The One Decision That Tanked Southwest Airlines

[@TheHustleChannel]

Get the 5-minute newsletter keeping 2M+ innovators in the loop: clickhubspot.com/qey9

[@thomdigiacomo5154]

@@TheHustleChannel this information regarding South West’s involvement in rushing the launch of the Max came out in the Max crash investigation s. Yes Boeing was trying to infer that the Max was the same plane flying characteristics as the -8-and -9 to avoid the costly and timely retraining of pilots but Boeing had reservations on doing this It was only after South West put pressure on Boeing did Boeing go forward with the disception. Certainly Boeing is complicit in this cover up but hadn’t South West put the pressure on Boeing they may have taken a different and safer decision . You can Google South Wests involvement on the Max to get a more detailed report

[@gregg3634]

RIP Herb Kellerher. He was on a flight from Dallas to San Antonio back in the early 90’s and came by and said hello to every passenger. No one believes me when i tell them this but i was there. After he left service went into a downward spiral

[@cary737]

A nearly 25 year SWA employee here: under Herb it wasn’t a job, but a mission: “to always do the right thing”! He did it for us and we did for our customers! SWA was my choice to work , over others for that very reason! Employees like me still want to see this happen, but our current management, ( as well as who eventually takes over); don’t share Herb’s vision! Sadly, we’re becoming like any other airline !

[@BillyL6]

almost all of the time when a finance company takes charge, customer service and value goes down hill

[@GarySBCA]

I’m looking at you Boeing.

[@MikeNoyb]

Customer service was always centered around woke.

[@artoro8]

@@MikeNoyb I'm not even gonna call you dumb, i just genuinely wanna know what this even means 💀💀

[@slipjones2]

Almost? No it’s always.

[@johnh2410]

SWA, with their low-cost fares, used to be my airline of choice for leisure travel but now, they're just as expensive as Delta, United or American.

[@4af]

Free bags, no ticket change fees, no expiration dates on unused flight credits still make Southwest my first choice.

[@weing]

All three of those advantages will be gone by the end of 2026

[@biblesforbreakfast]

The only problem is those are about to go away

[@jimbojimbo6873]

Can’t be your choice if they don’t exist

[@Mat-Ellis]

I was a certified SouthWest fanboi, companion pass holder for 15 years. Within 5 years of Herb’s departure I had switched my main airline. He seemed to keep out the worst habits of the majors, and when he was gone they seemed to take over. More FAs seemed to be ex-major employees and had the attitude to prove it. Even the new CEO, who was a southwest lifer, seemed to just do what the other airlines did. Sad to see. I hope they can come back but I doubt it.

[@ecuador9911]

I used to fly SWA 100%. Had a friend that worked for SWA for over 35 years retired during the pandemic. After the pandemic the “non-stop” flight I really enjoyed was “discontinued.” I now fly JetBlue that offers the non-stop SWA once offered. Bye-bye- SWA. Sad. I actually liked SWA’s open seating and SWA priority boarding was easy to get (for a small upgrade in price). SWA had a much simpler pricing strategy.

[@Carl-v6f]

I too retired from SWA in 2020 after over 30 years of service. I had the great pleasure as did many SWA employees to be personally acquainted with Herb and Colleen. When they retired it did not take long for the new “Leadership” to start making poor choices. Hawaii inter island service, flights to third world countries, embracing DEI WOLK ideology, brow beating Boeing to deliver a new 737 that would not require a new pilot type rating, stonewalling labor in contract negotiations, in my particular case costing me 10’s of thousands in potential retirement investment gains, to name just a few. Now they think emulating their legacy competitors will be an answer to their badly lagging performance. The executives will move on comfortably even wildly wealthy. The working core in the trenches will bear the brunt of the fallout. RIP Herb and Colleen.

[@d.carter3850]

Disappointed to see the focus shift immediately back to shareholders and profits and NOT the customers or the employees.

[@autumnmoonfire3944]

I’m sick of the focus on stock holders! It’s heinous theft really!

[@damnitschris_]

That’s what happens when you have investors you don’t really control the company it becomes politics inside the business

[@benchoflemons398]

What corporation’s purpose legally and ethically lay solely in creating shareholder value.

