The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a U.S. federal government agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation which regulates civil aviation in the United States and surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic control, certification of personnel and aircraft, setting standards for airports, and protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles, powers over neighboring international waters were delegated to the FAA by authority of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Southwest Airlines Co. is a major airline in the United States that operates on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in Love Field, Dallas, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries. As of 2018, Southwest carried more domestic passengers than any other United States airline. It is currently the third largest airline in North America based on passengers flown.
Donald J. Carty, is a Canadian-American businessman who is chairman of Porter Airlines. Carty also is a director of VMWare, Hawaiian Airlines and Betterez. He was previously chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, from 1998 to 2003. He is the past Chairman of Virgin America and E-Rewards, Inc.. Carty is also a past director of Dell, CN Rail, Sears, Placer Dome, Barrick Gold, CHC Helicopters, Brinker International, Talisman Energy, EMC Corporation, and Gluskin Sheff. In January 2007, Carty became the vice chairman and chief financial officer of Dell. On June 13, 2008, Carty retired from day-to-day operations, but stayed on as a director. He is a past chairman of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a former member of the board of trustees of both Southern Methodist University and Queen's University and of the board of directors of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation and the Dallas Theater Center. He is on the executive board of the SMU Cox School of Business.
JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-cost airline in the United States. It is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. It also maintains corporate offices in Utah and Florida.
David Gary Neeleman is a Brazilian-American businessman. He has founded five commercial airlines: Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue Airways, Azul Brazilian Airlines, and Breeze Airways. Along with Humberto Pedrosa and Aigle Azur, he owned 45% of TAP Air Portugal. In 2017 he became a citizen of Cyprus.
Herbert David Kelleher was an American billionaire airline businessman and lawyer. He was the co-founder, later CEO, and chairman emeritus of Southwest Airlines until his death in 2019.
Akbar Al Baker is a Qatari businessman who was the Group CEO of Qatar Airways. He was also the Chairman of Qatar Tourism until October 22, 2023. Under Qatar Airways Group, Al-Baker was also the CEO of Hamad International Airport, which opened in 2014.
William Douglas Parker is an American businessman who is the chairman of American Airlines Group, the parent company of American Airlines. Parker previously served as chief executive officer of the airline from 2001 to 2023.
Gary Clayton Kelly is an American business executive. He is the chairman and former chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines.
Patrick Paul Gelsinger is an American business executive and engineer, and CEO of Intel.
Colleen C. Barrett is the President Emerita of Southwest Airlines, and an influential figure in the founding and development of the company. In 2001 she became the first woman to serve as president of a major airline.
Lawrence W. Kellner is the former CEO of Continental Airlines, having succeeded Gordon Bethune as CEO in December 2004. Prior to his arrival at Continental, he was the chief financial officer of American Savings Bank. Kellner retired as the airline's chief executive at the end of December 2009. During his career at Continental, he previously was a vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Kellner is president of Emerald Creek Group, LLC - a Texas-based private equity firm primarily focused on real estate and also is on the board of directors at ExxonMobil. He was Chairman of The Boeing Company from 2019 to 2024.
David L. Calhoun is an American business executive who has been the president and chief executive of Boeing since January 2020. In March 2024, Boeing announced Calhoun will step down as chief executive at the end of 2024.
Lynx Air, legally incorporated as 1263343 Alberta Inc., was a Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier based in Calgary, Alberta. It previously operated as Enerjet and was rebranded as Lynx Air on November 16, 2021. The first flight under the Lynx Air name took place on April 7, 2022, operating from Calgary International Airport to Vancouver International Airport.
Robert L. Fornaro was the CEO of Spirit Airlines. He was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of AirTran Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary, AirTran Airways, in Orlando, Florida, until AirTran was acquired by Southwest Airlines in May 2011, when he became a full-time consultant on the acquisition, sitting on the integration board.
Richard H. Anderson is a retired American lawyer and business executive. In his early career, he served as a prosecutor and corporate attorney, before moving into executive positions. His most prominent roles were as CEO of several large companies in the transportation industry: Northwest Airlines (2001–2004), Delta Air Lines (2007–2016), and Amtrak (2017–2020).
Founded in 1967 to be a Texas intrastate airline, Southwest Airlines was initially prevented from operating, and saw long-haul flights from its original Dallas Love Field base restricted by federal law for several decades. Despite these obstacles, Southwest has built a history of innovative business practices, was a major source of inspiration for US airline deregulation and was probably the biggest beneficiary of deregulation, growing to be one of the largest airlines in the United States and one of the largest low-cost carriers worldwide.
Benito Minicucci is an American business executive. He is the president and chief executive officer of Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.
In December 2022, Southwest Airlines, a major U.S. airline, and the third largest by domestic passenger volume, canceled more flights than usual, including more than 60% of its flights on two days. The crisis spanned December 21–30, at the peak of the holiday travel season, and is referred to in the news media as the Southwest Airlines holiday travel meltdown or simply as the holiday meltdown, a name also used by the Southwest Airlines pilot's union and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The disruption to operations was described by Seeking Alpha as the most costly and largest in the history of U.S. airlines. More than 15,000 flights were canceled throughout the crisis.
Billy Nolen is an American government official who served as acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from April 1, 2022 to June 2023.
