Southwest Airlines

Southwest determines routes and flight schedules to meet their customers’ needs. By having a one-model fleet, they can deliver many operational efficiencies and structural savings. Other airlines spend millions in training techs and stocking parts for multiple aircrafts. In Dallas, Southwest flies out of Love Field rather than the larger Dallas/Ft. Worth airport. Gate fees are less expensive at the regional airports where schedules typically remain more on time than at the larger airports. Plus, most Southwest flights avoid layovers by flying directly to the destination. Savings from decisions like those compound to keep Southwest’s costs lower than competitors’ costs (Maggiore, 2017).

Operations

Southwest serves 100 destinations across the

The heart is now more prominent in the branding and the biggest and most unique reflection of this is a large heart painted on the underbelly of each plane (Phelps, 2016).

Southwest positions itself in all its marketing communications as the only low-fare, short-haul, high-frequency, point-to-point carrier in America that is fun to fly. Its low-priced fares are a brand equity which it "owns" in the mathematical sense of being the only major airline with a strong score on this attribute based on consumer research. Southwest’s brand exudes an element of fun: a down-home attitude which it leverages to present the consequences of low fares in a positive light (YouSigma).

One of Southwest’s most successful marketing campaigns is called Transfarency. Transfarency is the philosophy in which Customers are treated honestly and fairly, and low fares actually stays low. There’s no unexpected bag fees, change fees, or hidden fees (See Appendix G Advertisement 15). Not only does Southwest offer low fares every day, but they have “Wanna Get Away” sales throughout the year (See Appendix G Advertisements 3,5,7,8, and 11). Fares as low as $59 one way are promoted which target people who wouldn’t normally travel because of financial reasons (Southwest

The company takes their time in hiring the right candidates because they want to be confident that their employees make the right decisions when dealing with customers. This behavior builds strong employee loyalty to the company. The company also hasn’t had many legal issues. Within the last year, one was passengers accusing the four largest U.S. carriers of conspiring to raise fares by reducing seating capacity. Southwest agreed to pay $15 million to settle the nationwide antitrust litigation (Reuters, 2018). Just recently, Southwest had a jet engine malfunction that killed one passenger. The company responded promptly and stated that the entire Southwest Family is devastated and extends its deepest, heartfelt sympathy to the Customers, Employees, Family Members, and loved ones affected by the tragic event. CEO and Chairman, Gary Kelly, responds to the disaster by creating a video giving his deepest apologies and stating that they’ll fully corporate with the National Transportation Safety Board. Southwest also gave passengers on board a $5,000 check and $1,000 travel voucher to show customers how much they care. With the promptness of Southwest’s response to the incident, this shows good infrastructure (Southwest Airlines Community,