Southwest Airline Report

This report provides an overview of Southwest Airline, including its history, products, and financial data. It also explores the airline's customer loyalty strategies and programs, customer value equation, and feedback collection methods. Additionally, it discusses Southwest Airline's purpose, culture, vision, and mission, as well as its hiring behavior and new strategies to enhance service quality.

Southwest Airline Report
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Southwest Airline Report
History, Products and Financial Data of Southwest Airline
Southwest airline was founded in 1961 by Rollin and Herb Kelleher to serve the cities in
Texas. The airlines' incorporation faced legal battles from other existing airlines in the region,
but its existence was upheld in December. The southwest airline targeted northern areas of the
united states at the time of start. The southwest airlines carry over fifty million passengers from
regions of Northeast, Southwest and all other parts of the united states. Southwest Airlines has
managed to curb competition from other airlines in the region such as the Transtar Airlines and
Morris air the leading airlines in the western areas of united states (AvStop 2014). The Airline
has a profit sharing plan whereby the employees have total ownership of about ten per cent of the
stock of the company. Eighty per cent of the company is unionized, and all the pilots in the
company are represented in the Southwest Airlines Pilot’s Association.
Customer Loyalty Strategies and Programs
To create and maintain customer loyalty, Southwest airline does not charge any cost to
passengers who wish to change the direction of their flight. If for instance a passenger books the
wrong ticket decides to change it, there is no any fee that the passenger is required to pay the
company for change of ticket. The Airline also has an offer of not charging the first two luggage
of a passenger. The southwest airline offers prices that are affordable to most of the customers in
the united states compared to other airlines in the region.
The company has a policy of notifying their customers about any cancellations, delays
and diversions. The company uses an automated system to notify its customers on changes
happening concerning booked flights. The company also has mechanisms which ensure that the

luggage of the customer is delivered on time. The company has a policy of refunding money
promptly in cases of cancellation according to the form of payment and rules of payment
(Southwest 2014). If the ticket was purchased with a credit card, then the refund will be done
through the card. The customer service airline number is always available for consultation for
customers who may want to seek help in the booking of the ticket and other services offered by
the organization. The use of computerized systems in their channels is one of the ways the
company uses to enhance customer loyalty in the airline industry (Wyrod&Biesok 2018).
Customers prefer airlines which offers their service with a difference, especially those with a
computerized digital system that makes them more comfortable while moving in the airports.
The southwest airline company has a social care unit team, which works every hour of
the day and handles all the cases concerning the customer service providence. Southwest Airline
customer service has come up with a process with four steps for caring for the customer. The
process for dealing with customer care involves welcoming of the customer, identifying the
problem the customer has, engaging in research to get more information about the issue of the
customer and finally giving a solution to the customer about the particular question the customer
has (Gingiss 2016). The Airline has a policy of providing agent responses to the customer within
the shortest time possible. The customer service team manager also reviews the answers that the
customer gives about the response time of the team. The customer service team seeks to find
whether the response they are giving to the customers is satisfactory and whether it is helping
them in resolving the problems they have. The Southwest Airline team account is integrated in a
manner that the customer can connect their twitter to the flier account and hence be able to
receive direct communication from the customer.

The customers with a disability who comes for service with the southwest airlines are
required to give notice of the need to assistance in advance; this enables the social care team at
the company to be able to prepare better according to the number of customers who may require
special assistance during and after booking of the flight. The Southwest Airline has an assistance
link on the passengers' webpage where the customer provides information about his case of
disability before booking a trip with the southwest airline (Southwest Airlines 2014). The Airline
has an option for managing reservation in exceptional circumstances concerned with a disability
to enable the Airline to manage bookings for cases needed. A disabled customer has a privilege
of advising the customer authority on the best time for him or her to move.
Customer Value Equation in Southwest Airline
Customer value refers to the perception of what the product is value to the customer
compared to other alternatives which may be available to the customer (Mahajan 2017). The
southwest airline company has employed a strategy of charging the low cost to the customers to
keep any competitor away from the market dominated by Southwest airline. The Airline has
been able to do better than most of the competitor as a result of employing the low price
strategy(Maggiore 2017). The company has been able to save a lot of it cost while at the same
time maintaining excellent service to the customers by only flying one type of aeroplane Boeing
737s, this spares the company from using its resources in stocking many kinds of planes.
Southwest airline always flies directly to destinations without passing through other units.
Southwest Airlines’ one method of ensuring it has reached and served right the customers is by
first anticipating on the need of the customer(Lucnooren 2017).The company employs a
customer-centric way of satisfying the needs of the customers. The company has adopted a

