Southwest Airlines Adds Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group CEO, to Its Board

Southwest Airlines on Monday announced that it was adding two members to its board of directors. 

One is Varun Krishna, the CEO of Rocket Companies, a housing and mortgage company. The other is Jason Liberty, the chairman and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group. 

Liberty has served as CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, which includes Royal, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises, since 2022 and added the Chairman title in 2025. In total, he’s spent more than two decades at Royal Caribbean. 

“Southwest is one of the most respected and recognizable brands in travel, with a strong culture, a proud history, and exciting opportunities ahead,” said Liberty. “I look forward to working with the Board and Leadership Team as the Company continues evolving its customer experience and positioning itself for sustained, long-term success.”

The board is headed by Doug Brooks, who has served as a director at Southwest since 2010 and was previously CEO of Brinker International.

Southwest said that Liberty’s travel industry, operations, and financial experience will help Southwest move forward in its journey away from its old ethos, and towards what seems to be something else entirely. Over the last two years, it has started to target a high-end consumer, including by dropping open seating, eliminating free bags, launching international flights, and adding fare bundles.

It’s also joined other major carriers with free international Wi-Fi.