Pushkin Industries
05 November 2025
It's hard to make money running an airline - but Southwest was profitable every year for nearly five decades. How did it manage it? Business History hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith explore how a carrier with just four airplanes shuttling across Texas revolutionized flying by offering free whisky, cheap late-night tickets and free-for-all seating allocation. Southwest developed a winning formula that forced its competitors to change how they did business - but then the Southwest model fell apart. Find out why. Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm Key books: Hard Landing by Thomas Petzinger Jr; Nuts by Kevin and Jackie Frieberg Other sources: The Theory of Economic Regulation by George Stigler; Fortune Magazine: The Rapid Descent of Southwest Airlines; Southwest Airlines: When Herb Met Rollin. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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