Elliott Management, the activist investor holding an 11% stake in Southwest Airlines, has nominated ten independent, highly qualified candidates as replacements on the airline’s board. These nominees include people deeply familiar with the Hawaii airline and hospitality industries, indicating potential changes that could directly impact the state’s travel landscape.
Three Southwest director nominees are well-known in Hawaii travel.
A group of familiar names in Hawaii spotlights the list proposed by Elliott. Among the nominees are the following:
Josh Gotbaum of Hawaiian Airlines fame. Gotbaum is well-known in Hawaii travel for his role as the former Chapter 11 trustee of Hawaiian Airlines until 2005. He helped successfully guide Hawaiian Airlines through its reorganization, leading it to become a top-performing U.S. carrier. His extensive experience working with Hawaiian Airlines included securing strong union relations and improving operational efficiency. Gotbaum could help influence similar target areas at Southwest, particularly since both areas remain of great concern. His LinkedIn profile reads: “I fix things… Ran & successfully reorganized Hawaiian Airlines in Ch 11, making it the most profitable US airline, returning 100% to creditors, and raising stock price by 7x.”
David Cush of Virgin America’s Hawaii Legacy. David Cush is another key figure renowned for his tenure as CEO of Virgin America. During his reign, Virgin America became a beloved brand for travelers, particularly in Hawaii flights, where the airline’s entry in 2015 marked a significant shift in the competitive landscape. Virgin America’s focus on the Hawaii traveler experience, with features like top-rated service and comfort, among other things, raised the bar for flying to and from the islands. Cush’s ability to navigate the integration of Virgin America into the Hawaii market—despite the challenges of operating such long-haul overwater flights—demonstrated his keen understanding of the marketplace and customer expectations. His influence could help Southwest adopt similar strategies, potentially elevating the airline’s service standards in Hawaii and elsewhere. Cush was Virgin America’s CEO from 2007 to 2016. Before that, he spent 20 years at American Airlines as VP of International Planning and Alliances, Chief of Sales, and strategist behind the reorg at St. Louis after American acquired TWA.
Dave Grissen of Marriott helped drive the expansion of Hawaii. During his tenure as Group President at Marriott International, Grissen oversaw significant expansions and enhancements in Marriott’s Hawaiian properties. Under that leadership, Marriott’s portfolio in Hawaii grew, with notable developments in luxury and family-friendly resorts across the islands. Grissen’s experience at Marriott may prove valuable to Southwest. His insights here could help Southwest better align its service offerings with the high expectations of Hawaii travelers, bringing improved customer satisfaction and more robust market presence opportunities. Grissen joined Marriott in 1986, with his most recent role being Group President until his retirement after 35 years in 2021.
Potential impact on Southwest in Hawaii and beyond.
With Gotbaum’s understanding of unique Hawaii airline market dynamics, Cush’s proven track record with driving Virgin America towards its acquisition with Alaska Airlines, and Grissen’s experiences in Hawaii hospitality, there could be significant shifts in how Southwest Airlines views the islands. Possible improvements might include service enhancements, customer experience innovation, and strategic route adjustments to better align Southwest with Hawaii travel.
Elliott Management’s Strategy and Hawaii: Elliott Management’s move to install these experienced directors signals their frustration with how things are going at Southwest. It also represents their strategy to revitalize Southwest operations. This could align the airline’s Hawaii services with best practices gleaned from other successful low-cost carriers and customer-centric airlines. The involvement of these familiar names could lead to improvements in customer service, operational efficiency, and community engagement within Hawaii.
As Southwest Airlines faces a potential shakeup, Hawaii travelers and our tourism industry are at the crossroads of change. The islands could see new opportunities and challenges with figures like Josh Gotbaum, David Cush, and Dave Grissen. Whether these changes will enhance or disrupt Hawaii’s travel experience remains to be seen. Still, these directors’ strong connection with Hawaii suggests a keen understanding of our unique needs.
Please share you thoughts on this possible shake-up at Southwest and how it could impact Hawaii flights.
Elliott Management will Ruin Southwest Airlines; especially with these proposed board members. If I wanted assigned seating and to be nickeled/dimed for everything, I’d fly United/Delta/Alaska/Etc. Elliott is going to make every loyal SWA customer, like me, shop the other garbage airlines. This will be a spectacular business blunder by Elliott. Future generations will be taught in business schools how to bankrupt a once great airline (perhaps this is their plan?). Herb Keller must be rolling in his grave.
Hate redeye travel. Hate changing planes. 2 things going Agai St Hawaii visitors From No. Calif Sacramento Areas. SW has made recent changes making travel Difficult @ best! Ever flown into someplace where there is Nobody to help at 6pm. Kona ! How about Sac flights to the east! Terrible! Non-dtop = $$ Listen to All Travelers for once!
David Cush is not really a lovey-dovey guy when it comes to staff. He had some pretty archaic policies at Virgin America, some which caused union card drives.
One such policy involved how they handle non-revenue travelers. An open seat, while a seat, he’d not allow standby employees to fly in First Class or in Main Cabin Select – which left a lot of staff sittin at the gate with flights pushing back with almost completely empty sections of the plane. American & United allow access into their premium cabins, but you have to pay for it. VX didn’t even allow it.
I think it should be noted that Josh Gotbaum was brought in temporarily strictly for his expertise in Bankruptcy reorganization…as I recall, he knew little of the Hawaii market and was more focused on cutting back waste and shrinking the airline to prepare it for C11 exit……