Re: Remember Southwest Airlines?

as I remember, the web site was really not that bad.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kerstin Goldsmith" <kerstin.goldsmith@oracle.com>
To: "Joe Clark" <joeclark@joeclark.org>
Cc: "WAI-IG" <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 7:43 PM
Subject: Re: Remember Southwest Airlines?



That's a good thing, right?

-Kerstin

Joe Clark wrote:

>Well, after winning an ADA complaint about the inaccessibility of
>their Web site, Southwest Airlines is suddenly promoting the changes
>it has made to improve accessibility:
>
>X-URL:
>
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZINK3.story&STORY=/www
>    /story/05-12-2003/0001944827&EDATE=MON+May+12+2003,+05:48+PM
>
>   Southwest Airlines Selects Deque System's RAMP Software and Services
>   For Implementing Web Accessibility
>
>     Comprehensive Software Solutions from Deque to Improve Accessibility
>                       For Southwest Airlines Web Sites
>
>    FAIRFAX, Va., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Deque Systems, an end-to-end
>accessibility solutions provider, announced today that Southwest Airlines
>(NYSE: [42]LUV) will use its evaluation and repair tool RAMP(TM), Robust
>Accessibility Management and Production, to improve web site accessibility
for
>their blind and low vision customers.  Deque is able to offer software
>products and also a full breadth of services to organizations in need of an
>accessibility process that is repeatable and measurable.
>    Deque specializes in making an organization's web content accessible to
>people with disabilities.  Although not yet required to by law, commercial
>companies are beginning to notice the value of providing accessible
technology
>to meet the needs of a diverse set of people.  With forward-thinking,
well-run
>companies like Southwest Airlines making the commitment to making its
online
>information accessible, removing the barriers to the World Wide Web is sure
to
>become as prevalent as the ramps that exist for physical spaces today.
>    "Southwest Airlines values the importance of an accessible web site and
>has committed to provide one to their customers," says Cheryl Holmes, Vice
>President of Sales & Marketing at Deque Systems.  "Southwest also
understands
>this is an ongoing commitment and vigorously examined the many avenues and
>solutions before choosing Deque."
>    "Southwest prides itself on the simplicity and ease of southwest.com,
and
>this product will enable us to provide affordable air travel to customers
who
>need assistive technology to navigate the World Wide Web," said Kevin
Krone,
>Southwest's Vice President of Interactive Marketing.  "We will be working
with
>Deque to develop and implement this solution."
>    "We are very proud that Southwest Airlines has partnered with Deque to
>enhance the accessibility of its web site and recognizes our role as a
leading
>player in providing Web Accessibility Solutions," added Preety Kumar, Chief
>Technical Officer of Deque.  "It is a perfect example of our capability to
>provide an integrated product and services solution to accelerate our
>customer's delivery of an accessible web presence."
>    Southwest elected to receive on-site training to efficiently use the
key
>strengths provided by RAMP(TM).  This will enable Southwest developers to
gain
>the knowledge necessary to develop and maintain an accessible web site.
>Recognizing that functional testing is an essential step, Southwest
Airlines
>will rely on the Deque Assistive Technology Lab for testing with the Screen
>Readers and other Assistive Technology on the market today.
>    "Southwest's commitment became quite evident to me during my functional
>review of their site.  It also became clear that they would benefit from
our
>expertise in ensuring its site was coded for accessibility," said Senior
>Accessibility Engineer with Deque, Sailesh Panchang who lost his sight ten
>years ago.  "A core value of the American society is independence.
>Information technology accessible using my Screen Reader is what allows me
to
>be independent. I will be able to make reservations online myself, which
may
>not seem to be a big deal, but it truly improves my quality of life."
>
>    About Deque Systems -- Deque Systems, Inc is a pioneer in the field of
>information accessibility.  Deque's software solution, RAMP(TM), with its
>unparalleled product depth, automates analysis and remediation of Section
508
>rules and W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's Web Content Accessibility
