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July 23, 2008

ABCNews.com Column: One-on-One with Southwest CEO Gary Kelly

Filed under: Southwest, ABC News — Rick Seaney @ 8:54 am
I had a terrific time last week, conducting a one-on-one interview with Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, and here’s some of the stuff I learned:

  • Southwest is not the only airline that hedges fuel
  • Loyalty programs may be on their way out
  • Airline survival may depend on how well a carrier can mimic Southwest
  • Customer satisfaction (at Southwest) means telling customers “the truth”

Kelly also talked about the emerging economic dominance of China — and what a force they will be to contend with. He’s not exactly sure what that dominance will mean though — but he did remind me about that old U.S. business slogan: “As GM goes, so goes the nation…” Well, we all know how GM is doing these days.

You can read about all this and lots more in my latest ABCNews.com column (for example, did you know in the early days of Southwest, the carrier lured new customers with Chivas Regal giveaways?)

Check it out; I think you’ll enjoy it.
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