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Hoover's Profile: Southwest Airlines Co.

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(NYSE:LUV) Company Financials

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Contact Information
Southwest Airlines Co.
2702 Love Field Dr.
Dallas, TX 75235
TX Tel. 214-792-4000
Fax 214-792-5015

Type: Public
On the web: http://www.southwest.com
Employees: 34,378
Employee growth: 5.2%
Southwest Airlines will fly any plane, as long as it's a Boeing 737, and let
passengers sit anywhere they like, as long as they get there first. Sticking
with what has worked, Southwest has expanded its low-cost, no-frills,
no-reserved-seats approach to air travel throughout the US to serve about 65
cities in more than 30 states. Now among the leading US airlines, Southwest
nevertheless stands as an inspiration for scrappy low-fare upstarts the world
over. The carrier has enjoyed 35 straight profitable years amid the airline
industry's ups and downs.
Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2007:
Sales: $9,861.0M
One year growth: 8.5%
Net income: $645.0M
Income growth: 29.3%
Officers:
Chairman: Herbert D. (Herb) Kelleher
Vice Chairman and CEO: Gary C. Kelly
President, Secretary, and Director: Colleen C. Barrett

Competitors:
AMR Corp.
Continental Airlines
JetBlue

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Company News: Southwest Airlines

CORRECT: Southwest Airlines August traffic down 5.2%; August load factor 74.6%
9/4/2008 8:55:19 AM
Southwest Airlines August traffic down 5.2%; load factor falls to 7.6%
9/4/2008 8:51:14 AM
*SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AUG TRAFFIC DOWN 5.2%
9/4/2008 8:47:09 AM
*SOUTHWEST AIRLINES AUG LOAD FACTOR 74.6% VS YR-AGO 80%
9/4/2008 8:47:19 AM
Southwest Airlines Reports August Traffic
9/4/2008 8:45:00 AM
Southwest Airlines to stop accepting cash payments in-flight
9/3/2008 7:10:50 AM
GuestLogix provides Southwest Airlines Customers with 'freedom from cash'
experience and supports introduction of new products and services on-board
9/3/2008 7:00:39 AM
GuestLogix provides Southwest Airlines Customers with 'freedom from cash'
experience and supports introduction of new products and services on-board
9/3/2008 7:00:00 AM
GuestLogix Provides Southwest Airlines Customers With 'Freedom From Cash'
Experience and Supports Introduction of New Products And Services On-Board
9/3/2008 5:39:09 AM
Southwest Airlines delays resumption of operations in New Orleans
9/3/2008 5:32:51 AM

Company History: Southwest Airlines Co.

Company Perspectives:
 The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of
Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness,
individual pride, and Company Spirit.
Key Dates:
1967: Company is incorporated as Air Southwest Co.
1971: Airline launches first route, connecting Dallas, Houston, and San
Antonio.
1973: SWA posts first profit and begins RUSH cargo service.
1975: Southwest goes public on the American Stock Exchange.
1976: Company is renamed Southwest Airlines Co.
1977: Shares migrate to the New York Stock Exchange.
1978: Herb Kelleher becomes Southwest's outspoken new chairman.
1979: SWA flies outside Texas to New Orleans.
1981: Kelleher is named company president and CEO.
1982: SWA begins flights to West Coast.
1990: Revenues exceed $1 billion, making SWA a major airline.
1994: Morris Air and Arizona One are acquired.
1996: Online booking site is launched.
2000: SWABIZ corporate booking tool is introduced.
2005: SWA enters first ever codeshare arrangement, with ATA Airlines.

Incorporated: 1967 as Air Southwest Co.

NAIC: 481111 Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation; 481112 Scheduled Freight
Air Transportation
Southwest Airlines Co. (SWA), the model for budget upstarts everywhere, has
become the largest domestic airline in the United States, by number of
passengers carried. More than 70 million passengers fly SWA each year to about
60 destinations around the country. Passengers have found that Southwest's rock
bottom pricing creates almost a new form of transportation, more in competition
with the automobile than other airlines. They are willing to forsake in-flight
meals, baggage transfers, and other traditional frills for economically amenable
wings.
The company flies only Boeing 737s, to simplify maintenance and training, and
employee productivity is high. Planes are turned around for their next flight in
just 15 minutes, one-third the industry average. Though the airline has boosted
its wages and taken on other aspects of a traditional airline, such as its first
codeshare arrangement, Southwest remains a maverick in the industry.
Southwest Air was founded in 1966 when a group of Texas investors, including
Rollin King, M. Lamar Muse, and Herbert D. Kelleher, pooled $560,000 to form the
Air Southwest Company. Incorporated in 1967, the company was envisioned as a
commuter airline serving three cities within Texas: Dallas, Houston, and San
Antonio. Although the Texas Aeronautics Commission (TAC), the regulatory body
responsible for overseeing aviation within the state, granted the company
permission to fly the routes it had requested in February 1968, three competing
airlines filed suit to prevent the airline from getting off the ground.
