Preview

Southwest Airlines vs. Jetblue

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1570 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Southwest Airlines vs. Jetblue
Southwest Airlines was started over 38 years ago as a small Texas airline and has grown to become one of the largest airlines in the United States because it differentiates itself as the most successful low-fare, high frequency, point-to-point carrier. Since 1987 Southwest has consistently led the entire airline industry with the lowest ratio of complaints per passenger boarded. What does Southwest do differently that no one else in airlines does? It keeps things simple and consistent, which drives costs down, maximizes productive assets, and helps manage customer expectations.

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

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Southwest Airlines will provide added services to its customers by providing more incentives to its customers besides free baggage. State of the art equipped aircraft to suit its traveler’s needs and other discounts geared towards making Southwest Airlines the number one choice for travelers in the future. Southwest will have a staff that will monitor their customer’s past/current experience with the airline by using a database design to track pertinent information about their frequent, and new traveler’s. Finally, Southwest Airlines will provide a 24-hour customer care center to assist those customers who may want information pertaining to Southwest and any other sponsorship promotions that Southwest may have available.…

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Southwest Airlines

    • 6862 Words
    • 28 Pages

    Southwest exists and operates within the air travel industry in the United States; an industry which has traditionally been based on a point-to-point flight system. However, this industry has been redefined, evolving into a hub-and-spoke system which all airlines have adopted; all except…

    • 6862 Words
    • 28 Pages
    Powerful 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
  • Powerful Essays

    Southwest Airlines

    • 1264 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Southwest Airlines has achieved a great position in the airline industry by adopting five important strategies.…

    • 1264 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Southwest Airlines

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages

    While the airline industry in the USA has not made thriving financial headlines, Southwest Airlines has emerged as a successful organization. It has been able to make profit consistently and has sustained itself through difficult situations like recession, energy crisis, and September 11 terrorist attacks.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Southwest

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Southwest is in its 42nd year of service. The Dallas-based airline dedicates itself with exemplary customer service, which it stands on to differentiate itself from other airlines in the industry. The focus on customer service, combined with employee value, makes this company a significant one to research; it has an innovative strategy that has not yet been matched in the industry. The company currently serves over 100 million customers each year, and is staffed with nearly 46,000 employees. Service began in 1971 with three Boeing 737 aircrafts and served three Texas cities (Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio). In 1989 the company exceeded the billion-dollar revenue mark, becoming recognized as a major airline. Today, the company continues to offer low fares and serve more domestic customers than any other airline. Again, there is an innovative focus to the airline as it offers low fares without so-called annoying fees, promotes outstanding individuals as employees, and provides safe and reliable operations. Southwest has essentially developed its own culture to separate it from other airlines in the industry. In doing so, the airline has established a loyal customer base that does not…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Southwest Airlines is a domestic airline organization, which began in 1971. The firm began in Texas with three airplanes and currently owns 548 airplanes. The organization is known for using one type of aircraft known as the Boeing 737, which currently operates in approximately 72 cities in the United States. The airline exceeded the billion dollar revenue mark in 1989 because of the organization’s success in high frequency, low fare, and coast-to-coast carrier (Southwest.com, 2011).…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Southwest Strategy

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Secondly, tactically and strategically, Southwest has standardized its airplane fleet. The company only own and operate Boing 737s. This helps in cutting down maintenance costs due to low training costs and low repair materials. This also creates economies of learning for pilots and maintenance employees. This cost driver capability is difficult for competitors to copy.…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Southwest Airlines

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages

    * Nuts! Southwest Airlines Crazy Recipes for Business and Personal Success, Kevin Freiberg, Jackie Freiberg: 1998 Broadway Books…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Southwest has always focused on being a “no frills” airline. SouthWest primarily depended on short haul, point to point flights rather than maintaining a hub and spoke model like most of its competitors. SW flew only small planes and offered low costs. Operationally, SW extracted most from all its resources. SW had the least turnaround times allowing them to operate more flights per day. Also, they had a comparatively new fleet which resulted in lower maintenance costs. SW did not use computerized reservation system and depended mainly on travel agents. Going further, they were the first to launch an internet site which further reduced cost of booking tickets. They also introduced a frequent flyer program based on the number of flights a customer booked rather than the miles flown. Since, SW flew short haul flights, this was more beneficial for the airline.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    case study

    • 1524 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In order to serve the customers better and ensure their comfort and customer delight, the company has different facilities, which give it an edge over the others in the market. Southwest Airlines has a fleet of jets that fly to different destinations, which makes it an airline of choice when one needs to visit different locations. Southwest Airlines has also installed checking machines, which enables individuals to just go through and get checked by the machines instead of checking each individual at a time. This has been very beneficial to the customers as it enables to save time, as the airport workers only focus on checking those who needs special attention.…

    • 1524 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Southwest Airlines started out as a very small company that was established in 1967. At that time, they had only three airplanes and twenty-five employees. Southwest now is one of the most successful major airlines in the United States. With the mission of “dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit” (About Southwest, n.d.) has allowed the company to grow to 694 aircraft and 46,000 employees (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, R. (2017).…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Southwest Airlines

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Southwest Airlines is a passenger airline based out of Dallas, Texas that provides air transpiration throughout the United States. Southwest is currently the 6th largest U.S. airline based on revenue. It currently has more than 3,100 flights in 73 cities, making it the largest U.S. carrier passenger airline. They provide good options, such as early check-in, hotel packages, car rental, and free luggage up to two bags, which are one of their techniques to provide bad news to the customers.…

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Southwest Case Study

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Southwest Airlines is a low cost/low fare Airline that has been the market share leader in domestic air travel. It is the most traveled airline in the United States and offers a variety of flights for its travelers. The most important trait this Airline has however is the fact that they are the only airline to show profit consistently in an industry that, which has been almost impossible to achieve.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Southwest Strategic Case

    • 2004 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Over forty years ago, Southwest Airlines began as a small airline determined to keep things simple. They strived to provide their customers with the lowest fares, get them to their destinations on time and, most importantly, make sure their employees and customers were happy throughout the whole process. These practices have been upheld over the years as the airline continues to grow and prosper. Southwest Airlines has maintained their small company roots and southern hospitality style customer service, coming from Texas, even though they’ve climbed the ranks in the American airline industry. Southwest now operates in 69 airports, in 35 states across the country.…

    • 2004 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays