Southwest Airlines Company and Industry Analysis
Southwest Airlines is a major airline company operating in the United States. The company was founded in 1967 in Houston, Texas by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King. The company’s vision was a low-cost, no-frills airline that was safe, affordable, and fun. Out of that vision, and following and arduous inception, the company has become one of the largest U.S, airlines, getting more travelers to their destinations than any other U.S. airline, and making a profit while doing it. Southwest Airlines was founded and based out of Houston at a time when the city was seeing a growth in commercial and industrial business. The founders of Southwest Airlines believed there was a demand for convenient and consistent flights between large cities, particularly amongst businessmen. Their observations led them to eventually opt for a low cost business strategy with the initial goal of keeping their fares comparable to the cost of making the trip by car. To balance this strategy, the founders also recognized the importance of providing outstanding customer service to bolster the airline’s image and gain customer confidence and loyalty. Today Southwest has a fleet of 527 aircrafts serving 64 cities in 32 states. Southwest focuses on affordable travel with a strategy which is not built on hub airports but rather flights between pairs of cities, point-to-point. Routes are established where there are enough passengers travelling and a high number of flights per day, with an opportunity to add more flights over time. The company has short turnaround times to keep the plans in the air more hours than rivals. It also has the lowest customer complaints per passengers and a low lost baggage rate as well as high on time arrivals. Southwest Airlines has stayed true to its founding goals and the company’s present success is a direct result of those two key factors. In executing its primary goal to remain the low cost leader, Southwest Airlines could be described as having