Strengths And Weaknesses Of Southwest Airlines

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 very aggressive company striving to increase its competitive advantage in the market without compromising the core values that have been set to differentiate itself from its competitors. It’s only by keeping the values of working hard, having fun, and treating everyone with respect that Southwest Airlines and its affiliates will continue to be an award winning organization. Southwest Airlines has been known to create a synergy between the multitude of personalities and behaviors which make up its workforce. Southwest has benefited from its successes by being able to acquire other

Southwest Airlines was founded by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher and began in 1971 as Air Southwest, servicing Dallas, Houston and San Antonio (AvStop Online Magazine, n.d.). In its rich history, Southwest Airlines has had many “firsts” in the airline and transportation industry. The airline carrier was the first airlines to offer frequent flyer miles program, which is also the most generous program in the industry (Parnell, 2014). Alongside of the frequent flyer miles, Southwest also offer senior citizen’s discount, fun fare and fun packs, “wanna get away” discounts, no assigned seats, and the most popular two bags fly for free (AvStop Online Magazine, n.d.). One of Southwest major accomplishments is having consecutive profit years since its

Every company go through challenges. It is part of the game. The key to this situation though, is to know how to turn a weakness in to a strength, or a threat in to an opportunity, and gain all the positives that a company can get. Most of the times people do not understand that a company needs these challenges to develop in a better corporation. It is impossible for a business to grow and improve without difficulties. That being said, Southwest Airlines has multiple challenges, but the company is whilling to change these weaknesses in to strengths.

Loyal customers, like myself, rely on Southwest for majority of our travel experiences because of their transparency as a company. I want to learn how a company can successfully cater to the customer experience while also supporting surrounding communities in which Southwest flies. The positive and caring spirit of Southwest would not be possible without the trust its customers have in the company. Ultimately, I want to work for Southwest because I want to be encouraged to have integrity for myself and my

Southwest Airlines began operations in 1971, with the company's initial service taking place between Dallas, Texas, Houston, Texas, and San Antonio, Texas (Southwest Airlines, 2006). Rollin King and Herb Kelleher started the company with a simple mission focused on being different than other airlines; their chief focus was to provide on time flights at a low cost, along with a bit of fun (Southwest Airlines). As Welch (2005) argued, Southwest Airlines was the world's richest and most profitable airline, illustrating the success the company enjoyed as a result of a simple, yet practical strategy. Hill & Jones (2004) explained that an emergent strategy

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

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 on vacation, the first people you deal with are the airline companies, yes this is the dreaded trip to the airport. Way to often people have their happy vacations ruined by inconsistent and unreliable customer service, making them late for flights because of long lines, slow service, and unreliable technology that is difficult to use. However, Southwest airlines is one company that is standing out above all others. Known for their outstanding customer service and “Bags Fly Free” campaign, Southwest has held their ground against rising prices in airline travel and continued to expand its reaches while at the same time attracting many satisfied customers. Southwest Airlines was founded on June 18, 1971 by Rollen King and Herb Kellener. The very same year, Southwest began its flights servicing Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Southwest quickly climbed the ranks within airline the industry and became the fifth largest US air carrier by 1998, carrying an average of 50 million passengers a year across the United States. From then on, Southwest soared above the rest of the mid-range air carriers, and continues to do so to this day. Southwest quickly became known for its innovation when it comes to customer service and satisfaction, and it is still well known today for its simple and convenient customer service. Southwest has also been deeply involved when it comes to their social responsibilities, taking action to be ecofriendly whenever, and wherever possible. (Avstop)

This case analysis is an overview of Southwest Airlines which will explore its history in brief and timeline. Southwest Airlines is currently a major airline in the United States domestic market, looking for growth and expansion opportunities. The focus of this paper is to review many aspects of strategic analysis that have an impact on Southwest Airlines; utilizing the SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces and Business Model Strategies methods of analysis. Lastly a recommendation will be presented for the firm on for the problem statement of expansion.

Air Southwest Co. was established and incorporated in 1967 by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher, servicing Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. In March 1971, Air Southwest Co. officially became Southwest Airlines Co (SuccessStory, n.d.). By mid-1980, Southwest Airlines was the first to offer a frequent miles program (AvStop Online Magazine, n.d.). From 1981-1984 Southwest Airlines was consistently rated number one for its great customer service, a trend continuing today. The care for customers Southwest Airlines has is unmatched by any other major airline in the USA. “In the airline industry, most air carriers adapt a competitive new business model called “low-cost carrier” which originated from United States in the early 1990s. The main characteristic of the low-cost carrier model is usage of aircraft with single passenger class, as well as operating with only one model of aircraft” (Eroglu, 2015). Southwest Airlines is a low-cost carrier airline, focusing on customer service and local areas rather than large craft with many flights and locations.

One of the most important standpoints to look at when improving the business’s overall welfare, is of course marketing. Southwest Airlines is a predominantly prosperous organization with many strengths and opportunities. Although a successful airline service, Southwest still of course has many weaknesses as well as threats. Looking at Southwest Airlines from the point of view of the organization’s Vice President, the issue that I would focus on first is the fact that Southwest Airlines only caters to the budget traveler.

Southwest Airlines Co. was established in 1967 when it was started with only three Boeing 737 aircraft that serve three largest Texas cities namely Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. In 1989, Southwest Airlines became a major airline when it surpassed the billion dollar revenue mark. Each year, millions of people fly with Southwest Airlines making them the nation’s largest carrier of domestic passengers. With 43 years of exceptional service Southwest Airlines continues to expand and serve 93 destinations in 40 states with more than 3,600 flights a day. This year Southwest launched their international flight service to five nearby countries by Air Tran Airways, a wholly owned subsidiary which was acquired in May 2011.

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).

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.