Swot Analysis : Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co., established in 1971 by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher, began its operations with only three Boeing 737 aircrafts. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas(Hawkins, Misra, & Tang, 2012). Southwest is well known as one of the largest low-cost carriers. With this strategy, the company has dramatically grown up and deeply rooted in the US airline industry. Now, Southwest Airlines Co. operates 633 aircrafts to 93 domestic cities and the highest number of passengers used Southwest Airlines to fly around U.S in Jan 2014 (Hawkins, Misra, & Tang, 2012). To accomplish more than 40th consecutive years of both profitability and competitiveness, Southwest Airlines Company is constantly trying to find the routes to differentiate itself from other domestic carriers (Hawkins, Misra, & Tang, 2012).

To evaluate the external environment of JetBlue airways we will use the PESTEL analysis. PESTEL analysis stands for “Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environment and Legal analysis”.

Southwest Airlines is a major US airline established in 1967 that services a multitude of cities in all 50 states and beyond. The company is known for its outstanding quality in providing services and it 's cost effective ticket prices to its many passengers throughout the nation. This airline is based in the southwestern United States, in the city of Dallas Texas, and due to the tremendous number of airplanes that it has and the timely service that it provides to its passengers, this airline services more US passengers than any other airline. This airline also has the largest fleet of planes of any economical or low-cost airline service in the world and employees more than 45,000.

Southwest Airlines (SWA) maintained a low-cost, low-price and no frills strategy. The small Texas carrier began as a concept, its business plan detailed on a cocktail napkin in 1971 and grew into the nation’s fourth largest airline. Known as an innovator with low operating costs, dominating smaller airports, with a humorous customer service, SWA saw its 40th profitable year in 2013. Like all companies, SWA underwent leadership changes in 2001, and said goodbye to the company’s founder in 2008. Unfortunately, the changes in leadership were not the only changes; the organization proceeded to alter their beliefs and activities.

Referring to the SWOT analysis, we assume the most uncontrollable issue imposed on C.P. is the circumstance of fierce competition existing in the current airline industry. Consequently, as alternative submissions, the company should remain constantly advancing new strategies, namely acquisition and introducing of a budget confederate.

Today Southwest Airlines is the biggest domestic passenger carrier in the United States of America operating more than 3,400 flights a day. They provide service to 93 cities and 5 countries internationally. Last year Southwest Airlines, “Enplaned approximately 136 million Customers (About Southwest). The airline has grown since it’s first years flying out of Love Field in Dallas, Texas. In the beginning, Southwest provided flight service to only three Texas cities in 1971. One of Southwest Airlines’ early advertisements was a double page ad that ran in Dallas newspapers during May announcing their first flight on June 18, 1971 (Lusk). This advertisement introducing a new airline would soon revolutionize the airline industry and create the new category, of low cost carrier, to the world.

This paper will give a historical overview of the company, discuss the ingredients to the company success, offer some financial strengths and present a final conclusion. Section I: Southwest's History Twenty-seven years ago, Rollin King, a San Antonio entrepreneur who owned a small commuter air service, and Kelleher, who was a lawyer at the time, got together and decided to start a different kind of airline. They began with one simple notion. If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time, at the lowest possible fares, and make certain they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. And you know what? They were right. Within those 27 years, Southwest Airlines became the fifth largest major airline in America. Today, they have flown over 50 million passengers a year to 54 cities all over the southwest and beyond. They do it over 2,300 times a day with over 267 of the newest jets in the nation and fly only one type aircraft; the B-737. The average age of their fleet is only 8.4 years and they own over sixty percent of them. In May 1988, they were the first airline to win the coveted U.S. Department of Transportation Triple Crown for a month - Best On-time Record, Best Baggage Handling, and Fewest Customer Complaints. Since then, they've won it

American Airlines, Inc. (AA) is a major airline of the United States. It is the world's largest airline in regards to accumulated passenger miles. American Airlines took off on April 15, 1926 when Charles Lindbergh flew a bag of mail from Chicago to St. Luis in a DH-4 biplane. A year later the first passenger flight flew from Boston to New York, heralding the real first passenger airplane travel by American Airlines. A subsidiary of AMR Corporation, the head quarters of American Airlines is in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. American operates scheduled flights throughout the United States and flights to Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Japan, the

| Weakness * The number of cancelling flights is a little high * The customer service is bad because in some occasion the customer can’t found the delta representative in the airport. * Lack of online presence * In some aircrafts the seats are uncomfortable and narrow

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)

To formulate a strategy that will help Southwest Airlines maintain its competitive edge in the US airline industry.

This short paper is an overview of Southwest Airlines, its strategy, and what role Human

US Airways completed a merger in December 2013 . This merger provided much needed cash infusion into American Airlines, enabling it to emergency from

Since the late of last century, the business model of low cost airline represented by Southwest Airlines has been spreading all over the world, has influence and changed the framework and development of the world airline industry.

Southwest Airlines Company (Southwest Airlines or ‘the Company’ SWA) is a passenger airline that provides scheduled passenger and freight transportation services. The Company primarily provides scheduled services throughout the US and near-international markets. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and employs 48,000 people and serves over one hundred million customers annually (“Southwest,” 2015). Southwest Airlines has accumulated over forty years of revenue and is one of the supremely flown airlines in the United States of America (Dess, et al, 2014, p. C137). Recognized for dominating the national or domestic airline market, Southwest Airlines’ diligence has built an