...Southwest Airlines Corporation INTRODUCTION The Mission of Southwest Airlines The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. Southwest Airlines Co. is a major U.S. airline and the world's largest low-cost carrier, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The airline was established in 1967and adopted its current name in 1971] The airline has 44,831 employees as of December 2013 and operates more than 3,400 flights per day. As of June 5, 2011, it carries the most domestic passengers of any U.S. airline. As of November 2014, Southwest Airlines has scheduled service to 93 destinations in 41 states, Puerto Rico and abroad. Southwest Airlines has used only Boeing 737s, except for a few years in the 1970s and 1980s, when it leased a few Boeing 727s. As of August 2012 Southwest is the largest operator of the 737 worldwide with over 550 in service, each averaging six flights per day. Southwest had the lowest operating-cost structure in the domestic airline industry and consistently offered the lowest and simplest fares. Southwest also had one of the best overall customer service records. In 2001, the airline had 35,000 employees and generated total operating revenues of $5.6 billion from a passenger load factor of 68.1 percent. Its stock exchange symbol was LUV, representing Southwest’s home at Dallas Love Field, as well as the theme of its employee and...
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...Leadership is the most important thing when it comes to running any kind of business or organization. Southwest Airlines is one of America’s favorite airlines and this could be contributed to the type of leadership that the company has had and still has. Herb Keller, cofounder and former CEO, set certain core values that helped the company gain the success that it still has today. The leadership style of connecting with employees and connecting with customers has also helped the company stay afloat during a time when all other airlines seemed to be under the storm. This goes to show us that maybe at the end of the day it is all about the leadership that you choose to have for your company. To me Herb Kelleher was a visionary leader more than he was a servant leader; he looked more towards the future of the company. The success that Southwest Airlines has today comes from the core values that were developed by Herb Kelleher. “Kelleher is one of those rare birds: an entrepreneur who managed to create a successful startup, then stuck around to build it into a huge corporation” (Reingold). This shows that Kelleher was always thinking about the future of the company which makes him a visionary leader. The most predominate leadership style at Southwest Airlines would be the affinitive leader, which means the company uses harmony more than anything else to solve any conflict that many arise. One can see this by first looking at the company’s NYSE stock sticker symbol, which is LUV...
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...Marketing Excellence Southwest Airlines Introduction Southwest Airlines Co. is the largest low-cost carrier in the United States, and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The airline was established in 1967, by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. Southwest begins flying within the state of Texas (between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio) with three Boeing 737 aircraft. Today Southwest operates nearly 400 Boeing 737 aircraft to 59 U.S. cities. Southwest has the lowest operating cost structure in the domestic airline industry and consistently offers the lowest and simplest fares. Southwest also has one of the best overall customer service records. Moreover, It is one of the few airlines with no layoffs aimed a travel slump created by the slow economy and the threat of terrorism. Southwest offers types of products and services which include; air transportation, mobile access, shuttle service, priority boarding, early bird check-in, and pet allowance. Southwest has pioneered in Senior Fares, a same-day air freight delivery service, Fun Fares, and Ticketless Travel. Southwest was the first airline with web page- southwest.com, DING! The first-ever direct link to Customer’s computer desktops that delivers live updates on ticket deals, and the first airline corporate blog. A timeline of key dates in Southwest Airlines history: 1971 - Southwest begins flying between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The idea for the airline was hatched over drinks by San Antonio lawyer Herb Kelleher...
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...Southwest Airlines Herb Kelleher is the founder and CEO of Southwest Airlines (SWA). He went to Texas to create a new airline more than three decades ago and became a legend (“Southwest succession,” 2002). Kelleher suffered a health scare in 1999; he decided to name his successor and stunned everyone by appointing a man and woman team to run the major airline (“Southwest succession,” 2002). They became a dual management team. Jim Parker became the chief executive and vice president who serves as the brains of the operation with responsibility for business structure. Colleen Barrett is the heart of SWA where she serves as the president and chief operating officer who oversees the culture (“Southwest succession,” 2002). SWA defines its culture as altruism, listening intently, leading with a servant’s heart and exhibits an exciting-loving and fun approach, (McGee-Cooper, Trammell, & Looper, 2008). Barrett stimulates the image, allows workers at each level to grow into family, prototypes the way of servant leadership, acknowledges works well done and inspires the souls of 32,000 SWA employees (McGee-Cooper, Trammell, & Looper, 2008). Barrett created the Culture Committee, whose goal is to support the Southwest spirit and values throughout the company; to enhance it and assist the improvement in which the committee previously subsists (McGee-Cooper, Trammell, & Looper, 2008). The members who serve on this committee do it voluntarily. They put in the time willingly...
