Southwest founder Herb Kelleher, a fierce advocate for advertising, dies
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Herb Kelleher, the lawyer with a Texas swagger who built Southwest Airlines Co. into the biggest discount carrier and set the standard for budget air travel for more than three decades, died Thursday. He was 87.
Kelleher’s persona as a chain-smoking devotee of Wild Turkey whiskey fit Southwest’s creation story: He and Texas businessman Rollin King used a cocktail napkin in 1966 to sketch a plan for flights in a triangle of Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. Their formula of short, frequent, no-frills trips spawned dozens of imitators, made Southwest the largest U.S. carrier by domestic traffic, and led to an annual profit streak dating to 1973.
“His stamp on the airline industry cannot be overstated,” Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said in a statement confirming the death. “His vision for making air travel affordable for all revolutionized the industry, and you can still see that transformation taking place today.”
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