A bit of sad news in the airline world, the co-founder and first president and CEO of Southwest Airlines died on Monday at the age of 86 from lung cancer. M. Lamar Muse served as the first CEO of the airline from 1970 to 1978. He left in 1978 after a battle with the airline over expansion into Chicago.
Muse was described as a master marketer who used sex appeal to differentiate the airline from others. The airline used hostesses, now known as flight attendants, wearing hot pants and endorsed an advertising campaign using a "luv-themed" play on words. LUV remains the ticker symbol for Southwest, said the Dallas Business Journal.
He is also credited for developing the low cost structure that Southwest now thrives on.
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