Southwest Airlines in 2010: Culture, Values, and Operating Practices
When the airline industry getting mentioned negative thoughts and emotions rush to peoples’ mind. 9/11 was not too long ago causing a huge drop in revenues and putting many large companies to the brink of bankruptcy. High ticket prices as well as a plethora of additional fees continue to plague frequent air travelers. However amongst all the chaos and disarray, one company continued to show profits and wow its customers. Every year since 1973 Southwest Airlines has continued to be profitable where others have lost millions on dollars. This is due to the genius operating methods put into place that have stressed Southwest’s goals of having low operating costs, low fares, and customer-pleasing service.
The formation of Southwest Airlines did not take place over night. It was a process that gradually expanded by having a solid core that. In the late sixty’s a San Antonio entrepreneur had a dream and sought out the man who would make this work: Herb Kelleher. Kelleher was a successful lawyer based in the San Antonio area. The original idea that started Southwest was to service business people with a low-cost/low-fare between the major metropolitan cities in Texas. Kelleher was immediately on board with this idea and went to work to get the company going. He fought many legal battles from big rivals to block the potential new entrant; however in 1971 two court appeals were won granting Southwest entrance to the Texas market. Immediately they looked outside for financing and found Lamar Muse, who was brought in as CEO.
Once Southwest launched, their first move was to undercut the competitors in price to attract customers. However they still were attracting few customers. The marketing team then went to work coming up with new ideas to keep this company in the air. From stewardesses in high-heeled boots, free alcoholic beverages on certain, incredible deals on tickets, and a loveable tag line Southwest caught the publics’ attention. On the operational side, the ground
The formation of Southwest Airlines did not take place over night. It was a process that gradually expanded by having a solid core that. In the late sixty’s a San Antonio entrepreneur had a dream and sought out the man who would make this work: Herb Kelleher. Kelleher was a successful lawyer based in the San Antonio area. The original idea that started Southwest was to service business people with a low-cost/low-fare between the major metropolitan cities in Texas. Kelleher was immediately on board with this idea and went to work to get the company going. He fought many legal battles from big rivals to block the potential new entrant; however in 1971 two court appeals were won granting Southwest entrance to the Texas market. Immediately they looked outside for financing and found Lamar Muse, who was brought in as CEO.
Once Southwest launched, their first move was to undercut the competitors in price to attract customers. However they still were attracting few customers. The marketing team then went to work coming up with new ideas to keep this company in the air. From stewardesses in high-heeled boots, free alcoholic beverages on certain, incredible deals on tickets, and a loveable tag line Southwest caught the publics’ attention. On the operational side, the ground