Bags Fly Free

Originally released on September 27, 2020, Episode 3 features Marianne Malina, President of GSD&M telling the story of the fateful 2009 board meeting where Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelley chose to reject the tradeoff choice that led every other major air carrier to begin charging for the 1st and 2nd checked bag. What was pilloried by analysts at the time as an inexplicable rejection of much-needed cash, proved to be the smartest bet in the industry by the end of the year. It wasn’t just luck either. There is a method to Southwest’s “madness” and that is the 3rd thing you should know about stakeholder capitalism.

The ke ...