Air Flights: Five Forces Analysis and Southwest Airlines

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Introduction
Air travel began in the early 1900s and scheduled flights started in the 1920s (Harris). In the early years, the airline industry competition was nonexistent. The competitive environment changed dramatically over the course of the last century specifically when the industry underwent regulation and then deregulation. The future success of the airline industry depends on the ability to adapt with rapidly changing industry environmental factors.
Southwest Airlines business opened for operations in 1971, after Rollin King and Herb Kelleher raised enough capital to finance their plan. Their service model broke off from the typical large airline policies and procedures. The typical model had an airline that was “home based” from a hub and ran routes to and from that location. This model added cost that Southwest wanted to avoid, causing them to implement point-to-point flights. The leadership team also made decisions to eliminate the inflight meal options to reduce overhead costs. Customer service and the overall experience of their customers became the valued operating vision and mission for Southwest. Eventually utilizing technology for online booking to the fullest potential saved precious time and gained efficiencies. Though the company started strong and grew slowly, several elements affected the long-term success of the company. Some of the factors that caused Southwest to reevaluate organic growth processes included not operating out of key United States hubs, the rise in fuel costs, and troubled contract negotiations.
Analysis
Five Forces Analysis
Threat of new entrants
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the average price of an airline ticket was $355.72 during the first quarter of 2011. Th...

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...: text and cases (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Grant, R. M. (2010). Contemporary strategy analysis. (7 ed.). West Sussex, UK: Wiley.
Harris, A. (n.d.). The History of Airline Industry. USA Today. Retrieved from http://traveltips.usatoday.com/history-airline-industry-100074.html
Maynard, M. (2004). Out of the Blue, Southwest Airlines Chief Resigns. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/16/business/out-of-the-blue-southwest-airlines-chief-resigns.html
Pawlowski, A. (n.d.). Airlines eye subway-style self-boarding - Travel Kit on NBCNews.com. Breaking News & Top Stories - World News, US & Local | NBC News. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/travelkit/airlines-eye-subway-style-self-boarding-1C6369602
Wheelen, T.L., & Hunger J.D. (2008) Strategic management and business policy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall.

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