(Reuters) -Southwest Airlines said on Thursday it has named insider Doug Brooks as the independent chair of its board, effective August 1.
The company also said the appointment follows Rakesh Gangwal’s decision to step down from his role as chair, due to additional time commitments unrelated to Southwest, but would still remain on board. He became board chair last November.
Southwest also announced formation of a new “Fleet Oversight Committee” to assist the board in its oversight of the carrier’s aircraft fleet acquisition strategy, of which Gangwal would serve as chair.
Gangwal will also continue to serve on the finance and the nominating & corporate governance committees, the company said.
Brooks, who has served as a director at the carrier since 2010, had previously been chief executive at Brinker International.
Southwest has been struggling to find its footing after the COVID-19 pandemic. Its lackluster earnings have fueled pressure to revamp its business model.
Among some of the changes, Southwest has ended its open seating policy, which had been central to its brand image for more than 50 years; it also rolled out a new basic economy fare and, in the last quarter, it began charging customers for checked bags, ending a unique free policy.
Depressed travel demand in the U.S. domestic market in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s trade war has only compounded its challenges. Southwest, the largest U.S. domestic carrier, last week reduced its profit estimate for the year by as much as $1.1 billion.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago and Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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