Why Was Southwest Airlines Able To Remain Profitable After 9/11

Southwest Airlines Perhaps the main reason why Southwest Airlines was able to remain profitable following the 9/11 attacks was that it stuck to its strategy. In a time where industries (and many other parts of the world) were desperate and scrambling to adapt, Southwest simply vowed to stick to what made them a successful company to begin with. Ironically, this was how they had always garnered success – by positioning themselves differently from the competition – and this is exactly what they were doing again during the time period of this case. Of course, there were to be several federally mandated changes to come, but Southwest would, as best they could, remain serving their customers and operating their company as they always had. Specifically, while flight schedule and employment cutbacks were rampant across the industry, Southwest maintained and even increased in both of these areas. This resulted in Southwest’s market value becoming greater than the other eight largest airlines combined. Further, as unions began to pursue and negotiate for more favorable contracts, Southwest’s position as a leader in labor relations proved to be another key factor in their ability to maintain profitability during this crisis.
Over the years, Southwest has been a financial leader in the airline industry, and much of this success is attributed to the same strategy and values that Herb instilled when first founding the company. That said, it is only a matter of time before the competition catches up. Similar with other disruptive technologies, which Southwest’s strategy can be labeled as, eventually competitors will mimic or get better at what they do. This might force margins to narrow, amongst other things, and ultimately might force a company that has been alone at the top for so long (such as Southwest) to make some strategic