Southwest CEO’s Leaked Message To Employees: Keep The Hospitality—Everything Else Can Change

Southwest Airlines announced major changes to its frequent flyer program and unveiled the design of its new airport lounges at its Media Day on Thursday. While at the event, CEO Bob Jordan recorded a message to employees, a copy of which was reviewed by View From The Wing. There’s little new product detail in what he said – but there’s an important shift in who Southwest Airlines is to pick up on. The full message is below. Jordan is redefining what employees are supposed to preserve about Southwest: their hospitality. The airline’s product, operating model and who their customers are can keep changing. And the message is framed to prepare employees to accept more changes. He narrows the definition of what makes the airline Southwest to its employees. For Southwest, premium isn’t about copying somebody else’s playbook or becoming something that we’re not. It’s about creating a better travel experience, delivered through the Hospitality of our People. That’s the justification for adopting products Southwest historically rejected: the same employees delivering them with the same warmth makes those authentically Southwest products. At the airline’s September 2024 Investor Day, Jordan defended the old operating model, identifying their all-Boeing 737 fleet, point-to-point network, direct booking and low prices as the core elements of the airline. He defended free checked bags as beneficial to the bottom line. In this employee message, the continuity he emphasizes is people and hospitality. That’s a very different definition of the airline’s identity. He wants team members to remain proud of being Southwest employees without treating Southwest’s historical product choices as permanent commitments. He wants to preempt concerns about the airline just copying competitors. You will hear us describing these new offerings as ‘premium.’ He wants employees to understand and explain premium as something that’s still uniquely Southwest. He’s trying to preserve the airline’s historical friendly treatment for everyone even as some customers receive better seats, lounges and more benefits because they spend more. They can offer equal hospitality despite an unequal product. He offers a Southwest that is “accessible, approachable, and human” that offers “more value,” but makes no particular promise about fares, benefits or a simple operation. He wants those adjectives to describe a segmented airline with an expensive premium offering as much as it did the old Southwest. He opens with “Now that we’ve come through the largest transformation in our Company’s history…” but tells them “So yes, you’re going to continue to see the Southwest experience evolve.” Jordan wants to give employees a sense of accomplishment and relief. But he’s also saying change isn’t close to being finished. It’s just the foundation for further investment. He’s presenting the next changes as the payoff from employees’ work. That makes continued change easier to accept than another announcement that the previous transformation – that even included the first layoffs in the company’s history – wasn’t enough. He repeatedly describes offering a “more complete” experience and wants Southwest to serve “more of their [customers’] travel needs” and become the airline people choose “for more of the moments that matter to them.” This is about capturing more of an existing customer’s travel, alongside attracting additional customers. Someone can love Southwest for a domestic nonstop and still move their expensive vacation and credit card spending elsewhere. Lounges, international awards and premium products address those reasons to leave. He’s admitting that affection for Southwest’s people isn’t enough to compensate for gaps in the airline’s product. Oddly, he offers assurances that “Rapid Rewards will remain a points-based program…” He doesn’t promise anything about the value of points or about qualification rules. He suggests they’re offering “faster ways to earn” even as they’re reducing points-earning on higher fares. And we’ve seen what Jordan’s assurances have been worth in the past, he promised in an email to customers that Southwest would always preserve bags fly free mere months before announcing checked bag fees. Bob Jordan is offering a new bargain inside the company: employees remain the essential source of Southwest’s distinctiveness, but that distinctiveness will increasingly coexist with products and commercial practices familiar from other airlines. He wants to preserve the culture while changing the business. And he’s moved from defending Southwest’s specific operating advantages in 2024 to defending its hospitality while leaving the scope of future product changes open. He’s giving employees a way to think of becoming more like other airlines as a continuation of Southwest’s mission. Here’s the full message to employees: Well, hey everybody. Bob Jordan here. Now that we’ve come through the largest transformation in our Company’s history, it’s exciting to see the tangible results of that work come to life. I’ve talked about how we’re pursuing the Customer and showing up for them throughout their travel experience, not just when they’re onboard our planes. We want to build an airline that can serve more Customers, meet more of their travel needs, and compete and win for the future. In the past few weeks, we’ve announced plans for our first Southwest lounges, creating a new way to extend our Southwest Hospitality beyond the aircraft, in an elevated and premium environment. Lounges are another tangible part of the more complete experience that we’re building across the Customer journey. Today I’m recording this from the location where we held our Media Day and announced updates to our Rapid Rewards program. As you can tell, the space is coming together. As I record this, it’s going to be a truly exciting event. Now, Rapid Rewards will remain a points-based program our members have loved for many years, and now it’s even easier to use and be rewarded. It’ll still be quick to earn rewards, and soon, they’ll be faster ways to earn even more rewards across more moments in the journey. And, members can go more places, further than ever before. It’s an important part of how we are building deeper, longer-lasting relationships with our Customers—and offer appealing benefits to attract new ones. Let me give you some insight on why we’re making these updates. As you know, our industry is changing. Our Customers are changing. And their expectations around loyalty are changing as well. We’re evolving to meet the moment, but we’re doing it in the Southwest Way: taking what has always made Southwest special and building on it to give Customers more choice, more comfort, and more value while keeping the experience accessible, approachable, and human. You will hear us describing these new offerings as “premium.” For Southwest, premium isn’t about copying somebody else’s playbook or becoming something that we’re not. It’s about creating a better travel experience, delivered through the Hospitality of our People. That better travel experience starts with our People and the Hospitality that you deliver every single day. When we pair that Hospitality with a more modern, more complete travel experience, we give longtime Customers more reasons to stay with us and new Customers more reasons to choose us—thus deepening those relationships and strengthening the foundation for long-term growth. Of course, creating these experiences requires intention and consistency. And we’re confident that investing that time and effort will deepen Customer loyalty and create true value for Southwest Airlines. So yes, you’re going to continue to see the Southwest experience evolve. But the goal behind all of this is pretty simple: give Customers more reasons to choose us, then deliver an experience that makes them want to stay and come back. That’s how we retain the Customers who have loved Southwest for years, welcome new Customers who want more from our airline, and become the airline more people choose for more of the moments that matter to them. Thank you for everything that you do to bring this experience to life. I LUV you all. Be safe and know that we have an incredibly exciting future in front of us. Topics on this page