Southwest Airlines: Most Competitive Commercial Airlines

Southwest Airlines tops as one of the most competitive commercial airlines, serving customers in both the United States and other newly introduced international markets. A company and industrial analysis was carried out to determine the performance of Southwest Airlines. Findings of the organizational analysis indicated that the organization’s flight routes to surrounding destinations earned similar revenue, which was not the case with flights to far locations. As a result, Southwest Airlines did not realize additional returns to fund its operations.

According to the conducted industry analysis, the organization faced a threat from local airline competitors since they operated on similar routes. Southwest was facing a significant challenge

as it did not constitute of the biggest market contribution when compared to the other local commercial airlines such as American Airlines. Moreover, the continuous growth of the U.S. dollar as one of the world’s strongest currencies posed a challenge to Southwest Airlines regarding meeting the newly established international sale expectations. The situations described above made the company to consider change options.
The first change that Southwest Airlines effectuated is the devotion to one type of airliner, the Boeing 737. Specifically, this meant keeping operations straightforward, thus minimizing bureaucracy. Moreover, the airline acquired AirTran and resolved to sublet the entire Boeing 717 to one of its biggest rivals, which enabled the company to make extra income. The company then decided to raise inland flights and expand its operations to the international scale.
It is worth noting that Southwest Airline adopted oil hedging, which cut down charges on fuel. This approach increased the company’s savings to about 17% (Sikes & Gomez, 2016) More importantly, the business incorporated a new design that would serve customers’ interests. Besides, the company provided bigger space for each seat in the new airliner and reduced the weight of the airplane. The seats made it possible for the aircraft to transport more cargo and operate on lower costs, thus generating more revenue.
The performance of Southwest Airlines was pegged on its high-quality customer service, which forms the basis of any company’s productivity. The organization expanded its innovativeness and willingness to satisfy clients’ needs, thus acquiring more revenue than its competitors. To my way of thinking, the airline stands a better chance to outperform its rivals because of its commitment to efficiency and possibility of future expansion.