by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 2:30 PM ET, Thu July 11, 2024
Southwest Airlines has inked a new, multi-year sponsorship agreement with the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and SEC Network to be the conference’s “Official Airline.”
The deal, which launched July 1, is meant to highlight the athletic contributions to SEC football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, gymnastics, and women's soccer, the airline said in a statement.
In an effort to celebrate the new deal, Southwest Airlines has also announced that it is launching a new sweepstakes for travelers.
Dubbed the "Flex Your Fandom Sweepstakes,” the contest offers entrants the chance to be treated like an MVP, an experience that includes an opportunity to win a getaway experience to the SEC Football Championship.
The Flex Your Fandom Sweepstakes is just the beginning when it comes to the airline’s efforts to celebrate the new sponsorship deal. Later this year, Southwest will host additional sweepstakes to award prizes, including packages to the SEC Basketball Championship tournament, and an epic summer getaway.
"Southwest Airlines is proud to be joining the SEC roster as the airline of choice and getting sports fanatics to their favorite games with ease," Jennifer Bridie, vice president of marketing communications and strategy at Southwest Airlines, said in a statement.
"With this unique sponsorship, we're giving fans more flexibility to join the action as they root for their favorite teams and bringing them new opportunities throughout the season to get to know the Southwest brand even better,” Bridie added.
Southwest Airlines has also created additional travel opportunities for college football fans at some of the season's big match-ups.
The airline revealed today that it has added new routes and additional service surrounding several SEC-centric showdowns, including USC vs. LSU in the Vegas Kickoff Classic, Alabama at Wisconsin in Week 3, Tennessee at Oklahoma in Week 4, and Georgia at Texas in Week 8.
The newly announced sponsorship deal also includes integrating Southwest Airlines on SEC Network programming and within the SEC footprint through SEC Nation, the network's traveling football pre-game show, the airline said in a statement.
Southwest also intends to activate on-site at SEC FanFare at the upcoming football championship in Atlanta and plans to have a presence at other major SEC championship events, including women's and men's basketball.
And there's still more...
Southwest also revealed that it plans to surprise its customers with pop-up activations on flights, including providing giveaways and other fun moments.
Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert in Atlanta, Georgia (Photo Credit: Alizajane Hicks)
Taylor Swift Routes Added
There’s also good news today from Southwest Airlines for Taylor Swift's legion of fans.
The airline announced that it is adding more than 10 flights to its schedule to help Swifties get to and from the superstar's concerts as her tour lands back in the U.S. in October.
The airline says it saw bookings increase by more than 10 percent in markets that hosted Taylor Swift’s weekend-long concert series last year.
Here are the details of the newly added flights for Swifties:
On October 17, Southwest will offer:
- Flight Number 22 from Baltimore/Washington to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood
- Flight 1989 from Nashville and Miami
On October 20, Southwest will offer:
- Flight 1313 from Miami and Nashville
- Flight 1213 from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood to Baltimore/Washington
The
following weekend, Taylor Swift concert goers are expected to be busy taking over New Orleans and
Southwest is adding more flights to get fans to and from the big
weekend.
- On October 24, Southwest is adding additional flights to New Orleans including one from Austin and Baltimore/Washington.
- The following day, on October 25th, the carrier will add additional flights from Dallas (Love), and San Antonio to New Orleans.
- And
finally, at the end of the weekend, on October 27, Southwest will have
additional flights to get fans home with one additional flight to each
of those cities.
Flights are available for booking starting today at Southwest.com.
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