A former chief executive of Southwest Airlines who led the Dallas-based company following the Sept. 11 attacks died Saturday.

James Parker, who also served as vice chairman of the airline's board of directors, died unexpectedly following dinner with friends, a spokesman confirmed Sunday. He was 72.

James Parker, former CEO of Southwest Airlines, photographed in his Dallas office in 2004. (ALLISON V. SMITH)

Parker had been in the role of chief executive only a few months at the time of the terrorist attacks, which sent the airline industry into turmoil.

Rather than cut its workforce, Southwest kept all workers on and made a nearly $180 million profit-sharing payment to its employees in the days after the attacks.

"Our people built a house of bricks, while others had built theirs of straw. Thirty years of doing things the right way had given us the strength to do the right things during the worst crisis in the history of aviation," Parker wrote in his book, Do the Right Thing: How Dedicated Employees Create Loyal Customers and Large Profits, which was published after he retired.

In 2004, Parker, then 57, shocked the airline industry when he left. He was succeeded as chief executive by Gary Kelly, who continues to hold that position.

"It was a combination of things," Parker said then. He said the three years he spent leading the carrier, which was the only airline that stayed profitable in the immediate post-9/11 era, had drained him.

"It's time to let someone else have a turn," Parker said.

In a written statement Sunday, Kelly extended sympathies to Parker's wife, Pat, and his family.

"Jim's contributions to Southwest Airlines were many and immeasurable, and he valiantly led Southwest through one of the industry's most trying times in the wake of the tragic 9/11 attacks," Kelly said. "Under Jim's Leadership, Southwest successfully navigated through this dark time, preserving the job security of our people while remaining profitable under the most unlikely of odds."

"Jim was a beloved member of our Southwest Family, and we will miss him dearly," he said.

Parker began his tenure at Southwest as general counsel in February 1986. He was named vice chairman of the board and chief executive in June 2001.

Before joining Southwest, Parker was a lawyer with the San Antonio firm Oppenheimer, Rosenberg, Kelleher & Wheatley Inc. He also was an assistant attorney general of Texas.

He earned his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

Parker's death comes weeks after Southwest co-founder Herb Kelleher died at 87.

The Southwest flag will fly at half-staff this week to honor Parker, Kelly said.

Information about services was not available Sunday night.