Abstract

Southwest Airlines (Southwest) is the fourth largest airline in USA. Southwest has enjoyed the best customer complaint record among all US airlines for the last 12 years. The company has seen 30 straight profitable years. In 2003, Southwest was named by Fortune as one of the most admired companies in the US. Southwest's success is largely due to the way it has managed its operations and cut costs in various ways. These include use of smaller airports and one type of plane, no frills service, point-to-point flights and quick turnaround of aircraft. Southwest has also nurtured strong relationships among managers, employees, unions and suppliers. These relationships are characterised by shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

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Keywords

Southwest Airlines, Strategy, Operations, Executive education, MBA case study, PGDBM case study, US airline, Rollin King, Lamar Muse, Deregulation of US airline industry, Business model, Cost leadership, Turnaround time