Southwest Airlines on Making AI Work Across the Enterprise

Data Driven Leadership

AI can feel abstract until it’s tied to something real. At Southwest Airlines, it’s used to improve flight operations, support frontline staff, and help leaders make faster decisions.

In this episode, Jess Carter chats with Justin Bundick, managing director of artificial intelligence at Southwest Airlines. He shares how the airline built an AI strategy that works across departments by pairing smart technology with strong data practices. From infrastructure and governance to AI model training and deployment, Justin walks through what it really takes to operationalize AI in one of the world’s most complex industries.

He also explains why understanding business processes is needed to make data useful, how human-centered design influences their work, and what it looks like to align AI with ethical standards and long-term strategy.

In this episode, you will learn:

• What it takes to scale AI across an enterprise

• How AI can improve complex operations without overwhelming people

• Why understanding the process is just as important as understanding data

Things to listen for:(00:00) Introduction to the episode with Justin Bundick (02:52) How Southwest’s data strategy evolved (06:30) Using data to reduce noise and find focus (09:57) Why AI needs strong data governance and process insight (14:07) Building AI models into everyday operations (17:11) Managing risk and ethics with AI governance (24:47) Justin’s vision for the future of AI in airlines