[@THELIFEOFPRICE]

Gotta take care of the people that fund the operation or there would be no airline / employees / airplane for you to fly on

[@d.carter3850]

@@THELIFEOFPRICE but that's not his the stock market works. After the IPO, the company doesn't receive any money from the trading of shares on the stock market. Instead, the money is exchanged between investors.

[@TheKcrellin]

Computer failures were Southwesr's main problem in 2022. But the worst disaster was losing their way after Kelleher retired. As a flier on SW since 1997, I can confidently say that as soon as he retired you could see lots of little decisions shifting them away from Kelleher's vision. My main concern now is their possible move to assigning seats. Once that happens everything that made SW unique (and the best) will be gone, and at that point all airlines will be equally bad.

[@yukon4511]

Southwest had a bad day in Florida. Every airline has them. It's a tough business, unlike Monday morning quarterbacking on the internet. Those pilots who predicted it now make more than the President of the United States. Think that has anything to do with losses? The Southwest business model worked great for 52 years. To scrap it in favor of a system that caused hundreds of airline failures in past years is ludicrous. Herb said don't go to Hawaii, it's a blooddbath, don't buy big planes, don't hub and spoke. Now a hedge fund is going to fix it? I doubt it.

[@FlyingElf777]

Have you seen Obama’s house collection? They don’t make more than tbe president. They also have led Southwest to one of the best safety records in the world. That doesn’t come cheap.

[@jonathanfriedel]

No one is running southwest as a team, it is fragmented and the L does not know what the R is doing. The customer ethos is now long gone.

[@yukon4511]

@@FlyingElf777 obamas house ? Wft?

[@realSamAndrew]

It sounds like Sears all over again

[@realSamAndrew]

​@@FlyingElf777he didn't buy them on the $400k a year salary.

[@saladlamp2092]

Kelly's focus on shareholders and paying dividends led SW to the state it's in now. And now Elliot Management (one of its major shareholders) is forcing it to focus on profitability. share price. Seems to me they need to focus on technology, equipment, processes, and procedures. RIP Southwest.

[@matthunter1424]

You gloss over so many things here. One of the biggest tailwinds for SWA was the fact that they hedged fuel prices in the late 90s. Locking in low fuel prices before the huge fuel price increases in the 2000s. When the agreements expired, they lost one of their huge advantages.

[@supercyle]

This is right. I remember watching an interview with another airline CEO a number of years ago who was salivating at the idea of those SWA fuel contracts ending.

[@TRIChuckles]

A huge help at the very least

[@emichin7010]

Southwest Airlines ticket prices are now HIGHER than their competitors. Keep it up Southwest, bankruptcy is on the horizon.

[@scpatl4now]

The problem with point to point is if you fly from say DAL to MCI to STL to ATL to MCO with the same plane if something goes wrong in say STL, you dont have a plane (or a maintenance facility) to get everyone back in the air, and if you have a crew change in ATL then they are stuck too as well as the crew in STL that was supposed to be in ATL at the end of the day...now multiply that by thousands of flights and you get an idea of how difficult this type system is to manage.

[@gatorbna4107]

@scpatl4now Thanks for the detailed explanation of the problems with point-to-point. I didn't understand from the video, which obviously can't go into greatvdetail on every point.

[@leechjim8023]

Well Southwest did great with it all those years! They probably need to trim some excess and get back to doing what they did best. Stick with basic 737s or maybe buy CRJs or such.

[@rich4thestarz]

@@leechjim8023"We did it this way since forever". Yeah, Kodak said something similar despite having developed the earliest prototypes of digital cameras. I wonder where are they now.

[@jerkytoo8184]

My first experience with SWA was during my early college years when I'd fly back and forth between SF & LA. In the mid-90s SWA and United had a price war and at one point I was getting one-way tickets for $19. It's a crazy-low price now and was a crazy-low price then.

