning units, floor drains and plumbing, are part of an overall space expansion project for the kennels. Labor for the project is a collaborative effort being handled by different sections of the 386th ECES. "The project is totally in-house from start to finish," said Master Sgt. Gerald Amidon, NCO in charge...

You might remember when this accident happened 8 years ago this March. This Southwest Airlines flight from Vegas overshot the runway at Burbank The plane smashed past the airport fence, careened across the street and ended up with a collapsed landing gear, right next to a gas station. Well.. that's not the most shocking part!!!...

The whistle-blowers who exposed maintenance and inspection problems at Southwest Airlines told Congress their jobs were threatened and their reports of noncompliance were ignored for years. Federal Aviation Administration inspector Douglas Peters choked up Thursday at a House hearing and needed a few sips of water to tell lawmakers about how a former manager came into his office, commented on pictures of Peters' family being most important, and then said his job could be jeopardized by his actions. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., said FAA managers' actions displayed "malfeasance bordering on corruption," adding that if presented to a grand jury, the...

Federal aviation regulators are seeking a penalty of at least $3 million from Southwest Airlines Co. for failing to properly inspect nearly four dozen older planes for potentially hazardous structural cracks, according to people familiar with the details. The penalty is expected to be the largest imposed against any passenger carrier in about two decades. The Department of Transportation and a congressional committee are examining why the Federal Aviation Administration didn't ground the planes temporarily last March after learning of the missed inspections. The case focuses on the carrier's failure to perform certain inspections on its older-version Boeing 737-300s as...

A second young woman has come forward to claim that Southwest Airlines Co. employees made her cover up on a recent flight. Setara Qassim told KNBC-TV in Los Angeles that a flight attendant confronted her during the trip from Tucson, Ariz., to Burbank, Calif., and asked if she had a sweater to go over her green halter-style dress. Qassim, 21, said she was forced to wrap a blanket around herself for the rest of the flight. She complained that if Southwest wants passengers to dress a certain way, it should publish a dress code. Last week, 23-year-old Kyla Ebbert said...

Tampa, Florida – Prejudice against pretty?That's the claim from a pair of 18-year-old best friends from Oldsmar who were escorted off a Southwest Airlines plane.USF student Nisreen Swedberg and friend Sarah Williams claim the flight crew was rude to them from the moment they stepped onto the plane at Tampa International Airport on February 14.Swedberg said she asked a flight attendant for a bottle of water and was told she could wait until the rest of the flight was served.“And I patiently waited and then when they came around with water, they skipped me,” Swedberg said.At one point, Williams had...

Being home for the holidays has an even deeper meaning for troops who've been away for months. A group of Texas National Guardsman almost missed that chance. But they were rescued at the last minute. The community and a corporate good neighbor rallied to bring them home. "Oh! That's them! Just landed," were the shouts heard at Austin Bergstrom International Airport Sunday afternoon. This year, Santa's delivering his presents by plane, and gift-wrapped in camouflage.... -snip- ...Then word came their deployment to Afghanistan would be delayed. "Here were all these soldiers so close, yet so far away because some couldn't...

<p>Fort Bragg — Southwest Airlines picked up the tab to fly 180 soldiers temporarily stationed at Fort Bragg home to Texas for the holidays.</p> <p>The members of the Texas National Guard were stationed at Fort Bragg and expected to be deployed to Afghanistan before the holidays, said John Lucy, assistant director of the United Service Organization's center at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.</p>

“And the lady stops and says, ‘Sir, you need to have another ticket.’ And I said what for and she said, ‘because of your size.' I hate to admit it but I was in tears.” VIDEO

Southwest Airlines is issuing an apology to the San Diego woman who was told she wasn't dressed appropriately on a San Diego to Tucson flight on July 3. Southwest sent passenger Kyla Ebbert an apology, saying it was "very sorry" on a taping of the Dr. Phil Show Friday, and Southwest president Colleen Barrett was trying to reach Ebbert via telephone. "We searched for the naked truth, gotten down to the bare facts and she kind of caught us with our pants down," Southwest chief executive officer Gary Kelly said Friday morning. "So we're apologizing and we're going to move...

Matt interviewed Kyla Ebbert, a 23-year-old college student who works as a waitress at Hooters. Two months ago, she boarded a Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Tucson. Before the flight took off, she was escorted into the jetway by a customer service representative, who asked her to change clothes. She didn't have any other clothes with her -- she had no luggage -- so the customer service rep told her to go home and change, then get a later flight. She said she had an appointment that she couldn't change, so after getting a lecture on appropriate attire,...

