Southwest Airlines has made this announcement:

Southwest Airlines, in partnership with Discovery Channel, launched a campaign bringing the fun of Shark Week to flying fans this summer. The carrier is celebrating Shark Week throughout July, ahead of Shark Week on Discovery beginning Sunday, July 28.

“Our Shark Week partnership brings fun through unique offerings for our Customers and Employees,” said Brandy King, Director of External Communication who oversees the airline’s Brand Partnerships and Entertainment Public Relations initiatives. “Whether on the ground with augmented reality experiences and gate games hosted by our Employees, to inflight exclusive content on our Shark Week On-Demand Channel, or through our social channels with engaging content and a special sweepstakes, we’ll be celebrating Sharks all month.”

Southwest brings Shark Week to fans through all phases of travel and, this year, extends the immersion straight into their homes. Through an augmented reality experience, Shark Week fans engaging with Southwest through the carrier’s social channels and in airports across the country will be encouraged to “swim with sharks” by using the augmented reality experience, accessible via swa.is/sharkweek. Fans can download a filter on their cell phones to select from the five most-popular sharks featured in Shark Week programming (Great White Shark, Hammerhead Shark, Mako Shark, Tiger Shark, and Bull Shark) to swim across their screens, and share a photo or video of the experience to their social channels using #SharksTakeFlight.

Customers traveling this summer will be able to experience the fun of Shark Week in a variety of ways. While inflight, Customers can enjoy jawsome content via the Onboard Entertainment Portal’s custom Shark Week TV Series Channel. The Shark Week TV Series Channel houses a library of Shark Week episodes that Customers can sink their teeth into, plus a never-before-seen episode, Extinct or Alive: The Lost Shark, which Customers can watch nearly 30 days ahead of its premiere during Shark Week. The feeding frenzy continues as Southwest Customers tune in to Shark Week on Discovery Channel beginning Sunday, July 28, and continuing through Sunday, August 4, via Live TV onboard Southwest WiFi-equipped flights.

Southwest Employees also are getting in on Shark Week fun! Beginning July 8, Employees in 40 Southwest airports will display Shark Week materials in gate areas with which Customers can interact. Delivering on Southwest’s legendary Customer Service and Hospitality, Southwest Employees will host gate games to entertain fliers and celebrate the 31^st anniversary of Shark Week, one of the most popular and longest-running televised summer events in history.

For fans who want to experience a diving excursion, Southwest is hosting a Dare to Dive sweepstakes from July 1-31 giving a chance to land a trip to Nassau, Bahamas, to enjoy a diving experience*. Anyone may visit Southwest.com/sharkweek for a chance to win roundtrip air travel (does not include taxes and fees of at least $5.60 per one-way flight) for winner and three guests, a $3,000 gift card to The Island House, a boutique hotel, and a $375 gift card to Stuart Cove’s for a diving excursion.

One of the most popular and longest-running televised summer events, Shark Week has celebrated cartilaginous creatures for more than 30 years. This year, viewers can enjoy hours of new content that will answer some of your most pressing shark-related questions. This year’s programming will immerse fans in the lives of sharks all around the world, from the Caribbean Sea to the island of Guadalupe, and many places in between.

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Southwest Airlines in partnership with Discovery Channel has launched a Shark Week Fleet on July 9, 2018 with five aircraft entering the Southwest® network of 99 destinations and operating more than 4,000 daily flights. The five aircraft celebrate the 30^th anniversary of Shark Week, one of the most popular and longest-running televised events in history.

Each aircraft proudly displays custom artwork featuring a species of shark often showcased in a Shark Week episode. The Great White Shark and Hammerhead Shark aircraft launched from the carrier’s home base of Dallas Love Field (DAL); the Tiger Shark aircraft launched from Chicago (Midway) (MDW); the Bull Shark aircraft launched from Houston (Hobby) (HOU); and the Mako Shark aircraft launched from Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX).

The five aircraft:

Great White Shark (N470WN)

Hammerhead Shark (N705SW)

Mako Shark (N961WN)

Tiger Shark (N553WN)

Bull Shark (N947WN)

The aircraft will fly throughout the Southwest system through August 31, 2018.

“Entering our fifth consecutive year of partnership with the Discovery Channel, we are thrilled to celebrate Shark Week’s 30^th anniversary in an even bigger way by launching an entire fleet of Shark Week aircraft and premiering a Shark Week episode onboard our flights, letting our Customers have the first view of Shark Week content,” said Brandy King, Director of External Communications who oversees the airline’s Brand Partnerships and Entertainment Public Relations initiative. “Each year, our Customers and Employees share our Shark Week enthusiasm and look forward to joining the fun with our airport and onboard activations!”

Customers flying with Southwest can enjoy jawsome content via the Onboard Entertainment Portal’s custom Shark Week TV Series Channel. The Shark Week TV Series Channel houses a library of Shark Week episodes that are sure to feed your appetite until Shark Week airs on Discovery Channel beginning Sunday, July 22. Shark Week will continue through July 29 and can be viewed via Live TV onboard a Southwest flight. Beginning July 11, Shark Week premieres a never-before-seen episode of Great White Abyss for Southwest Customers via the Shark Week TV Series Channel two weeks ahead of its worldwide release during Shark Week. Great White Abyssshowcases an expedition to Mexico’s Guadalupe Island, a hot spot for Great White Sharks.

For those adventure seekers, enter the Dare to Dive sweepstakes from July 1 through July 31 via Southwest.com/sharkweek for a chance to win a five-day, all-inclusive Great White Shark cage diving trip. Southwest and Discovery will send a winner and a guest roundtrip to San Diego, with transportation to Guadalupe Island to experience Great White Shark diving firsthand. The excursion will take the winner and the winner’s guest from Southern California to Guadalupe Island, Mexico with Islander Charters, aboard the same boat as shown in Shark Week’s Great White Abyss pre-premiering onboard Southwest flights on July 11.

You can be sure that Shark Week 2018 will celebrate the 30-year milestone with new, jaw-dropping shark stories and groundbreaking insight into some of the world’s most unique shark species in the world. Viewers can anticipate episodes filmed all over the globe, from California to South Africa, and learn about different species of sharks, from Great Whites to Makos. Who knows, maybe the Megalodon will even make an appearance.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.  Void where prohibited.  Open to legal residents of 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia, excluding Florida and New York, age 21 at time of entry.  Limit one entry per person.  All fields must be completed.  Approximate retail value of prize: $8,300.  For complete details and Official Rules, visit http://www.southwest.com/sharkweek.  By submitting this entry, you agree to the Official Rules.  By entering, information collected will be used in accordance with Sponsor’s Privacy Policy at Southwest.com.  Sponsor: Discovery Communications, LLC, 1 Discovery Place, Silver Spring MD 20910.  Enter by July 31, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. C.T.

All images by Southwest Airlines.