{"id":20030,"date":"2019-11-20T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=20030"},"modified":"2024-09-16T14:47:31","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T21:47:31","slug":"why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Accessibility Is at the Heart of Southwest Airlines"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?--><\/p>\n\n\n<p>When Southwest Airlines hit the stock market in 1977, it chose the ticker symbol LUV. From the outside, it may seem an incongruous choice \u2014 but to employees then and now, it\u2019s a natural fit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe want to be the most loved airline in the world,\u201d says James Ashworth, Southwest Vice President of Customer Support and Services. \u201cAnd the world includes people with disabilities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most companies today understand that accessibility is good business; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accenture.com\/_acnmedia\/PDF-89\/Accenture-Disability-Inclusion-Research-Report.pdf#zoom=50\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Accenture has reported<\/a> how companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting more persons with disabilities have outperformed their peers. But not every company goes to the lengths Southwest does to deliver accessible experiences to customers and employees alike. [<a href=\"https:\/\/ctt.ec\/rU45c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Click to Tweet<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image__wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large prevent-download\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"wp-block-image__modal-toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\" data-modal-id=\"20027-modal\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Open Image Modal<\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?strip=all&#038;quality=95\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20027\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=300&amp;h=150 300w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=768&amp;h=384 768w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=264&amp;h=132 264w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=500&amp;h=250 500w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=678&amp;h=339 678w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=150&amp;h=75 150w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=386&amp;h=193 386w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<div id=\"20027-modal\" class=\"image-modal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" aria-labelledby=\"image-dialog-title\"><div class=\"image-modal__overlay\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-a11y-dialog-hide><\/div><div class=\"image-modal__content\" role=\"dialog\"><button class=\"image-modal__close-button\" type=\"button\" data-a11y-dialog-hide aria-label=\"Close this image dialog window\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 26 25\" height=\"16\" width=\"16\" fill=\"currentColor\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><rect x=\".626\" y=\"22.753\" width=\"32\" height=\"3\" rx=\"1.5\" transform=\"rotate(-45 .626 22.753)\"\/><rect x=\"2.747\" y=\".125\" width=\"32\" height=\"3\" rx=\"1.5\" transform=\"rotate(45 2.747 .125)\"\/><\/svg><\/button><h1 id=\"image-dialog-title\" class=\"screen-reader-text\">Image Modal<\/h1>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large prevent-download\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?strip=all&#038;quality=95\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20027\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=300&amp;h=150 300w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=768&amp;h=384 768w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=264&amp;h=132 264w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=500&amp;h=250 500w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=678&amp;h=339 678w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=150&amp;h=75 150w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png?w=386&amp;h=193 386w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s estimated that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boia.org\/blog\/50-digital-accessibility-facts-for-global-accessibility-awareness-day-gaad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one-quarter of U.S. adults<\/a> are living with a disability. In Southwest\u2019s customer service contact centers, roughly one in 10 employees use accessibility tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s one reason the Southwest Customer Support and Service team deployed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/products\/service-cloud\/why-salesforce\/\">Salesforce Service Cloud<\/a>. By providing an accessible way for representatives and customers to communicate without barriers, Service Cloud empowers Southwest\u2019s employees to deliver exceptional customer experiences. \u201cIt\u2019s about letting technology do what technology does best,\u201d says Erica Tyler, Southwest\u2019s Director of Business Strategy, \u201cso that humans can do what humans do best \u2014 connect and help each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image__wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large prevent-download\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"wp-block-image__modal-toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\" data-modal-id=\"20028-modal\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Open Image Modal<\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?strip=all&#038;quality=95\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20028\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=300&amp;h=150 300w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=768&amp;h=384 768w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=264&amp;h=132 264w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=500&amp;h=250 500w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=678&amp;h=339 678w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=150&amp;h=75 150w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=386&amp;h=193 386w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<div id=\"20028-modal\" class=\"image-modal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" aria-labelledby=\"image-dialog-title\"><div