The activist investor Elliott Investment Management is reportedly pushing Southwest Airlines to scrap polo shirts and shorts as part of the uniform that customer-facing staff wear in an effort to make the Dallas-based carrier more upmarket.
In June, it was revealed that Elliott had acquired a significant minority stake in Southwest in an attempt to push for major change at the carrier, including the removal of Southwest’s existing leadership team and many of its board members.
Elliott believes that Southwest has done “too little, too late” to keep up with rival airlines that are successfully tapping into the demand for premium travel experiences and that Southwest has to do much more than just ending its open-seating policy and introducing additional legroom seats.
Much of Elliott’s focus has been on replacing Southwest’s leadership team, and earlier this month, Executive Chairman Gary Kelly acquiesced to Elliott’s demands by announcing he would retire immediately after Southwest’s 2025 annual meeting.
The airline has also agreed to consider some of Elliott’s own board member picks, although Southwest is still standing firm in keeping serving CEO Bob Jordan in his role.
Apart from leadership change, Elliott is still to spell out what changes it would like to see at Southwest, although analysts believe everything is on the table, including ending the airline’s famous and much-loved ‘two bags fly free’ policy.
There are also now rumors that Elliott is pushing Southwest to change its current uniform, with a leaked image of a supposed new look making the rounds on social media.
Aviation insider xJonNYC who posts on social media platform X said that Elliott is rumored to be pushing to make Southwest’s uniform more premium by eliminating the laid back polo shirts and shorts that flight attendants and airport staff are currently allowed to wear.
Southwest last changed its employee uniforms in mid-2017 as part of a wider rebrand, which saw the airline introduce “splashes of Bold Blue and pops of Signature Red” to its uniform collection.
As well as more traditional uniform items like dresses, shirts and jackets, customer-facing staff also have the option od wearing much more relaxed garments like cotton polo shirts.
Last March, Southwest also announced a shakeup of its uniform and grooming policy, allowing visible tattoos for the first time, as long as they are ‘tasteful’ and no bigger than the size of the uniform badge.
The airline also said that staffers would be allowed to have nose piercings for the first time, although the updated guidance aimed at tightening other rules, such as banning neon-colored nails and nail art.
In a recent statement, Elliott told Southwest that the “need for thoughtful, deliberate change at Southwest remains urgent” and that the airline has been “outmaneuvered by competitors that have continuously adapted and improved their product offerings to match customer preferences.”
Southwest is not alone in recognizing the need to improve its premium product offering in an attempt to reverse its underperforming financial fortunes. On Thursday, JetBlue announced that it would introduce its first-ever airport lounges in Boston and New York next year as part of a new business strategy to make the airline more upmarket.