>Guidelines, and provides efficiencies of over 95% as compared to a manual
>effort.  In addition, RAMP(TM) is written in Java for platform independence
>and is also accessible to people with disabilities.
[43]http://www.deque.com
>
>    About Southwest Airlines (NYSE: [44]LUV) -- In 2002, the Jupiter Media
Metr
>ix
>named Southwest the airline that best utilizes the Internet and provides
brand
>synergy between its main line and online presence.  According to Jupiter
>Airline CORE (Composite Rating of Online Effectiveness) Index, Southwest
>Airlines ranks among the top companies in online sales performance.  The
>Online Sales Index is based on self-reported ticket sales data, and
represents
>the percentage of tickets sold from a specific airline's web site for 2001.
>The award embodies those U.S. airline carriers that best leverage the
assets
>of the Internet to boost business and paramount in moving their Customers
to
>the online channel.
>
>
>      News Headlines from:
>   PR Newswire - United Business Media
>   [INLINE]
>   ______________________________________________________________________
>
>   © 2002 Silicon Valley Business Ink. All rights reserved. This material
>   may not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or
>   publication or redistribution directly or indirectly in any medium.
>   Neither these Silicon Valley Business Ink. materials nor any portion
>   thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and
>   non-commercial use. Silicon Valley Business Ink. will not be held
>   liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or
>   in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any
>   damages arising from any of the foregoing.
>   ______________________________________________________________________
>
>References
>
>   1. http://www.svbizink.com/
>   2. http://www.svbizink.com/subscribe
>   3. http://www.svbizink.com/
>   4. form field = text entry field
>   5. form field = image-submit button
>   6. http://www.svbizink.com/exec/advSearch.asp
>   7. http://www.svbizink.com/otherfeatures/briefs.asp
>   8. http://www.svbizink.com/otherfeatures/calendar.asp
>   9. http://www.svbizink.com/closeup/default.asp
>  10. http://www.svbizink.com/otherfeatures/fasttrack.asp
>  11. http://www.svbizink.com/series/default.asp
>  12. http://www.svbizink.com/inkspots/default.asp
>  13. http://www.svbizink.com/opinions/default.asp
>  14. http://www.svbizink.com/pulse/default.asp
>  15. http://www.svbizink.com/special/default.asp
>  16. http://www.svbizink.com/otherfeatures/spotlight.asp
>  17. http://www.svbizink.com/turningpoint/default.asp
>  18. http://www.svbizink.com/weeksfullcontents/default.asp
>  19.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=TLS&Template=SVBIZINK1.menu
>  20.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=MLM&Template=SVBIZINK2.menu
>  21.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=CPR&Template=SVBIZINK3.menu
>  22.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=FIN&Template=SVBIZINK4.menu
>  23.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=HRD&Template=SVBIZINK5.menu
>  24.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=NET&Template=SVBIZINK6.menu
>  25.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=STW&Template=SVBIZINK7.menu
>  26.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=CSE&Template=SVBIZINK8.menu
>  27.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=ECM&Template=SVBIZINK9.menu
>  28.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=PEL&Template=SVBIZINK10.menu
>  29.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/ind_display.pl?Account=RLT&Template=SVBIZINK11.menu
>  30. http://www.svbizink.com/aboutsvbi/about.asp
>  31. http://www.svbizink.com/aboutsvbi/man.asp
>  32. http://www.svbizink.com/aboutsvbi/ed.asp
>  33. http://www.svbizink.com/aboutsvbi/backgroundphilosophy.asp
>  34. http://www.svbizink.com/aboutsvbi/locationsdirections.asp
>  35. http://www.svbizink.com/subscribe/default.asp
>  36. http://www.svbizink.com/svbievents/default.asp
>  37. http://www.svbizink.com/advertise/default.asp
>  38. http://www.valleyscene.org/
>  39. http://www.eversgroup.com/
>  40. http://www.rmsreprints.com/
>  41. javascript:history.go(-1)
>  42.
http://alliance.marketwatch.com/custom/alliance/interactivechart.asp?symb=LUV&astyle=0,0,0,0,0,0,0,10,0,0&c=179&urlpull=&logourl=&post=0
>  43. http://www.deque.com/
>  44.
http://alliance.marketwatch.com/custom/alliance/interactivechart.asp?symb=LUV&astyle=0,0,0,0,0,0,0,10,0,0&c=179&urlpull=&logourl=&post=0
>
>
>
>

Received on Monday, 19 May 2003 21:11:04 UTC