Southwest CEO Muses On Presidential Transition Ahead

NEW YORK—In a recent meeting at Airlines For America (A4A) to discuss working with the incoming U.S. presidential administration, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan was struck by two things.

“Number one, it feels very normal,” Jordan said during remarks at the Wings Club in New York on Dec. 12. “The Trump administration has a very rigorous transition team, and companies are working with the administration to talk about their priorities.”

Second was his takeaway on the “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” initiative, which President-elect Donald Trump has tapped SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to co-lead. “I walked away feeling like this DOGE effort to work on efficiencies is real,” Jordan said. “Companies are working just as hard to get their priorities to that effort as they are to getting their priorities to the [incoming] administration.”

Rumored to be near the top of the DOGE effort is a push to work on efficiency at the FAA, he said. On whether that means privatizing air traffic control (ATC) services, Jordan demurred. “I don’t think it’s defined,” he said. “Privatization has been on the docket forever. I think that’s a long shot.”

Regardless, two priorities should remain as the administrations transition, the airline executive stressed: modernizing the ATC system and getting it fully staffed. Aging checked baggage screening systems could also prove to be a constraint for airports’ ability to handle growing passenger volumes in coming years, he warned. “It’s going to get slower and slower,” he said. “That will really hurt the infrastructure, just like ATC.”

Another upcoming transition was revealed earlier in the day, when FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker announced plans to step down on Jan. 20, 2025, more than three years early, having served in the post since October 2023. Praising the efforts of the outgoing administrator, Jordan called for consistency in the transition. Whitaker’s replacement will be nominated by President-elect Trump.

“I believe [Whitaker] had the right priorities in place. We were making progress,” Jordan said. “The priorities are the same; modernize the ATC system—we’re still using technologies from the 1960s and there could be far more capacity added if we were upgrading technology—and then get the controllers staffed.”

Jordan does anticipate some change in sustainability priorities from the new administration, coming at a time when ambitious industry NetZero targets inch closer, describing it as “naïve” to think otherwise. One significant question revolves around whether the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) credit included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act will be extended. The credit ranges from $1.25-1.75 for each gallon of SAF in a qualified mixture, a bid to incentivize production and uptake. The Biden Administration’s SAF Grand Challenge seeks to achieve domestic production of 3 billion gallons per year by 2030, and 35 billion gallons by 2050.

“It’s certainly less probable today than it was two months ago,” Jordan said regarding an extension of the credit. “Growing SAF depends on a very large credit regime, and in some cases, ultimately a credit regime that’s the size of a defense budget ... I think it’s likely that ESG [environmental, social and governance] goals could be less of a priority with this administration.”