Strategic Analysis Of Southwest Airlines In The United States
Southwest Airlines started out as a very small company that was established in 1967. At that time, they had only three airplanes and twenty-five employees. Southwest now is one of the most successful major airlines in the United States. With the mission of “dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit” (About Southwest, n.d.) has allowed the company to grow to 694 aircraft and 46,000 employees (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, R. (2017).
Summarize Current Strategy
Southwest is the only large airline to operate without major hubs. There focus is short-haul, high frequency flights at a low cost (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, R. (2017). This low-cost leadership strategy allows them to provide airline service at the lowest cost, relative to their competitors. Southwest’s innovation and differentiation of short haul, point to point air travel has allowed them to operate more efficiently. Their success is because of the competitive advantage they …show more content…
Southwest has led the airline industry with the current low-cost fares and built its reputation on it customer service practices. For over 40 years they have ranked first in the lowest overall customer complaints. They have also managed to earn a profit during this time. Even through 9/11. If they were to increase prices this could lead to a loss of their customer base.
2. The acquisition of AirTran will open 30 new markets for Southwest. Maintaining customer culture is a must. That is one of the key reasons that Southwest has been so successful. Maintaining a structured continuous learning program for all employees will help ensure that all are aware of policies and practices expected. It will help in maintain the culture and values of the company. It may take time to fully integrate AirTran’s employees to the new culture but if it is not done and done correctly profits could be lost, moral could drop and customers complaints could
Summarize Current Strategy
Southwest is the only large airline to operate without major hubs. There focus is short-haul, high frequency flights at a low cost (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, R. (2017). This low-cost leadership strategy allows them to provide airline service at the lowest cost, relative to their competitors. Southwest’s innovation and differentiation of short haul, point to point air travel has allowed them to operate more efficiently. Their success is because of the competitive advantage they …show more content…
Southwest has led the airline industry with the current low-cost fares and built its reputation on it customer service practices. For over 40 years they have ranked first in the lowest overall customer complaints. They have also managed to earn a profit during this time. Even through 9/11. If they were to increase prices this could lead to a loss of their customer base.
2. The acquisition of AirTran will open 30 new markets for Southwest. Maintaining customer culture is a must. That is one of the key reasons that Southwest has been so successful. Maintaining a structured continuous learning program for all employees will help ensure that all are aware of policies and practices expected. It will help in maintain the culture and values of the company. It may take time to fully integrate AirTran’s employees to the new culture but if it is not done and done correctly profits could be lost, moral could drop and customers complaints could