The rise and fall

Currently Playing: The rise and fall of Southwest Airlines

For 47 straight years, Southwest Airlines was the unbeatable disruptor — the scrappy low-cost carrier that outsmarted every legacy airline in America. But behind the smiles, Boeing 737s, and “bags fly free” branding, something was breaking. Outdated systems, leadership shifts, and decades of under-investment created the perfect storm that led to the infamous 2022 holiday meltdown, where Southwest canceled nearly 17,000 flights and stranded over two million passengers. Big thanks to HighLevel for sponsoring this video. Head to https://www.gohighlevel.com/michael-girdley to find out why I call High Level the Swiss army knife for small businesses — it handles email, texts, funnels, CRM, and more, all in one place. You can try it free for 30 days. Looking to become a channel member to support our production and receive exclusive content? Sign up here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-mfn4ibOC5ewLcpmgl0C4g/join Get the 2-minute cheat sheet for this video → https://girdley.com/youtube 👇 SUBSCRIBE for more business breakdowns https://www.youtube.com/@Michael-Girdley?sub_confirmation=1 Get my free guide → Why Great Businesses Fail: 10 Multi-Million Dollar Mistakes To Avoid: https://links.girdley.com/10fails-yt ------------------------------------------------------------------ ► For sponsorships or inquiries please reach out to: Contact@girdley.com ► Get my weekly letter to business owners: essential insights to run, grow, and stay ahead in your business → https://links.girdley.com/newsletter-yt ► Free events on all things small business: https://links.girdley.com/lectures-yt ► Deep dives on businesses for sale: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquisitionsAnonymousPodcast ► Follow me on Twitter/X: https://x.com/girdley ------------------------------------------------------------------ In this deep-dive documentary, we break down the full rise and fall of Southwest Airlines — from Herb Kelleher’s revolutionary model to the catastrophic IT failure, activist investor takeover, culture collapse, and the shocking shift toward bag fees, assigned seating, and layoffs. This is how America’s most beloved airline became the one fighting for survival. If you love business breakdowns, corporate rise-and-fall stories, and company deep dives, you’re in the right place. Subscribe for more business documentaries every week.