Southwest CEO on How a Maturing Airline Can Keep Its Competitive Mojo
Photo Credit: Southwest founder Herb Kelleher (left) and CEO Gary Kelly in March 2015. Southwest Airlines
Skift Take
With American and Delta increasingly matching Spirit's low fares, Southwest will find it difficult to maintain any low-fare advantage that it still has. Still, Southwest has a lot going for it and its growth opportunities both within the U.S. and internationally are abundant.
When it comes to competing against the likes of Spirit and Frontier, is 48-year-old Southwest Airlines like the middle-aged guy who can longer fit into his college jeans?
A financial analyst asked Southwest CEO Gary Kelly precisely that question during a presentation at The Wings Club in Manhattan December 10.
After quipping that the analyst was getting "personal," Kelly acknowledged that airline bankruptcies (Delta, United and American) and startup competition (Spirit, Frontier and Alle
