Hedge fund Elliott calls for vote to replace Southwest Airlines board of directors
DALLAS – The investment group pushing for major changes at Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has called for a special meeting to replace the company's board of directors.
In a news release Monday, Elliott Investment Management said it wants to hold a vote on Dec. 10.
The call for a vote comes weeks after Southwest outlined a series of major changes at an investor conference last month aimed at raising profits, including the end of its longstanding open seating policy and the addition of red-eye flights.
Elliott on Monday called the changes long overdue but said new leadership is needed.
"Absent a thorough reconstitution of its Board, the story of Southwest will remain one of empty promises and unfulfilled potential," the news release said. "Southwest's shareholders cannot afford to see – yet again – today's new initiatives turn into tomorrow's broken promises."
Southwest did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Elliott, which owns 11% of Southwest stock, and airline leadership have been at odds, with Elliott arguing the company has long resisted necessary changes to increase financial performance and stock price.
The two sides met last month, agreeing to make some changes to the board. Board chairman Gary Kelly also announced his intentions to retire next year. Elliott also wants to replace CEO Robert Jordan, but Kelly has dug in to support him.
For its first 50 years, Southwest was a profit machine never logging a full-year loss until the pandemic crushed air travel in 2020. Since then, Southwest has been more profitable than American Airlines but far less so than Delta and United.