Kelleher, an attorney whose stake in the airline was a mere $20,000, took the
case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in December 1970 this court
ruled in favor of Air Southwest.
Six months later, after fighting numerous legal battles, changing its name to
Southwest Air, and selling stock in the company, the fledgling airline began
operations on June 18, 1971. Under the stewardship of President M. Lamar Muse,
the airline offered six daily roundtrip flights between Dallas and San Antonio,
and 12 daily roundtrip flights between Dallas and Houston. One-way tickets cost
$20.
Courting the commuter, the company stressed "no-frills" convenience and, in
reference to Love Field in Dallas, its home base, made "love" its promotional
theme. Flight attendants were dressed in hot pants and go-go boots to serve
"love potions" and "love bites" (also known as drinks and peanuts) to the
company's clientele of mostly male business fliers. Southwest made much of its
scantily clad women, whose pin-up-like images would eventually appear widely,
including on the cover of Esquire magazine.
By the end of 1971, Southwest owned four aircraft, offered hourly flights
between Dallas and Houston, and had inaugurated service between San Antonio and
Houston, completing the last leg of a triangular route. In the following year,
the company transferred its Houston service from Houston Intercontinental
Airport to William P. Hobby Airport, located much closer to the city's downtown,
in an effort to become more convenient to commuters. In 1973, Braniff Airlines
began a fare war with Southwest over service from this airport to Dallas.
Southwest resorted to giveaways of liquor, leather ice buckets, and 50 percent
discounts on fares. The company also introduced cargo service between the
airports it served and by the end of 1973 had notched its first profitable year,
carrying over half a million passengers.
Southwest again found itself involved in legal controversy in 1972, when the
cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and their Regional Airport Board filed suit to
force the airline to move from Love Field to the newly constructed Dallas-Fort
Worth regional airport, hoping that by charging higher landing fees and rent
there, they could help offset the cost of the expensive project. While all the
other airlines had signed a contract to move to the new airport in 1968,
Southwest had not done so because it was not in existence at that time. In a big
break for Southwest, a federal judge ruled in 1973 that the airline could
continue to operate at Love Field in Dallas as long as the airport remained
open. Thwarted, the Dallas City Council subsequently passed a law closing the
airport to all scheduled airlines, but this law was thrown out in court.
In 1974, Southwest's competitors began moving out to the Dallas-Fort Worth
Airport, leaving the airline with a monopoly on service from the cheaper, more
convenient airport. After defeating yet another legal challenge, this one from
the other carriers, Southwest was able to solidify its presence at Love Field
and its newly renovated facilities at Houston's Hobby Airport, making its strong
commuter service the basis for broader operations.
This expansion began in 1975, when the airline inaugurated service to the Rio
Grande Valley, with four roundtrip flights each day to Harlingen. By the end of
that year, the company had acquired a fifth plane, and its stock was listed on
the American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "LUV." In the following
year, Southwest laid plans to extend service to five other Texas cities and
again found itself the object of hostile litigation by competitors.
In 1977, the airline put into effect its plan to offer service from Corpus
Christi, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, El Paso, and Austin. Its stock was transferred
to the New York Stock Exchange, and the company issued its second and third
quarterly dividends, the latter totaling seven cents per share. In May of that
year, the airline exceeded the five million passenger mark.
In 1978, Congress passed the Airline Deregulation Act, fundamentally altering
the nature of the airline industry. Although Southwest was now legally free to
greatly expand its operations, the company planned conservative growth to avoid
the perils of taking on large debts.
In early 1978, the airline applied for permission to purchase a wholly owned
subsidiary, Midway (Southwest) Airway Company, in order to inaugurate service
from Chicago's Midway Airport to six midwestern destinations. Although it
received tentative approval to do so, Southwest abandoned this ambitious attempt
at expansion in August. Instead, the company added service to the mid-sized
Texas city of Amarillo and the Jefferson County Airport. In July 1978, the
company implemented its first fare increase since 1972, adding three dollars to
the cost of a one-way ticket, and five dollars for a roundtrip fare. By the end
of the year, the airline's fleet had grown to 13 Boeing 737 planes.
In March 1978, significant changes were made in Southwest's upper-level
management. After a dispute with the airline's governing board, President M.
Lamar Muse, who had largely shaped the company during its early years, was
deposed by the board and replaced by lawyer Kelleher, who became chairman. In
August, Howard D. Putnam, a United Airlines executive, became president and
chief executive officer.
