South West Airlines a Review

SOUTHWEST AIRLINE ANALYSIS

Contents
SOUTHWEST AIRLINE CASE STUDY 4

INTRODUCTION 4

PART 1: EXTERNAL ANALYSIS 5

OVERVIEW 5

MACRO-ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 6

PESTEL Analysis 6

Industry Analysis 9

Five Forces Model Pictorial Representation 9

Five Forces Analysis 10

PART 2: INTERNAL ANALYSIS 13

OVERVIEW 13

SWOT ANALYSIS 14

Strengths 14

Weaknesses 15

Opportunities 15

Threats 16

The VRIO Framework 16

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS 17

PART 3: CURRENT ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACING THE COMPANY 18

Mergers and Acquisitions 18

Financial Outlay 18

Legislation 19

PART 4: STRATEGIC OPTIONS 19

Ansoff Matrix 19

The TOWS Matrix 20

PART FIVE – EVALUATION OF STRATEGIC OPTIONS 21

OVERVIEW 21

PART 5: DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWS STRATEGY 22

PART SIX – DESCRIPTION OF SELECTED STRATEGY 23

PART 7: CONCLUSION 24

REFERENCES 26

SOUTHWEST AIRLINE CASE STUDY

INTRODUCTION

Southwest airline is based in the United States with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas, that mainly serves a domestic clientele in northern America. The company has grown from a few aircrafts at induction into the aircraft market, to a fleet of many domestic carriers that serve the larger domestic airline clientele. Started in 1971, Southwest Airlines started business with three Boeing aircrafts while serving three cities in Texas notably Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. Today the company serves 97 destinations in 41 states within the US, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and six near international countries with a fleet of 694 Boeing jets (Southwest, 2009).

The company is now one of the United States biggest airline companies, offering low cost fares to their clients. The company offers the lowest combination of aircraft fares to its customers making it one of the most attractive airline carriers in the continent. The company boasts of in addition to

References: Southwest.com, 2009, Southwest Airlines –A Brief History. Retrieved on http://www.southwest.com/swamedia/swa_history.html Porter, M.E. 1980. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. New York: The Free Press “Southwest Airlines will become Launch Customer for the New Boeing 737 Max Aircraft” 2011