Southwest Airlines Case Study Summary

Register to read the introduction… “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” (Southwest Airlines History, n.d., para. 1) stated King and Kelleher, the starters and Presidents of the airline. Using its low-cost, no checked baggage fees, great customer service, and point-to-point strategy, which allows them to pick the most profitable routes to operate, Southwest has been able to expand year after year and stay profitable. As of today, Southwest Airlines is one of the most successful airlines in the struggling airlines economy. Over the past few years many airlines have had large losses and five of the ten largest airlines have filed for bankruptcy. Southwest has been able to continue to grow but they have started to experience some financial …show more content…
The heaping problems facing Southwest can be traced to five major causes. The difficulties began with a dramatic change in business travel demand and consumer demand. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 had an immense negative impact on consumer demand. People were afraid to fly and Southwest along with all the other airlines had to find ways to make customers feel safe again. Around the end of May, beginning of June, business travel in the overall airline economy decreased 5.4 percent, (Martin, 2012) the largest decline in any month since April 2010, showing signs of a slowing economy. Businesses are still doing their core business travel, but converting to more of an electronic approach, for example, Skype, to save on costs. Skype is a free computer program that people can video chat for as long as they want, whereas flying to another state or overseas can cost a company an excess amount, leaving companies that are short on money to convert to an electronic approach to business …show more content…
It is acrimonious to compete between airlines because of all the similarities between companies but Southwest has a chance to be the top competitor with a few changes. Southwest must reconsider its strategic choices and find new strategies to get back into having a strong financial company. “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 Mission, n.d., para. 1). Although they are in a bind, they do not plan on breaking their mission; they plan on attacking this situation and becoming a stronger more profitable