Facts About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines is a low-cost American airline founded in 1971 and has since grown to a fleet of more than 500 planes. It has been one of the world's most consistently profitable airlines for decades and has a rich history.

History

• Rollin King and Herb Kelleher are the founding partners of Southwest Airlines, which began in the same state where it is still headquartered, Texas. Interstate service began in 1979 and the first destination was New Orleans. Southwest Airlines reached the $1 billion revenue mark in 1989.

Fleet

• The majority of the planes in Southwest Airline's fleet are the Boeing model 737-700, which seat 137 passengers. Southwest Airlines gets 11 years of use, on average, out of its aircraft. Each plane in the fleet services an average of 6.25 flights per day and spends more than 10 hours each day in the air.

Destinations

• As of 2010, Southwest's top destinations, by number of flights to the destinations daily, are Las Vegas, Chicago, Phoenix and Baltimore/Washington. Southwest Airlines services 69 destinations in 35 states and operates more than 3,000 flights daily. With its 2010 acquisition of Airtran, Southwest Airlines plans on tremendously expanding its service across the northeast and southeast U.S.