Case Study About Southwest Airline
Introduction: Southwest Airlines was incorporated on June 18, 1971, serving three cities, Dallas,
Houston, and San Antonio. It has been a successful business that has grown into a powerful force in the airline industry. The reason Southwest has remained financially viable is their commitment through point-to-point service with a quick turnaround time. The more planes in the air and the less time on the ground is a profitably business model. Although, there are some areas where Southwest struggled and could improve upon (Kruggel, 2001). In a large competitive Airline industry that has a strong entry barrier, Southwest Airline succeeded on their customer service and quality differentiation distinct any other Airline contributor. The company set them self up for any breakdown what might would happen in the future. Nevertheless,
September 11, 2001 attack happened and the Airline could have been better prepared for that event (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2007, p.114). After 9/11 attack struggling airlines had changed their business strategies and offer lower pricing. Almost every aspect that differentiated
Southwest airline from other companies were cut because of having to adapt to new security protocols. These strategies caused Southwest not staying in competitive advantage position, and therefore, they had to slash their pricing lower than average. Of course, loyal customers would continue using Southwest over other airline industries.
Analysis: Southwest competitive advantage strategies are as follow: Southwest implemented the first and most simplistic frequent-flier program: purchase eight flights and get one free. Other are their point-to-point services, which are generally targeting the frequent business traveler.
With several regular flights per day, if a passenger happens to miss their flight, they will be automatically booked onto another flight. Secondly, secured routes through secondary airports
Houston, and San Antonio. It has been a successful business that has grown into a powerful force in the airline industry. The reason Southwest has remained financially viable is their commitment through point-to-point service with a quick turnaround time. The more planes in the air and the less time on the ground is a profitably business model. Although, there are some areas where Southwest struggled and could improve upon (Kruggel, 2001). In a large competitive Airline industry that has a strong entry barrier, Southwest Airline succeeded on their customer service and quality differentiation distinct any other Airline contributor. The company set them self up for any breakdown what might would happen in the future. Nevertheless,
September 11, 2001 attack happened and the Airline could have been better prepared for that event (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2007, p.114). After 9/11 attack struggling airlines had changed their business strategies and offer lower pricing. Almost every aspect that differentiated
Southwest airline from other companies were cut because of having to adapt to new security protocols. These strategies caused Southwest not staying in competitive advantage position, and therefore, they had to slash their pricing lower than average. Of course, loyal customers would continue using Southwest over other airline industries.
Analysis: Southwest competitive advantage strategies are as follow: Southwest implemented the first and most simplistic frequent-flier program: purchase eight flights and get one free. Other are their point-to-point services, which are generally targeting the frequent business traveler.
With several regular flights per day, if a passenger happens to miss their flight, they will be automatically booked onto another flight. Secondly, secured routes through secondary airports