Preview

Case Study

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
363 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Case Study
Answer (1):
Southwest had much lower cost than its competitors and was able to crush the competition with its low price strategy .
Answer (1) part 2
In the early 1970s, when Herb Kelleher and a partner sketched a business plan on a cocktail napkin, they had no idea that Southwest airlines would become the most successful U.S.Airline

Southwest’s strategy was the complete opposite of the industry’s conventional
Wisdom Its planes flew from point to point rather than using the major airlines hub and spoke pattern. This gave it more flexibility to move planes around based on demand

.Southwest did not serve the major airports dominated the major airlines preferring instead to serve second destinations where costs were lower. Southwest served no meals, only snacks. it did not charge passengers a fee to change same fare tickets. it had no assigned seats. it had no electronic entertainment ,relying on humorous flight attendants to entertain passengers. The airline did not offered its employees a profit sharing plan, thus keeping its fixed costs low. For that reason , pricing strategy has been so successful on that time.

Answer 2
Both business and leisure travelers seek for flexibility, convenience and a balance between good service and price when buying airline tickets. Southwest’s policy allowing customers to change flights without penalty appealed to customers. But what really made Southwest stand out to both customers were its frequent flights serving a ton of cities at convenient times and low prices. Though Southwest did not serve meals or provide electronic entertainment like other airlines, its pricing met the needs of its low-cost seeking target market better than other airlines.

Alternative answer for question 1
Southwest’s traditional pricing strategy has been the choice of buying cheap airplane tickets for just basic transportation services, without any extra service, such as meals. Even though there is many people that buy expensive

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In order to increase customer satisfaction and maintain the lowest fares, Southwest Airlines has been…

    • 5067 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Despite Southwest’s conservative approach to change, its commitment to doing everything possible for customers still comes through. Management does not dismiss opportunities for improvement without due analysis. Upgrading planes and expanding internationally is challenging, but Southwest is looking into that. To attract business customers, it reworked the boarding process.…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    First, one plane fits all. Unlike the network carriers which operate all manner of regional jets, Southwest flies just one plane type, the Boeing 737 series. That saves Southwest millions in maintenance costs. It also gives the airline unique flexibility to move its 527 aircraft throughout the route network between 67 cities without costly disruptions and reconfigurations. Second, Southwest specializes in very dense, short haul markets, flying nonstop between two points which is different from the traditional “hub-and-spoke” system of most other airlines. This minimizes the amount of time planes sit on the ground at delay prone hubs and allows the average Southwest aircraft to be in the air for more than an hour longer each day than a similarly sized jet flown by a network carrier1. Southwest also tries to use secondary airports which generally have lower costs and may be more convenient to travelers than the major airports to the same destinations. Third, Southwest offers simple in-flight service with just one class, a decent coach cabin that is slightly more spacious than the competitors, and customers are not assigned seats. In September 2009, Southwest adopted a new policy whereby passengers may pay and extra $10 and participate in “EarlyBird Check-in”. There have never been in-flight meals, just beverages and snacks and there is no in-flight entertainment. Keeping it…

    • 1570 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Southwest Airlines is part of an oligopoly. An oligopoly is defined as an instance where there are only a small number of producers in a market; due to the small numbers, if one company changes their prices of their goods or services, the others will do the same in order to keep it competitive. Running as an oligopoly can be both helpful and painful for the consumer. For instance, Southwest Airlines has set prices they have for certain flights to certain locations. They will run these prices as long as they competitively can. The price will differ slightly due to economic conditions, i.e. fuel costs, but for the most part, the only real variations show up during high…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As Southwest continues expanding, it is important that they maintain the low cost structure that has made them so successful historically. As larger and more congested destinations are added to Southwest’s routes, they must focus on customer service as the on-time arrivals and other metrics are certain to deteriorate. Additionally, in order to protect from volatile fuel prices, it would be prudent to expand the fuel-efficiency of the fleet by capitalizing on Boeing’s most recent advances. Southwest must also maintain its position as the “hassle-free” low-cost carrier, with more subtle method of collecting additional fees than checked baggage and reservation changes.…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Southwest Airlines has managed to be innovative on a couple of fronts the organization has developed a strategy to offer low fares and it has helped to streamline the operations. Another example is that Southwest uses only one type of airplane that is the Boeing 737s all the planes are indistinguishable with the flight instruments, “this saves time and money by...…

