Southwest Airlines Flight Crews and Vegas Make the Best Hand

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Airlines today expands its presence in Las Vegas with the opening of the airline's newest crew base at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. The new Las Vegas base is among eight Southwest crew bases across the country and will be home to nearly 1,000 Southwest Flight Attendants and Pilots.

"Las Vegas is our busiest airport in terms of daily departures, so it only makes sense to make a home for our flight crew Employees here," said Daryl Krause, Southwest's Senior Vice President of Inflight and Fleet Services. "Our expansion reflects the increasing demand among our Customers for Southwest's low fares and frequent flights."

Southwest Airlines introduced service to Las Vegas on Jan. 31, 1982, with five daily nonstop departures to Houston and Phoenix. Today, the airline's Las Vegas service has climbed to 232 daily nonstop departures to 53 cities with direct and connecting service to nine additional cities. In response to the high demand for Southwest Airlines flights out of Las Vegas, the airline has grown to occupy 21 gates at the airport.

"With the addition of our new crew base, Southwest Airlines will have more than 2,000 Employees that call Las Vegas home," said Krause. "We've been a part of this community for 25 years, and we think of ourselves as the 'hometown airline.'"

In an ironic twist to today's celebration, Southwest Airlines said "Hello" to its new base Employees, and "Farewell" to one of its long-time Pilots. Captain Bruce Stephens, who has lived in Las Vegas for 23 years, flew his ceremonial retirement flight today. Southwest Airlines honored Capt. Stephens with a water arch salute while Employees and Executives cheered the arrival of his flight.

"For the past 17 years, I've lived in Las Vegas and worked for Southwest Airlines, and on the day of my retirement, they finally open a crew base here," Stephens joked. "I thank you all for being part of my Southwest Family all these years, and I'm glad I'll finally be able to call you neighbors as well."

Southwest will initially locate 394 Pilots and 460 Flight Attendants to the Las Vegas crew base, adding to the 907 Employees already working at the airport. The Pilots and Flight Attendants will be accommodated in a combined 14,200 square-foot facility on the lower level of the airport. The crew base will serve as an office on the ground for Southwest's Pilots and Flight Attendants. Flight crews who are stationed in Vegas will report to these offices before and after trips to receive briefings, to access required reading material, to learn about any changes in policies or schedules, and to catch up on Southwest news.

The new crew base is only the beginning of Southwest's expansion in Las Vegas. The airline already is planning a larger 25,000 square-feet facility for the Pilots and Flight Attendants that is scheduled to open in 2009.

Including the newest crew base in Las Vegas, Southwest presently operates eight Flight Attendant and Pilot bases nationwide. Additional Southwest crew bases are located in Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Oakland, and Orlando.

After 36 years of service, Southwest Airlines continues to offer the best value in airline travel, allowing Customers the opportunity to travel nonstop throughout the country at a very low fare. Southwest offers a very comfortable ride with premium all leather seats and plenty of legroom. Southwest does not charge Customers an extra fee for changing their reservation and continues to offer free amenities. Customers enjoy complimentary pillows, blankets, snacks, juice, soda, and water on all flights. Since 1987, the airline has maintained the lowest ratio of Customer complaints to enplanements as published in the Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report. Southwest Airlines , the nation's largest carrier in terms of domestic passengers enplaned, currently serves 64 cities in 32 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more than 33,000 Employees systemwide.

http://www.southwest.com/