Travelers can look forward to buying tickets for Southwest Airlines’ new premium seats beginning sometime late next year, CEO Bob Jordan said Thursday. «Selling the new products [is] back half of 2025, and operating the new products [in] the first half of 2026, all of that is on track,” he said at a Goldman Sachs investor conference. The new extra-legroom seats are part of a bigger transformation of Southwest’s product that will see it discard its open-seating, egalitarian model that it credits for much of its success over the past 50 years. Other changes include assigned seating, red-eye flights, and international partnerships, the first of which will be with Icelandair. The changes follow pressure from an activist investor, Elliott Management, for Southwest to improve its financial performance. The new products and flights are expected to generate billions of dollars in new revenue for the airline in the coming years. Southwest is investing “hundreds of millions” of dollars in the new extra-legroom premium seats and other changes, Jordan said. The work includes updating more than 60 of Southwest’s technology systems to sell the new products, and securing Federal Aviation Administration approval of the new seats. The changes are not without risk. The airline has built its brand around its unique product and business, and risks alienating some customers as its offerings become something closer to the other major U.S. airlines.
AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes Shares His Crisis Comms Playbook
20.11.2024 - 16:33 / skift.com / Tony Fernandes / Gordon Smith
AirAsia co-founder Tony Fernandes is one of the best-known leaders in the airline industry. He’s also one of its most outspoken. Addressing the Skift Global Forum East in Dubai on Wednesday, he described sustainable aviation fuel as “stupid” and said he has no regrets about exiting the Indian market.
Reflecting on his sometimes controversial communications approach, Fernandes said openness is a key part of his leadership style.
“I like to be transparent, I like to be real. Some people can appreciate it and a few sometimes take it the wrong way – but the airline and travel business are tough so I like to add humor. I like to add fun because it keeps us all sane. Some people can’t handle that.”
The Malaysian entrepreneur had an audience of millions across X and Facebook before leaving both platforms to take his views elsewhere. Fernandes is currently most active on LinkedIn, regularly sharing candid insights with almost 200,000 followers.
“My social media is unfiltered. No one is going to tell me what to say. I like to be transparent to our customers and partners,” said the music executive turned low-cost airline pioneer.
While Fernandes is famed for his upbeat online content, the AirAsia chief told Skift how he managed one of the biggest challenges of his career.
In December 2014, Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off, killing all 162 people on board.
“We speak about the positives, but I had one of the worst times of my life when we lost an aircraft in Indonesia. I came from the music business and suddenly I’m confronted with people losing their lives on our aircraft.
“Our lawyers said ‘Oh, you don’t need to go there Tony,’ and I said ‘Are you crazy? I’m the leader of this brand. I can’t just be there for good things. I have to be there for all of our staff.’ So I flew out to Indonesia and met every single relative and gave my mobile phone number to everybody. I kept the world informed at that point through Twitter. It kind of became an example of how to handle disasters.”
As CEO of AirAsia’s parent company Capital A, Fernandes and his team are currently working to merge AirAsia and long-haul division AirAsia X. The goal is to streamline operations and turn Kuala Lumpur into a low-cost “megahub.”
Until recently, a defining characteristic of the AirAsia empire has been its corporate complexity. Now, it stands to simplify by bringing AirAsia and AirAsia X together as one while leaving aside most of the group’s laundry list of non-core business units.
