Southwestairlines Essays - American Brands, OpenTravel Alliance

Southwestairlines HOW IT ALL STARTED Southwest Airlines (SWA) begins in June 18, 1971, when SWA first operated a first airline consul between Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. Rollin King and Herb Kelleher are the founders of the company. The end of 1971 SWA immediately began to expand. In 1972 all Houston service is transferred to Houston's Hobby Airport form Houston Intercontinental, that is make more convenient for people to fly. During the first year of operations the customers were the Southwest's first priority. Five years after the first operated a twin-engine the SWA places its sixth Boeing 737 into service while flying over one and a half million satisfied customers to their destinations. Also at the same year SWA gets clearance to begin spreading to Austin, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Lubbock, and Midland/Odessa. Also, SWA carries its five millionth passengers and SWA becomes the public. SWA stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1978, Herbert Kelleher comes aboard as permanent President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board for SWA. In 1979, SWA introduced in ten cities to self-ticketing machines in ten cities to make it even faster and more convenient for people to fly. Year later SWA added its 22nd Boeing 737 to the family and it was the first 737 to be completely owned by SWA. Furthermore, in 1985 SWA take off with new service to St. Louis, Missouri and Chicago. Moreover, in 1988, SWA becomes Sea World of Texas' official airline, later in the year SWA again becomes the official airline of Sea World of California. Also, SWA wins the first Triple Crown, a prize for airline companies that consist for Best On-Time Record, Best Baggage Handling, and Fewest Customer Complaints. A year later, SWA wins the second Triple Crown. In addition, in 1994 for third, 1995 for fourth, and 1996 for fifth annual Triple Crown. In 1997, SWA begins new service to Islip, New York, and Connecticut. After past twenty-eight busy years SWA is became the fifth largest major airline in the United States. SWA spans over fifty-six airports compare with 1971 only Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Also, SWA is known in the airlines industry as a quality flight and the most modern fleet. SWA is a service business and it is continuing to improve its services. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW, TRANDS AND OPPORTUNITIES. Air travel slowing industrywide. According to Standard & Poors' Industry Survey, in 1998, air travel for the industry's major carriers was projected to increase 2.9% to 590 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs). This is somewhat slower than the projected 3.5% gain for real gross domestic product (GDP) in 1998. In 1999, RPMs would advance 2.5% to 605 billion, while real GDP is seen growing 1.7%. The recently sluggish pace for air travel represents a break from the normal pattern: since 1987, air travel has grown 1.8 times faster than real GDP. Two elements are working against air travel at present. First, the industry is experiencing a cyclical slowdown that has its origins in the Asian financial crisis. Second, with the days of deeply discounted fares over, fewer first-time travelers are entering the market. The big swing factor for air travel in 1998 and 1999 will be the international market. International travel accounts for some 27% of total Revenues per mile (RPM) and 22% of revenues for the largest U.S. carriers. For the first eight months of 1998, international RPMs climbed 3.7% over the year-earlier period. However, as capacity grew 5.8%, the load factor deteriorated to 73.7% from 75.2%. Most of the international weakness is confined to Asia, where traffic is off about 8%. While the economic slowdown that's underway may not deteriorate into a recession, it is expected to take its toll on corporate profits. Historically, business travel reflects changes in corporate profits, though sometimes with a lag. In 1997, the Travel Industry Association of America reported that business travel increased 7.6%. Business travel, which accounts for some 40% of enplanements, could lag overall air travel in the future as soaring fares make videoconferencing an attractive alternative. The outlook for vacation and personal travel in 1999 appeared positive. Strong consumer sentiment and a strong dollar are supporting leisure travel, which accounts for about 60% of enplanements. The strength in the consumer sector