So is this for a possible future Southwest aquisition or merger of Spirit or just a coincidence?

Just wondering if there is some sort of past merger where they brought in a CEO like this? Currently at Spirit and am living in Chicago, so just watching this closely. Not too sure what to make of it.

Honestly have no idea and I wouldn’t read to much into it. The guy that brought in actually had spirit running well pre covid prior to his departure so it may be done just to have another ULCC mentality on the board to help costs.

So much right now is being done solely to stave off Elliot that it can be hard to read the tea leaves.

My personal take on Forarno is that he was available and had airline experience. He also has like half a degree of separation since he is prior AirTran.
One of the big (and quite true) Elliott critiques of the BOD is that they had no airline experience. I imagine that this was an attempt to get a friendly face on the board who meets the wickets that will keep Elliott at bay.
I view his addition as a net positive. The current BOD is awful. They are hand picked by Gary Kelly to rubber stamp his decisions and bring nothing other than a resumé of failure to the table.

are they replacing BOD member or adding more?

Fornaro is in his 70's and sits on the BOD of a couple different airlines at the moment. Avianca and WestJet. And now SWA. He is not a friend of labor. I don't think he wants the job even if they ask. This place is a mess corporate governance wise. Throw in the fleet problem's, network problem's and product problem's. That's a tall order for any executive. Plus we have the most heavily unionized airline in the US. I said in a previous post, he has perspective. He was an executive at a network, LCC and ULCC. BJ put him on the BOD to tell the institutional investors he has airline executive on the BOD(non SWA). Nothing more.

GK is retiring as well as six board members. It's still not enough for EM and the other top institutional investors. BJ's days are numbered. When EM calls for a special meeting for the BOD which will happen soon, he's gone. Richard Anderson is a rumor floating around but he's up their in age also. Delta of today is mostly a product of him. He handed the keys over to Bastian. He did an amazing job realigning their network after chapter 11. He's not a friend of labor either. Imagine if they bring a CEO on that doesn't have airline experience? Delta guys can you tell you stories about Leo Mullin. That worries me more.

I have no problem with a CEO not being a friend of labor. GK along with his little buddy made it personal, and in doing so made a lot of poor decisions. When I say a lot , I am understating it . GK single handed ruined this place .

…and R.A. is from Texas…. Interview complete.

Yes.

You just don't want someone who has an irrational, pathological hatred for labor, or pilots specifically. The "No pilot should ever make more money than a management intern" mentality.

Anyone who has worked in SWAPA will back up the statement that "no pilot should make more than a VP" And of course, I exaggerated on the number of VPs, but we have more than any other airline. GK has turned the whole headquarters against the pilot group.. it does not bother me and I am sure it does not bother others , but doing so was not a healthy move for WN.

interesting interview on yesterday's airline confidential podcast with Oscar Munoz...

https://airlinesconfidential.com/10-2-24/