Wrassling Over the Plane Truth

They called it “Malice in Dallas,” two aviation executives arm-wrestling for the rights to an ad slogan. But the shenanigans were more plugfest than slugfest.

It was all smiles Friday as Southwest Airlines Chairman Herb Kelleher was defeated by Kurt Herwald, who runs Stevens Aviation Inc., over the rights to use a slogan, “Plane Smart,” that both were using.

Kelleher rented a wrestling auditorium, gave Southwest employees the morning off and staged a 30-minute pep rally before the showdown.