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Delta Case Study

    • 6126 Words
    • 25 Pages

    Competitor Analysis, current strategies. Southwest Airlines’ strategy is to keep costs low and effectively control expenses to continue being the low-cost leader in the domestic airline industry. They limit themselves to only using one type of aircraft, the Boeing 737. This allows them better control over maintenance costs, inventory, staff training, and purchases (Company, 2013). They also have a strict purchasing process to only buy from dedicated, loyal suppliers that can keep costs low for Southwest.…

    • 6126 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Southwest’s primary strategy is to minimize its own operating costs so that it can then offer the lowest possible fares to its customers. It is able to accomplish this by scheduling frequent, short point-to-point flights out of underutilized airports without a central hub. Its service is very straightforward, without pre-assigned seating or meal service, and one simple pricing structure. Southwest only uses fuel efficient 737s, which also allows them to save on maintenance and training costs. All these efforts have proven successful, as Southwest has managed to achieve the lowest operating cost structure in the industry.…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Southwest Airlines was founded and based out of Houston at a time when the city was seeing a growth in commercial and industrial business. The founders of Southwest Airlines believed there was a demand for convenient and consistent flights between large cities, particularly amongst businessmen. Their observations led them to eventually opt for a low cost business strategy with the initial goal of keeping their fares comparable to the cost of making the trip by car. To balance this strategy, the founders also recognized the importance of providing outstanding customer service to bolster the airline’s image and gain customer confidence and loyalty. Today Southwest has a fleet of 527 aircrafts serving 64 cities in 32 states. Southwest focuses on affordable travel with a strategy which is not built on hub airports but rather flights between pairs of cities, point-to-point. Routes are established where there are enough passengers travelling and a high number of flights per day, with an opportunity to add more flights over time. The company has short turnaround times to keep the plans in the air more hours than rivals. It also has the lowest customer complaints per passengers and a low lost baggage rate as well as high on time arrivals. Southwest Airlines has stayed true to its founding goals and the company’s present success is a direct result of those two key factors.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Let us review some of the risks that airlines face and what Southwest has done to combat these to remain the only airline to be profitable in the 31 years of their existence. First airlines usually have to fly each flight, even if a flight is only half-full. The emptier a flight is, the less revenue it generates. Southwest has dealt with this risk by pursuing a low-cost/low-price/no-frills strategy that features offering passengers a single class of service at the lowest price possible fares making air travel affordable to a wide segment of the U.S. population.…

    • 867 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Company’s Strategy: Southwest’s strategy is to improve efficiency in its operations and pass cost saving to its customers by offering them low and competitive prices. Southwest Airlines is dedicated to providing the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company Spirit.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Southwest Airlines Essay

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Southwest Airline started out in 1967 and has been different even from its inception. The airline flew to three cities at first and allured customers with flights that departed and arrived on time at the lowest rate possible. This was important to business people that needed to get to and from Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio on business (History, 2013). It was also important to make sure people had a good time while traveling and dedicated their business to a high quality of customer satisfaction. Southwest success has been built on a cocktail of low costs, low fares, frequent flights and a rapid expansion to new cities. But with the high fuel prices, growth has been harder to find, and analysts have questioned whether…

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Southwest Airlines Company, an American low-cost airline is the third largest airline in the world as well as the U.S.A. by the number of passenger aircraft among all of the world 's commercial airlines (Arlene Fleming, About.com Guide; www.nationsonline.org), operating more than 540 Boeing 737 aircraft today between 67 cities in the U.S.A. (Southwest Airlines Fact Sheet of 2008). Today, Southwest operates approximately 3,300 flights daily and boasts of being the only major airline to post profits every year for the last thirty six years. It justifiably claims to be the United States’ most successful low-fare, high frequency, point-to-point carrier (www.southwest.com).…

    • 2731 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The southwest culture and the customer service were and are still a major differentiator. Southwest was the first airline to provide ticketless travel and now everyone does it. It used to be the cheapest in 90’s nowadays it is the cheapest if you include the baggage checkin and other added fees3.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marketing Case Study

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Answer : Operating under an intensely competitive environment , Southwest Airlines carefully projects its image so customers can differentiate its product form its competitors .. To successfully secure its market position , Southwest needs to be extremely Cost-efficient ,Southwest has a well defined business model that uses single aircraft type ,short hauls ,secondary airports , point-to-point versus hub-and-spoke to keep its cost down .Southwest tries hard to differentiate itself by doing seemingly wired things. For example, not assigning seats in its flights helps to reinforce its image that it gets passengers to their destinations when they want to get there ,on time , at the lowest possible fares .By not assigning seats ,Southwest can turn the airplanes quicker at the gate. If an airplane can be turned quicker, more routes can be flown each day .That generates more revenue , so that Southwest can offer lower fares .…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays