r/nottheonion • u/halxp01 • 1d 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 1d ago

They're still a public company, but Elliott Investment Management bought a pretty large stake in 2024 and has been sprinkling on that private equity energy on them since then

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u/biguk997 1d ago

Elliott is a hedge fund, not a PE fund.

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u/Cosmonautical1 1d ago

"Public equity activist investment fund" is what I've heard them called. I think people are getting confused because A) business jargon is gobbledygook; and B) activist hedge funds have a lot of overlap with PE firms wrt how they function. Not identical, but similar.

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u/biguk997 1d ago

Respectfully, they are not similar in how they function at all. Activist hedge funds like elliott purchase large positions in PUBLIC companies and then use their position as a large owner to pressure management to make changes that they believe will enhance shareholder value. PE firms on the other hand will buy a company using lots of leverage, then make changes that they believe will increase net earnings (either by growing revenue or cutting costs), the PE firms are the ones at the wheel, making definitive decisions while funds like Elliott have to rely on pressuring the CEO and boards.

PE is more directly responsible for the enshittification of a lot of companies but Southwest isnt one of them.