strategic approach to meeting customers' requirement. They focus on first creating superior value
for the customer since the profit of an organization is the outcome of a customer value created.
Collecting Feedback from Customers.
Measuring and managing the service quality in the airline industry and also the loyalty of
a customer is one of the essential functions of the customer service sector in the airline industry.
The airline industry collects customers’ feedback from many points such as the call centre, social
media and the internet (Pang 2014). These multiple sources give a holistic view of the customer
service, and therefore, the management can get complaints of customers and take instant action
in addressing the grievances of the customers (Geckolyst 2016). Social media allow the Airline
to hear, learn and respond to various challenges that have been pointed out by the customers.
There is special softwares that can are used by the airline company to capture and work
on the response of the customers, to ensure that the company can use the best practices to serve
the customers in the better way (Wan & Gao 2015). The company uses information from social
media to analyse their activities based on prior experiences that have been shared by the
customers. The airline industry customer incentives such as providing wifi for the customer
during the flight or other mobile services that will enhance the customers' communication,
particularly about the services offered by the Airline.
Use of closed-loop technology brings a connection between the customers and the airline
company. The information from the response made by the customer helps the organization to
know the best way of communicating and entertaining the customer to create a comfortable and
enjoyable flight to the customer(Hostle 2015). The airlines also create queries online which the
customer answers about the quality of services offered by the Airline and later the management

can see and analyse the response to get the correct feedback and design the way forward in their
effort to satisfy the customer. Some of the information that the queries will give the management
includes about the most prefered flights and the most enjoyed service during the trip.
The southwest airline has worked with other technology companies to facilitate feedback
about the service it offers to customers. The company has a SKStore Review controller feature
which it launched to collect feedback and at the same time assist the customers in giving the
rating of the service and providing recommendations of what they would like the company to do
for their customers (Bloom 2018). The feature is not aimed at promoting the company sales, but
it only gives feedback.
Southwest Airlines purpose, culture, Vision and mission
Southwest airline company purpose is to connect the people to things and people
important in their lives using air travel, which is reliable and cheap to them. The Vision of
Southwest Airline is for the company to become in future the most valued, loved and most
profitable Airline in the continent and the world. The company core values are related to the
welfare of the customers, and they include providing safe and reliable flights,Providing customer
service which is friendly to the customer and also to provide low-cost services to customers
making the Airline affordable to most of the customers in the region. The mission of the Airline
is to be highly dedicated to providing customer service which is quality to the customer in a
warm, friendly and proud way to the satisfaction of the client (Southwest investor relations
2019). The mission, purpose and values of Southwest airline all show a commitment to a quality
customer service at an affordable price to the customer.

The mission and vision statement for the company provides an aim by the company to be
a dominant airline company in the region. Cost minimization is a priority in operations
management for the Airline so as it remains profitable and at the same time valuable to the
customers (Mangold & Miles 2015). The mission statement for Southwest Airline provides
objectives of providing a type of leadership that is customer related and a leadership approach
that is customer based. The vision statement provides guidelines which shape the strategy of
growing and exploring new markets in the global aviation industry (Evans 2019). The statement
shows an effort by the company to expand the current market size to accommodate broader
markets.
The vision statement of the company provides the strategic goal of the company to
venture into long term business operations in future. The Vision shows the airline objective to
overcome the competition that is widely facing from other airlines such as American Airlines,
United Airlines and Delta Airlines (Donald 2011). The statement indicates the objective of the
company to compete with the other airlines using their strengths successfully. The statements
emphasize the importance of using low cost in achieving these aims.
The company culture emphasizes the values of teamwork and warrior spirit among the
employees of the organization. Collaboration is highly emphasized among the employees to
provide a satisfying customer experience. The company understands the value of a partnership
between departments in increasing efficiency in the department and also to improve the process
of making decisions. The company has stated through its Chief Executive Officer that the people
and the culture of the organization is the most valuable strength the organization has (Thomson
2019). The company has some short term objectives which they develop overtimes and in their
financial planning. The customer experience is highly regarded.