(CBS News) DALLAS -- Something unusual is going on at Southwest Airlines. Everyone is happy. They all kiss and hug, even President Colleen Barrett and CEO Gary Kelly. Average Southwest employees like the big bosses. They want to get their picture taken with Kelly. They admire him. "I think some CEOs have to travel with bodyguards," he told Sunday Morning correspondent Martha Teichner. "So you think about that contrast, it's just something you can't take for granted." Kelly says the difference between his company and others is simple: "People working together, people lovin' each other, people respecting each other." Southwest...

SAN ANTONIO - Families with young children are usually invited to board their flights first, along with other special needs passengers. But what if families with children weren't among the first to board? Might the process go more smoothly? While it might sound counterintuitive, it's something Southwest Airlines has been experimenting with on flights from San Antonio. "The major goal is to try to give a better customer experience for boarding," said Susie Boersma, manager for airport performance improvement. The airline's effort to improve the boarding process comes at a time when the entire airline industry is struggling with increased...

A confident Southwest Airlines (LUV:NYSE) beat analysts' first-quarter targets Thursday and said it might very well meet or exceed its own goal of 15% earnings growth this year. On top of that forecast, the carrier said it plans to grow its fleet as well, by exercising options for 79 additional Boeing jets. Despite a 10% rise in unit costs, driven by sky-high fuel prices, the Dallas-based carrier made $61 million, or 7 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $59 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding hedging losses and gains, earnings rose to 8 cents...

Woman wins $27.5 million Southwest suit Associated Press EL PASO — A jury awarded $27.5 million in damages to a woman of Iranian descent who alleged she was racially profiled when Southwest Airlines accused her of assaulting a flight attendant and interfering with a flight crew. Samantha Carrington, of Santa Barbara, Calif., won in the civil case Friday after suing the Dallas-based carrier for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. Carrington was arrested by federal authorities in 2003 after her Houston-to-Los Angeles flight made a scheduled stop in El Paso. Criminal charges were never filed. According to court records, three flight...

EL PASO, Texas - A jury awarded $27.5 million in damages to a California woman of Iranian descent who alleged she was racially profiled when Southwest Airlines accused her of assaulting a flight attendant and interfering with a flight crew. Samantha Carrington of Santa Barbara won in the civil case Friday after suing the Dallas-based carrier for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. Carrington was arrested by federal authorities in 2003 after her Houston-to-Los Angeles flight made a scheduled stop in El Paso. Criminal charges were never filed. According to court records, three flight attendants said Carrington, a naturalized citizen from...

Someone with a suspicious device is being arrested on a plane at Burbank Airport.....FD is requesting Burbank and Glendale Hazmat to respond.... 146 passengers affected...

Expert says Midway plane crash was avoidable By Jon Hilkevitch Originally published December 15, 2005 CHIAGO // The city of Chicago and Southwest Airlines have "carelessly ignored" for years the risks of short runways and insufficient over-run areas at Midway Airport, an expert on transportation disasters said yesterday in a report on last week's fatal accident. The crash was avoidable, and the outcome would have been much worse if fuel tanks on the plane ruptured and caught fire, said Gunnar Kuepper, chief of operations at Emergency & Disaster Management Inc., a Los Angeles-based company that advises government agencies and private...

Washington December 15, 2005 - The National Transportation Safety Board today released the following update on its investigation into the accident involving Southwest Airlines flight 1248, a Boeing 737-700 on December 8, 2005, at Midway Airport in Chicago, Illinois. The airplane overran runway 31C during the landing rollout. The accident occurred about 7:14 pm central standard time. The airplane departed the end of the runway, rolled through a blast fence, a perimeter fence, and onto a roadway. The airplane came to a stop after impacting two automobiles. One automobile occupant was fatally injured and another seriously injured. The flight was...

CHICAGO - A jetliner that skidded off a landing strip and into a city street needed about 800 more feet of runway to come to a safe stop, federal investigators said Thursday. The Southwest Airlines jet crushed a car, killing a 6-year-old boy, after it skidded off a 6,500-foot runway and crashed through a fence at Midway International Airport earlier this month. A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the airplane touched down with about 4,500 feet of runway remaining, but snowy conditions and other factors meant the plane ideally needed about 5,300 feet of runway, according...

Southwest pilot violated braking policy December 14, 2005 BY MARK J. KONKOL Transportation Reporter The Southwest Airlines pilot at the helm during Thursday's snowy crash at Midway Airport told federal investigators he used the Boeing 737's "autobrakes," a device airline officials say their pilots are told not to activate. National Transportation Safety Board investigators said they found the autobrake switch in the "maximum" position on the flight panel. The system is designed to activate when the landing gear hits the runway.

