Southwest Virtual is founded in October 1999 by Nick Warren

Shawn Anderson begins tenure as CEO & Webmaster, along with Michael Hamann, Assistant CEO, and long-time Human Resources Director, Marv Jamieson.

"SATCO Certified Web Site" - From the early days of Southwest Virtual to today, we have encouraged our pilots to explore the world of online, live ATC, starting with SATCO, the precursor to VATSIM.

"Stormchasers" becomes a regular event, flown on VATSIM, seeking out weather that most pilots prefer to avoid.

The first version of the operations system is released, introducing a database driven system to manage the pilot roster, file PIREPs, and automate other operations of Southwest Virtual.

Southwest Virtual partners with ATA Virtual as a codeshare partner.

To align with the airline model, the terms "Crew Base" and "Crew Base Manager" are used in favor of "Hub" and "Hub Commander."

Southwest Virtual's web presence gets a refresh, further integrating the operations sytem throughout the entire virtual airline.

Mark Tolkacz assumes the role of CEO, along with Eric Ness as Vice President of Flight Operations.

To increase realism and align the virtual airline with the real-world counterpart, the Kansas City, Nashville, Seattle Crew Bases cease operations and consolidate into the remaining Crew Bases.

The current leadership team is assembled, with Patrick Hull, Jason Sokoloff, Jan-Michael Allen, and George Bowman.

100,000 flights! With the virtual airline being founded in 1999, automated flight tracking and a logbook system was not implemented, but by our count with our available data, we crossed the 100,000 mark in early 2013.

"Bad weather taxiing..." Jason Sokoloff, Vice President of Flight Operations and our in-house authority and resource on 737 operations leads a group flight on VATSIM to simulate deicing and other ground ops during very low visibility and winter weather conditions at the Denver International Airport.
Check out the video!

Bidding for trips is introduced. While many virtual pilots are free to explore the route map, airline pilots do not choose individual flights ad-hoc and are unable to spawn from one airport to another without a way of getting there. This is our way of providing a framework for choosing flights and for adding character a specific feel for each crew base experience.

Our "Fly the line" series launches, featuring Youtube streams hosted by Jason Sokoloff and often featuring a number of pilots following along and learning flying technique and unique details and nuance to the 737 that is difficult to find.
Southwest Virtual Operations Channel