The attitude of the company can be best termed as that of the business of the people as it
strongly honours and values everybody involved in the business including the employees, the
suppliers and other shareholders of the organization. The company recognizes that treating
employees well will result in happy customers, which will then bring financial success to the
organization (Robertson 2018). The company has been able to train all the employees to work
within a culture that appreciates the customer by providing services that are appealing to the
customers.
Hiring Behavior-Driven Employees in Southwest Airline
The first factor that the hiring team in the southwest airline company consider from a
prospective employee before they hire is a person with a warrior spirit, a person with service
heart and a person who love fun to be able to fit in the organization (Southwest airline 2014).
The airline company has adopted a behavioural assessment in the interview process.The
assessment model is used to identify the candidates who are motivated and have an
understanding of the job they are likely to be hired. The hiring agent first assignment is to
determine the level of commitment and motivation the employee has in the role (Weber 2016).
Before proceeding to any other aspects in hiring the team must interrogate the person to make
sure that his believes and attitudes fit with the culture of the organization.
The organization has a special group composed of members of the organization referred
to as the star performers in the hiring process. The organization trains the employees on how to
conduct an interview based on the interview guidelines of the southwest airlines. The
management teaches the hiring people to choose the employees who will produce happy
customers (Weber 2016). The Human resource department is called the peoples’ department due
to its concern for the welfare of the customers the Airline serves. The peoples’ department has a

good relationship with the communication team, which creates a good relationship between the
several departments of the organization.
The management of Southwest Airlines empowers its employees to go an extra mile in
serving the customers. Through a process of reward that is aimed to motivate the employees in
taking care of customers, the employee feels valued, and hence, the customers are treated with
respect and care by the employees. The employees in southwest Airline have a sense of trust
given to them by the leaders of the organization (Mitchell 2016). The Southwest Airline
understands that it is only the employees of the company who will help the organization in
reaching the Vision of being the leading world-class aviation company.
New Strategy to Enhance the Provision of Quality Service in Southwest Airline
The airline company has come up with ways that would improve the service provided by
the Airline for the happiness of the customers. The priority in ensuring that customers of the
airline company are happy is lowering the prices further (Hanson et al.,2016). The company has
also sought refinements concerning the services provided by serving better wine and coffee
services to the customers during their flights. The company has also made agreements and
alliances with other international airlines whose operating models fit in the southwest operating
model. The company has implemented a strategy of separating its operation into different
business streams that are workable for them. The business has come up with several departments
which are organized to work on various matters concerning the welfare of the organization.
The airline company seek to employ a strategy of overcoming the cost burden it currently
has while still providing the best services to the clients who travel with them. The travellers are
not willing to pay the high prices they used to pay but are always in need of excellent services.

The company has been flexible to use the information that the customer gives through their
various channels to provide the best services to its clients (Grant 2016). The Airline is keen on
retaining the loyalty of their customers, and it has therefore differentiated the services they offer
both in the ground and in the air. The company has resulted to focus on increasing the leisure
activities for customers both in the air and on the ground. The strategy, therefore, concentrates on
providing more amenities for recreation of the customer. The Airline has also resulted in
improving the quality of experience of the customer by reducing the service time of the
customer; the customer care team quickly provides service.
Final thought and conclusion
The Southwest Airline, a company that is involved in the provision of air transport, has a
great commitment to quality service providence to the customers. The airline company which is
located in the united states offers international transport to all the countries of the world, started
in the year 1967 and has been able to grow to international standards is now providing high-
quality services to the customers. The company has initiated specific strategies and programs to
enhance customer loyalty. The initiatives have enabled the organization to retain customers for
many years. The high value the organization has for quality customer service has seen the
organization adopting an objective of always making the customer happy.
Southwest Airline has adopted good workable ways of getting the customer feedback and
response hence ensuring that the company receives the best feedback to work on. The company
has several departments and teams within the organization that provides the best service is given
to the customer. Southwest Airline has a culture of ensuring proficiency in service provision and
also creating the best experience for the Customers. The goals, aims and objectives of the
organization are stated in the companies mission, Vision and the Company core values. The

organization have the aim of becoming the leading aviation industry in the world by providing
the best services to customers at a lower cost. The company has put mechanisms of ensuring that
the people who are hired by the organization understands the culture of the organization and are
motivated in helping the organization to achieve these objectives. The company has been able to
stay in the market for a long time in the market because of the excellent customer service
strategy it has adopted in providing airline transport.

References
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