Anna Swartz, Case 2, MBA731-E1WW-W13, Professor William Thurston, January 20, 2013 TO: MBA Professor William Thurston

From: Anna Swartz Subject: Gate Turnaround at Southwest Airlines Date: 01/20/2013

Business Brief Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines was started in 1971 by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher and their plan was to get passenger to their designation On time At the lowest possible price

In addition, have a good time while doing it and people would love to fly their airlines (Krajewski, Ritzman, & Malhotra, 2013, p. 222). This plan resulted in an airline that has Customers loyalty Extended profitability 64 designations in the United States 3,400 flights a day

Southwest Airlines success comes from its ability to plan long term-term capacity to match demand and improvement on utilization of its airplanes by being able to turn them around faster than their competitors (Krajewski et al., 2013). Measurement of Capacity and Utilization in Airlines Southwest Airlines measure capacity in available seat miles (ASMs) which is the number of available seats times the number of miles flown. The reduction of turnaround time means that seat-miles are being added and the aircraft utilization is high (Krajewski et al., 2013). Southwest Airlines turnaround time of 25 minutes or less shows how important it is for all operations of their business to work together and reduce gate turnaround time. The company strategic decisions of using the Boeing 737 for their fleet of aircraft helps reduce the turnaround time because its affects all areas of their operations from crew training to aircraft maintenance (Krajewski et al., 2013, p.223) by providing crew scheduling flexibility. The pilots and flight crew can be used across the entire fleet since there is there are no constraints on training and certifications (Krajewski et al., 2013). To meet the tight turnaround times Southwest Airlines has to maintain a high cushion to accommodate variability in its daily operations (Krajewski et al., 2013, p.223). Factors That Can Adversely Impact Turn- Around Times at Southwest Airlines

Anna Swartz, Case 2, MBA731-E1WW-W13, Professor William Thurston, January 20, 2013

Southwest Airlines tight turnaround times depend of their daily operation running as planned. The factors that can affect their gate turnaround time are: Weather Delays Maintenance Problems Problems with passenger leaving the plane Aircraft preparation for scheduling is not on schedule

In order to handle the problems that can affect turnaround time at Southwest Airlines. The company builds enough time in their schedules to cushion any delays that might happen but not enough that airplanes and employees set idle (Krajewski et al., 2013). The company knows continued improvements are necessary to meet their goals and maintain profitability in the future. They keep on top of what is not working so improvements are made to their daily operations. If a problem occurs in their process, the information is shared so it cannot happen again (Krajewski et al., 2013). How does Southeast Airlines know they are achieving their goals? Southwest Airlines know they achieved their goals when external and internal metrics are reached. The company sets targets for achievements based on the dimensions the Department of Transportation (DOT) tracks. The dimensions are: Online Departure Time Customer Complaints Mishandle Baggage

They keep all employees informed on a monthly basis how the company is doing in meeting the set targets for achievement in the company and the rest of industry. These metric are very important for southwest airlines to meet their goals today and in the future because one customer complaint can change their rating in the industry (Krajewski et al., 2013). The Important Long - Term Issues Relevant For Managing Capacity, Revenue, and Customer Satisfaction for Southwest Airlines The long-term issues for managing Capacity Reduce turnaround time, which increases the capacity of available seat miles (ASMs) which is the same as putting additional planes in the air. Revenue Sales increases because capacity increases when additional plane are in the air. Customer Satisfaction Increased capacity and revenue for the company helps keep the cost down for the customers and keeping track of areas that problems occur such as

Anna Swartz, Case 2, MBA731-E1WW-W13, Professor William Thurston, January 20, 2013 customer complaints and mishandle baggage to make improvements in their processes will help create customer satisfaction and loyalty (Krajewski et al., 2013). Being able to manage long-term issues for capacity, revenue, and customer satisfaction is very important for Southwest Airlines success because it gives them competitive advantage over their competitors (Krajewski et al., 2013).

Anna Swartz, Case 2, MBA731-E1WW-W13, Professor William Thurston, January 20, 2013

References Krajewski, L., Ritzman, L., & Malhotra, M. (2013). Operations management: Processes and supply chains. (10th). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Custom Publication