Southwest Airlines : The United States

Southwest Airlines Southwest is a major player in the airline industry, which employs nearly 35,000 individuals. According to an article, (Hollis, 2003), Southwest Airlines has taken a different approach to building interactively relationships with the company, with employees, and with its customers to ensure the success of the business. As a result, Southwest has sustained an enhanced growth and profitability when most airlines struggle to avoid bankruptcy. Fritz Petree, Senior Manager Career Development Services, states, “Southwest philosophy is to hire for attitude and train for skill” (Hollis, 2003, p. 2). Southwest has successfully launched Virtual

Colleen Barrett, President Emeritus of Southwest Airlines led with love and her company succeeded. Lead with LUV is based on Colleen Barrett and the different ways to create success. There are five main points of the book that I will discuss: What is leadership, Celebrating Successes, Having Mentors, The Triple Bottom Line, and A Compelling Vision.

Southwest Airlines is a passenger airline company that arranges and provides scheduled flights for passenger and transportation freight services. The company mainly provides, low-fare, point-to-point services all over the US and near-international markets. The headquarters is located in Dallas, Texas and as of December 2014, the company employed over 46,278 people. The company was founded by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher in 1971. Southwest was the first airline to introduce the frequent mile program. This took place in the mid 1980’s. This type of program allowed passengers to add up traveled miles to use later as credit on a future airline ticket. The traveled miles would add up and would also reduce the price of a ticket. Southwest created the idea of senior discount, fun fares and the fun packs. These were perks that attracted people from different age groups. When Southwest originally was incorporated, the idea was to operate in three cities in Texas, but after taking over Morris Air and TranStar in 1987, this gave them a cutting advantage in the airline industry.

The domestic airlines in the US market is the broader context in which Southwest Airlines conducts its business. As a domestic airline, Southwest Airlines provides air transportation for cargo and passengers along scheduled routes and on routine intervals. The airline industry is a service industry comprised of the following services: coach class passenger transportation, first class passenger transportation, business class passenger transportation, and cargo. However, Southwest Airlines is unique from many of its competitors in the airline industry because it does not provide any distinctive classes of transportation. The single class of transportation it provides may be considered coach. Therefore, the two services that Southwest

Southwest Airlines has been around for forty-five years now. I have personally flown with them many times in my traveling within the states and even to other countries. Southwest's based out of Dallas, Texas, where it began with only one Boeing 737 going to three different cities. The company has grown tremendously in every way. Now with over 500 Boeing 737's Southwest Airlines sends its planes all over the states and even other countries. It was the first airline that offered ticket-less boarding and travel across the states. In May 2003 Southwest Airlines was given the top-dog spot in the monthly domestic originating passenger ranking list. International travel within Southwest Airlines includes flights to Nassau, Bahamas Montagu Bay, Jamaica;

Even though, the business environment is highly competitive that does not stop Southwest Airlines to grow until recording its 43rd consecutive year of profit at the end of 2015. It is a profitable company that people should be interested in as they have returned $4.3 billion in dividends and share repurchases, that means the company has a lot of cash in hand it can use to improve its service to be more

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s most recent data, Southwest Airlines in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded, is the nation 's largest carrier. The Company operates the largest fleet of Boeing (B-737) aircraft in the world. Most of these aircrafts are equipped with satellite-based Wi-Fi providing gate-to-gate connectivity while over the United States. That connectivity enables Customers to use their personal electronic devices (PEDs) such as smart phones like iPhones and Galaxy, tablets such as iPads and the surface as well as other personal devices to access streaming music provided by Beats Music. Customers are also able to watch video on-demand movies and television shows, as well as nearly twenty

The company’s success is founded on two primary goals: providing exemplary customer service and helping its employees do so by giving them the same respect and accommodations. As the aviation transportation landscape has slowly changed, so has Southwest. Whereas they initially focused on “no frills” flying by eliminating frivolous amenities, they have slowly transitioned into a more competitive airline by adopting programs aimed to tailor customer experience. The Southwest of 2014 is different from the Southwest Airlines of the past, but their strategic plans have remained focused on customer service and employee retention.

When evaluating the strengths of the Southwest brand, customer loyalty, organizational culture, and financial stability are among the company’s greatest assets. Together, these strengths have shaped the Southwest brand into what it is today, a pleasant customer experience and a generous employer, that has generated brand intimacy. As a result, the uniquely derived emotional connection that consumers and employees have developed for Southwest has allowed them to be financially secure, thus, allowing them to focus on adapting to the demands of the continually shifting external environment. This is opposed to other airlines who have been forced by financial restrictions to reduce value added amenities and luxuries to consumers and employees. Consequently, individualized customer service, generous employee treatment, and value added amenities, along with various other known strengths of Southwest have become hallmarks of the Southwest brand, and greatly expected by consumers. Therefore, they are essential components in the successful expansion of the Southwest brand by way of a cruise line.

Southwest Airlines was established in 1971 as a low-cost airline operating just in the state of Texas. Today, Southwest Airlines is one of the largest domestic carriers in the United States employing more than 46,000 employees and operating 3,600 flights per day (Southwest, 2014). Southwest is also the largest operator of Boeing 737 aircraft in the world with over 680 in service operating an average of six flights per day each (Southwest, 2014). Under its original name, Air Southwest Company, Southwest Airlines was founded by a group of Texas investors that put together $560,000, to form a small airline to serve the cities of Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. By the summer of 1971, operating under Southwest Air, the airline owned three

Established in 1967, Southwest Airlines Co. is a major United States Airlines. The company boasts being both the nation 's largest carrier in terms of “originating domestic passengers boarded” (para 2), but also as the title of largest global low cost airline carrier (Southwest Investor Relations, 2015). Not only does Southwest Airlines host flights to 95 various locations within the United States, the company also ensures safe travels to six additional countries outside of the United States (Southwest Investor Relations, 2015). With more than 3,600 flight departures daily, Southwest Airlines serves in excess of 100 million customers annually (Southwest Investor Relations, 2015).

The recent economical and financial downturn severely impacted the airline industry in 2009 and brought only small increases in 2010. The recession negatively influenced the discretional income of travellers. More precisely, the leisure travellers’ and business travellers’ budget changes resulted with a sudden decrease in their demand. Therefore, corporate policies tightened and generally the demand for travelling decreased. On the other hand, demand for substitute products, such as video conferences and surface travel, has increased. As a result, many airlines, including Southwest Airlines, responded with capacity cuts and fare discounting. On the other hand, Southwest used the opportunity also to further expand and because of its low-fare services, it could enter new markets as well.

Southwest has a great reputation of treating their passengers like family, often telling jokes and word games during the flights. Southwest also treats their employees very well, offering a wide range of perks and benefits. Southwest employees are routinely the highest paid in the industry.

This article analyzes the sources of Southwest Airlines’ competitive advantage using an integrative approach, employing economic analysis tools to illustrate the roles of commitment and organizational capabilities in delivering competitive advantage at Southwest. A framework is presented

Southwest Airlines began operations in 1971, and has remained profitable after 44 years. The company has experienced challenges such as high fuel prices, a recession, and even the tragedy of 9/11. Their strategy is unique and one-of-a-kind. They have innovated the airline industry by keeping costs low while not sacrificing quality or punctuality.