In April, it was announced that Fernandes will stay on as the company’s top executive for another five years. He has led the company and its predecessors since 2001 after famously buying a tiny regional airline for
Anna Sui Shares Her Favorite Lipstick and Eyeliner
I start out by washing my face with my line’s cleansers, the clearing oil and cleansing water. Then I use my plumping lotion; it has these gold specks in it and it really does something nice to your skin. I use Clearstem’s Hydraglow stem cell moisturizer before I put on my foundation, and then at night I’ll put on their Clearity serum with vitamin C and mandelic acid as well as their CellRenew serum. The beauty product most nostalgic to me is red lipstick. It’s something I started to wear once I moved to New York, because my mom didn’t let me wear lipstick as a teenager. I’ve been using Anna Sui Cosmetics the longest; we’re going on 25 years of that. We always do a red lipstick, number 400, that I wear. I also like the Nars lip pencil in Dragon Girl that I put underneath my lipstick. And I always wear my Perfect eyeliner. I use this eyeliner brush that’s Thierry Mugler, and it’s thick — it gives me that wide eyeliner look that I like. I wear my signature winged eyeliner everywhere, even when I go to the gym, even when I go to the drugstore. I love going to Bigelow [in the West Village] because they have a bubble bath that I like, Mistral in Lychee Rose Floral. I realize that bubble baths must not be popular now, because it’s really hard to find. But I like those bubbles. I guess from old movies, you always see the glamour pusses in the bathtub with all the bubbles. Garren New York, he’s cut my hair forever and nobody cuts hair like Garren. I get so many comments like, “You have such a great haircut.” I get my hair cut maybe three times a year, but I trim my own bangs in between with whatever scissors I have on hand. I wash my hair with R+C Television shampoo and conditioner or the Primary shampoo and conditioner and masque from their Bleu collection. I always use a Denman brush. Every time I go to London, I buy some from Boots. I also just bought a Dyson flat iron. I guess I copy my mom because she always wore fragrance, Chanel No. 5, and lipstick. I wear fragrance every day. I’ve been wearing our new Electric Whisper. I love the black currant and lychee, which give a slight fruitiness, but then the pink pepper patchouli and vetiver add a spiciness. And of course the hint of rose. Again to the gym, to the drugstore … it’s just natural for me to wear it all the time like my mom. The other thing I always wear is nail polish. My favorite color is Seafoam Green. I hate chipped nails, so I usually do my own, twice a week.
Notre-Dame Is Reopening for Visitors This Week—Here's Everything You Need to Know
“You did your alchemy here on this site to turn charred coals into art,” said France’s President Emmanuel Macron after he toured the newly restored Notre Dame. Five years since the cathedral caught fire, the iconic Parisian landmark is finally reopening to the public.
Fly to Paris, Rome, and More for As Low as $317 Roundtrip With This Airline's Fare Deals
Black Friday and Travel Tuesday may have come and gone, but travelers still have plenty of ways to save on an upcoming flight. Norse Atlantic Airways, a growing low-cost carrier that operates flights between the United States and Europe, recently published dozens of discounted round-trip fares starting at $317. Travelers can score deals on flights out of New York, Orlando, Las Vegas, and more U.S. cities to popular European destinations such as Athens, London, and Rome. Best of all, the discounted fares can be booked now for travel throughout 2025. For example, travelers can snag a $395 round-trip economy ticket from New York (JFK) to London (LGW) between October 1, 2025 through October 11, 2025, or a spring break getaway between Orlando, FL (MCO) and London (LGW) in April 2025.Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of round-trip deals including:
Tired of Chicago winters, this Gen Xer retired at 46 and moved to Bangkok. It cut his monthly spending by half.
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This Under-$50 Digital Camera Captures All My Favorite Travel Memories
Growing up with my very own digital camera, I fell in love with snapping pictures of everything—there was nothing more exciting than seeing life in pixels (and cell phone cameras had not yet been born). As I got older, though, I became more pretentious with my photography (as, perhaps, we all do)—only seeking out 35 millimeter film cameras (a.k.a. my old beloved, Canon AE-1) for the vintage-feel golden grain shots and thrill of precision. Attention to the detail, light, and depth—all catering to the “perfect shot,” and for sustainable use of semi-expensive film.
I was born and raised in Salt Lake City. These are 5 things first-time visitors shouldn't miss if they visit Utah this winter.
Utah's tagline, "The Greatest Snow on Earth," isn't just a marketing ploy — the state really does have some of the world's most sought-after powder, making it a skier's paradise and pulling nearly 7 million visits to its 15 resorts each year. And at the heart of it all is the state's capital, Salt Lake City.
Gatwick Airport reopens following evacuation this morning
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Jeff Bezos is selling one of his private jets for $39 million after upgrading to the newest Gulfstream G700
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Visit Portugal Shares Tourism Updates and What’s New
Portugal is one destination that continues to rise in the ranks amongst global travelers' interest.