In 1979, Southwest introduced self-ticketing machines in many of its airports to
speed up and simplify passenger ticketing, and the airline introduced service to
New Orleans, its first destination outside Texas. In late December 1979, earlier
opponents of Southwest's continuing use of Love Field won a partial victory in
Congress. Speaker of the House Jim Wright, a Congressman from Texas, attached a
rider to a federal trade law which forbade traffic between Love Field and any
states other than Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, the four states
surrounding Texas. This severe limitation of Southwest's interstate flights from
its hub forced the airline to conform to its established role as a commuter
service for the energy belt, now in a severe depression. The airline inaugurated
service to Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Albuquerque in April 1980.
Earlier that year, Southwest was hit by a machinists' strike, which curtailed
operations for several weeks. The company brought in temporary workers to keep
12 of its 18 planes flying, and the union eventually settled for what the
airline had initially offered.
In 1981, celebrating its tenth year of operation, the airline introduced a
multimedia advertising campaign featuring the theme, "Loving you is what we do,"
and produced an ad picturing six Southwest flight attendants, all purportedly
"physical 10s," grouped around a birthday cake, promising, "You ain't seen
nothin' yet." In June 1981, the airline was found guilty of sex discrimination
in a class action suit filed by a man seeking a job as a ticket agent and
ordered to cease its discriminatory hiring practices. Also in 1981, after a
series of petition drives, stewardesses won the right in their new contract not
to wear hot pants on the job.
In September 1981, President Howard Putnam resigned to become the head of
Braniff International Airlines, and was succeeded as president and chief
executive officer by Chairman Kelleher, who brought his flamboyant personal
style to the job of running the airline. With Kelleher at the helm, the
airline's pace of expansion picked up markedly, despite the nationwide recession
and difficulties arising from an air traffic controllers' strike. In early 1982,
Southwest introduced service from Kansas City, Missouri, to seven destinations.
Just a few weeks later, the airline made its entry into the western air travel
market when it began flights from San Diego, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. Additional
California service was inaugurated that fall, when Los Angeles and San Francisco
came on line.
The airline's steady growth continued in 1983, as it added customers, flights,
and airplanes. The company ratified a two-tier wage system, secured a one-year
pay freeze from its pilots' association, and signed contracts with several of
its unions, including its mechanics and flight attendants. Service from Denver
began in May 1983.
In a departure from its previous policy of sticking to short-haul flights,
Southwest inaugurated two routes between Texas and California--El Paso to Los
Angeles and San Antonio to Los Angeles--as well as a major north-south
California route from San Diego to San Francisco. Entry into these long-haul
markets, coupled with bad weather throughout the Southwest region, curtailed
profits somewhat during this period.
In 1984, helped by ongoing peace with its labor unions, Southwest continued to
increase capacity and rack up steady profits, despite growing competition from
Continental, Braniff, and Muse Air, founded by the former president of
Southwest. In July 1984, the company implemented limited cost-cutting measures,
paring back unprofitable flights and reducing new hires. The company took
delivery on the first of a new generation of planes, the Boeing 737-300, and
introduced service from another midwestern city, Little Rock, Arkansas.
The following year, Southwest further expanded its midwestern network of routes,
adding flights to St. Louis and Chicago's Midway airport. The company unveiled
its "Just Say When" promotion, touting itself as the most convenient way to
travel. The airline also made its first big acquisition when it paid $60 million
for Muse Air Corporation, a Houston-based competitor, to prevent another
competitor, Continental Airlines, from snatching it up. Unlike Southwest, Muse
Air offered longer flights and full service to its customers. Kelleher kept the
full-service frills and renamed the airline Transtar. In its first year, the
money-losing company was able to turn a small profit.
By 1986, Southwest had scheduled flights from 25 cities. The airline introduced
a number of fare-cutting measures in efforts to maintain its market share in the
heavily competitive post-deregulation airline industry. "Incredible Pair Fares,"
"Fly Now, Pay Less," programs, $25 tickets for senior citizens, and finally "Fun
Fares" became part of the strategy to lure more fliers to the skies. In
addition, the airline was waging a fare war at its Phoenix hub against America
West Airlines, offering flights between California and Arizona for $25.
During the summer of 1986, the airline stepped up the hoopla surrounding its low
fares, making "fun" its new corporate byword and implementing a "fun" uniform of
golf shirts, surfer shorts, and tennis shoes, along with in-flight games and
giveaways. In July, the golf shirts were replaced by red Southwest T-shirts
asserting that "Southwest Fliers Have More Fun." In an effort to simplify
ticketing, a drive-through ticket window was installed near the airline's Dallas
hub in August 1986, and in October tickets became available through automatic
teller machines at 7-Eleven stores in Corpus Christi, Texas.
By 1987, Southwest's full-service subsidiary Transtar was locked in head-to-head
combat with Continental for service out of Houston's Hobby Airport. The
competing airline hit Transtar with cheaper flights scheduled 15 minutes before
and after every Transtar departure, and the Southwest subsidiary was soon
draining off $2 million in losses every month. In August 1987, after suffering a
net loss for the first quarter of the year, Southwest shut down Transtar. The
Transtar debacle cut the company's year-end earnings by 60 percent.