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...1. Is there anything that you find particularly impressive about Southwest Airlines? There are several things that I like about Southwest Airlines The first is its large fleet of 527 aircraft, all of which are Boeing 737. In addition, I like the implementation of the strategy of the low cost airlines. The company has been able to understand the cost structure in the Airlines industry, has been able to understand customer needs, and has been able to deliver a remarkable value based product to its customers. I have been impressed by the manner in which the Airlines has been able to implement the low cost model of airlines. Southwest Airlines has also shown flexibility in addressing the needs of its customers. It has now decided to go in for 737-800 because they would improve scheduling. Southwest Airlines has been successful because it has eliminated services that were not valued by the customers and instead provided customers with a relatively lower cost option. 2. What grade would you give Southwest management for the job it has done in crafting the company's strategy? What is it that you like or dislike about the strategy? Does Southwest have a winning strategy? Southwest Airlines management deserves to be given an A grade for developing a winning strategy. Southwest Airlines strategy begins with its HR strategy of recruiting personnel that are high quality, are trained well and their performance is well managed. In addition, the strategy focuses on improving high level of employee...
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...Case Study: Southwest Airlines MGT 620X- Operations Strategy February 27, 2015 Executive Summary This case study will look at the various services that Southwest Airlines is looking to add to their current offerings. Whether or not satellite-based WiFi internet, extensive wine and/or coffee offerings, and the possibility of international alliances with other airline carriers are areas that should be explored to enhance services at Southwest. While each of the above mentioned services are all luxuries that many customers would enjoy having on a flight the airline the airline must establish if they are all luxuries that customers would also be willing to pay for. Southwest prides their business on being able to offer low-cost fares adding services would mean increasing rates. Southwest must determine if the risk is worth the reward. This case study will help Southwest make some of those determinations. Introduction: LUV Southwest Airlines is defined by their mission statement: “dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit” (Southwest, 2015). When making decisions on which path the...
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...Southwest Airlines was founded by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher in 1967. The airline was originally incorporated to serve three major cities in Texas (Dallas, Houston and San Antonio). The idea was to create an airline with low fares, easy scheduling and quality customer service. Some of the dominant airlines at that time initiated a series of litigations against southwest airlines in an attempt to prevent them from launching their first flight. After winning the legal battles, other problems started to ensue e.g. the company needed to strategize on how to maximize profits and at the same time compete with other players within the airline industry. The following are some issues the company faced and the strategies used to tackle it. The company was faced with the challenge of How to make more profit with fewer plans and they came up with the idea of “10-minute turnaround” which was designed to enable their planes to fully unload and reload within ten minutes. At some point, the Company CEO was forced to slash the flight price to $13 for the Dallas to San Antonio routes in other to compensate for low turnout of passengers travel to San Antonio. Southwest also had to compete with Braniff airline after the latter slashed its price to $13 for it Dallas to Houston route which was the most profitable route for South west airline, the main aim of this strategy was to drive southwest to a state of bankruptcy if the company was to attempt to meet the $13 price, but rather than falling...
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...Melissa Renobato April 6, 2015 Case Study 6 Taking Responsibility: “High-Flying Labor Relations at Southwest Airlines” Based on the information provided the Phoenix policies for pay and benefits I find reasonable are that they pay part of the health insurance premiums and offer dental coverage. I like the automatic enrollment of life insurance and the option to purchase additional insurance for spouse and children. Also, the payments to the City’s pension plan from both employees and employers and the option to have a portion of their pre-taxed earnings to be deposited in a flexible spending account or health care of day care. I like that they get paid 8-15 hours per month for vacation and the paid holidays they receive each year. Another thing is the nearby childcare center that offers discounts to employees who may need it. The one thing I find unreasonable would be the 10 hours of sick leave they can receive each month when they work. Don’t get me wrong I do like that it’s 10 hours per month but the recommendation of change I would have would be to accrue 8 hours of sick leave whether the employee is there each month or not. The only benefit changes I would recommend would be the hours of sick leave received each month. Again, as I stated previously, I feel employees should get at least 8 hours of sick leave each month whether they show up for work or not. There are times that employees have to take time off during the month whether it’s...
