FILE - Robert Jordan, incoming Southwest Airlines CEO, is interviewed at the New York Stock Exchange on December 9, 2021. Southwest Airlines CEO Jordan's compensation nearly doubled in 2022 to $5.3 million after being promoted to the top job during a year that ended with massive flight cancellations that will cost Southwest more than $1 billion. Southwest said in a proxy filed Thursday, April 6, 2023, that the estimated value of Jordan's compensation rose from $3 million to $3 million in 2021, when he was executive vice president of the Dallas-based airline. AP photo Richard Drew, File ASSOCIATED PRESS DALLAS AP - Southwest Airlines CEO Robert Jordan's compensation nearly doubled last year to $5.3 million after being promoted to the top job during a year that ended with massive flight cancellations that will cost Southwest more than $1 billion.
Southwest said in a proxy filed Thursday that Jordan's compensation rose from $3 million to $3 million in 2021, when he was executive vice president of the Dallas-based airline.
In 2022, Jordan received stock awards valued at $3.6 million, $676,875 in salary, a cash bonus and incentive compensation of $978,600, plus retirement-plan benefits. The company's financial performance will determine the eventual value of the stock awards from 2022 to 2024.
A winter storm just before Christmas caused chaos across the airline industry, but Southwest took a longer time to recover than any of its rivals, because the crew-scheduling system was unable to keep up. In December of this year the airline was forced to cancel 16,700 flights. The airline said the breakdown cost it $800 million in lost revenue in the fourth quarter and up to $350 million more early this year.
The Southwest board said in its proxy that it made no adjustments to incentives for executives because of the December cancellations, which it said reduced customer satisfaction and the airline's bottom line. The company posted record revenue of $23.8 billion and was the only U.S. airline with investment-grade credit ratings from the three leading ratings agencies.
Southwest earned $539 million last year despite a $220 million loss for the fourth quarter.
Jordan has apologized several times for the holiday meltdown, and the airline has announced steps to avoid a repeat, including adding more deicing equipment and staff at key airports and improving crew scheduling technology.