Despite aggressive pricing, Southwest found its rapid expansion thwarted in some
markets, as full-service rivals drove the airline out of Denver, hampered its
ambitious plans for operations in Nashville, and continued to put up stiff
resistance in Phoenix. In addition, the airline was fined $402,000 by the
Federal Aviation Authority in 1987. Faced with the demands of business fliers,
the company introduced its first frequent flier program. Unlike the programs of
other airlines, which award prizes based on mileage accrued, Southwest's program
was designed to reward the short-haul flier, allotting prizes on the basis of
number of trips taken.
In 1988, Southwest President Kelleher announced plans to double the airline's
size by 1994. His strategy for accomplishing this was to increase the frequency
of flights between cities already on the Southwest route map and to open up new
routes in California and the Midwest. In keeping with the airline's policy of
flying out of airports that are close to urban centers, Southwest also switched
its Detroit flights to Detroit City Airport from the more remote Metro Airport.
Also in 1988, as a sign of the ever growing airline's commitment to
lightheartedness, Southwest painted one of its 737s to resemble a killer whale
to celebrate the company's agreement to become the official airline of Sea World
of Texas. Shamu One, named after Sea World's mascot orca, was eventually joined
by Shamu Two and Shamu Three. When Federal anti-smoking regulations went into
effect on all domestic flights, Southwest offered its passengers lollipops as a
substitute for the now-banned cigarettes. Passengers on flights during the
winter holiday season of 1988 reported that flight attendants were dressed as
elves and reindeer, and that the pilot sang Christmas carols over the public
address system while gently rocking the plane from side to side.
In the spring of 1989, Southwest began its planned assault on the California
market and touched off a fare war with much larger carriers, such as American
Airlines and United Airlines, when it introduced $19 fares from Oakland
International Airport, in the San Francisco Area, to Ontario, a suburb of Los
Angeles. Aiming to reach $1 billion in revenues for the year, Southwest planned
continued expansion of its fleet of planes and added Indianapolis to its route
map. In a novel pairing of businesses, the company offered, for a limited time,
a free companion ticket to anyone buying a holiday meal at Kentucky Fried
Chicken.
As a result of its steady growth, Southwest entered the 1990s as a major
airline, with a fleet of 94 planes serving 27 cities. Relying on conservative
financial management, the company was able to avoid the pitfalls of debt that
crippled many other carriers in the early 1990s, and despite suffering a loss in
its fourth quarter, turned an overall profit in 1990.
Southwest took advantage of the misfortunes of its competitors in 1991, scooping
up market share abandoned by ailing US Air in California and by bankrupt America
West in Phoenix, and buying gates at Midway Airport from its defunct Chicago
competitor, Midway Airlines. By year's end, Southwest had 124 jets flying to 32
cities.
By 1992, the company's concerted push into the California market had proven
profitable, and Southwest became the second largest carrier in the state. The
company looked to the Midwest as its next largest site of expansion. When the
Department of Transportation began ranking airlines based upon baggage handling,
customer satisfaction, and on-time performance, Southwest outpaced its larger,
more expensive colleagues to win the first "Triple Crown" in 1992. Moreover, it
kept winning them year after year. In 1993, when Southwest was expanding to the
East Coast via Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Southwest was the
only major carrier to take home a profit.
Southwest aggressively pursued non-traditional means of ticketing passengers. It
sidestepped Apollo and other established reservation networks in lieu of more
direct contact with travel agents. It dubbed its own network SWAT, for Southwest
Air Travel.
Takeovers of Morris Air and Arizona One in 1994 expanded the company's network
still further. The company continued to add routes to the Midwest and
California. Southwest followed suit with its low-budget peers by eliminating
paper tickets.
In 1995, the company reached $2.8 billion in operating revenues. Within five
years, Southwest had added more than 10,000 employees to its roster. Southwest
commemorated its 1996 silver anniversary with a special plane called Silver One.
Internet ticket sales debuted along with new Florida service, which added the
carrier's 50th city in 1997.
For the 25th consecutive year, the carrier posted a profit in 1997, $317.7
million. Due to its low fares, the carrier by entering a market could increase
the volume of passenger traffic fourfold, and some businesses used the
availability of Southwest service as a prime criterion in choosing new
locations. The airline's 2,300 flights per day, impressive safety record, and
status as a much admired corporate citizen suggested it would long remain one of
the industry's legendary survivors.
Southwest continued its eastern push in the late 1990s, entering New York
(Islip) and exploiting a void in the Raleigh-Durham market left by retreating
American Airlines and US Airways. It was also adding long-haul flights to its
network.
In 2000, SWA introduced an online booking tool geared toward corporate travel
offices called SWABIZ. This offered convenient access to Southwest's low fares
rather than corporate discounts per se, an official told Business Travel News.
