Southwest Airline

Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines

The quality system of Southwest Airlines is a unique and creative approach that focuses on its employees to better serve its customers.

Contents
Introduction 2
The Quality Initiative 3
Analysis 6
Summary 8
References 9

Introduction
Quality assurance includes activities that are planned and systematic and that provide consumers with products that meet their requirements. Total quality is a people-focused management system that aims at continual increase in customer satisfaction at continually lower real cost (Evans & Lindsay, pg 11). In 2008, the American Society for Quality identified seven key forces that will influence the future of quality: Globalization, Social Responsibility, New Dimensions of Quality, Aging Population, Health Care, Environmental Concerns, and 21st Century Technology (Evans and Lindsay, pg 13).
The definition of quality is subjective and the following terms have been used to explain it:
*Total customer service and satisfaction
*Doing it right the first time
*Eliminating Waste
*Demonstrating consistency
*Providing a good, useable product
*Speed of Delivery
In order for a business to be successful, it is fundamental that they meet or exceed customer expectations.
Southwest Airlines was founded in 1967 by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher under the name Air Southwest Co., serving three locations in Texas; DAL, IAH, and SAT. They were challenged by Continental and Braniff Trans Texas for their certificate to operate. The case went to the US Supreme Court whom decided to uphold the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn the lower courts’ decision against the airline.
On March 31, 1971 Air Southwest Co. officially changed its name to Southwest Airlines Co. They began with one simple notion: If you get the passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time, at the lowest fare, and make sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. Through... [continues]

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