[@PelosiStockPortfolio]

Flights were super cheap in 2001 right after 9/11 happened. I was a broke college sophomore and just started dating this girl who was really into southern history. For a third date I bought us a flight from LA to Savannah Georgia for like $50

[@musclesmouse]

$19 to any city in Texas was awesome

[@donniearmand332]

the new management doesn't really understand the philosophy that make Southwest, a Southwest

[@JasonWoolridge-o1l]

Elliot they're about making profit all investors live and die on the philosophy 💵 Money talks but who's willing to listen ✈️

[@JasonWoolridge-o1l]

Under a private investor it's they're way or nothing at all 💵

[@2006gtobob]

I noticed a big shift in SW in 2020 and 2021. I flew quite frequently with them, 8-12 times a year for several years, and all of a sudden, the staff started treating customers with some distain. After 2022 the prices shot up through the roof and scheduling went into the toilet. As my wife and I are fortunate enough to own multiple homes I finally learned to travel light and just fly with Frontier.

[@flyingdaytrader]

Assigned seating is a huge turn off for me with Southwest, if they make it so bags arent free anymore, probably wont ever fly them again, even if they are "cheaper". I'd rather fly with United or Delta. Southwest is losing its soul to investors.

[@biblesforbreakfast]

Same I don't want to see a sign seating on a Southwest flight. Honestly that was the thing I most enjoyed about flying with them that I got to pick the flight seat right when I got there.

[@johnk4617]

Same here, the current seating system is fast and easy. Going to the assigned seating route will lead to higher cost for the traveler and slower aircraft load times.

[@supercyle]

And less leg room. They've said they're adding more legroom seats, which means everyone else gets less.

[@billyray3761]

I retired from Southwest after 17 years. Everything he said is true. The shareholders cried and moaned about more money and that’s when the company went downhill. They started micromanaging everything and stopped listening to the employees. It was becoming utter chaos and I took retirement. They are also about as woke as you can get.

[@saboabbas123]

So are Delta and United. That doesn't leave me much choice. It's too far to drive.

[@rictech.]

Spot on

[@wshwe]

What does woke even mean? 🤡

[@TheSecondWitness]

@wshwe You cannot be serious.

[@bradleymcwilliams6348]

Not what Herb would've done...

[@chuckinhouston9952]

Ya think?

[@leechjim8023]

Me thinx😂

[@supercyle]

The end of open seating is the canary in the coal mine for me. I'm an anxious flyer and being able to pick the seat that looks and "feels" best has always been meaningful for me, as well as the free checked bags and generous cancellation policy. But now many airlines have removed cancellation fees, you can easily sign up for airline credit cards that come with free checked bags, and other airlines have more thorough international routes. I've always actually prioritized SWA/LUV domestically, but with the ending of open seating, and all the sales (that never seem to manifest in actual savings these days) and whatnot, I feel like this is the beginning of the end.

[@Warmachine_23]

Another thing to mention is the lack of the 737 Max7. These are meant to replace the aging 737-700s, but have been delayed for 5 years now. This means Southwest has had to upgage flights to the larger Max8 or -800, increasing the cost of operating these flights without necessarily increasing profits.

[@biblesforbreakfast]

This is another big factor but I honestly think that cutting all their perks out is going to really lower their value as an airline.

[@biblesforbreakfast]

Regardless of what planes are flying

[@JM-ey6fe]

How incredibly refreshing to hear a CEO say the words “I messed up, this is on me”. Accountability it just top!!

[@billb7636]

Fun fact: that was the NEW CEO, Robert E. Jordan, who started in just 2022 - he is the one who took responsibility, although he did not make the mess. The previous CEO, Gary Keller (guy that ran the airline into the ground) left just before his chickens came home to roost.

[@JM-ey6fe]

@@billb7636If this is the way he handles challenges bestowed upon him by the previous administrator, it sure seems like he is a man with integrity. It’s nice to see.

[@hughofIreland]

Assigned seating will be a really horrific mistake.

[@chuckinhouston9952]

Big time mistake.

[@jasongable3521]

How much you want to bet the will charge flyers for the ability to choose their own seats, and prices will be dependent on the location in the aircraft?

[@hughofIreland]

@@jasongable3521 Of course they will; they’ll also introduce a variation of a first class cabin.

[@weing]

@@hughofIreland and charging for bags will be next.

[@THELIFEOFPRICE]

I prefer knowing where I’m going to sit. Why would somebody prefer NOT to?

[@kyle5555]

Love southwest. I was caught up in that Christmas meltdown in 2022. It just gave me more time to spend with my family and southwest gave me 25000 points which I used to fly back home to go on a family cruise. Southwest is the best airline out there, period, I hope these investors don’t ruin it.

