A%20few%20recent%20SWA%20Stats

1
A few recent SWA Stats

• 3rd most admired company according to FORTUNE
  Magazine in 2006 5th in 2007
• FORTUNE has ranked Southwest Airlines in the top
  five of the Best Companies to Work For in
  America. Southwest ranked first in 1997 and 1998,
  second in 1999, and fourth in 2000. Southwest has
  chosen not to participate since 2000.
• In 2005, The American Customer Satisfaction Index
  (ACSI) recognized Southwest Airlines as leading
  the industry in customer satisfaction. The ACSI,
  conducted by the University of Michigan,
  independently tracks customer satisfaction levels
  by measuring the household consumption
  experience.

2

• Southwest Airlines carried more Customers than
  any other U.S. airline in August 2006, marking
  the first time that Southwest Airlines has topped
  the monthly list for combined domestic and
  international passengers, according to the U.S.
  Department of Transportations Bureau of
  Transportation Statistics.

3

• BusinessWeek along with The Boston Consulting
  Group named Southwest Airlines in their 2006 Top
  25 ranking of The Worlds Most Innovative
  Companies. Southwest was included in the list
  for being a whiz at wielding operational
  improvements to outfly its competitors.

4
Fortunes Most Admired

• Southwest Airlines 5
• Starbucks 2
• FedEx 6
• General Electric 1

5
Dimensions

• People Management
• Quality of Management
• Innovation
• Investment value
• Use of assets
• Quality of products/services

6
SWA

• Highest shareholder return of any stock
  (1972-1992)
• Return of over 21,000
• Consistently profitable, even when other airlines
  sought bankruptcy protection
• Market share gains
• California 45, up from 0 in 1989
• Turnover 4.5 versus 9.5 industry avg.

7
SWA

• Employees per aircraft (1998)
• SWA 94, United American 160
• Industry 135
• Passengers served per employee
• SWA 2,443
• Industry 840
• Customer service
• Triple Crown winner
• On-time performance
• Fewest lost bags
• Fewest customer complaints

8
SWA

• Safest airline in the world (of the 85 major
  world airlines)
• Top company to work for in Fortune Magazines
  list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in
  America
• In 2006 hired 3,363 people and received 284, 827
  applications
• About 1 of applicants are hired

9
SWA

• Employees at the gate
• One agent, ground crew of 6 (SWA)
• Three agents, ground crew of 12 (Avg.)
• Aircraft turnaround time
• 15 minutes (SWA)
• 30 minutes (CA Lite)

10
SWA Questions

• Why is this company so successful?
• Why hasnt the competition been able to imitate
  them, or to achieve their level of success?
• the business model is understandable by any
  3-year-old. (Tom Peters)
• How has the company been able to grow to its
  current size (32,000 employees) and to deliver
  consistent performance over such a long time?

11
SWA Quotes

• They can imitate the airplanes. They can imitate
  the ticket counters and all the other
  hardware..But they cant duplicate the people of
  Southwest and their attitudes.
• Kelleher

12
Competitive Advantage Through People

• Founders philosophy leadership style
• Recruitment Selection
• What do they look for in selecting people?
• Who is involved in interview process?
• How do they respond to those who are not
  selected? Why?

13
Competitive Advantage Through People

• Training Socialization
• Information sharing
• Monthly statistics on costs, operations, and
  financial data
• Keeps employees focused and builds trust
• Importance of satisfied customers
• For every customer who complains, 25 remain
  silent
• Each unhappy person tells 12 others
• Top Management
• People department
• Behaviors, values, attitudes, etc..

14
SWA additional info

• Who is the most unionized airline in the United
  States?
• Information sharing
• Monthly statistics on costs, operations, and
  financial data
• Keeps employees focused and builds trust
• Importance of satisfied customers
• For every customer who complains, 25 remain
  silent
• Each unhappy person tells 12 others

15
SWA The Competition

• Start-up imitators
• America West (had been bankrupt), Reno Air
• Morris Air (bought by SWA), Kiwi Air
• Jet Blue?
• Majors
• Continental Lite (lasted two years)
• United Shuttle (backed out of 40 of routes it
  shared with SWA)
• Delta Song
• TED of United