Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Over 35 years ago, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher decided to create a different type of airline. They began with the simple notion: If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time and at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. They were right (Southwest Airlines, 2004)!
What began as a small Texas airline has grown to become one of the largest airlines in the United States. Today, Southwest Airlines flies over 70 million passengers per year to more than 62 cities. Southwest orchestrates over 3,000 flights per day. The Southwest fleet consists of over 436 jets which have an average age of nine years old. Included in the fleet are three killer whales - Shamu One, Two and Three; Lone Star One, which is painted like the Texas flag in celebration of Southwest Airlines ' 20th Anniversary; Arizona One, California One, Nevada One, New Mexico One and Maryland One which are all tributes to the named states as a symbol of their importance to Southwest Airlines; Silver One, the 25th Anniversary airplane; and Triple Crown One which is dedicated to the employees of Southwest Airlines for their marvelous achievement of five consecutive annual Triple Crown Awards.
In May 1988, Southwest was the first airline to win the coveted Triple Crown for a month. The Triple Crown Award consists of Best On-Time Record, Best Baggage Handling, and Fewest Customer Complaints. Since then, it has won the distinction more than thirty times as well as winning five consecutive Annual Triple Crown Awards for the years of 1992 through 1996. No other airline has contributed more to the advancement of the commercial airline industry than Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines was the first airline with a frequent flyer program to recognize the number of trips taken rather than the number of miles flown. Southwest also pioneered senior discounts, Fun Fares, Fun Packs, a
Over 35 years ago, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher decided to create a different type of airline. They began with the simple notion: If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time and at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. They were right (Southwest Airlines, 2004)!
What began as a small Texas airline has grown to become one of the largest airlines in the United States. Today, Southwest Airlines flies over 70 million passengers per year to more than 62 cities. Southwest orchestrates over 3,000 flights per day. The Southwest fleet consists of over 436 jets which have an average age of nine years old. Included in the fleet are three killer whales - Shamu One, Two and Three; Lone Star One, which is painted like the Texas flag in celebration of Southwest Airlines ' 20th Anniversary; Arizona One, California One, Nevada One, New Mexico One and Maryland One which are all tributes to the named states as a symbol of their importance to Southwest Airlines; Silver One, the 25th Anniversary airplane; and Triple Crown One which is dedicated to the employees of Southwest Airlines for their marvelous achievement of five consecutive annual Triple Crown Awards.
In May 1988, Southwest was the first airline to win the coveted Triple Crown for a month. The Triple Crown Award consists of Best On-Time Record, Best Baggage Handling, and Fewest Customer Complaints. Since then, it has won the distinction more than thirty times as well as winning five consecutive Annual Triple Crown Awards for the years of 1992 through 1996. No other airline has contributed more to the advancement of the commercial airline industry than Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines was the first airline with a frequent flyer program to recognize the number of trips taken rather than the number of miles flown. Southwest also pioneered senior discounts, Fun Fares, Fun Packs, a
References: Southwest financial statements. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2006, from http://www.southwest.com/investor_relations/fs_financials.html U.S. Department of Transportation. (1993). The Airline Deregulation Evolution Continues – The Southwest Effect. Retrieved March 19, 2006, from www.setlovefree.com/pdf.DOT_SouthwestEffect.pdf