Episode 16: Donating Time, Talent & Tickets

06/22/21 • 6 min

Bill Baracani didn’t grow up with much, but he never had to worry if there would be food on the table. Through his volunteer work, Southwest Airlines Ramp Agent Bill discovered how fortunate he really was, and was inspired to save and dedicate almost all his time off to charity work. In this episode, we’ll hear about Bill Baracani’s passion for volunteer work, and how Southwest’s Tickets for Time program provides one free round trip ticket, up to six per year, for every 40 hours a Southwest employee spends volunteering at qualifying nonprofit organizations and schools.

For more stories on Southwest Airlines’ 50 years of flying and a look behind the scenes, check out latimes.com/isthisseatopen

For more stories on Southwest Airlines’ 50 years of flying and a look behind the scenes, check out latimes.com/isthisseatopen

Previous Episode

Episode 15: A Flight For Her Life

The news was hard to hear. Nicole Parris’ infant daughter had survived a high-risk double lung transplant, but she would need to return to a hospital in St. Louis every 6 months for the rest of her life. For Nicole and her family in Florida, this would be nearly impossible if not for Southwest Airlines Medical Transportation Grant Program. In this episode, we’ll hear how the program that was created to provide much-needed assistance to medical patients and their family members forever impacted recipient Nicole Parris.

For more stories on Southwest Airlines’ 50 years of flying and a look behind the scenes, check out latimes.com/isthisseatopen

Next Episode

Episode 17: Hedging Against Jet Fuel

One day, Gary Kelly and his team had a billion-dollar idea. Literally. In the 90s, Gary implemented a cost-saving measure to protect against fluctuations in jet fuel prices, and it paid off. In this episode, we’ll hear from the Southwest Airlines Chairman and Chief Executive Officer himself about how he and a small team of analysts pioneered a program that would have one of the biggest financial impacts in the history of the airline.

For more stories on Southwest Airlines’ 50 years of flying and a look behind the scenes, check out latimes.com/isthisseatopen