[@couespursuit7350]

Southwest has been a hub and spoke airline for over a decade. Many of their destinations require a flight through Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Oakland, Baltimore ETC. Is flew for 30 years for a US Major Airline out west and flying through these SWA hubs and having friends that had tickets on SWA with two legs to their destination it was plain as day they are not a point to point airline.

[@scottmUTCS]

Great video. I really like your presentation style. You are a talented and well spoken content creator.

[@JoshSmith-me7oe]

I always liked the open seating because for example if there was a crying baby or someone I didn’t want to sit next to, I could go elsewhere

[@ronparrish6666]

But if you're the last one to get on with the open boarding system and there's one seat left and it's beside the crying baby you got no choice of seats

[@biblesforbreakfast]

Yes I agree with this completely Josh. It has made many a flight much more enjoyable.

[@biblesforbreakfast]

Also saves the flight attendants a lot of time having to worry about trying to reseat people

[@randyduncan795]

Yes I will choose Southwest the next time I fly. I just took a trip with them last week and found the same great service they've given me for over 30 years. Southwest is how I get to work. There have been a few minor problems over 3 decades but they properly addressed every one of them. As I check a bag on every flight I've seen damage to a few bags. I can count the incidences on a hand and every single time SWA replaced my bag in a very simple and quick process. But if they go to assigned seating I might have to try United Business because if I can't choose who I sit next to I want a seat big enough to keep them on their side of the armrest.

[@MQT-]

I hate the open seating b/c we are a family of 3 that's why I flew with SW once in all my years of travel. I have to admit, they are a very customer friendly airline and I will definitely consider them for 2025 with assigned seating.

[@ADHJkvsNgsMBbTQe]

The problem was a change in management and not treating employees right, plus being more concerned about short term profits than upgrading software. The use of 737, point to point, and so on were/are not the problem. Of course the overriding downfall will be the new activist investor meddling and betrayal of what kept customers loyal.

[@arturowagner4728]

I worked as a TA in grad school and I updated a case study on Southwest Airlines. I find their current situation mind boggling....

[@dindog22]

I love Southwest but they certainly aren't turning the plane around in 10 minutes anymore

[@tomedgar4375]

I flew multiple times weekly in the 1999 to the 2005 era to variable destinations and Southwest was always my first choice. Two years ago started flying again to Chicago on a quarterly basis and initially went back to Southwest. After two round trip flights I’m done with them. I understand mistakes but have no tolerance for rudeness.

[@iam4iamWe]

Outstanding video.Well done, Sir! Excellent editing, music, applying the music correctly, amazing presentation skills, and amazing script. Your storytelling of Southwest was superb 👌. First time to see your channel. Very impressive. You have talent, or your entire team is talented. Again, impressive. Oh, and I watch everything at 2x speed so I can swallow more info in less time, and it still worked beautifully.

[@truthseeker9454]

I'm done with Southworst. Will not fly them again after they "compensated" me for a connecting flight I missed due to weather by giving me a voucher for a night's stay flea bag hotel in Atlanta -- at a rate higher than I could have gotten online. A Southworst employee in Richmond had told me they would have someone in Atlanta to rush me to the connecting flight in time to make it. In Atlanta they looked at me like I was crazy. Lied to me, then scammed me for the hotel. Fool me once shame on me. Not gonna fool me again.

[@rayhankamer864]

very professional video

[@tedblandrealtor]

Great explanatory video! I don't love Southwest, but they offer the only non-stop flight between Phoenix and Buffalo, NY (where my family lives). For that reason, I fly Southwest the most. I've never encountered any serious problems flying Southwest, but I do enjoy other airlines like Alaska and JetBlue when I get to fly them other routes. Once again, great production on this video, The Hustle.

[@marcroberts5251]

at least they didn't crash during the Crowdstrike situation 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@Vegaswill714]

I was a big fan of Southwest, I was "A List Preferred" (highest customer tier) for many years. Long before 2019, I noticed the service deteriorating. If you flew in the late day (after 3:00 - 4:00) it seemed like a 50-50 chance you would be delayed by 1/2 hour or more. That was because of the point to point system; even if the weather was perfect at your departure or arrival location, there was a chance that the plane ran into some delay along its route, which involved stops at 4 or 5 cities. I was caught in the 2021 debacle and have lost confidence since.

