Merren McArthur, Australia’s only female airline CEO, said women held just 3 per cent of chief executive roles in the aviation industry, compared with 12 per cent in other industries.
Ms McArthur said the lack of diversity not only related to gender, but also to ethnicity, age and culture.
“Their success was not directly attributable to fares, but the striking uniforms worn by cabin crew and the positive culture which all made the experience memorable for travellers,” she said.
“South West took this business model mainstream and wherever they flew to, prices fell and passenger numbers grew.”