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...Case Analysis By: Omar B. Caligan TITLE OF THE CASE: Positioning Southwest Airlines through Employee Branding VIEWPOINT: Top Level Management – Executive TIME CONTEXT: 2005 I. PROBLEM STATEMENT * The use of employee branding as a process to gain an organizational “position” in the minds of customers II. OBJECTIVES: * To determine how employee branding works * To determine how employee branding can be utilized to position the organization in the minds of customers, employees and other stakeholders * To determine what are the key success factors for those who wish to make employee branding a strategic focus within their organization III. AREAS OF CONSIDERATION * Strengths 1. Psychological Contract * Influences employees’ trust in their employers and their motivation to serve customers and co-workers * Impacts interaction of employees with others as well as their day-to-day productivity 2. Knowledge of Desired Brand Image * Values, Philosophy and Spirit * Humour * Altruism * LUV * Use of drivers as focus for Southwest’s positioning strategy * Reliable, friendly and low priced 3. Service Innovation * Weaknesses 1. Excessive use of authority 2. Complexity of Process 3. Decreasing differentiation relative to other low cost carriers (i.e. segmented seats, international flights, etc.) 4. Aircraft...
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...SUCCESS SOUTHWEST AIRLINES So, to start with, the company was founded in 16th of March, 1967 Dallas by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King. It has a subsidiary company which is AirTran Airways. Southwest Airlines flies to 72 destinations in the United States. Key people of the company are Herb Kelleher (Co-founder), Rollin King (Co-founder) and Gary C. Kelly (President, CEO & Chairman). And total assets in 2010 were more than 15 billion dollars. In simple words, more than 44 years ago, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher 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 darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. And you know what? They were right. [pic] As we see, Southwest Airlines is among 3 biggest domestic United States airlines. Their biggest competitors are American Airlines and Delta Airlines. Also you can see AirTran Airways company which is now a subsidiary of Southwest Airlines. So now we have a question – why the airlines are so successful? Here I’d like to point two sides – financial and attitude. Financial reasons which help the company to save money and as a result to gain more profit are these: One Plane Fits All Southwest flies just one plane type, the Boeing 737 series. That saves Southwest millions in maintenance costs—spare-parts inventories, mechanic training...
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... Casos en Gestión Financiera Tercer Trimestre de 2012 Prof. Dr. Juan Gallegos “Caso 2: Southwest Airlines.” Autores Benjamín Eltit Silva Sebastián FuentealbaTorres Rafael Monsalve Eric Sánchez Vega 1 de Septiembre de 2012 1) Analice el mercado de las aerolíneas en el que entra a competir Southwest (competidores, consumidores, proveedores, sustitutos, intensidad de la competencia, entorno de los negocios en general, reglas del juego, etc.) Análisis Externo. Competidores. Southwest considera que sus competidores directos son el transporte terrestre y no las demás aerolíneas. Consumidores. Personas que utilizan tren, metro o autobús, y que desean viajar a ciudades cercanas de forma rápida y a un bajo costo. Personas que estén dispuestas a prescindir del lujo en un viaje de avión. Proveedores. Southwest siempre varía de proveedor en busca de una alternativa mas económica para el abastecimiento de los insumos, por ejemplo, el combustible donde comprar le es indigente mientras el precio del insumo justifique el costo extra de acarrear peso adicional. Sustitutos. Frente a la competencia entre las distintas líneas aéreas presentes en el mercado estadounidense Southwest presenta la ventaja de la frecuencia y bajos costos, la buena atención y que la mayor parte de sus vuelos se realizan sin escalas, por esta característica de viajes cortos, volar con Southwest se convierte en la alternativa al transporte terrestre, a costos bajos, atención de calidad, frecuencia...
