https://www.reuters.com/business/southwest-airlines-names-doug-brooks-board-chairperson-2025-07-31/

Southwest Airlines names Doug Brooks as board chairperson

July 31, 20255:18 PM CDTUpdated 12 hours ago
Southwest Airlines planes and vehicles sit on the tarmac at Nashville International Airport in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo Purchase Licensing RightsJuly 31 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) said on Thursday it has named insider Doug Brooks as the independent chair of its board, effective August 1.The company also said the appointment follows Rakesh Gangwal's decision to step down from his role as chair, due to additional time commitments unrelated to Southwest, but would still remain on board. He became board chair last November.

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Southwest also announced formation of a new "Fleet Oversight Committee" to assist the board in its oversight of the carrier's aircraft fleet acquisition strategy, of which Gangwal would serve as chair.

Gangwal will also continue to serve on the finance and the nominating & corporate governance committees, the company said.
Brooks, who has served as a director at the carrier since 2010, had previously been chief executive at Brinker International (EAT.N).Southwest has been struggling to find its footing after the COVID-19 pandemic. Its lackluster earnings have fueled pressure to revamp its business model.
Advertisement · Scroll to continueAmong some of the changes, Southwest has ended its open seating policy, which had been central to its brand image for more than 50 years; it also rolled out a new basic economy fare and, in the last quarter, it began charging customers for checked bags, ending a unique free policy.

Depressed travel demand in the U.S. domestic market in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's trade war has only compounded its challenges. Southwest, the largest U.S. domestic carrier, last week reduced its profit estimate for the year by as much as $1.1 billion.

 

So you're saying there's a chance! lol. Trigger warning for the UA/Delta fanboys. Bring on the 787! I kid obviously, but it is a strange development to announce an entirely new committee like this.l

In all seriousness, it would appear that change is certainly on the horizon, and the days of a single fleet type are perhaps numbered. We can argue all day about what that other fleet or fleets would be, but something else certainly seems imminent.

 

Gangwal abruptly leaving chairman to run a new “fleet acquisition committee” is definitely…interesting. Especially considering the airline he started has a substantial number of A350s and A321XLRs that are starting to be delivered.

The specifics are anyone’s guess but there are definitely deals being made with someone for something other than the 737.

 

We're retiring 700's....that's not changing. We're getting Max 8's....slower than we need new planes. We want Max 7's....but Boeing can't build a plane to save their life. So do we keep getting 175 seat planes that we really don't need (we need 150 seat planes to offset the 700's leaving)....or do we buy another airframe from Airbus (220 would be a perfect fit)? We can always sell off the airbus if Boeing gets their **** together....I just don't know how much longer they can kick the can down the road before it falls off the cliff and explodes.

 

Putting Gangwal on some new Fleet committee is like putting Tom Brady on the football committee at a high school

If you don't think "new football ideas" are inbound soon, your head is buried in the sand

 

The max 7 was ordered light years ago when SWA was never going to do anything different under Gary Kelly. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they cancel all orders and go with something else. Boeing would probably be thrilled at this point.

If the goal is to become a true international airline it would make much more sense to go with something smaller than the max 7 to capture as much capacity as possible from the Rapid City’s of the country and feed them into the hubs like every other airline. No doubt Embraer would bend over backwards for SWA.

 

Totally agree with this. Canceling (or threatening) the Max 7 would be the ultimate power move because they need our orders to make it economically viable to build. What a joke.

 

220 is a way better plane than the 190. Order book is ridiculous for the 220 and there’s a reason nobody’s bought many 190’s. Buying Breeze would get you at the front of the line though…they should’ve put an order in during Covid after the rolling delays started. I don’t care if the -7 shows up or not….I want mgt to quit slacking off and make a damn decision already. Jr people are getting their asses handed to them due to **** poor decisions from HQ.

 

We could pretty easily convert the max-8 into 150 seat aircraft... 5 rows of real business-class 2x2 seating with free (working) wifi, power outlets that work, and a couple drink coupons would be more attractive that whatever it is we're trying to sell right now. Throw in a free premium snack box and some soft airplane slippers, maybe even a hot damp washcloth before giving them their drink and snack just to make them feel even more special. Add a free checked bag and a guarantee they'd never have to check their carryon. Board before the wheelchairs too.
Instead of whining about wrong-sized planes, we could actually FIX that. Pull out some cheap seats, add a few less really nice seats. Hmmm sounds risky to copy what pretty much every other airline including spirit does to make more money...

 

220 is a great airplane and comparable to the Max-7 in range and payload. But I don't think we should discount the E190 E2.

We would be the first US carrier to operate it. The legacies scope language prevent it from being outsourced to the regionals and for whatever the reason don't want to operate them at the mainline.

But even without transcon range it's a heck of a nice platform and very customer friendly. I agree that before we venture into more than a handful
of heavies, we need a ~100 seat airplane to go into the myriad of small cities we don't already serve and would NEED to serve to provide incremental feed to the heavy during the slow season. Knoxville, Greensboro, Roanoke, Burlington, Syracuse... you name it. There's opportunity in them thar hills!