Business Wars

Thanks to deregulation, no-frills knock offs of Southwest take to the skies like crows. About 120 airlines have gone out of business or filed for bankruptcy since the industry was deregulated in 1978. American’s SABRE system optimizes...everything. It manages ticket pricing so flights are always full, and American is building new hubs and terminals. Meanwhile, Southwest company culture is shifting from sex appeal to backyard barbecue vibe...

Behind every successful business is a story. From Wondery and Lindsay Graham comes Business Movers, a weekly podcast that brings you the true stories of the brilliant but all-too-human businesspeople who risked it all. On the latest season, you'll hear the remarkable story of how General Motors crawled out of the grave and is now in position to lead the car industry into the future...

Everyone loves Herb Kelleher—even FAA regulators. The onetime corporate counsel-turned-CEO is coming into his own at the helm of Southwest. But his latest challenge is coming up with a way to skirt the FAA’s pesky “slot” system, designed to limit air traffic by rationing takeoffs and landings. Kelleher has a business to run. So he embarks on a crazy plan to snag a few extra slots for Southwest. It may not work, but one thing’s certain: it will be a whole lot of fun...

As deregulation dawns, Southwest Airlines’ founder and CEO are locked in a power struggle. In the middle is Herb Kelleher, Southwest’s corporate attorney. And after 18 months serving as a punching bag for the company’s top brass, he’s had enough.  But as Southwest deals with a succession crisis, American Airlines is facing another emergency. It needs money, fast. The company is cash-poor after investing in its proprietary online reservation system, SABRE...

The computer age is on the horizon, and American Airlines has a secret weapon: SABRE. Sure, the airline is top of the heap under the current pen-and-paper reservation system — the one where travel agents use a massive phonebook to look up flights, then call individual airlines to book a ticket. But they’re tired of playing phone tag. The American Society of Travel Agents has plans to roll out a new electronic system, one that could force American to lose its unofficial preferred status...

Baniff and Southwest battled in court for domination over the skies. Southwest came out on top for a little while, but Baniff pushed back with prices Southwest just couldn't beat. The only way Southwest could fight back was to give the mostly male, mostly businessmen clientele something they couldn't refuse: free booze. For the first time ever, Southwest is in the black. With Baniff tamed, there's more turbulence. This time, it's a national airline. American Airlines is here to play...

In Texas in the 1960s, Rollin King had a crazy idea. He wanted to create a no-frills airline service that served San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. All he and his lawyer had to do was convince the Federal Regulations Bureau that they had no jurisdiction on flights that never left Texas. Of course getting Southwest off the ground would have been a lot easier if they had any planes… Please note, this episode originally aired in 2018...

One Hundred Percent with Marcus Lemonis is a little bit of a masterclass, a cocktail party and a Sunday drive all wrapped up into 30 minutes with an audience invited to listen in. Marcus values family, community, character and ethics and helps small business owners who need his guidance and investment. His process is very personal and provides valuable insight through his ability to identify both problems and solutions...

In the wake of the unexpected jolt of the COVID-19 pandemic, food delivery app businesses are looking for stability and profitability any way they can find it. With Uber’s purchase of Postmates and DoorDash buying Caviar, consolidation has become all the rage.  And the apps are diversifying into prescription fulfillment, groceries, and third-party logistics...

It's July 2019. DoorDash is finally bigger than Grubhub, but it's coming under fire for pocketing tips from its drivers. Now DoorDash needs to rehab its image, or risk losing customers to its competitors.  When a California proposition threatens to alter how food delivery companies classify their drivers, DoorDash and Uber join forces to fight it...