Customers to Benefit from Partnership with Sprint Relay<\/p>\n
Southwest Airlines and Sprint Relay Team Up to Provide TTY and Video
\nAccess to Its Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Customers<\/p>\n
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sprint (NYSE:S – News) and
\nSouthwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – News) have joined forces to offer
\ntoll-free TTY (teletypewriter) and video relay access, giving deaf and
\nhard-of-hearing customers direct access to Southwest Airlines customer
\nservice.<\/p>\n
Beginning today, deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech disabled customers
\nneeding to call Southwest Airlines can dial a dedicated toll-free TTY
\ntelephone number: 800-533-1305. That number is answered by a Sprint
\nrelay agent who immediately connects to the Southwest Airlines
\ncustomer service representative. The Sprint relay agent relays
\ninformation between the Customer Service representative and the relay
\nuser in English or Spanish.<\/p>\n
Video Relay customers can access the service using a videophone by
\ncalling SWAVRS.TV to reach a video interpreter who will connect to
\nSouthwest Airlines. By providing video access, those whose native
\nlanguage is American Sign Language (ASL) can communicate with a video interpreter in ASL who then acts as the \u2018voice\u2019 to Customer
\nService representatives. Sprint Video Relay Service (VRS) is offered
\nat no cost to deaf and hard-of-hearing customers who use a videophone or web camera with a computer to connect with a qualified Sprint video interpreter who interprets the call in English or Spanish.<\/p>\n
\u201cOffering video access, preferred by many of our deaf or
\nhard-of-hearing customers, facilitates information exchange faster and
\nin a more personal way than via the traditional telecommunications
\ndevice for customers who are deaf,\u201d said Lance Morton, director of
\nAutomation Resources for Customer Support & Services for Southwest Airlines. \u201cThis is a good fit for Southwest Airlines \u2013 we\u2019re
\ncommitted to providing the highest quality of Customer Service to each
\nof our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSprint offers many types of relay services including TTY, voice,
\nvoice-carry-over, speech- to-speech, internet-based relay, video
\nrelay, caption telephone services, conference captioning, and a
\nvariety of hearing aid compatible wireless devices to meet the unique
\ncommunication needs of our customer base,\u201d said Mike Ellis, director
\nof Relay Services at Sprint. \u201cSprint applauds Southwest Airlines for
\nits commitment to all its customers, including those deaf and
\nhard-of-hearing, to ensure they have equal access to Southwest
\nAirlines travel services.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sprint is the largest and most technologically advanced
\nTelecommunications Relay Service (TRS) provider in the nation, with
\nmore than 18 years experience in providing relay services to those who
\nare deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind, or have a speech disability.
\nSprint\u2019s experience in this field assures Sprint Relay users receive
\nquality services regardless of the type of relay service they are
\nusing.<\/p>\n
Customers can access a Southwest Airlines Customer Service agent by
\ncalling the Southwest Airlines TTY toll-free number: 800-533-1305 or
\ngo to SWAVRS.TV for video access. These numbers are also posted on the
\nSouthwest Airlines website at
\nhttp:\/\/www.southwest.com\/about_swa\/phone_numbers.html.<\/p>\n
ABOUT SPRINT NEXTEL<\/p>\n
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline
\ncommunications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers,
\nbusinesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized
\nfor developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies,
\nincluding two wireless networks serving more than 49 million customers
\nat the end of the first quarter of 2009; industry-leading mobile data
\nservices; instant national and international push-to-talk
\ncapabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more
\ninformation, visit http:\/\/www.sprint.com.<\/p>\n
ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES<\/p>\n
After nearly 38 years of service, Southwest Airlines continues to
\ndifferentiate itself from other low fare carriers\u2014offering a
\nreliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines
\nis the most productive airline in the sky and offers customers a
\ncomfortable traveling experience. Southwest recently updated its gate
\nareas and improved its boarding procedure to make flying southwest
\nconvenient and simple. And, best of all, Southwest Airlines is famous
\nfor No Hidden Fees! Southwest Airlines currently serves 65 cities in
\n33 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than
\n3,300 flights a day and has more than 35,000 Employees systemwide. For
\nmore information, visit: http:\/\/www.southwest.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Customers to Benefit from Partnership with Sprint Relay Southwest Airlines and Sprint Relay Team Up to Provide TTY and Video Access to Its Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Customers OVERLAND PARK, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sprint (NYSE:S – News) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – News)…<\/p>\n