This story is part of the Iconic Brands series, a USA TODAY network project showcasing the companies and brands that helped shape the nation’s identity, economy and culture. The series celebrates American ingenuity with a deeply reported examination of how brands intersect with history, community and everyday life in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Find more athttps://usatoday.com/usa250/iconic-brands
Company historian Richard West stood in the archive room at Southwest Airlines headquarters in Dallas, holding up a pair of blue suede shoes that’s among thousands of historical artifacts built up over more than a half a century.
The shoes are scuffed up and spray-painted, presumably with a can of Krylon from a home improvement retailer. They once belonged to Herb Kelleher, the legendary CEO who built Southwest into something the airline industry had never seen before.
He wore the blue shoes on stage at the company’s annual chili cook-off, performing an Elvis song to a large gathering of employees. It was theater, sure, but ask just about any employee of the company and they would tell you leadership has always placed high value on expression and fun.
“(Kelleher) really got into the theatrics,” West said.
The Elvis get-up is just one of the costumes worn by CEOs who inherited Kelleher’s conviction that an airline could be both profitable and pleasurable. Those present at the Dallas facility on Halloween throughout the years have seen Woody from Toy Story and Gene Simmons from Kiss, among others.
“Work hard, but have fun doing it,” West said. “That’s what (Kelleher) taught us.”
There’s a level of memorialized company history one simply doesn’t expect inside a corporate headquarters. Among notable artifacts is an original stewardess uniform — the orange hue is faded and the now slightly-yellowed boots have seen better days, but it still matches pictures showing attendants wearing it. Other pieces of history at the Southwest HQ range from a small leather-wrapped ice bucket from 1973 and neckties designed by fifth graders, to meticulously curated, 1:1-scale recreations of Kelleher’s and former company president Colleen Barrett’s offices.
The facility truly feels more like a museum than a place of work for thousands of employees.
And maybe that’s the point. For more than five decades, Southwest Airlines has operated on a premise that an airline could “democratize the skies,” treat employees like family, allow time for silliness and still turn a profit. In large part, this is how the company developed and continues to carry a reputation as the people’s airline.
As America approaches its 250th anniversary, Southwest’s story reads like a quintessential American fable about a company founded with an underdog mentality and a refusal to take itself too seriously, all while overcoming lengthy litigation and innovating out of desperation to ultimately become the largest domestic carrier in the U.S.
The company was born at the swanky bar of the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, in 1967. Rollin King, a pilot and small airline operator, met with Kelleher, a lawyer at the time. To illustrate his entrepreneurial vision, legend has it that King took a cocktail napkin and sketched out a triangle connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
West suspects the legendary napkin is probably at the bottom of the Bexar County landfill, but it proved to be a revolutionary vision.
At that time, fewer than 1-in-10 Americans had ever been on an airplane, West said. Air travel was expensive, formal and regulated down to the penny by the federal government. Passengers often wore suits, and airlines competed on white-glove service rather than price. The notion that ordinary Texans might fly between cities for a business meeting or a family visit seemed farfetched.
West said co-founders King and Kelleher envisioned an airline that would use traditionally sized aircraft, but offer quality customer service at a highly competitive price.
“It was just not something that was available to many folks, particularly in Texas at that time,” West said.
The effort to get the company’s first plane off the ground involved more than four years of legal warfare. Established carriers Braniff and Texas International saw Southwest as an existential threat, fighting against their operating certificate all the way to the Texas Supreme Court. West said competitors knew Kelleher was not proposing just another airline. He wanted to democratize the skies.
Southwest’s board, hemorrhaging money on litigation before operating a single flight, voted to fold the company, but Kelleher refused. He paid the legal bills out of his own pocket, and on June 18, 1971, Southwest finally took to the air with three Boeing 737s and a skeleton crew of employees who had no idea if they would even have a job in six months, and they almost didn’t.
By 1973, Southwest’s only profitable route was from Dallas to Houston, and Braniff knew it. In February of that year, Braniff launched a “get acquainted” sale, slashing fares from $26 to just $13, presumably with the expectation of Southwest throwing in the towel soon after.
But CEO Lamar Muse had a different and novel idea. Southwest would opt to match the $13 fare for customers who wanted that deal, but for those willing to pay the full $26, the airline would hand them a full-sized bottle of Chivas Regal, Crown Royal or Wild Turkey.
Maybe it was desperate, but it delivered.
“If you decided you didn’t care for one of the spirits they would offer you, for your ticket, you could get one of these leather wrapped ice buckets,” West said, holding up a bucket in the archive room. “I don’t know what you do with the ice bucket, other than serve drinks, but it was kind of a consolation prize.”
Southwest for a brief period was actually the largest distributor of spirits in Texas in an effort that helped the company survive and see its first annual profit at the end of 1973. After that, Southwest would post 47 consecutive years of profitability, only ending due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The heart logo on every Southwest plane isn’t just about branding. It’s a tribute to the airline’s home, Dallas Love Field. When DFW Airport opened on Super Bowl Sunday in 1974, every other carrier abandoned Love Field for the sprawling new facility, but Southwest stayed, and that decision became a competitive advantage. While business travelers at other airlines spent an hour in traffic getting from DFW to downtown Dallas, Southwest passengers could be in a meeting in the Central Business District about 15 minutes after landing.
Southwest in 1977 chose LUV as the company stock ticker symbol, and yes, it represents their beginning at Love Field, but also something more. Under Kelleher’s leadership, the airline leaned into an ethos of warmth, informality and genuine care for customers that might have seemed somewhat radical in the industry. Flight attendants weren’t just service workers, they were cultural ambassadors empowered to be themselves.
