Southwest Airways CEO Bob Jordan tends to not put on fits when flying so he can provide the flight crew a hand.
In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Occasions, he revealed his personal flying habits, talked about Southwest’s latest determination to finish long-standing insurance policies, and shared recommendation he bought from legendary cofounder Herb Kelleher.
Jordan stated he prefers the window seat, however sits within the aisle when flying for enterprise so he can stand up, discuss to the flight attendants, and transfer in regards to the cabin.
“I serve snacks. I choose up trash. Then I am going sit within the cockpit and discuss to our pilots,” he instructed the Occasions. “I don’t need to be crawling over individuals, so I have a tendency to sit down on the aisle so I can get out and do stuff.”
The truth is, he seldom wears a swimsuit when flying and often wears a vest or polo shirt as a result of he needs to work with the crew. Fits are usually reserved for visits to Washington, D.C., and conferences with lawmakers or different officers.
Jordan even instructed his useful habits prolong to the bottom crew.
“I need to go downstairs and unload baggage. It’s tremendous arduous to unload baggage and get within the stomach of the plane with a swimsuit on,” he stated.
The CEO additionally mentioned reactions to Southwest’s determination final yr to finish its well-known open-seating coverage and start charging for premium seating in addition to its pivot earlier this yr to sharply cut back its “baggage fly free” coverage.
“I do know we’ve some that aren’t blissful—and we’ve many, many, many which are blissful,” Jordan stated. “You need to maintain speaking as a result of typically individuals don’t perceive what you’re doing. What I discover is that when people know the place we’re headed, they’re very excited. I feel you simply should play by way of this era of change as a result of change is difficult.”
He acknowledged that Southwest has to play “a little bit of catch-up” with different airways by transitioning to the brand new insurance policies in a matter of months and never years.
However he denied the adjustments have been pushed by activist shareholder Elliott Funding Administration, which sought a shakeup on the airline. The airline revamped its board final yr however saved Jordan as CEO.
Jordan was additionally reminded that he began at Southwest in 1988, when Kelleher was the CEO, and stated they met on his first day.
When requested what Kelleher, who handed away in 2019, would consider the massive adjustments occurring at Southwest at present, he answered with some recommendation he bought from the airline’s cofounder.
“One of many No. 1 Herb quotes was, ‘When you don’t change, you die,’” Jordan recalled. “Herb didn’t construct the airline to be about open seating and plastic boarding playing cards. That was an outgrowth of desirous to be environment friendly. Herb constructed the airline round being completely different from a service perspective.”
