The airline with the most affordable air fares has just made travel a
whole lot easier. Starting today, Customers with an electronic
“Ticketless” reservation may print a Boarding Pass on the day of travel
from http://www.southwest.com/ .

“The mission of Southwest Airlines—and our web site, southwest.com—
is to give our Customers the greatest travel value,” said Kevin Krone,
Southwest`s vice president of interactive marketing. “To us, that means
low air fares, excellent Customer Service, and streamlining the travel
process.”
Southwest Airlines Customers with an electronic ticket can log on to
southwest.com to retrieve their Ticketless reservations. In days past, an
online Customer would print the southwest.com confirmation page and
present it to a Southwest Airlines Customer Service agent or Skycap at the
airport to receive a Boarding Pass. As of today, by 12:01 a.m. on the day
of departure, the Ticketless Customer may now choose to print his or her
own Boarding Pass on southwest.com before heading to the airport. The new
online Boarding Pass allows a Customer entry through the Airport Security
Checkpoint and onboard their scheduled flight, without making an
additional stop at the airport. (For Customers who are checking bags, a
stop at the Southwest Airlines Ticket Counter or Skycap is still
necessary.)
“We`ve come so far, particularly in the last two years—selling more
electronic tickets on southwest.com, adding rental cars and hotels to our
online offering, installing self-service kiosks in our airports, making
our Rapid Rewards frequent flyer award tickets available electronically,
and saving our Customers time at the airport by making it possible to
check in for a flight in just one stop. Our new online boarding passes
bump the Customer convenience factor up another notch,” Krone said.
About 54 percent of Southwest`s total passenger revenue—more than $3
billion annually—is booked via southwest.com. Approximately 85 percent
of Southwest`s Customers book electronically—through the airline`s
Reservations Centers, ticket counters, web site, or through a travel agent.

“The acceptance of southwest.com by our Customers for booking Southwest
Airlines travel has been tremendous,” Krone said. “We will continue to
seek ways to reward our Customers with added convenience and the lowest
fares in the market.”

Southwest Customers may print an online Boarding Pass for the first leg of
travel, as of 12:01 a.m. on the day of departure. Boarding Passes for
subsequent stops may be printed on a self-service Rapid Rewards Kiosk at
the airport or by a Southwest Airlines Customer Service Agent at a
departure gate or a concourse Customer Service Center. Likewise, an online
Boarding Pass may be printed for the first leg of a return trip as of
12:01 a.m. on the day of travel.
In 2002, the Jupiter Media Metrix named Southwest the airline that best
utilizes the Internet and provides brand synergy between its main line and
online presence. According to Jupiter Airline CORE (Composite Rating of
Online Effectiveness) Index, Southwest Airlines ranks among the top
companies in online sales performance. The Online Sales Index is based on
self-reported ticket sales data, and represents the percentage of tickets
sold from a specific airline`s Web site for 2001. The award embodies those
U.S. airline carriers that best leverage the assets of the Internet to
boost business and are paramount in moving their Customers to the online
channel.
In recent months, Southwest Airlines has become the nation`s largest
domestic carrier in terms of Customers boarded. The airline currently
serves 59 airports in 58 cities in 30 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest
currently operates nearly 2,800 flights a day with a fleet of 389 Boeing
737s with an average age of nine years—one of the youngest pure jet
fleets in the domestic airline industry. The carrier will begin service in
Philadelphia on May 9, 2004.
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