Pioneer in the Skies: The Case of Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines is a somewhat different example of a business model pioneer—and indeed, one may ask if the company is a pioneer at all: neither was Southwest the first to offer intrastate flights on its home market, Texas, nor was it the first to experiment with low-cost flights. But while the ot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBusiness Model Pioneers pp. 171 - 184
Main Authors Voigt, Kai-Ingo, Buliga, Oana, Michl, Kathrin
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published Cham Springer International Publishing
SeriesManagement for Professionals
Subjects
Airline Industry
American Airline
Business Model
Train Travel
United Airline
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Summary:Southwest Airlines is a somewhat different example of a business model pioneer—and indeed, one may ask if the company is a pioneer at all: neither was Southwest the first to offer intrastate flights on its home market, Texas, nor was it the first to experiment with low-cost flights. But while the other companies were merely experimenting, Southwest developed a business model, which proved its sustainability over the course of more than four decades. By starting operations in 1971, Southwest faced from the very beginning harsh competition from incumbent airlines. This inspired the young company to create its very own business model—and unlike its main competitors at the time, the airline remains profitable until today. Winning this race made Southwest a prime example of a pioneer in the low-cost airline industry.
ISBN:9783319388441
3319388444
ISSN:2192-8096
2192-810X
DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-38845-8_14