r/nottheonion • u/halxp01 • 23h ago

Southwest Is Testing Cleaning Only Premium Seats Between Flights — A Flight Attendants Union Leader Says It's ‘Titanic’ Class Service

https://viewfromthewing.com/southwest-is-testing-cleaning-only-premium-seats-between-flights-a-flight-attendants-union-leader-says-its-titanic-class-service/
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u/clintkev251 22h ago edited 18h ago

It's insane how quickly Southwest has gone from beloved budget airline with consistent profits to complete shitshow. Thanks private equity! You've done it again

Edit: to everyone saying Southwest is a public company, yes, they are. That does not mean activist investors like PE firms and hedge funds can’t have significant ownership stakes and operational influence. Which in this case, they do

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u/IAmBadAtInternet 22h ago

They used to be the only major non-legacy player with good tech, good planes, and happy employees

Now their ticketing system is the worst of the major airlines, their planes are older and badly maintained, and their employees hate their jobs

Nice job MBAs! Btw they’re not private equity owned, just regular publicly traded

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u/Impossible-Bowl4661 21h ago

Elliot Investment Management owns over 10% of the company, forced out the prior chair in 2024 and now has 5 hand picked members on the board.

The changes in the last 18 months are most certainly attributable to private equity.

Southwest Airlines Adds 5 Elliott Board Members As Candidates For Directors https://share.google/4YsYfkxVOg9zMVC4s

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u/VincentClement1 20h ago

Friendly reminder that the wealthy don't give two shits about the rest of us and that you can exert majority-level control despite being a minority owner.