Earnings were about $600 million on revenues of $5.6 billion in 2000.
In 2001, Southwest took legal action to prevent the Orbitz online booking site
from displaying its fares. This move surprised some observers. Southwest
complained of other airlines getting preferential treatment on the site,
particularly the ones that owned Orbitz LLC. Southwest did allow the Sabre
computer reservations system to list its flights, though reservations had to be
made through Southwest.com.
The question of who would follow Southwest's inimitable leader and spokesman,
Herb Kelleher, was resolved in June 2001. While retaining the office of
chairman, he was replaced as president by the company's general counsel, James
F. Parker, and as CEO by former executive vice-president for customers Colleen
C. Barrett. (The two had previously worked together for Kelleher's law firm.)
Southwest was not immune to the effects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks on the United States. Increased security following 9/11 made traveling
by auto a more attractive choice for many. While its larger rivals laid off tens
of thousands of workers, lost billions of dollars, and appealed for bankruptcy
protection in the two years following the attack, Southwest remained profitable,
avoided layoffs, and kept its employees working.
Southwest allowed the A&E Television Network to film a reality show on its
planes beginning in 2003. The show was a clone of a British show centered on
easyJet PLC, which itself was closely modeled after Southwest.
Success of the "major" airlines in wresting concessions from labor eroded one
area of Southwest's relative competitive advantage as its own unions negotiated
more lucrative compensation. Jim Parker retired as CEO in 2004 following
contentious contract negotiations with the flight attendants' and mechanics'
unions. He was succeeded by former CFO Gary C. Kelly.
After more than 30 years of consistently profitable growth, Southwest was flying
more passengers than any other U.S. airline. Its 417 planes were making 2,900
hops a day to 59 destinations. Revenues continued to increase at a 10 percent
clip, reaching $6.5 billion in 2004. The company's cargo business, from freight
carried in its planes' belly holds, was small but growing, with $117 million in
2004. Earnings of $313 million were no record but were handsome compared to
other airlines in the post-9/11 environment.
The airline continued to look for ways to cut costs. It trimmed its reservations
staff as Internet booking became more popular. It installed winglets on its
planes to cut fuel consumption and benefited greatly from hedging on oil prices.
Southwest entered the Philadelphia market in May 2004, mounting a robust
challenge to a US Airways stronghold. The airline was also reviving a challenge
to the decades-old law that kept Southwest from operating beyond adjacent states
from Love Field. "Growth opportunities have become more precious," CEO Gary
Kelly told Air Transport World. SWA entered its first codeshare agreement with
the much smaller ATA Airlines in December 2004. This type of deal, common in the
industry but surprising for the famously independent Southwest, allowed the two
carriers to list and sell seats on each other's flights. Southwest also
negotiated to buy six gates at Chicago's Midway Airport from ATA, bringing its
total there to 25, and a 27.5 percent stake in ATA, which was in bankruptcy. The
deal cost $117 million.
Moving into 2005, Southwest was facing many familiar challenges: rising oil
prices, intense competition, cumbersome regulations. In the uncertain times that
had legacy (traditional) carriers reeling, Southwest was still winging ahead
with its ever-popular low-fare formula.
Principal Subsidiaries
API Terminal, Inc.; Southwest ABQ RES Center, Inc.; Southwest Jet Fuel Co.;
TranStar Airlines Corporation; Triple Crown Insurance Ltd. (Bermuda).
Principal Competitors
AirTran Holdings, Inc.; AMR Corp.; Continental Airlines, Inc.; Delta Air Lines,
Inc.; JetBlue Airways Corporation; United Airlines Inc.
Further Reading
Allen, Margaret, "SW Airlines' President Has a Customer-First Flight Plan," San
Antonio Business Journal, August 31, 2001, p. 13.
Brooker, Katrina, "Can Anyone Replace Herb?," Fortune, April 17, 2000, pp. 186+.
Brown, David A., "Southwest Airlines Gains Major Carrier Status by Using
Go-It-Alone Strategy," Aviation Week & Space Technology, March 5, 1990.
Chakravarty, Subrata N., "Hit "Em Hardest with the Mostest," Forbes, September
16, 1991.
"Corporate Case Study: Southwest Airlines Keeps PR Course with Flying Colors,"
PR Week (US), January 26, 2004.
Donnelly, Sally B., "One Airline's Magic: How Does Southwest Soar Above Its
Money-Losing Rivals? Its Employees Work Harder and Smarter, in Return for Job
Security and a Share of the Profits," Time, October 28, 2002, pp. 45+.
Flint, Perry, "Southwest Keeps It Simple," Air Transport World, April 2005, pp.
26+.
Freiberg, Kevin, and Jackie Freiberg, Nuts! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for
Business and Personal Success, Austin: Bard, 1996.
Gibney, Frank, Jr., "Southwest's Friendly Skies," Newsweek, May 30, 1988.