class=\"image-modal__overlay\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-a11y-dialog-hide><\/div><div class=\"image-modal__content\" role=\"dialog\"><button class=\"image-modal__close-button\" type=\"button\" data-a11y-dialog-hide aria-label=\"Close this image dialog window\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 26 25\" height=\"16\" width=\"16\" fill=\"currentColor\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><rect x=\".626\" y=\"22.753\" width=\"32\" height=\"3\" rx=\"1.5\" transform=\"rotate(-45 .626 22.753)\"\/><rect x=\"2.747\" y=\".125\" width=\"32\" height=\"3\" rx=\"1.5\" transform=\"rotate(45 2.747 .125)\"\/><\/svg><\/button><h1 id=\"image-dialog-title\" class=\"screen-reader-text\">Image Modal<\/h1>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large prevent-download\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?strip=all&#038;quality=95\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20028\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=300&amp;h=150 300w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=768&amp;h=384 768w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=264&amp;h=132 264w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=500&amp;h=250 500w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=678&amp;h=339 678w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=150&amp;h=75 150w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricaTyler.png?w=386&amp;h=193 386w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><b>A level playing field<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eric Aiken, a Customer Service and Support Representative who is visually impaired, recalls that Southwest founder Herb Kelleher was one of those rare bosses who saw his employees not just as workers, but as people. \u201cIt didn\u2019t matter who you were \u2014 he knew you by name. And our leaders continue to show their love to us by making our environment easy to work in. Because of that, we\u2019re able to offer great customer service to our passengers and make them feel loved as well. I think it goes both ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Salesforce research, employees who feel a sense of belonging at work are more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/content\/dam\/web\/en_us\/www\/assets\/pdf\/datasheets\/salesforce-research-2017-workplace-equality-and-values-report.pdf\">five times<\/a> more likely to perform better than those who don\u2019t. According to Tyler, the executive team at Southwest gets this. \u201cWhich is why accessibility is important for us. We have an inclusive environment and we want to offer the same opportunities to all our employees. Whether you\u2019re hearing impaired or visually impaired, Service Cloud opens up more opportunities to engage with our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Service Cloud works with screen readers, has a robust set of keyboard shortcuts, and high-color contrast so that employees who are visually impaired can easily navigate the Lightning Service Console. Before Salesforce, customer service interactions could require Southwest reps to use up to 15 different tools to gather a customer\u2019s data. \u201cSometimes those tools could be kind of cumbersome, especially for somebody that\u2019s visually impaired like me,\u201d Aiken remembers. This accessible, 360-degree customer view means agents like Aiken can spend less time navigating tools and more time improving the customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image__wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large prevent-download\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"wp-block-image__modal-toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\" data-modal-id=\"20029-modal\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Open Image Modal<\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?strip=all&#038;quality=95\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20029\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=300&amp;h=150 300w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=768&amp;h=384 768w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=264&amp;h=132 264w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=500&amp;h=250 500w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=678&amp;h=339 678w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=150&amp;h=75 150w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=386&amp;h=193 386w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<div id=\"20029-modal\" class=\"image-modal\" aria-hidden=\"true\" aria-labelledby=\"image-dialog-title\"><div class=\"image-modal__overlay\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-a11y-dialog-hide><\/div><div class=\"image-modal__content\" role=\"dialog\"><button class=\"image-modal__close-button\" type=\"button\" data-a11y-dialog-hide aria-label=\"Close this image dialog window\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 26 25\" height=\"16\" width=\"16\" fill=\"currentColor\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><rect x=\".626\" y=\"22.753\" width=\"32\" height=\"3\" rx=\"1.5\" transform=\"rotate(-45 .626 22.753)\"\/><rect x=\"2.747\" y=\".125\" width=\"32\" height=\"3\" rx=\"1.5\" transform=\"rotate(45 2.747 .125)\"\/><\/svg><\/button><h1 id=\"image-dialog-title\" class=\"screen-reader-text\">Image Modal<\/h1>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large prevent-download\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?strip=all&#038;quality=95\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20029\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=300&amp;h=150 300w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=768&amp;h=384 768w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=264&amp;h=132 264w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=500&amp;h=250 500w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=678&amp;h=339 678w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=150&amp;h=75 150w, https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/EricAiken.png?w=386&amp;h=193 386w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><b>Keeping the LUV, at scale<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the first Southwest plane took to the sky in 1971, the airliner served three locations. Today, more than 4,000 Southwest flights travel through American and international skies every day. As the company grows, its 1.3 million customers expect more personalized service than ever before. So how does Southwest make it work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cConsumer expectations are continuously expanding,\u201d explains Tyler. \u201cAs we continue to scale, we don\u2019t want to lose the personal interaction. And that\u2019s pushing us to grow our capabilities so that we can meet our customers where they are, on the channels that they prefer to engage in.