Anonymous ID: c2a900 Jan. 3, 2019, 6:13 p.m. No.4587529   🗄️.is 🔗kun

https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-fi-herb-kelleher-southwest-airlines-20190103-story.html

 

Bob Westermann said, “He set the airline industry on their ears. He wrote the book on how to change a dysfunctional industry and bring smiles to their employees AND their customers RIP.”

“I had the pleasure of meeting him when I worked at American Airlines. His kind is rare these days. Wonderful man. He will be missed,” said Lynda Kersen.

In the late 1960s, the nation’s airlines were a clique of venerable companies that offered onboard dining, movies and other amenities to make flying pleasant but pricey. Fares approved by federal regulators made air travel a luxury that few could afford.

Kelleher was a lawyer in San Antonio in 1967 when a client, Rollin King, came to him with the idea for a low-fare airline that would fly between San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. Kelleher guided Southwest through a thicket of legal obstacles thrown up by other airlines, and the new carrier began flying in 1971.

Southwest kept costs low. It flew just one kind of plane, the Boeing 737, to make maintenance simpler and cheaper. It gave out peanuts instead of meals. There were no assigned seats. It operated from less-congested secondary airports to avoid money-burning delays.

Southwest turned a profit in 1973 and hasn’t suffered a money-losing year since — a streak unmatched in the U.S. airline business.

Kelleher became Southwest’s chairman in 1978 and CEO in 1982, as federal regulation of airline prices was disappearing. He led the company through its period of greatest growth. As Southwest entered new cities, it forced other airlines to match its lower prices. Federal officials dubbed this “the Southwest Effect.”

Today, Southwest carries more passengers within the United States than any airline. While critics say Southwest has come to resemble the bigger carriers that it once fought against, it created a model of streamlined operations, low costs and lower fares that spawned similar airlines around the world.

 

If Southwest was different, so was its garrulous CEO — a wisecracking chain smoker who bragged about his fondness for Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey.

 

Kelleher was so outgoing that it would take him ages to walk through an airport — he seemed to stop every few feet to chat with employees and passengers. He had a booming laugh, a bottomless trove of anecdotes, and a lawyer’s precise way with words.

Kelleher showed a flair for wacky marketing antics. When Braniff tried to drive Southwest out of business by undercutting its fares — prices that ensured both airlines would lose money — Kelleher offered a bottle of liquor to anyone who bought a full-fare Southwest ticket. Kelleher said that business travelers with expense accounts and a thirst for booze made Southwest the biggest liquor distributor in Texas for a time.

When Southwest and a smaller aviation company both claimed the same advertising slogan, Kelleher proposed to settle the dispute by holding an arm-wrestling contest with the other CEO. Kelleher, clenching a lit cigarette between his teeth, lost the match, but the victor — impressed by the publicity the stunt generated — let Southwest keep using the tagline.

As Southwest added service to more cities, executives of other airlines — and some of their passengers — dismissed Southwest as a cattle-car operation for cheap travelers. Kelleher answered with a TV commercial in which he wore a paper bag over his head and promised to give the bag to any customer who was too embarrassed to be seen flying on his discount airline.

The TV ads and the Elvis costumes helped make Kelleher the public face of Southwest and probably the most recognized person in the airline industry.

In 1999, at age 68, Kelleher was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He kept working, commuting between Southwest’s Dallas headquarters and a hospital in Houston, but the incident added urgency for a succession plan.

In 2001, Kelleher stepped down as CEO and president, and he retired as chairman in 2008. Even after leaving, he remained on the payroll and went to the office regularly.

 

https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2019/01/03/southwest-airlines-founder-herb-kelleher-passes-away-at-87/

Anonymous ID: c2a900 Jan. 3, 2019, 6:25 p.m. No.4587707   🗄️.is 🔗kun

https://www.instagram.com/realdonaldtrump/?hl=en

 

Trump's wall of silence: President appears in White House press briefing room to push for U.S. Mexico barrier with a coterie of border agents but takes NO questions from reporters and then posts a Game of Thrones meme

It was his first appearance behind the podium that other presidents have used for press conferences in the nearly two years since he took office

Surrounded by border agents, some of whom also spoke, he pushed for a wall

'You can call it a barrier. You can call it whatever you want. But essentially, we need protection in our country,' he said. 'The people of our country want it'

He left after roughly ten minutes without taking questions from reporters

Last-minute gathering had been billed as a 'briefing' with White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders who appeared but did not take questions either

He congratulated Nancy Pelosi on her election as House speaker before leaving

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6555699/Trump-appears-White-House-press-briefing-room-push-border-wall.html

Anonymous ID: c2a900 Jan. 3, 2019, 6:48 p.m. No.4587999   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Blake Nordstrom, 58, co-president of retail giant Nordstrom, dies suddenly after announcing battle with cancer just last month

The company revealed Blake Nordstrom had been diagnosed with lymphoma in December but said his condition was 'treatable'

He had planned to 'continue to work throughout this process as normal' at his family's Seattle-based company

But on Wednesday Nordstrom said in a statement 'it is with deep sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Blake Nordstrom'

Blake, a lifelong employee of Nordstrom after working his way up from the stockroom, had been co-president of the group alongside brothers Pete and Erik

He was the great-grandson of company founder John W. Nordstrom

 

Blake Nordstrom, the co-president of his family retail company Nordstrom, has died suddenly after announcing his battle with cancer just last month.

 

The company revealed the 58-year-old had been diagnosed with lymphoma in December but said his condition was 'treatable'.

 

He had planned to 'continue to work throughout this process as normal' as his family's Seattle-based company.

 

But on Wednesday Nordstrom said in a statement 'it is with deep sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Blake Nordstrom'.

 

Chairman Brad Smith said in a statement: 'My heart goes out to the Nordstrom family and everyone at the company during this difficult time. Everyone who worked with Blake knew of his passion and deep commitment to employees, customers and the communities we serve

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6556185/Blake-Nordstrom-58-president-Nordstrom-dies-suddenly-announcing-cancer-battle.html