Gibson, Jane Whitney, and Charles W. Blackwell, "Flying High with Herb Kelleher:
A Profile in Charismatic Leadership," Journal of Leadership Studies, Summer/Fall
1999, p. 120.
Gruner, Stephanie, "Have Fun, Make Money: How Herb Kelleher Parties Profitably
at Southwest Airlines," Inc., May 1998, p. 123.
Jonas, David, and David Meyer, "SW Shines in Light of Biz Changes," Business
Travel News, December 9, 2002, pp. 1+.
Keating, Peter, "Rating the Airlines: The Best Airlines to Fly Today," Money,
November 1, 1997.
Kelly, Kevin, "Southwest Airlines: Flying High with 'Uncle Herb'," Business
Week, July 3, 1989.
Labich, Kenneth, and Ani Hadjian, "Is Herb Kelleher America's Best CEO?,"
Fortune, May 2, 1994.
Levering, Robert, and Milton Moskowitz, The 100 Best Companies to Work for in
America, New York: Doubleday, 1993.
------, "The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America," Fortune, January 12,
1998.
Loeffelholz, Suzanne, "The Love Line," Financial World, March 21, 1989.
McKenna, Ed, "Southwest's Cargo Turn: The 'Southwest Effect' Is Being Felt in
Bellies, with Revenue Surging, Forwarders Praising," Traffic World, February 14,
2005, p. 30.
Maglitta, Joseph, "Lean, Mean Flying Machines," Computerworld, July 11, 1994.
Putnam, Howard D., The Winds of Turbulence, New York: Harper Business, 1991.
"Southwest: After Kelleher, More Blue Skies," Business Week, April 2, 2001, p.
45.
Southwest Airlines Co., Southwest Airlines History, Dallas: Southwest Airlines
Co., 1991.
"SW CEO: Crisis Opens Door," Business Travel News, November 8, 2004, pp. 1+.
Taylor, John H., "Risk Taker," Forbes, November 14, 1988.
Troxell, Thomas N., Jr., "Deregulation in Stride," Barton's, January 23, 1984.
Walker, Karen, "The King of Low-Cost," Airline Business, June 1999, p. 38.
Weber, Joseph, "These Two Airlines Are Doing It Their Way," Business Week,
September 21, 1987.
"Why Herb Kelleher Gets So Much Respect from Labor," Business Week, September
24, 1984.
Zellner, Wendy, "Dressed to Kill ... Competitors," Business Week, February 21,
2005, p. 60.
------, "Striking Gold in the California Skies," Business Week, March 30, 1992.
Zellner, Wendy, and Michael Arndt, "Holding Steady; As Rivals Sputter, Can
Southwest Stay on Top?," Business Week, February 3, 2003, p. 66.
— Elizabeth Rourke; Updated by Frederick C. Ingram

Wikipedia: Southwest Airlines

This article is about the American airline. For the former Japanese airline, see
Japan Transocean Air. For the British airline, see Air Southwest.
Southwest Airlines
 IATA
WNICAO
SWACallsign
SOUTHWEST
Founded1971
Focus citiesMcCarran International Airport
Chicago Midway International Airport
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Baltimore-Washington International Airport
Oakland International Airport
William P. Hobby Airport
Dallas Love Field
Los Angeles International Airport
Orlando International Airport
San Diego International Airport
Frequent flyer programRapid Rewards
Fleet size512
Destinations64
Company sloganA Symbol of Freedom
HeadquartersDallas, Texas
Key peopleGary C. Kelly (CEO)
Herb Kelleher (Chairman)
Laura Wright (CFO)
Colleen Barrett (President)
Website: http://www.southwest.com
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is an American low-fare airline based in
Dallas, Texas, with its largest focus city at Las Vegas' McCarran International
Airport. It is the largest airline in the United States by number of passengers
carried domestically per year and the second largest airline in the world by
number of passengers carried.[1] It is also the 6th largest U.S. airline by
revenue. It also maintains the fourth-largest fleet of aircraft among all of the
world's commercial airlines.
Southwest Airlines has carried more customers than any other U.S. airline since
August 2006 for combined domestic and international passengers according to the
U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.[2]
Southwest Airlines is one of the world's most profitable airlines and in January
2007, posted a profit for the 34th consecutive year.[3] Its reputation for low
prices and a laid-back atmosphere have made it an icon of popular culture.
History
Southwest Airlines was originally incorporated to serve three cities in Texas as
Air Southwest on March 15, 1967, by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. According to
frequently-cited legend, King described the concept to Kelleher over dinner by
drawing on a paper napkin a triangle symbolizing the routes.(Dallas, Houston,
San Antonio)[4]
Some of the incumbent airlines of the time (Braniff, Trans-Texas, and
Continental Airlines) initiated legal action, and thus began a three-year legal
battle to keep Air Southwest on the ground. Air Southwest eventually prevailed
in the Texas Supreme Court, which ultimately upheld Air Southwest's right to fly
in Texas.[5] The decision became final on December 7, 1970, when the U.S.
