In March 2001, Kelleher stepped down as CEO and president of Southwest. He passed the CEO role onto James Parker and the president role to Colleen Barrett, although he remained chairman.
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Colleen C.Barrett (born September 14, 1944) 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.
On May 2, 2011, Southwest Airlines closed on its purchase of all of the outstanding common stock of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), the former parent company of AirTran Airways (AirTran).
Southwest flies only Boeing instead of Airbus because when it was founded, to keep costs down, they decided to have not only one brand, but one model of airplane — the 737.
How did Southwest become WN? Best explanation I've seen is that SW was taken (Air Namibia, from the old name Suid-Wes Lugdiens [South-West Airservice]), so they just took one with a W with it, and WN was available.
Southwest is the world's largest operator of the Boeing 737, and was the launch customer of the 737-300, 737-500, and 737-700. The Boeing customer code for Southwest Airlines is H4 for the Classic and Next Gen 737s. For example, the -700 would be 737-7H4, and the -800 would be 737-8H4.