Southwest Airlines Raises More Than $600,000 For Ronald McDonald Charities At 27th Annual LUV Classic Charity Golf Tournament

DALLAS, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) raised more than $600,000 for the Ronald McDonald Charities at the 27^th annual LUV Classic charity golf tournament held on Oct. 5, where Employees and sponsors teed up for the cause.  This year's contributions will be distributed between Ronald McDonald Houses in Dallas, New York, Fort Lauderdale, Washington D.C., Spokane, Buffalo, and Reno.  In 1985, the airline that LUV built adopted the house that Love built, and Southwest has raised more than $13 million benefitting Ronald McDonald Charities over the last three decades. 

"Our support of the Ronald McDonald Charities goes far beyond fundraising, and we are proud to help support an organization that provides a place to call home when families across the nation are facing what may be the most challenging time in their lives," said Southwest Airlines' Senior Vice President Culture & Communications, Ginger Hardage .  "The Employees of Southwest Airlines have strong Servant's Hearts and regularly give their time cooking meals at Ronald McDonald Houses in their community."

The annual Dallas LUV Classic golf tournament originated as a fund-raiser for a popular Dallas club owner, Joe Miller , who was battling cancer. When Miller donated excess funds to the Dallas Ronald McDonald House, Southwest followed his lead. Proceeds from the tournament now are donated to select Ronald McDonald Houses across Southwest's system. The Southwest Airlines LUV Classic is the second largest charity golf tournament in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex.  To read a blog post about the 27^th Annual LUV Classic, visit the NUTS About Southwest blog.

Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways are committed to giving back to the communities in which their Employees work and live.  In 2011, Southwest Employees volunteered more than 114,000 hours, which is enough time to fly from Baltimore/Washington to Los Angeles 24,516 times.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 42^nd year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other low-fare carriers by providing a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service.  Including wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways, the Company now employs 46,000 People and serves 97 destinations in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, six near-international countries.

Visit southwest.com/citizenship to read the Southwest Airlines One Report™ and see how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen while underscoring a commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines, one of the most honored airlines in the world, is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded.  With the addition of Des Moines (DSM), Southwest will operate more than 3,200 flights a day and serve the communities around 77 airports in Southwest's network of domestic destinations.  To book a flight, visit southwest.com.

AirTran Airways

AirTran Airways, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co., has been ranked the top airline in the Airline Quality Rating study three times in the past five years. AirTran offers coast-to-coast and near-international service with nearly 600 flights a day on North America's newest all-Boeing fleet. The airline's low-cost, high-quality product also includes assigned seating and Business Class. To book a flight, visit airtran.com.

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SOURCE Southwest Airlines

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