Interview: Southwest’s Chief Revenue Exec Andrew Watterson

Southwest's Andrew Watterson (right) 

Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s chief revenue officer, had a few minutes to talk  to Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan and Skift Travel Senior Aviation Business Editor Brian Sumers at the Boyd Group’s International Aviation Forecast Summit in Las Vegas last month. Watterson still is bullish on Hawaii and says Southwest will expand its service to the state from California. He explained why Southwest pulled out of Mexico City and how its international network is optimized to take U.S. residents to Mexican and Caribbean leisure destinations. Watterson also explained how in the eastern half of the United States, travelers view Southwest as a leisure carrier while those in the western half consider it a business carrier.

Listen to the full interview below.