Submitted by: Submitted by trsmith50378
Views: 189
Words: 1933
Pages: 8
Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 02/16/2013 08:17 AM
Southwest Airlines in 2010: Culture, Values, and Operating Practices
Overview
Founded in 1966 under the name of Air Southwest Company, the airline now
known as Southwest Airlines opened for business as a commuter airline servicing the Texas
cities of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio (Pederson, 2005, Par 2). From the onset the company
faced lawsuits from competing airlines in attempts to prevent the company from servicing certain
airports and fare wars with other airlines. But the executive leadership of the company endured
the onslaught, winning the legal battles and the fare wars, and began selling company stock in
1975 (Pederson, 2005, Par 6). By 1977 Southwest Airlines had expanded service to all major
destinations within the state of Texas and issued a third quarter dividend of seven cents per
share. Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, which greatly altered the airline
industry. Airlines were afforded the opportunity to legally expand service, but Southwest chose
to move slowly to avoid taking on large debt. In 1979, the company introduced self-ticketing
machines to expedite and simplify the ticketing process and implemented service to New
Orleans, the first destination outside of Texas (Pederson, 2005, Par 14). The airline was
considered a no-frills operation with a focus on customer service. Throughout the 1980’s,
Southwest Airlines continued to grow through market expansion, low fares, creative advertising
campaigns, and exceptional customer service.
The company entered the 1990’s as a major airline, with a stable of 94 planes
serving 27 cities and revenues exceeding $1 billion (Pederson, 2005, Par 30). Taking advantage
of ailing competitors, Southwest increased market share in California and Arizona and bought
gates from defunct Midway Airlines at Midway airport in Chicago. The company continued to
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acquire small regional airlines and slowly expanded into other regions of the country. In 1997,
the airline posted...