Why is Southwest Airlines still so successful after all of those years in the unattractive industry? What is the current economic condition of the Southwest Airlines? The current operational issues or challenges within the company are what? What does Southwest Airlines need to remain competitive? Southwest Airlines is an airplane industry that has evidence because their company is successful.
There are reasons for some company to be so successful through all the ups and downs. Southwest Airlines hired the best people to work with their company. Their employees know how to handle the situation. The employees know what to do or how to do it to satisfies the flyer. The Southwest Airlines’ employees know to surprise their customers, too. Not others companies’ employees would surprise their flyers by sending a card to them or other things, but Southwest Airlines’ employees would. They also have the best program that people might enjoy more than
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It would bring in more customers and the customers that have flown before will probably fly again. Employees love spending time on the airplane talking to the customers. Customers like employees who make them feel safe or a person who is fun to talk to. Capacity is another thing that will affect the company. Even though there are more people coming in, Southwest Airlines will have to have more plane to transport people. If they do not, things will fall down. Second, it is the time management; because if the company is slow, they would go to another airplane company. Some companies take forever to get their flyers abroad. They get all of their flyers abroad quicker than some others even though Southwest Airlines is a larger company. Southwest Airlines either avoid canceling people tickets besides the weather or they change tickets to another flight quicker. When people accidently put the wrong place, Southwest Airlines can change it quickly unlike some other
Southwest Airlines possesses a very flexible and dynamic organizational structure that allows it to react rapidly, adapt swiftly and view environmental changes as opportunities rather than threats. After September 11, many companies went bankrupt due to this there was an unmet demand of flights. Southwest has taken the need of people to fly faster from one place to another and used it to their advantage by offering safest, fastest and cheapest way. The improved website can help attract more customers. As, it uses only one kind of aircraft its engineers can model an alternative fuel to lower fuel cost and conserve the environment. As proven
When it comes to the external environments of Southwest airlines there are many things to consider. The general environment and the industry in general are thing to consider. A major challenge that must have due consideration is competition.
Southwest Airlines is globalizing their company in order to reach a bigger market, and become competition for other companies. Southwest Airlines has already conquered the domestic market beating American Airlines, United, and Delta according to Fortune. Access to a new market is what motivated Southwest to globalize, they are expanding to the south of North America, with their new assets found in their acquired airline AirTran Airways (LeBeau, 4) . Southwest Airlines has brought low rates and a great experience to the domestic market, which was warmly received, they now plan to dip into global market to bring better service to all.
Southwest Airlines boasts the best on-time record, best baggage handling, and fewest customer complaints in the airline industry. For these achievements, it won the industry's Triple Crown award for Best Airline five times in a row (Fortune 100 Best Companies, 2011). The Great Place to Work Institute, cites statistics published annually by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that Southwest has ranked number one in customer satisfaction for eleven consecutive years 1991 through 2001. Southwest is the only airline that has made money every year since 1973 (southwest.com).
As the United States society is changing, it is becoming a more cosmopolitan society overall. More and more people are looking for better opportunities in cities far away from their homes. By having this change in the current environment, Southwest Airlines will be expecting more passengers to fly with them, thus increasing their revenues. People will need to fly from their homes to their new city to work and visit home occasionally.
Southwest airlines began in 1971 using a strategy unlike any other airline at the time. Starting out in Texas, with only three planes, they flew between the Texas cities of Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio (Coulter, pg 250). Their primary goal was to get their passengers to their destinations, on time, at the lowest possible fares, and to provide a fun atmosphere for their customers. They focused on providing short-haul routes with fares that were competitive with driving. Today, Southwest serves 101 destinations across the United States, as well as eight additional countries, and operates more than 3,900 flights a day. (Southwest , 2017) They have achieved a record 44 consecutive years of annual profitability, while staying true to their goal of providing the highest level of customer service at the lowest fare. In 2016 they ranked number 1 in customer satisfaction according to statistics listed by the Department of Transportation, with and average passenger airfare of $149.09 one way trip. (Southwest , 2017)
Southwest airlines were founded in 1971 by King and Herb Kellerher. They started with a low cost strategy in a risky market where profitability depends a lot on fuel prices and external factors, such as the willingness of consumers to pay ticket prices. They started growing a lot with various strategies that permitted them beat a lot of their competitors, but in order to stay in the market they need to improve those strategies and come up with new ones to stay differentiated from the other airlines. Now they’re ranked the top 7 airline that controls the share of the market, but new strategies will be needed for them to continue to be a
In the future, Southwest Airlines looks to achieve horizontal and vertical growth expansions. As Southwest Airlines becomes more profitable, their organization wants to be in a position to take over other competitor’s in the airline industry. Southwest Airlines will strive to f build a closer relationship with other airlines in order to get more functional and technical knowledge. Currently Southwest Airlines offers services in 97 destinations in 41 states with opportunity to expand.
It is the low fares they provide for their flights. Kelleher emphasizes about this in his interview with Chuck Lucier, a senior vice president emeritus of Booz Allen Hamilton. Kelleher speaks about the profitability of Southwest, about the reliability of its employers, and the dependability of customers to be able to fly at the lowest rate possible and to be able to travel within the timeframe that they demand (Lucier, 2004, paras. 1-7). In my personal experiences, in flying on a number of flights with several different airlines, I have found the mission statement to be true. I use Southwest Airlines as a starting point to look for flights simple because of their low fares are usually the best bargain, in addition to their flexible flight
Southwest Airlines faced many barriers to entry from the fierce competition of other airlines in the industry. Though competition was fierce, Southwest Airlines managed to succeed by doing things differently. Their mission was to provide affordable air travel to those who would not normally fly. Contradictory to the rest of the airline industry, Southwest maintained a profit while keeping its fares low. Southwest was unique to the industry in two ways. They focused on the short haul traveler and used a point-to-point method of flight connections.
Unlike many other airline services, Southwest Airlines has a very relaxed unintimidating environment, where the pilot, flight attendants, and customers can all feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. According to Fox Business, Southwest Airlines has an organizational culture that runs on “emotional intelligence and humor” (Southwest Airlines: What a Meaningful Company Culture Looks Like). Southwest’s CEO Gary Kelly also considered Southwest to be an “outstanding, passionate, caring Customer Service combined with an efficient, simple, low-fare Customer experience provided with high reliability and operating expertise.” (Southwest Airlines: In a Different World).
This proposal addresses the needed steps to be taken in order for Southwest Airlines to see continued growth in the airline industry. Southwest Airlines has been able to remain one of the most profitable airlines in the industry for an extended period of time. Even with the hindrance of the 2001 terrorist attacks involving airplanes and the U.S recession of 2008, Southwest has continued to see strong revenue growth. Meanwhile, other companies were experiencing major losses and in some cases folding. Southwest Airlines has capitalized on the company’s strength of being the top low cost
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
Southwest Airlines has a friendly culture and a people oriented-leadership. The leader of Southwest treat employees as family member and friends. The whole company not just focus on the
Southwest Airlines has been making changes over the past few years that helped them become the largest low-cost carrier in the United States. Most other airlines have been struggling to make it through this economy, but Southwest has found a way to thrive. The airline has dropped their prices and eliminated fees for extras that have allowed them to fill up most flights. One cost they continue to struggle with is offsetting the increasing fuel prices. This has caused some airlines to merge or sell the company to competitors.