DALLAS — Southwest Airlines Co. more than doubled the compensation for its CEO last year, to nearly $3.4 million, thanks mainly to a stock award worth $1.8 million.
Gary Kelly was rewarded for a big jump in Southwest’s income as passenger traffic rose sharply in a bounce-back year for the airline industry.
Southwest earned $459 million last year compared with $99 million in 2009, although the stock price did not appreciate as quickly. Kelly also engineered Southwest’s biggest acquisition ever, a $1.4 billion purchase of AirTran Airways that will increase Southwest’s size by one-fourth when it closes.
Southwest has been gaining passengers more quickly than other airlines, which Kelly attributes partly to Southwest’s policy of letting passengers check two bags for free.
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