I ended up in Dallas for an unexpected four days in February when I was trying to avoid getting caught in the middle of a snowstorm in New York. I had some Texas barbecue, tried actual Tex Mex for the first time, and I spent a day at Southwest Airlines’ Dallas headquarters interviewing executives about Southwest’s makeover.
Compared to last year, Southwest is now a completely different airline. It has assigned seats and boarding — plus extra legroom seats. There’s no more “two bags fly free.” You can find Southwest flights on Expedia or Google Flights. The carrier is even installing Starlink and potentially considering opening lounges.
I wanted to understand how Southwest executives are thinking about the changes and how every stakeholder, ranging from customers to unions, feels about them. Southwest faced a heated activist campaign from Elliott Investment Management, which sped up the imminent makeover at the carrier. Now, Southwest is expecting a surge in profits this year. Wall Street loves Southwest 2.0. But customers are more polarized. Is Southwest still Southwest?
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Explore the state of play for loyalty in the aviation industry, and particularly, how travel protection represents a clear example of a highly valuable offer in this context, as peace of mind is at a premium during a time of broader uncertainty and change.
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One of aviation’s biggest leaders is making a surprise move.
In this clip from Airline Weekly Lounge, Gordon Smith and Jay Shabat react to Willie Walsh stepping down from IATA to become CEO of IndiGo.
After leading major airlines like British Airways and IAG, Walsh is now taking on one of the fastest-growing carriers in the world.
– Meghna Maharishi
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