Ticker: Southwest to change to cabin service; Stellantis CEO resigns

Southwest Airlines says it is ending cabin service earlier on flights, requiring passengers to do the usual pre-landing procedures such as ensuring their seatbelts are fastened and returning their seats to an upright position earlier than before.

Beginning on Dec. 4, a company spokesperson said, flight attendants will start preparing the cabin for landing at an altitude of 18,000 feet instead of 10,000 feet. The change in procedure is designed to “reduce the risk of in-flight turbulence injuries” for crew members and passengers, the company said.

While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, injuries have piled up over the years. More than one-third of all airline incidents in the United States from 2009 through 2018 were related to turbulence, and most of them resulted in one or more serious injuries but no damage to the plane, the National Transportation Safety Board reported.

In May, a 73-year old man died on board a Singapore Airlines flight when the plane hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.

Stellantis CEO resigns

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is stepping down after nearly four years in the top spot of the Jeep and Ram maker, which has continued to struggle with slumping sales.

The world’s fourth-largest carmaker announced that its board accepted Tavares’ resignation on Sunday. He will leave his role as chief executive immediately.

Stellantis noted Sunday that the process to appoint a new, permanent CEO is “well under way.” In the meantime, the company says a new interim executive committee, led by chairman John Elkann, will be established.

As head of PSA Peugeot, Tavares took control of the Netherlands-based company in January of 2021 when it merged with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.