[@JasonWoolridge-o1l]

Make the Southwest app more user friendly 📱

[@michaelsteiger8509]

Point to point was how EVERY airline operated with a kiss of hub to hub…

[@brawnbenson552]

SWA is responsible for the 737MAX debacle. They forced Boeing to keep the 737-800 and 900 compatible with the MAX so they wouldn’t have to re-train their pilots. Thus handicapping Boeing.

[@thomdigiacomo5154]

One issue nit mentioned was in the fact that is was South West that forced Boeing to hide the MCAS so that you didn’t have to loose time training pilots on the new 737 MAX and get the new variant into the air quickly. Since South West was the biggest customer for the 737 Max Boeing acquiesced to South West. The two crashes was partly due to South West.

[@SupremeCakeVR]

And where did you see that? Boeing was the one that wanted to advertise that it was “almost the same plane” as the previous 737s so they didn’t train the pilots about the mcas. Southwest didn’t to anything.

[@greyfox78569]

@@SupremeCakeVR I have to second that Southwest was, and is toying with adding Airbus to the fleet. Boeing does not want that to happen as almost all lost cost carrier switch to Airbus over time. Also Airbus was also to blame as they had doing things behind the scenes to trick Boeing into not building a 737 replacement.

[@mtnairpilot]

@@SupremeCakeVRSouthwest negotiated a deal with Boeing on the MAX that required a $1m per plane refund if it didn’t stay on the same type rating or required additional simulator training. That was part of the financial pressure on Boeing to slip MCAS in without fully disclosing the ramifications. A contributing factor from the same root cause was MCAS being driven by only one angle of attack sensor, when there should have been redundancy.

[@passthetunaporfavor]

I wasn't aware that SW made the Boeing aircraft or flight manuals.

[@thomdigiacomo5154]

@@passthetunaporfavor let’s try to be somewhat rational South west put financial pressure van on Boeing. It is Boeing who made the wrong decisions but they were driven by South West insistence on getting the Max certified quickly

[@nicholasstephens1349]

Former SWA IT recruiter here. I was the lead recruiter for the teams responsible for developing software from the crew systems and airport and aircraft ops from 2016-2019. We hired hundreds of new people from modern, large scale, and innovative companies for these areas. We had all of the right people modernizing our systems in that space. The truth is not what some may have you believe.

[@5metoo]

"The truth is not what some may have you believe." Go on

[@kevinferrin5695]

You are great at explaining these things and do it in a very engaging way. Thank you.

[@jamesbradley3291]

I have NEVER liked Southwest. I do not like its open seating system. And I have never liked its customer service. The 2 times I flew Southwest were nightmares. And now there is the question of TRUST. Will I be stranded?

[@robertgraham2656]

I didn't used to compare prices when booking flights. I just booked at Southwest. Now, I compare prices but I always end up back at SWA because it's just less expensive than the other airlines. I have never had a bad experience on SWA or any airline so I go with the lowest price.

[@TheRayDog]

You have a very nice delivery and presentation. Subbed.

[@cj4276]

I'm a former non-disgruntled Southwest Ops Agent who took the Severance Package at the beginning of the pandemic and left. I haven't flown on Southwest in almost 4 years and have absolutely no desire to fly on them.

[@susanpeterson8774]

I just found your channel! It's awsome!

[@brucesondern3132]

Great, informative and yes, I won't be back. Christmas 2022 was worse than devastasting, it was expensive. All that we could replace our cancelled flights with, both going and returning, were 1st Class flights. No reimbursements from Southwest.

[@halvanhercke3321]

I am so happy to see someone explain that this is a core point to point versus hub and spoke business model problem backed by greedy financial systems not an IT systems problem.

[@paulkoza8652]

Well done.

[@HUMDUDE]

Great video! I still choose Southwest when we fly.

[@jimandmandy]

Southwest did not invent the low cost intrastate airline. The 1949 Pacific Southwest Airlines operated as a California intrastate airline. PSA's early success as an intrastate airline served as a model for Southwest Airlines. PSA did not survive deregulation.

