![]() Southwest is the world's largest operator of the Boeing 737, and was the launch customer of the 737-300, 737-500, and 737-700. Since its inception, Southwest Airlines has almost exclusively operated Boeing 737 aircraft (except for a brief period when it operated a handful of leased Boeing 727 aircraft). The Southwest Airlines fleet consists of 815 aircraft, all from the Boeing 737 family of narrow-body airliners, as of December 2023. ![]() Southwest Airlines is the world's largest operator of the Boeing 737. Southwest was profitable for 47 consecutive fiscal years, from 1973 through 2019. It started service to the East and the Southeast in the 1990s. In 1975, Southwest began flying to other cities in Texas, and in 1979, after passage of the Airline Deregulation Act, it began flying to adjacent states. The lawsuits were resolved in 1970, and in 1971 the airline changed its name to Southwest Airlines and began operating regularly scheduled flights between the Texas Triangle cities of Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Three other airlines (Braniff, Trans-Texas Airways and Continental Airlines) took legal action to try to prevent the company from its planned strategy of undercutting their prices by flying only within Texas and thus being exempt from regulation by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board. Southwest Airlines was founded in 1966 by Herbert Kelleher and Rollin King, and incorporated as Air Southwest Co. Main article: History of Southwest Airlines The airline has nearly 66,100 employees and operates about 4,000 departures a day during peak travel season. It exclusively uses Boeing 737 jets in its fleet. Southwest's business model is distinct from other US airlines as it uses a rolling hub and point-to-point network and allows free checked baggage. Southwest currently serves airports in 42 states and multiple Central American destinations. It began regional interstate service in 1979, expanding nationwide in the following decades. and adopted its current name, Southwest Airlines Co., in 1971, when it began operating as an intrastate airline wholly within the state of Texas, first flying between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The airline was established on March 9, 1967, by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Co. It is currently the third largest airline in North America based on passengers flown. As of 2018, Southwest carried more domestic passengers than any other United States airline. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries. is a major airline based in the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. Bottom lineĮven if you're not lucky enough to board one of the Southwest planes offering free browsing services, it's nice to know the airline is actively looking at ways to upgrade its internet and help you stay connected on your future flights.Southwest Airlines Co. (That said, I paid $19 for Wi-Fi on a two-hour American flight just this week.)Īs for Southwest, the airline could not share specifics on which routes would include free internet, but said generally it will include flights over the western U.S. We've also seen numerous carriers drop their prices, or - in the case of American Airlines - try out short, free browsing periods. Just last fall, TPG tested out upgraded Wi-Fi on board a Delta Air Lines flight, months before the Atlanta-based carrier's CEO told the Wall Street Journal Delta is in talks with SpaceX about the potential use of Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite-based internet business. However, this move by Southwest does represent the latest example of a carrier trying to upgrade its internet services. ![]() "We're industry-leading connectivity," the carrier told TPG in a statement Friday.īy signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. Southwest is hoping for its internet to reach faster speeds and higher capabilities, and is allowing all customers free access on the 40 aircraft where these tests are taking place. The airline told TPG Friday, the tests is conducting is on "next generation" hardware from Anuvu. That unpredictability is part of what the carrier is looking to improve as it experiments with ways to improve its internet reliability. But I had reliable internet access and got several stories filed on the return flight and I even streamed music via YouTube as I worked. On a recent trip to New England, I had to wait to file this TPG story I was working on until I got off the plane because I was unable to connect to the internet the entire flight. Most travelers agree airline Wi-Fi service has been spotty for years, and Southwest has not been immune to those issues. For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
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