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Service Cloud\u2019s accessible chat functionality, Southwest\u2019s reps can offer that same quality of service to hearing and visually impaired customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA really nice surprise after rolling out the Salesforce chat functionality was feedback from those who are hearing impaired,\u201d says Tyler. \u201cThey were just really excited about this new way to engage. We heard from a family \u2014 the entire family was hearing impaired \u2014 and they just wanted to tell us how pleased they were that we offered this channel. They felt more of a connection with Southwest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs someone who\u2019s visually impaired and using accessibility tools in my personal and professional life, I knew we needed a partner who was as passionate about accessibility as we were,\u201d says Ashworth. \u201cI believe that Southwest Airlines and Salesforce share DNA, because our cultures are alike in a whole lot of ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Inclusion by design<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Southwest\u2019s leaders understand that there\u2019s no better way to accommodate customers with disabilities than by talking to employees with disabilities. That\u2019s why Ashworth invited frontline reps to help customize Service Cloud to their needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what I admire most about the tool \u2014 it\u2019s configurable. So an employee might say, \u2018Hey, I\u2019d like the information in the top left-hand corner here\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019d like a certain dataset over in the bottom corner.\u2019\u201d Representatives who are sighted and visually impaired both participate in the beta testing stage of implementation \u2014 at Southwest, accessibility is not an afterthought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about our people being able to drive what the service console looks like for them,\u201d Ashworth explains. \u201cIt\u2019s about a diverse group of employees sitting down with us at headquarters and really telling us what they want their experience with this tool set to look like. If our employees feel confident that we listen to them, they feel more confident and empowered to deliver the right type of customer experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ashworth knows that as Southwest reps change how they work, the tool can innovate with them. \u201cWe\u2019ll continue to let our employees guide what Service Cloud looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i>For more Service Cloud innovations, <\/i><a href=\"\/blog\/2019\/11\/19\/announcing-service-cloud-voice-unifying-voice-calls-digital-channels-and-crm-data-in-real-time-for-the-first-time\/\"><i>see the announcement about voice technology<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Southwest Airlines hit the stock market in 1977, it chose the ticker symbol LUV. From the outside, it may seem an incongruous choice \u2014 but to employees then and now, it\u2019s a natural fit. \u201cWe want to be the most loved airline in the world,\u201d says James Ashworth, Southwest Vice President of Customer Support [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":20027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sf_subhead":"","sf_i18n_disclaimer":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"alternateThumbnailId":0,"sf_product_cta_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"sf_content_type":[1728],"sf_theme":[1917,1912],"sf_topic":[1746,2068,1734,1757,1744,1726,1766,1741],"sf_product":[1772,2363],"sf_industry":[1774],"sf_role":[],"sf_multimedia_asset":[],"sf_location":[1724],"sf_collection":[],"sf_visibility":[],"coauthors":[2097],"class_list":["post-20030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","sf_content_type-snapshots","sf_theme-customer-engagement","sf_theme-digital-transformation","sf_topic-commerce","sf_topic-customer-360","sf_topic-customer-engagement","sf_topic-customer-service-and-support","sf_topic-customer-success","sf_topic-digital-transformation","sf_topic-equality","sf_topic-salesforce-partners","sf_product-agentforce-service","sf_product-customer-360","sf_industry-communications-and-media","sf_location-amer"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why Accessibility Is at the Heart of Southwest Airlines - Salesforce<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Southwest Airlines hit the stock market in 1977, it chose the ticker symbol LUV. From the outside, it may seem an incongruous choice \u2014 but to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Accessibility Is at the Heart of Southwest Airlines\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Southwest Airlines hit the stock market in 1977, it chose the ticker symbol LUV. From the outside, it may seem an incongruous choice \u2014 but to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Salesforce\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/salesforce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-20T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-16T21:47:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"carioli\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@salesforcenews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@salesforcenews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"carioli\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"carioli\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/cbeb608be9cf273962b88344312416b0\"},\"headline\":\"Why Accessibility Is at the Heart of Southwest Airlines\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-20T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-16T21:47:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/\"},\"wordCount\":957,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/\",\"name\":\"Why Accessibility Is at the Heart of Southwest Airlines - Salesforce\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-20T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-16T21:47:31+00:00\",\"description\":\"When Southwest Airlines hit the stock market in 1977, it chose the ticker symbol LUV. From the outside, it may seem an incongruous choice \u2014 but to\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":512},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Salesforce\",\"description\":\"Get the latest Salesforce press releases, announcements, stories, and media contacts. See today\u2019s CRM news.