Herb Kelleher moved to Texas in 1962 with plans for a career in law. Instead, his early legal battles on behalf of an upstart airline propelled him to the top of the aviation industry as he led Southwest Airlines in its fight to remake air travel with low fares and a fun-loving attitude.
Kelleher, the legendarily colorful co-founder and longtime executive who embodied the spirit of the Dallas-based airline, died Thursday. He was 87.
“His vision for making air travel affordable for all revolutionized the industry, and you can still see that transformation taking place today,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement. “His legacy extends far beyond our industry and far beyond the world of entrepreneurship. He inspired people; he motivated people; he challenged people -- and, he kept us laughing all the way.”
Kelleher's easy laugh and fierce competitiveness set the tone for the underdog Southwest as it grew from three planes serving three Texas cities in 1971. Today, Southwest is the country's largest domestic airline, with service to about 100 destinations, and a 45-year stretch of profitability unrivaled in the famously volatile industry.
He dressed up as Elvis Presley, performed rap songs on training tapes and starred in self-deprecating TV commercials in which he missed his plane, tried to use an expired credit card and claimed credit for the company's success to employees' eye rolls. A chainsmoker with a penchant for Wild Turkey bourbon, he also joined employees in passing out peanuts or loading bags on flights.
“I think we will look back on Herb Kelleher as an example of the kind of people who ought to be our leaders,” former American Airlines CEO Bob Crandall said Thursday night from his home in Florida. “He was a man of great imagination. He was a man of diligence. He paid careful attention to the details. And he was a man of integrity.”
Kelleher was also a formidable adversary, helping fend off attempts by larger airlines to squash Southwest even before its first flights.
As a San Antonio-based lawyer, Kelleher helped incorporate the company that would become Southwest in 1967 with his friend and client Rollin King. The early days involved a battle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow Southwest to operate its intra-Texas network of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. That was shortly followed by a fight to keep Dallas Love Field open for Southwest operations even as other airlines relocated to the new DFW International Airport.
Kelleher became chairman of the company in 1978 and chief executive in 1981, as Southwest began its steady ascent in the recently deregulated airline industry.
"Southwest Airlines would not be in existence today had not the other carriers been so rotten, trying to sabotage us getting into business, and then trying to put us out of business once we got started,” Kelleher said in 1985. "They made me angry. That's why Southwest is still alive. I'm not going to get beaten, and I'm not going to let anyone take advantage."
Under Kelleher's leadership, Southwest pioneered a low-cost, low-fare model that hinged on industry-leading employee productivity and innovations like the 10-minute turn, which kept Southwest planes flying for as much of the day as possible.
“When Southwest started, very few Americans had ever been on an airplane. Today, almost every American has, and it’s no exaggeration to say that’s because of Southwest,” said Seth Kaplan, editor of the industry publication Airline Weekly. “Other airlines mimicked and in some ways took the model even further. But it started there.”
Kelleher and longtime confidante and former Southwest President Colleen Barrett fostered a legendary culture at the company that was built on caring for employees and customers. It has since become a model emulated by companies around the world.
“He didn’t see being disciplined and fiercely competitive as mutually exclusive with loving people and treating them with dignity,” said Kevin Freiberg, a speaker and consultant who co-authored a book on Southwest’s culture with his wife, Jackie. “What’s the secret sauce? It’s not airplanes or hedging fuel bets. ... It’s the fact that people were treated with dignity and love and cared for like family.”
Kelleher stepped down as CEO and president in 2001 and retired as chairman in 2008, after a successful campaign to lift the Wright Amendment restrictions that had constrained Southwest’s Dallas operations since the 1970s.
Kay Bailey Hutchison, now U.S. Ambassador to NATO and formerly a longtime U.S. senator, worked with Kelleher to lift the Wright Amendment restrictions that stunted Southwest’s growth for many years.
Kelleher was neutral in early discussions about expanding Southwest service beyond Texas and the contiguous states, she recalled. But once he got on board, it "really became a mission for him.”
"He's very smart and very creative and that was helpful” Hutchison said. “We had so many great experiences building Love Field and aviation in the state. He was so much fun to work with.”
Kelleher kept his office at Southwest's Love Field headquarters after retiring and was a regular presence at the company. He also served in various community roles, including as board chairman at the Dallas Federal Reserve from 2011 to 2014.
Richard Fisher, president and CEO of the Dallas Fed during Kelleher’s tenure, called him a “civic titan” and “wise counselor.”
“I will never forget his spot-on advice when I worried aloud that we weren’t unwinding our policy of zero interest rates and reducing our balance sheet quickly enough,” Fisher said. “Richard, he said, you can’t go from Wild Turkey to cold turkey overnight.”
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said Kelleher exemplified what’s great about the city’s business environment.
“Dallas is known for not old money, but for people who came and made their way here," he said.
Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat had known Kelleher since the 1970s, when he used to frequent the Palm Restaurant in the West End.
"They had parties back there, and he used to come in with Rollin King," Biernat said. The restaurant eventually named a room in the back for him.
"That room is where the idea of the Just Plane Smart arm-wrestling contest came about," Biernat said. Kelleher and the president of a South Carolina-based airline arm-wrestled for the right to the slogan after they realized they’d both been using it.
Biernat said Kelleher last came to the restaurant with his sons to watch the Texas-Oklahoma Red River Rivalry Game in October.
"Herb was such a good guy and kind to everyone, and he loved to share what he knew about business with the people he met," Biernat said.Biernat said Kelleher last came to the restaurant with his sons to watch the Texas-
Kelleher was born March 12, 1931, and raised in Haddon Heights, N.J. He attended Wesleyan University and received his law degree from New York University. He is survived by his wife, Joan, three of their four children and many grandchildren.
Staff writers Melissa Repko, Karen Robinson-Jacobs, Cheryl Hall and Laura Jacobus contributed to this story.
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