WHY IT RATES: Shark Week fans will be able to enjoy the programming while flying with Southwest.-Donald Wood, Breaking News Senior Writer.
Southwest Airlines Co., in partnership with Discovery Channel, launched a campaign bringing the fun of Shark Week to flying fans this summer. The carrier is celebrating Shark Week throughout July, ahead of Shark Week on Discovery beginning Sunday, July 28.
"Our Shark Week partnership brings fun through unique offerings for our Customers and Employees," said Brandy King, Director of External Communication who oversees the airline's Brand Partnerships and Entertainment Public Relations initiatives. "Whether on the ground with augmented reality experiences and gate games hosted by our Employees, to inflight exclusive content on our Shark Week On-Demand Channel, or through our social channels with engaging content and a special sweepstakes, we'll be celebrating Sharks all month."
Southwest brings Shark Week to fans through all phases of travel and, this year, extends the immersion straight into their homes. Through an augmented reality experience, Shark Week fans engaging with Southwest through the carrier's social channels and in airports across the country will be encouraged to "swim with sharks" by using the augmented reality experience, accessible via swa.is/sharkweek. Fans can download a filter on their cell phones to select from the five most-popular sharks featured in Shark Week programming (Great White Shark, Hammerhead Shark, Mako Shark, Tiger Shark, and Bull Shark) to swim across their screens, and share a photo or video of the experience to their social channels using #SharksTakeFlight.
Customers traveling this summer will be able to experience the fun of Shark Week in a variety of ways. While inflight, Customers can enjoy jawsome content via the Onboard Entertainment Portal's custom Shark Week TV Series Channel. The Shark Week TV Series Channel houses a library of Shark Week episodes that Customers can sink their teeth into, plus a never-before-seen episode, Extinct or Alive: The Lost Shark, which Customers can watch nearly 30 days ahead of its premiere during Shark Week. The feeding frenzy continues as Southwest Customers tune in to Shark Week on Discovery Channel beginning Sunday, July 28, and continuing through Sunday, August 4, via Live TV onboard Southwest WiFi-equipped flights.
Southwest Employees also are getting in on Shark Week fun! Beginning July 8, Employees in 40 Southwest airports will display Shark Week materials in gate areas with which Customers can interact. Delivering on Southwest's legendary Customer Service and Hospitality, Southwest Employees will host gate games to entertain fliers and celebrate the 31st anniversary of Shark Week, one of the most popular and longest-running televised summer events in history.
For fans who want to experience a diving excursion, Southwest is hosting a Dare to Dive sweepstakes from July 1-31 giving a chance to land a trip to Nassau, Bahamas, to enjoy a diving experience. Anyone may visit Southwest.com/sharkweek for a chance to win roundtrip air travel (does not include taxes and fees of at least $5.60 per one-way flight) for winner and three guests, a $3,000 gift card to The Island House, a boutique hotel, and a $375 gift card to Stuart Cove's for a diving excursion.
One of the most popular and longest-running televised summer events, Shark Week has celebrated cartilaginous creatures for more than 30 years. This year, viewers can enjoy hours of new content that will answer some of your most pressing shark-related questions. This year's programming will immerse fans in the lives of sharks all around the world, from the Caribbean Sea to the island of Guadalupe, and many places in between.
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