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Salesforce\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/default.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/default.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Salesforce\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/salesforce\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/salesforcenews\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/salesforce\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/cbeb608be9cf273962b88344312416b0\",\"name\":\"carioli\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88a2e7064886fe2656a23c821038bc0ad50eb7e0dd75d864966e767cd9c50565?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ac4d9ba6f3c38893ecc06534e86f879\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88a2e7064886fe2656a23c821038bc0ad50eb7e0dd75d864966e767cd9c50565?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88a2e7064886fe2656a23c821038bc0ad50eb7e0dd75d864966e767cd9c50565?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"carioli\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/author\/carioli-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Accessibility Is at the Heart of Southwest Airlines - Salesforce","description":"When Southwest Airlines hit the stock market in 1977, it chose the ticker symbol LUV. From the outside, it may seem an incongruous choice \u2014 but to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Accessibility Is at the Heart of Southwest Airlines","og_description":"When Southwest Airlines hit the stock market in 1977, it chose the ticker symbol LUV. From the outside, it may seem an incongruous choice \u2014 but to","og_url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/","og_site_name":"Salesforce","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/salesforce\/","article_published_time":"2019-11-20T12:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-16T21:47:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"carioli","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@salesforcenews","twitter_site":"@salesforcenews","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"carioli","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/"},"author":{"name":"carioli","@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/cbeb608be9cf273962b88344312416b0"},"headline":"Why Accessibility Is at the Heart of Southwest Airlines","datePublished":"2019-11-20T12:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-16T21:47:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/"},"wordCount":957,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/","url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/","name":"Why Accessibility Is at the Heart of Southwest Airlines - Salesforce","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png","datePublished":"2019-11-20T12:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-16T21:47:31+00:00","description":"When Southwest Airlines hit the stock market in 1977, it chose the ticker symbol LUV. From the outside, it may seem an incongruous choice \u2014 but to","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/why-accessibility-is-at-the-heart-of-southwest-airlines\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png","width":1024,"height":512},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/","name":"Salesforce","description":"Get the latest Salesforce press releases, announcements, stories, and media contacts. See today\u2019s CRM news.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Salesforce","url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/default.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/default.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Salesforce"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/salesforce\/","https:\/\/x.com\/salesforcenews","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/salesforce\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/cbeb608be9cf273962b88344312416b0","name":"carioli","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88a2e7064886fe2656a23c821038bc0ad50eb7e0dd75d864966e767cd9c50565?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ac4d9ba6f3c38893ecc06534e86f879","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88a2e7064886fe2656a23c821038bc0ad50eb7e0dd75d864966e767cd9c50565?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88a2e7064886fe2656a23c821038bc0ad50eb7e0dd75d864966e767cd9c50565?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"carioli"},"url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/author\/carioli-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/JamesAshworth.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Salesforce","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20030"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50132,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20030\/revisions\/50132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_content_type?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_theme?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_topic?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_product?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_industry?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_role","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_role?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_multimedia_asset","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_multimedia_asset?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_location?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_collection?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"sf_visibility","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sf_visibility?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=20030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}