Southwest Inc.

Southwest Airlines
The original vision of Herb Kelleher has helped to make Southwest Airlines profitable for over 32 years now. As the company moves forward, they will need to find innovative new ways to retain and increase their customer base, and remain competitive. This paper will discuss the concepts that have made Southwest unique from the start; and how the company can continue to increase their successes through a new strategic plan that follows their original mission, but enhances the services that Southwest offers to their customers.
Background
In 1971, Herb Kelleher started Southwest Airlines. He recognized a need in the airline industry for “no frills” low-cost flights, and quickly filled that niche. Although they started off small, by 1989, Southwest was considered a major airline. Today they are the fourth largest U.S. domestic customer airline (SWA 2001 Annual Report). One of the most important and strategic philosophies that Mr. Kelleher instill...