Last night, a Southwest Airlines plane skidded off a runway at Chicago's Midway Airport, killing a six year-old boy who was a passenger in a car on Central Avenue. On a another snowy December 8 thirty-three years ago, a United Airlines plane crashed into some homes near Midway, killing 45 people. Among the passengers on the flight was West Side Chicago Congressman George Collins and Mrs. Dorothy Hunt, wife of Watergate scandal figure Howard Hunt. In Dorothy's luggage was over $10,000 in cash, widely believed to be "hush money" for her husband's "silence."

<p>There were no immediate reports of injuries on the plane, which had flown from Baltimore. One person was initially reported as injured in a car that collided with the plane. The plane's nose was resting on the ground.</p> <p>Ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene, in the northwest corner of the airport, which is surrounded by roads and a residential area.</p>

A plane has apparently crashed through a fence at Midway airport in Chicago. Southwest airline 737 plane now sitting in intersection of 55th and Central. Channel 7 has confirmed, fire and ambulances on way. Details still sketchy.

Manchester — A Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Manchester lost cabin pressure Sunday night, forcing 131 passengers to don oxygen masks and the pilot to descend rapidly, the airline said yesterday. "It was definitely some tense times on the plane," said Dr. Christopher J. Newton, a Manchester passenger. DR. CHRISTOPHER J. NEWTON, passenger "All of a sudden, you had a pretty significant popping of the ears, then the oxygen masks came down," he said. "I believe the pilots put the plane into a descent." "When we were going down, the natural thing that goes through the mind is,...

Southwest-Boeing Field battle escalates Southwest Airlines' proposal to utilize Boeing Field is stirring organized opposition, while the airline promises to mitigate noise concerns if Boeing Field service is adopted. On Tuesday, a consortium opposed to Southwest operating at Boeing Field, led by leaders of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, will hold a briefing to "announce the formation of an alliance that is opposed to establishing commercial passenger jet service at King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in Seattle." Meanwhile, Southwest says it will operate quiet planes at Boeing Field. In an Aug. 18 letter to King County Executive Ron...

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Federal agents arrested a San Antonio, Texas, man on Tuesday for leaving a written bomb threat on board a Southwest Airlines flight last week, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg. Southwest Airlines Flight 21 landed at a Houston airport on Friday after the note was found. The 136 passengers and five crew were held for questioning while the Boeing 737 was searched for weapons or explosives. None were found. The note is believed to have been a hoax by Elias Jeremiah Cervantez, 20, of San Antonio, as the plane flew from Odessa, Texas, to...

Click to enlarge HOUSTON - A note found in a Southwest Airlines seat pocket claiming a bomb was on the plane prompted a landing and evacuation on an isolated stretch of runway Friday, but bomb-sniffing dogs found no signs of explosives, authorities said. Investigators interviewed and re-screened the 136 passengers who had been on the flight from Dallas to Houston. Three passengers who saw the note were still being interviewed late Friday afternoon, but no one had been taken into custody, FBI spokesman Al Tribble said. Tribble said he didn't have the exact wording of the note, but "it...

Travelers bound for Corpus Christi were detained in Houston for hours Friday after a passenger found a note claiming there was a bomb onboard their Southwest Airlines flight. The passenger alerted the crew about the note, prompting the plane to land at an isolated part of Hobby Airport, authorities said. No one was injured, and bomb-sniffing dogs found no evidence of explosives on the plane, said Andrea McCauley, spokeswoman with the Transportation Security Administration. That was good news for Belia Segura of Harlingen, who was waiting anxiously for the arrival of her granddaughter Elizabeth Rodriguez, 16, at Corpus Christi International...

ABC News Breaking News Item - A Southwest Airlines jet has been diverted to Houston Hobby Airport due to a bomb threat. No details . . . .breaking news.

As Southwest Airlines has grown into the nation's dominant discount airline, overwhelming the competition at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and forcing other carriers to match its low-cost model, the one place it hasn't been able to expand is in its hometown. For 26 years, a federal law named after a former speaker of the House has limited where Southwest can fly from Dallas Love Field, a move made to protect Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport when it was new. Today, DFW is five times Love Field's size and is dominated by Fort Worth-based American Airlines. Southwest released a report this week contending...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Severe turbulence on a Southwest Airlines flight injured five people and put the plane out of commission while airline inspectors checked the aircraft for problems, officials said. The five people, including three flight attendants, were taken to an area hospital for treatment after the plane bound from Las Vegas to San Jose landed at about 2:50 p.m. Monday, said Joanne Sanfilippo, spokeswoman for Mineta San Jose International Airport. The incident aboard Flight 943 occurred about a half hour after the Boeing 737 left Las Vegas, Sanfilippo said. Passenger Laura Taay said as the plane suddenly dropped,...