Supreme Court declined to review the case without comment.[6] That date is
considered by many to be the de facto beginning of deregulation in the airline
industry.
The story of Southwest's legal fight was turned into a children's book,
Gumwrappers and Goggles by Winifred Barnum in 1983. In the story, TJ Love, a
small jet, is taken to court by two larger jets to keep him from their hangar,
and then to try and stop him from flying at all. Taken to court, TJ Love's right
to fly is upheld after an impassioned plea from The Lawyer. While no company
names are mentioned in the book, TJ Love's colors are those of Southwest
Airlines, and the two other jets are colored in Braniff and Continental's
colors. The Lawyer is designed to resemble Herb Kelleher. The book was adapted
into a stage musical, Show your Spirit, sponsored by Southwest Airlines, and
played only in towns serviced by the airline.[7]
Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher studied Pacific Southwest Airlines
extensively and used many of the airline's ideas to form the corporate culture
at Southwest, and even on early flights used the same "Long Legs And Short
Nights" theme for stewardesses on board typical Southwest Airlines flights.
The airline adopted the first profit-sharing plan in the U.S. airline industry
in 1973. Through this plan and others, employees own about 10 percent of the
company stock.
The airline is about 87 percent unionized. The pilots are represented by the
Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association, a union separate from the much larger
ALPA union.
First flights
In early 1971, Air Southwest changed its name to Southwest Airlines, and the
first flight was on June 18, 1971. Its first flights were from Love Field in
Dallas to Houston and San Antonio[8], short hops with no-frills service and a
simple fare structure, features that became the basis for Southwest's popularity
and rapid growth in the coming years.
The start of service in June 1971 was accomplished with three 737-200 aircraft;
a fourth was added in September of the same year.
Over time, Southwest has added improved 737 variants but has stayed within the
Boeing 737 family to hold down operating costs. Because this technique
simplified training, maintenance, and ground operations, it revolutionized the
industry's approach to building aircraft fleets.
In January 2005, Southwest retired its last 737-200, the oldest type in its
fleet. To celebrate "putting the -200s to bed", selected employees donned
Southwest pajamas for an early morning flight to celebrate the final landing at
Dallas Love.
Early losses and financial troubles
The rest of 1971 and 1972 saw operating losses. One of the four aircraft was
sold to Frontier Airlines and the proceeds used to make payroll and cover other
expenses. Southwest continued to operate a schedule predicated on four aircraft
but using only three, and in so doing the "ten minute turn" was born, and was
the standard ground time for many years.[9]
Southwest turned its first annual profit in 1973, and has done so every year
since — a record unmatched by any other commercial airline.[10] Southwest has
used financial techniques such as fuel hedging to bolster its profitability and
counteract many of the fiscal disadvantages of operating an airline.
By 1979 Southwest served all of the cities currently served in Texas, plus
Beaumont and interstate service began to New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Tulsa
was added shortly thereafter. In 1981 Southwest co-launched the 737-300 with
USAir. In 1982 the first expansion beyond the Texas area took Southwest to the
West Coast, adding Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Diego. In 1984 the 737-300 was
placed into service. Chicago Midway and St. Louis service began in March, 1985,
spreading low-fare service into Midwest markets.
Southwest hired its first African-American pilot, Louis Freeman, in 1980. In
1992, he was named the first African-American chief pilot of any major U.S.
airline.[11]
A Southwest 737-300 at Portland International AirportHedging fuel
Southwest has a longtime program to hedge fuel prices. It has purchased fuel
options years in advance to smooth out fluctuations in fuel costs.
In 2000, Southwest said it had "adjusted its hedging strategy" to "utilize
financial derivative instruments... when it appears the Company can take
advantage of market conditions." Additionally, the company hoped to "take
advantage of historically low jet fuel prices." SEC statement Southwest's
decision proved to be a prescient and, for a time, extremely profitable effort.
To lock in the low historical prices Southwest believed were occurring at that
time, Southwest used a mixture of swaps and call options to secure fuel in
future years while paying prices they believed were low. The company also stated
that with this new strategy, it faced substantial risks if the oil prices
continued to go down, but they did not. Previously, Southwest had been more
interested in reducing volatility of oil prices. Now, they hoped to reap large
gains from oil price appreciation.
In 2001, Southwest again substantially increased its hedging in response to
projections of increased crude oil prices. The use of these hedges helped
Southwest maintain its profitability during the oil shocks related to the Iraq
War and later Hurricane Katrina.
According an annual report, here is the company's fuel hedge for forward years
("approximate" per barrel basis, as of mid-January): 2007 is 95% hedged at
$50/barrel; 2008 is 65% hedged at $49/barrel; 2009 is over 50% hedged at
$51/barrel; 2010 is over 25% hedged at $63/barrel; 2011 is over is 15% hedged at
$64/barrel; 2012 is 15% hedged at $63/barrel.
