Southwest 2.0: The Radical Reinvention of America’s Favorite Cult Airline
Skift Take
Southwest is starting to look a lot like other airlines after decades of going its own way. There will be bumps and some loyal passengers will gripe. None of that will matter if it delivers on its profit goals.
Is Southwest still Southwest? Assigned seats. Bag fees. Expedia listings. Even talk of lounges.
For decades, Southwest had shunned these tactics. Leave them to American, Delta, United, and all the other carriers that look and act the same, the thinking went.
Southwest co-founder and former CEO Herb Kelleher, who died in 2019, was one of the most influential innovators in aviation and championed low fares, tight cost control, and friendly customer service, which for a long time made Southwest a profit leader and beloved by legions of flyers.
Kelleher remains a mythical figure at Southwest. At its Dallas headquarters, a bright red button still plays three versions of his boisterous laughter — one of the few things that hasn’t changed.
In less than two years, following an activist campaign by Elliott Investment Management, Southwest has upended its business model. The changes mark one of the most dramatic strategic shifts in recent avi