For more than four decades the Federal Aviation Administration has forced airline pilots to retire at age 60. The so-called "Age 60 rule" was adopted with virtually no medical data to support it then, and, critics say, it remains in place today despite studies that show that older fliers can still be capable pilots. The experience of major carriers outside the U.S. confirms that qualified pilots over age 59 continue to fly safely, and the FAA has not identified a single airliner accident in the U.S. attributable to the age of a pilot. But airlines have continued to support the...

Jan. 28, 2005, 12:37AM Southwest pulling out of Bush Airport Carrier says it will focus its growth at Hobby By BILL HENSEL JR. Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Southwest Airlines is pulling out of Bush Intercontinental Airport on April 2, citing continued losses at Houston's biggest airport. The nation's low-fare leader is discontinuing six flights at Bush, where it originally began service in 1971. Dallas-based Southwest said it will contact travelers already holding reservations for later travel dates and will accommodate them with flights out of Hobby Airport. After an eight-year absence in the '70s, the carrier has continuously served Bush...

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said Friday an effort by Tennessee lawmakers to change the 1979 law that bans direct flights from Dallas Love Field to Nashville could help Love Field grow. The so-called Wright amendment was enacted in 1979 to benefit the then-new Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. It permitted carrier service from Love Field and points within Texas and the neighboring states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In 1997 it was modified to permit flights to Alabama, Kansas and Mississippi as well. The Tennessee proposal faces an uncertain fate in Congress. Texas Senator Kay Bailey...

Southwest may consider D/FW AirportGates to be vacated by Delta in February could entice carrier05:23 PM CDT on Friday, October 1, 2004By ERIC TORBENSON and SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News Southwest Airlines Co., which for years steadfastly avoided service from sprawling Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, may be softening its stance. The discounter's chief executive said Thursday that executives are closely watching how D/FW fills gates soon to be left vacant by Delta Air Lines Inc. "It is definitely a situation that we are monitoring," Gary Kelly, who was named Southwest's CEO in July, said in an interview. "It...

Apparently 10 people overcome by fumes on flight, 4 in critical condition. This was reported at the half hour flash (11:30PM EDT).

Southwest Airlines and the Transportation Security Administration are investigating the disappearance of a Federal Flight Deck Officer's (FFDO's) semi-automatic pistol stowed in his luggage aboard a flight from Las Vegas to Oakland. The pilots blame the TSA's insistence that the weapons be checked in baggage, when they are deadheading, for the disappearance of the guns. Pilots say that instead of picking up their gun-laden luggage from the cargo area, as the rules state, they often find it on the carousel with the rest of the passengers' bags. TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said the flight deck officers' jurisdiction ends at the...

Women Who Sued Airline Over Rhyme Get Nasty Note Women Say Police Department Has Copy Of Letter POSTED: 9:00 AM CST February 16, 2004 UPDATED: 10:45 AM CST February 16, 2004 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two women who recently lost a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines over a rhyme used on their flight say they are now getting threatening mail. Grace Fuller and Louise Sawyer were boarding a crowded Southwest Airlines plane three years ago when a flight attendant used what they considered to be a racially insensitive slur: "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe, pick a seat we gotta go." The...

Was it racism or politics that led to man's firing? 08:26 PM CST on Saturday, February 14, 2004 By STEVE BLOW / The Dallas Morning News Something is seriously wrong here. Either I'm not hearing the full story – or racial and political sensitivities at Southwest Airlines are badly out of whack. I fear it's the latter. Jeff Bogg worked almost 16 years in Southwest's maintenance department. He was a quality-control supervisor, overseeing about 10 people. His work record is unblemished, he said. "The only thing you would find in my file is commendations." Several of his co-workers said Mr....

Southwest Airlines Discrimination Lawsuit A jury in Kansas City, Kansas Federal Court says Southwest Airlines did not discriminate against two African American passengers. Regardless of the verdict, the two Kansas City sisters who brought the complaint maintain that they feel a flight attendant made a racial rhyme at their expense. Three years ago, Louise Sawyer and her sister were the last two to board a flight. In an effort to get the two passengers to their seats, first year Southwest Airlines flight attendant Jennifer Cundiff used a widely used rhyme: She said "eenie, meenie, minie moe get a seat...