Southwest Airlines Case Study

How important is leadership and the work culture to Southwest Airlines over the years? Give several examples.

Southwest Airlines began as a small intrastate carrier, in Texas, embroiled in a legal battle from the beginning of operations. Southwest Airlines argued against the Wright Amendment, contending the airline was not part of the 1973 agreement made with major air carriers, who agreed to transfer operations from Dallas Love Field to DFW International Airport. Therefore, the Wright Amendment attached to the 1979 Air Transportation Act did not apply to Southwest Airlines (Ahles, 2014). The eventual courtroom triumph, with a few concessions, helped to foster esprit de corps within the company’s employees. This fight to survive attitude helped

According to the textbook, he believed the company should, “hire for attitude and train for skills.” Kelleher recognized that the key to satisfied customers was satisfied employees and put many policies in place in attempt to improve employee satisfaction. Some policies include employee recognition programs and “Hokey Days,” and star of the month program featuring outstanding employees in Southwest Airlines magazine Spirit. The company has other programs that continues to try to make Southwest Airlines an enjoyable place to work.

Another key tenet of Southwest Airlines success involves positive labor relations. From the aforementioned esprit de corps and fostering an atmosphere of fun to the no lay off policy, even during times of recession, Southwest Airlines enjoyed above industry average cooperation from labor unions. Kelleher stepped down, as CEO, in August 2001, coincidentally the airline experienced its’ most serious labor disputes from 2002 to 2004 with the mechanic union and flight attendants respectively. Uncle Herb returned to resolve the latter dispute in 2004 and appointed Gary C. Kelly as

The company started as a point to point carrier, which is generally less expensive than the traditional hub and spoke model. Also, the airline normally focused on underserved markets with a lower cost of entry. Another advantage of utilizing smaller, less congested airports is a decreased turn time between flights. Other decreases in aircraft turn times can be attributed to no assigned seats, decreasing loading time and pilots being paid per flight and not hourly, some have helped load bags to ensure the flight departs on time. Additionally the company originally marketed itself as a no-frills airline, to reduce cost no meals were served, only peanuts and soda. Southwest was one of the first airlines to offer online check in and booking, along with self-service kiosks and computer generated bag tags. The generally positive relationship with labor unions and employee loyalty further reduces operating cost, where personnel made up to 30% less at Southwest Airlines than at rival carriers. Finally the decision to operate only using one airframe, the Boeing 737, greatly reduces cost by only having to have spares for that aircraft, as well as a reduction in personnel training