[@kevinallin8617]

Yes they did, they got conglomerated into USAir

[@daleferber2096]

PSA Poor Sailors Airline

[@wbwarren57]

Great video! Thank you.

[@Ldysith84]

Yep I absolutely will still choose them because they have the best accessibility policies from any airline I’ve ever seen

[@KentBunn]

They're still my first look when booking

[@rjtaylor3535]

Nice info and very nice production value. Did I miss the 1 decision? Was it buybacks? Was it dividends? Tech?

[@jonathanv9587]

Living in St. Louis, Southwest is by far the biggest airline for us, with a 61.4% market share at STL for FY 2023. So I don’t have much choice.

[@douglasgrossi196]

Unbelievable you have nail every situation that happened with such a great airline. It gets to the point that for whatever reason companies by the time they evolve it’s almost too late…I wish them the very best and will do my best to continue doing business with them. It’s really was a meltdown and time will tell how they’ll bounce back . Definitely assigned seating will be a major plus , people have been taking advantage of it for so many years, a minor change that will make a big difference.

[@lousyracuse]

Unfortunately for me, outside of three flights Southwest is the only airline that flies in/out of Long Beach, CA. Both JetBlue and Allegiant used to fly there, but got into hassles with the city over noise abatement and when they they left and SW took their spots. It was worth the hassles for me to SW rather than deal with LAX. That time may be coming to a close due to their increased prices.

[@bryonmacpherson1470]

Nice job.

[@marcman844]

Ever since I lived in Texas and flew Southworst twice i swore never to fly them again and haven't since. Don't miss them and don't care.

[@karlrambo2987]

To call SWA “worst” is to deny the existence of Frontier, Spirit, Sun Country, or to pay the ridiculous United fares or sit in any of the many, many regional lines of Delta or American. I fly Southwest as often as possible because it offers the most direct flights of any airline from my non-hub city.

[@ds898]

Thank you very much for such a thorough explanation! I am subscribing.

[@jgoodgood7795]

You got yourself a new subscriber 🎉

[@viphomeconcerts]

Very interesting video. Thank you.

[@michaelsteiger8509]

Lamar Muse was CEO when profits were first reported in 73. No herb…. Lamar Muse was the starter of SW. Herb came in to fix the bankrupt starter Air Southwest…. Roland King and Lamar Muse bringing in Herb got the airline going.

[@cameronhoglan]

I was traveling internationally during the 2022 Holiday season. I was extremely lucky that l didn't take Southwest 😅

[@jonathanfriedel]

I no longer look at WN first, they are only considered if they have the only direct flight.

[@kevinsmith5448]

great video. i usually only fly delta but tried southwest for the first time this year. hated it.

[@lanierosenberg]

Studies and simulations have shown that the most efficient way to board flight passengers is to board from the window seats out to the aisle seats. Even though all airlines know this, none of them does this.

[@biblesforbreakfast]

Honestly Southwest is still my first choice but as soon as they take away the perks it's going to be less and less appealing. I'm most upset about them taking away open seating. I like getting to decide where I want to be on the plane based on how full the flight is who I might be sitting next to whether I want a window seat or an aisle seat. I feel like I'm an important part of the decision-making process when I make it for myself there and then rather than just picking a number ahead of time or worse having it assigned to me and being stuck where I don't want to be.

[@pendleton123]

There's a lot of people here criticizing focusing on profits. A lot of airlines struggled coming out of COVID. Spirit went from crazy profit to being on life support. Gone are the days we're you can just merge meaning, make money or go bankrupt

[@davidking5062]

Southwest is going to become just like the rest of the airlines. If profitability is the only factor they use I will fly any of the airlines because they will no longer offer unique customer service that is customer driven. Also, after several comments about a survey that was conducted that said they should switch to assigned seats, then received a survey which I strongly recommended against the change

[@janaka861]

I have been flying SW for over 2 decades. Am now flying Delta. The issue is that their business model worked. Low fares, no assigned seats, easy - no cost flight changes, no bag fees. They are idiots. They are now just like any other airline so… off to the best airline in the other category - Delta.

[@willn851]

Great video. Loved the host.

[@jdhaase1417]

Great video!

[@greentriumph1643]

Point-to-point is the original airline mode before the hug system. People prefer to get where they are going on a single flight.

