NEWS RELEASE

April 6, 2012 Contact: Jamie Horwitz 202/549-4921 jhdcpr@starpower.net

Southwests Proposed International Hub in Houston Could Mean Hundreds of New Flight Attendant Positions Based at HOU
Houston An international Southwest Airlines hub at Houstons William P. Hobby Airport would mean opportunities for hundreds of flight attendant and other jobs for Houston and the surrounding area said Transport Workers Union Local 556 President Thom McDaniel. TWU Local 556 represents the more than 10,000 Southwest flight attendants. Southwest currently has domiciles or bases where flight attendants and pilots are stationed in Houston and seven other cities with a ninth domicile opening in Denver later this year. Houston is one of the smaller bases with approximately 1,000 Southwest flight attendants currently. International flying could increase staffing to the 1,200 to 1,600 flight attendants in other Southwest domiciles. Adding international flights would create jobs for flight attendants and other airline workers as well as providing tremendous benefits for our great city. said McDaniel, who is himself a Houston-based flight attendant and Houston resident. International flying from Hobby is good for job creation, is good for our economy, and is good for Houston.

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International Flights From Hobby Mean Hundreds of Flight Attendant Jobs/ 2 Flight attendant and other airline jobs are employment that would be directly tied to opening Hobby to international flights. It is estimated that at least 10,000 jobs would indirectly be created in trade and tourism through this expansion, adding $1.6 billion per year to the Houston economy. Were very excited about what international routes originating from Houston could mean for our members, our company and the customers we serve, said McDaniel. Our union will do everything we can to promote this exciting opportunity for growth. The Houston City Council is scheduled next month to consider granting Southwest permission to build a customs facility at Hobby making it possible for flights from Hobby to Mexico, the Caribbean and other Latin American destinations.

TWU Local 556 represents more than 10,000 flight attendants at Southwest Airlines and will be adding 2,500 additional flight attendants when the AirTran acquisition is complete. The union is an affiliate of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) which represents 200,000 workers and retirees, primarily in commercial aviation, public transportation and passenger railroads. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. --30 --