Alaska CEO on leading through the pandemic, legacy

As he prepares to step down as CEO of Alaska Airlines, Brad Tilden discussed steering the airline through the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the merger with Virgin America and his initiative that requires top executives to spend a week on the front lines each year, which saw him loading bags on a 737-900. “You make a lot of mistakes, and our people laugh,” he said, adding: “Every fifth bag I’d accidentally hit another employee.”