[@mikeg0802]

Great video! You have a new subscriber here!

[@NelloCambelli]

In 1977-78, the squezzed one more row of seats which was the beginning of the end for long tall Texans.

[@MsaAli-zy4vx]

Correction: Delta restored shareholder dividends.

[@johnnyk5667]

Correction. In the beginning, the concept was an intrastate airline not interstate airline. Over time, Southwest became an interstate airline.

[@tomammentorp4716]

Great video....SWA if you are listening...I only fly SWA now but am totally against assigned seating. I don't care what your survey says; please don't change this!

[@TheSpatulaCity]

I can forgive the winter 2022 meltdown of Southwest's scheduling system. They ran an outdated system for as long as they could and when it finally failed, they admitted fault and pledged to overhaul it. Ok, that's fine. What I can't forgive is the management giving in to the Elliott Investors demands to ruin the Southwest business model.

[@dlr6025]

Southwest was piled on and scapegoated on the tech crash in what amounts to a hostile takeover. One of the circumstances that created their profitability were fuel contracts signed at very fortunate low price periods on several occasions.

[@thequintanashow5058]

My worst prob with Southwest is their freaking “anything goes” pre boarding. Even though I almost always have A1-5, I routinely have 20-25 people pre boarding …. So why am I paying to ensure I get an early board when I’m routinely “actually”A35

[@fredlawson8008]

It’s still my favorite airline.

[@texasgrillchef8581]

I won’t be flying them anymore because I don’t like assigned seating. I don’t care about baggage.

[@jakejacobs7584]

Nice job sir.

[@thomasdonlin5456]

Once Herb retired, it was over for Southwest.

[@gregzoller9003]

Its a tech problem. Unfortunately enormous $1B “initiatives” in software are almost guaranteed to fail miserably. They are managed to death, not led, usually by executives who lack any experience brining a “geenfield” project to market, or worse (much worse) outsourced to some pasty old-school company that sounds reassuring to investors and executives but hasn’t had a major hit in decades (looking at you IBM, Accenture, CSC, …) Virtually all the great modern tech we use today came from small focused teams with a crystal clear vision and minimal management. But… that’s exactly how a “managed” company like Southwest will NOT do it.

[@ebell5245]

Would I pick SW over United or Delta? Yes, it boils down to cost and scheduling. The fewer stops I have to make on a cross-country flight, the better. Comparing routes between, oh say, United and Southwest, United is far more expensive.

[@typicalme123]

Like Southwest after Herb, FedEx is going down the same path after Fred Smith stepped down as CEO

[@Retiredtraveler1961]

Great video! I was a diehard Southwest fan but gave up on them in 2023. My angst or complaint was the open seating model. One of the biggest faults they have is those requiring assistance get on first. You'll see 50 people lined up with pre-board then group a then group B then group C. I have paid for the early boarding and wound up in the B group.......🙄 Magically, those 50 pre-borders walk off the plane without an issue. I wrote a very professional letter to them stating I'm giving up my program my miles to switch to Delta, which is less convenient, but affords me a dependable seat in economy, plus. I think the assigned seat is a huge upgrade for their company. I would consider going back to them with a pre-assigned seat. My understanding is they have premium seats which I will pay for as well.

[@FFGuy-eu7hr]

The miracle at 30,000ft is a uniquely Southwest thing. Though the last Southwest flight I was on, they took 16 people off the plane in wheelchairs.

[@SonnyBubba]

TLDR: Herb Keller retired, and the airline he created was turned over to the same Wall Street empty suits that had been running the other airlines for decades. Southwest Airlines became just another airline.

[@Shuttle89]

Nice analysis- thanks. Stock buy-backs and dividends…it would be interesting to see how poor use of both of these tools suppress growth. Dividends are important, but I have seen first-hand how buybacks enrich the C-Suite at the expense of the future; kinda how not exercising now is at the expense of your future. Instead of investing in innovation, capex, business development, marketing, etc. - the largest shareholders and C-Suite just get super rich. I’ve got nothing against investors (most of us are investors) or execs getting rich, but it should be from company performance, not from stock price manipulation from buybacks or special dividend payouts.

[@DominicMazoch]

I wonder if SWA was offered a 757SP/shortened jet, and SWA said NO?