Sandra Force, who joined Southwest as an attendant in 1971, became the face of the airline in its early years. The former Miss Tennessee, who appeared in Esquire magazine and numerous Southwest ads, still flies with the company today.
West said passengers often want a photo after recognizing her.
“I see so many of my family on this plane tonight, and it’s such a joy to fly you home,” Force announced through the PA on a recent flight to Dallas.
The word “family” is used frequently at Southwest. It’s in the culture centers, each providing a piece of the company story, scattered throughout the headquarters, which has expanded through the decades to more than 2 million square feet. It’s in the Halloween tradition that began with Kelleher and continues today, with the CEO dressing up each year. It’s also in the rubber chickens that hang at the bottom of every flight simulator, a silly and superstitious nod to the company’s first training device, which only seemed to work when the chicken was present.
Lenora Mitchell, a 15-year customer service agent in Oklahoma City who works in the baggage service office, said the company’s emphasis on love gives employees the opportunity to be who they are “as individuals.”
“That’s what makes us different,” Mitchell said. “We’re allowed to show the culture of Southwest Airlines.”
Mitchell’s job often puts her face-to-face with passengers who are frustrated because their bags have been delayed or damaged.
“You can walk into my office very upset,” Mitchell said. “But I promise you, when you leave, you’re either going to be giving me a hug or thanking me. I never have a passenger walk in and leave the same way.”
After recently helping a passenger whose bag was delayed during an AKA sorority convention, Mitchell received a heartfelt letter. She said the customer praised their interaction as “what the company needs in order for customers to keep traveling.”
Sept. 11, 2001, tested the values Southwest had established in its early years. As the airline industry reeled and competitors quickly began furloughing employees, Southwest’s leadership gathered in their Dallas boardroom. Then CFO Gary Kelly knew they needed to conserve cash, but he and Kelleher were adamant about layoffs being a last resort, not the first.
Southwest took a quarterly loss, but remained profitable that year. It also kept its promise to employees.
In 2020, the company navigated the COVID-19 pandemic by securing federal payroll support and actively reducing non-essential spending. Like most major airlines, Southwest didn’t turn a profit that year, but it did maintain its 50-year record of no involuntary layoffs.
Another crisis would push the company to its limit in December 2022. Winter Storm Elliott exposed critical weaknesses in Southwest’s operation. A massive cancellation event began on Dec. 21, 2022, escalating significantly through Christmas and peaking the day after, when the airline canceled more than 50% of its flights, initiating a systemwide reset.
Over a period of 10 days, Southwest canceled nearly 17,000 flights, but Chris Perry, senior external communications consultant at Southwest, said the company came out of the event better.
“It forced us to take a look at ourselves in the mirror and (figure out) what areas we haven’t invested (in) enough,” Perry said.
Southwest, Perry said, had under-invested in its ground operations, including an inadequate amount of de-icing equipment and operational resilience. He said the crew scheduling system worked as designed, but poor operational decisions overwhelmed the technology.
The response was comprehensive. Southwest invested in closed-cab de-icing trucks so employees weren’t exposed to brutal cold. It added de-icing pads at major airports and implemented de-icing summer school to train thousands of ground operations employees. It also upgraded weather prediction tools to better assess snow conditions. Additionally, Perry said the company changed processes so that operations and technology teams coordinated more closely.
“We didn’t look for excuses,” Perry said. “We said, ‘We’ve got an under-investment in our operation, and we need to fix it.’”
Data shows it worked. Southwest in 2024 was voted second in Wall Street Journal’s airline ranking and topped the list in 2025.
On Jan. 27, 2025, Southwest made a seismic change by introducing assigned seating. For 54 years, Southwest had been known as the airline where you picked your own seat, and checking in 24 hours before departure determined the boarding position.
This decision was made because customer data showed preferences had shifted, Southwest spokesperson Ashley Bain said.
“People just want to know where they’re going (to sit) when they get on the plane,” Bain said.
Fernando Montes, a frequent Southwest flyer, is among those who appreciate the change. He took a moment at OKC Will Rogers Airport on March 11 to share why he flies with the airline. His reasons included the competitive price and the friendly service that sometimes includes a birthday celebration or another personalized acknowledgement for passengers. As for the seating change, he said it eliminates hassle.
“I actually prefer it because I hate rushing in there trying to find a seat,” Montes said. “I want an aisle seat, so it’s easier that way.”
The change is part of Southwest’s attempt to balance heritage with modern air travel. It also modified its bags-fly-free policy last year. However, standard A-List members and Rapid Rewards Credit Cardholders receive one free checked bag, and A-List Preferred and Business Select fares get two free bags. While the shifts weren’t met with approval by everyone, Perry said they’re necessary evolution.
“We’ve always been known for our service and the way we care for our customers and employees,” Perry said. “That’s still true. Now that our policies are maybe a little more in line with the rest of the industry, that experience is what we believe really sets us apart.”
When asked about summing up the company’s contributions to the nation over the years, West highlighed Southwest’s democratic nature.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on the freedom to fly,” West said. “We’re a very different airline than what we were when we began, but I still think it’s a great product that we have to offer folks, whether it’s that business trip of a customer to Los Angeles, or myself taking the family to Disney. That really is a product that, if it wasn’t for Southwest, I don’t think I’d have that privilege.”
The Iconic Brands 50 identifies American companies that most profoundly shaped the nation’s identity, economy and culture. Selection emphasized historical significance, industry-building innovation, measurable economic influence and lasting cultural impact. Brands were chosen for transforming daily life or becoming enduring symbols of American values. Long-term relevance and sustained national influence carried greater weight than short-term financial performance or recent popularity.