DALLAS, March 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Airlines today is celebrating the carrier's 25th Anniversary of service at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.  To commemorate the occasion, Southwest is celebrating with its Employees and Customers at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, complete with live music, decorations, games, prizes, and a media event.  

Media Event Details:

• When:  Wednesday, March 17 at 12 p.m. CDT
• Where:  Southwest Airlines Ticket Counter
• What:  Officials from Southwest Airlines and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport will give remarks.  
• The St. Louis Fire Department will pay a tribute to Southwest's Anniversary with a water arch salute at 12:35 p.m. CDT
• Media should arrive at 11:45 a.m. CDT to the Southwest Ticket Counter.
• Media Contact:  Chris Mainz, Southwest Airlines, c: 214-534-7225.

"Southwest Airlines is committed to St. Louis, and we are continuing to grow our footprint in the Gateway City 25 years after launching service," said Southwest's Senior Director of Ground Operations Anne Naylor.  "We'd like to thank our hardworking local Employees, our loyal Customers, the city of St. Louis, and our friends at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, who have all been excellent partners and very supportive of our growth and service over the years."  

"We are thrilled that Southwest has steadily grown their operation in St. Louis," said Lambert Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge.  "We value their commitment to the St. Louis region and look forward to even more service additions to new and existing destinations later this spring."

Southwest Employees are also celebrating the 25th Anniversary in St. Louis by spending time beautifying the grounds both at the Saint Louis Zoo and the Missouri Botanical Garden this week.  The airline's Employees proudly Share the Spirit through volunteering in the communities where they work and live.

Southwest Airlines launched service into St. Louis on March 17, 1985, with 17 daily nonstop flights to four cities.  Today, Southwest is the second largest carrier in terms of daily departures at St. Louis with 70 flights to 25 nonstop destinations, as of March 2010.  With new nonstop service to Nashville, New Orleans, Raleigh-Durham (RDU), San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma, and Los Angeles (LAX) starting on May 9, Southwest will be the largest carrier at St. Louis with 83 daily flights to 31 nonstop destinations.  Southwest is the preferred airline for St. Louis Customers, with a greater market share (35 percent) than any other carrier as of the third quarter of 2009.  St. Louis was the 22nd city to join the Southwest system and is now the 16th busiest city in the airline's 68-city network.  Southwest is the Low-Fare Leader out of St. Louis with an average one-way fare of $112 in the third quarter of 2009, 23 percent lower than all other airlines combined.

After 38 years of service, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other low fare carriers—offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service.  Southwest Airlines is the most productive airline in the sky and offers Customers a comfortable traveling experience, with all leather seats, and all Boeing 737 jets.  Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded, currently serving 68 cities in 35 states (Southwest will begin service to Panama City Beach, Florida, on May 23).  Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,200 flights a day and has nearly 35,000 Employees systemwide. 

www.southwest.com

SOURCE Southwest Airlines

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