As someone who is no stranger to traveling and has a mom for a travel consultant, Southwest Airlines has always been our top choice of airlines to be on. Southwest airlines is a unique company when viewing through the lenses of public relations. From their press releases on their newsroom to their corporate social responsibility, Southwest highlights exceptional public relations examples. The company does a decent job upkeeping their newsroom, but there are always ways to improve for the future. I will lay out those details in this blog post.

According to Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Southwest Airlines does an excellent job at applying this definition withing its own public relations department.

  Questionable press room

It is evident that Southwest Airlines values the relationship between them and the public. It do an excellent job by updating the newsroom with press releases multiple times a month throughout the year. One of the issues I noticed often was press releases that are not newsworthy. I encountered several press releases on “What to watch on your flight,” followed by the month the release was written. I do not feel that is effective PR. Another issue I saw, anything that was important in their newsroom did not reflect their social media. It had me question the level of importance of the topic and why it has not been addressed on social media. The reason some of these press releases are not as newsworthy as others, is because they put out press releases that deal with what is happening within the company. They could create a separate newsroom for non PR press releases.

Environmentally excellent goals for the future

One of Southwest’s goals is their endless commitment to respecting the planet. In 2023, Southwest Airlines launched an updated sustainability strategy Nonstop to Net Zero, which outlines the path to achieve net zero by 2025. It highlight the ways to achieve net zero through: addressing carbon emission through fuel and operational efficiency initiatives, recycling and partnering with different organizations whose work compliments our efforts to achieve our goals.

Backlash in the media

Recently Southwest Airlines has recently been under fire for changing their seating arrangements and ending their long standing policy of offering two free checked bags to all customers. Starting in 2026 Southwest will be offering booking for assigned and premium seating. Customers took to X(formally known as twitter) to share their reactions to the new changes. “Southwest Airlines may soon find that, if they become just like every other airlines, formerly hardcore Southwest loyalists will start treating them like every other airlines,” X user Drew Hudson said. Another former loyal customer of Southwest stated on X “As someone who has flown almost exclusively with Southwest Airlines for the last 10 plus years I am no longer loyal. Will I possibly fly them again sure, but I have 0 loyalty and I’m not happy about these changes. Might cancel their card even,” X user Michael Oliver wrote.

Strong executive leadership

If you are wondering who the face of the company that would be CEO, Bob Jordan. He does an excellent job of being vocal about issues that are happening with the company that in turn affect the public. Recently Southwest has made changes, going from unassigned seating to assigned seating and ending the two-bag free policy. Most of his statements can be found in the newsroom. Bob is also active on his social medias which include platforms like X (formally Twitter), Instagram and LinkedIn. 

Although the newsroom does need work, Southwest Airlines does seem to show an understanding of effective PR. I noticed throughout my research there is strong emphasis on having clear and transparent leadership following their corporate social responsibility. While the airline company has faced controversies throughout the year, the company is always transparent about what is going on which helps foster the relationship with its audience.

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