American Airlines’ Robert Crandall Remembers Herb Kelleher, the Soul of Southwest

As the co-founder and CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher—who died at 87 on Jan. 3—was my competitor, but he was also a nice guy. Since neither of us could see any point in being unpleasant, we developed a friendship during several years of growth for both Southwest and American Airlines.

In fact, we used to do gags back and forth. At one point Herb painted one of his airplanes like a whale and called it Shamu.

As the co-founder and CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher—who died at 87 on Jan. 3—was my competitor, but he was also a nice guy. Since neither of us could see any point in being unpleasant, we developed a friendship during several years of growth for both Southwest and American Airlines. In fact, we used to do gags back and forth. At one point Herb painted one of his airplanes like a whale and called it Shamu.