Openness, not opposition, to change is the North Star that has guided Southwest Airlines during its growth from scrappy regional carrier to national leader. With the airline industry facing turbulent times, Southwest needs to keep making smart changes while weathering storms that could drive it off course.
Southwest CEO, Bob Jordan, recently made a novel but necessary decision, pivoting from Southwest’s trademark open-seating system toward assigned and premium seating. This departs from a practice at the heart of the airline’s brand. But it is on-brand with Southwest’s nimbleness, as exemplified by its founder Herb Kelleher, who famously said, “If you don’t change, you die.”
