Nuts About Southwest

Colleen has confirmed that WN does not stand for Willie Nelson.

is this story true?

Which part, munna82? We are trying to verify the conversations, but it is true that both SW and SA were taken by other airlines.

I would like to know the inside scoop on the "MN" not USA today's idea.

I prefer reading inside -nuts about Southwest- instead of their blog.

Maybe a good www.redbellyradio.com podcast!!

I thought it stood for WHY NOT fly SOUTHWEST. For the longest I thought the HK used for holds confirmed stood for HERB KELLEHER>

Well, that blows our book keepers explanation of why its WN. Her belief was Southwest took over the old desination of Airline Wein Air Alaska. What ever happened to Wein I don't know, merger or bankruptcy or something on that order. It almost seemed plausible.

NW- Northwest Airlines, WN-Southwest Airlines, what so hard people?
Southwest establish after NW, so legacy carrier get their prefer name and then Southwest-low cost airlines. not legacy carrier... like US,DL,AA,CO,NW..... which sometime better than WN.

WN=WiN

I have no way to verify the USA Today story. But Wien Air Alaska f/k/a Wien Consolidated operated from approximately 1927 through 1984, more than a decade after Southwest got started. Wien's airline code was WC.

Prior to deregulation airlines needed a federal certificate of public convenience and necessity. When they had plans to expand beyond the state of Texas, Southwest bought the ceftificate from another carrier that I think was Western. In the Government system each carrier had a two letter identifier so when Southwest bought Western's certificate, they became WN.