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...Reporte – Caso Southwest Airlines Pregunta 1. Southwest has mastered the low-price model and has the financial results to prove it. Why don´t the other airlines copy Southwest´s model? Sin duda, tener una buena estrategia es una de las aristas del éxito de Southwest, pero la estrategia por sí sola es insuficiente. El éxito viene de la combinación de una buena estrategia y una buena implementación de esta estrategia. Y es en la implementación donde suelen fallar los imitadores. Los imitadores lo que suelen copiar es un estrategia al que le falta vida a través la implementación de programas y planes que la soporten, y que se refleje consistentemente en el comportamiento de los directivos y todos los empleados. Si un ejecutivo infunde la cultura adecuada, los empleados también trabajarán duro para mantener los costos bajos. El secreto del éxito de Southwest consiste en cierta obsesión por mantener los costos bajos y tratar bien a los trabajadores, así como un compromiso de gestionar la empresa durante los periodos de “boom” con un ojo puesto en la recesión que inevitablemente vendrá a continuación. Lo cual se refleja al no cancelar ningún vuelo después del 11 de septiembre, y no despedir ningún empleado. Los bajos costos han proporcionado a Southwest su nicho en el mercado y su ventaja competitiva, al tener las tarifas más bajas del país. Pregunta 2. What risks does Southwest face? Can it continue to thrive as a low-cost airline when tough economic time hit? Uno de...
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...THE AIRLINE DEREGULATION EVOLUTION CONTINUES The Southwest Effect [pic] Prepared by: Randall D. Bennett James M. Craun Office of Aviation Analysis U.S. Department of Transportation May 1993 Table of Contents Major Findings 3 Southwest 4 Industry Structural Changes 5 The Southwest Effect 6 The importance of new entrants 8 Appendix A: Charts 10 Chart 1 10 Chart 2 10 Chart 3 11 Chart 4 11 Chart 5 12 Chart 6 12 Chart 7 13 Chart 8 13 Chart 9 14 Chart 10 14 Chart 11 15 Chart 12 16 Chart 13 16 Chart 14 17 Chart 15 17 Chart 16 18 Chart 17 18 Chart 18 19 Chart 19 19 Chart 20 20 Chart 21 20 Chart 22 21 Chart 23 21 Major Findings: The principal driving force behind dramatic fundamental changes that have occurred and will occur in the U.S. airline industry over the next few years is the dramatic growth of low-cost Southwest Airlines: • A return to profitability hinges on developing lower-cost services in short haul markets and increasing fares in longer-haul markets: • Other major airlines are giving up competing with Southwest's low-cost service for market share. Southwest's continuing expansion will force other airlines to bring about a major change in their cost structures by developing new, low-cost services in short-haul...
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...characterize the business model of Southwestern Airlines? How does this differ from the Business model used at many other airlines, such as United and American Airlines? Southwest Airlines strategy of focusing on short haul passenger and providing rates as low as one third of their competitors, they have seen tremendous growth in the last decade. Market share for top city pairs on Southwest's schedule has reached 80% to 85%. Maintaining the largest fleet of 737's in the world and utilizing point-to-point versus the hub-and-spoke method of connection philosophy allowed Southwest to provide their service to more people at a lower cost. By putting the employee first, Southwest has found the key to success in the airline business. A happy worker is a more productive one as well as a better service provider. Southwest will continue to reserve their growth in the future by entering select markets only after careful market research. 2.) Identify the Resources, capabilities and distinctive competencies of Southwestern Airlines. 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...
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...Analysis of Strategic Structure of Southwest Airlines Uploaded by so cerious on Jun 26, 2006 [pic] |Analysis of Strategic Structure of Southwest Airlines | | | |Twenty-nine years ago, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher 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 darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. | | | |Within 28 years, Southwest Airlines became the fifth largest major airline in America. With the addition of service to Buffalo-Niagara | |International Airport on October 8, 2000, fly more than 57 million passengers a year to 57 great cities (58 airports) all over the | |Southwest and beyond. And she does it over 2,600 times a day. | | ...
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