Southwest Airlines Research Paper
Southwest Airlines (LUV)
Anonymous
University of Phoenix, AXIA
MGT – 245 Organizational Behavior
Andrea Benjamin
February 10, 2008
"You are now free to move about the country." -- SWA
Introduction
Southwest Airlines was founded more than 36 years ago by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher who decided to create a different type of airline. Rollin King and Herb Kelleher started with the simple idea: “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” (SWA, August 2007, ¶ 1). This is an examination of what sets Southwest Airlines apart from the industry standard …show more content…
As a result, “Southwest led the way with the first airline web page, southwest.com, DING!; the first-ever direct link to Customer’s computer desktops that delivers live updates on the hottest deals, and the first airline corporate blog, Nuts About Southwest”(SWA, 2007, ¶ 4). Southwest also pioneered Ticketless Travel, Senior Fares, frequent flyer program (that will eventually become Rapid Rewards program) and a same-day air freight delivery service as well as adopting the first profit-sharing plan in the U.S. airline industry (SWA, 2007). Through several plans SWA employees own at least eight percent of the company stock (SWA, 2007). “Since 1987, when the Department of Transportation began tracking Customer Satisfaction statistics, Southwest has consistently led the entire airline industry with the lowest ratio of complaints per passengers boarded” (SWA, 2007, ¶ 4). They also started their Share the Spirit community programs to make Southwest the hometown airline of every city they serve (SWA, August 2007). Their commitment to social responsibility statement:
“Southwest Airlines has always been devoted to each and every community that we serve. Our Employees, Customers, and neighbors make the Southwest Family the LUVing place that it is, and we are proud to offer our cities more than just friendly and affordable air service. We offer our hearts! Thousands …show more content…
For example, “Southwest pilots were the only pilots of a major U.S. airline who did not belong to a national union…national union rules limited the number of hours pilots could fly (Govindarajan & Lang, 2002, p 2). However, Southwest’s pilots are unionized independently which allows them to fly far more hours than pilots from competitive airlines (Govindarajan & Lang, 2002). Other Southwest employees are members of national unions, however their contracts are flexible enough to allow employees regardless of the task to jump in and help (Govindarajan & Lang, 2002). To continue the flow of communication with the added layer of the union process is an achievement it itself, however to Southwest it’s just how they
Anonymous
University of Phoenix, AXIA
MGT – 245 Organizational Behavior
Andrea Benjamin
February 10, 2008
"You are now free to move about the country." -- SWA
Introduction
Southwest Airlines was founded more than 36 years ago by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher who decided to create a different type of airline. Rollin King and Herb Kelleher started with the simple idea: “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” (SWA, August 2007, ¶ 1). This is an examination of what sets Southwest Airlines apart from the industry standard …show more content…
As a result, “Southwest led the way with the first airline web page, southwest.com, DING!; the first-ever direct link to Customer’s computer desktops that delivers live updates on the hottest deals, and the first airline corporate blog, Nuts About Southwest”(SWA, 2007, ¶ 4). Southwest also pioneered Ticketless Travel, Senior Fares, frequent flyer program (that will eventually become Rapid Rewards program) and a same-day air freight delivery service as well as adopting the first profit-sharing plan in the U.S. airline industry (SWA, 2007). Through several plans SWA employees own at least eight percent of the company stock (SWA, 2007). “Since 1987, when the Department of Transportation began tracking Customer Satisfaction statistics, Southwest has consistently led the entire airline industry with the lowest ratio of complaints per passengers boarded” (SWA, 2007, ¶ 4). They also started their Share the Spirit community programs to make Southwest the hometown airline of every city they serve (SWA, August 2007). Their commitment to social responsibility statement:
“Southwest Airlines has always been devoted to each and every community that we serve. Our Employees, Customers, and neighbors make the Southwest Family the LUVing place that it is, and we are proud to offer our cities more than just friendly and affordable air service. We offer our hearts! Thousands …show more content…
For example, “Southwest pilots were the only pilots of a major U.S. airline who did not belong to a national union…national union rules limited the number of hours pilots could fly (Govindarajan & Lang, 2002, p 2). However, Southwest’s pilots are unionized independently which allows them to fly far more hours than pilots from competitive airlines (Govindarajan & Lang, 2002). Other Southwest employees are members of national unions, however their contracts are flexible enough to allow employees regardless of the task to jump in and help (Govindarajan & Lang, 2002). To continue the flow of communication with the added layer of the union process is an achievement it itself, however to Southwest it’s just how they