According to its 2006 Annual Report, Southwest paid low prices for fuel thanks
to the benefit of fuel hedges:
2004 - 82.8 cents
2005 - 103.3 cents
2006 - 153.0 cents
These are well below market rates, which Southwest factors into its low
operating costs. However, this below-market oil cost will not continue forever;
executives have said that Southwest faces increased exposure to the raw oil
market every year. This is not a good sign for the airline, which is also facing
tough competition from US legacy carriers that have lowered costs through
bankruptcy. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly has decided to slow the airlines' growth as
a response to this cost.
Risk managers find it difficult to endorse the style of profit-motivated energy
trading Southwest did between 1999 and the early 2000s. Risk managers have
suggested[12] that rather than hedging business risk, (such as a hedge on
weather to a farmer), Southwest was simply speculating on energy prices, without
a formal rationale for doing so. As an airline company, the goal of "taking
advantage" of the commodity market's flaws was quite unusual. Hedge or no hedge,
the long-term speculative outcome does not lessen the marginal cost of monthly
flight operations. If flights lost money at market prices, they still would be
canceled to maximize shareholder value -- since, crucially, the fuel hedges
could be sold for cash on the open market.
At present, Southwest has enjoyed much positive press (and a strong financial
boost) from its energy trading skills. However, while most analysts agree that
volatility hedges can be beneficial, speculative hedges are not widely supported
as a continuing strategy for profits. The early 2000s hedges may in retrospect
be an anomalous, lucky event and also a claim to fame for Southwest Airlines'
reputation as a financially adept company.
Southwest.com
On March 16, 1995, Southwest became one of the first airlines to have a web
site. Originally called the "Southwest Airlines Home Gate", customers could view
schedules, a route map, and company information at http://www.iflyswa.com.[13]
The company later obtained the rights to its current home on the web,
southwest.com, from an unaffiliated business. Southwest consistently rejects
syndicating its fares to fare search sites such as expedia.com or
orbitz.com.[14]
Southwest.com is the number one airline web site for online revenue, according
to PhoCusWright. Nielsen/Netratings also reports that Southwest.com is the
largest airline site in terms of unique visitors.[15] In 2006, 70 percent of
flight bookings and 73 percent of revenue was generated from bookings on
southwest.com. As of December 2006, 55 percent of Southwest passengers checked
in for their flights online.[15]
The Wright Amendment
Main article: Wright Amendment
A Southwest 737-700 preparing to land at Lindbergh Field in San Diego. Complete
elimination of the Wright Amendment would allow non-stop service from Dallas
Love Field to airports as far west as CaliforniaAfter the opening of Dallas-Fort
Worth Regional Airport, which was the original name of Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport in 1974, Southwest was the only airline to remain at Love
Field.
When airline deregulation came in 1978, Southwest began planning to offer
interstate service from Love Field. This caused a number of interest groups
affiliated with Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport, including the city of Fort Worth, to
push the Wright Amendment through Congress to restrict such flights.[16] Under
the restrictions of the amendment, Southwest, and all other airlines, were
barred from operating, or even ticketing passengers on flights from Love Field
to destinations beyond the states immediately surrounding Texas. In effect, to
travel through Love Field, a passenger and luggage would have to deplane and fly
on a separate ticket, on a separate aircraft.
The Wright Amendment's restrictions didn't apply to aircraft configured with 56
or fewer seats. In 2000, Legend Airlines attempted to operate long distance
business-class flights using older DC-9s with 56 seats, but did not have the
resources to survive American's legal and marketing attacks, and quickly ceased
operations. Southwest has not used the 56 seat loophole, even with its market
strength at Love Field and the availability of more modern regional jets such as
the CRJ-700/900 and the Embraer ERJ 145 family.
Southwest's efforts to repeal or even alter the Wright Amendment had been met
with opposition from American Airlines and Dallas Ft. Worth International
Airport. Both American Airlines and DFW contended that repeal of the Wright
Amendment restrictions would cripple DFW[17], while Southwest contended that
repeal of the Wright Amendment would be beneficial to both Love Field and
DFW.[10] Continental Airlines has a successful hub and spoke operation at
Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport despite unrestricted competition from
Southwest at Houston Hobby Airport.
In 1997, Southwest's effort began to pay off with the Shelby Amendment, which
added the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kansas to the list of permissible
destination states. Southwest now offers service between Dallas Love Field and
Jackson, MS, via a connection at Houston, which it couldn't do prior to the
enactment of the Shelby Amendment.
Since late 2004, Southwest has actively sought the full repeal of the Wright
Amendment restrictions. In late 2005, Missouri was added to the list of
permissible destination states via a transportation appropriations bill. New
service from Love Field to St. Louis and Kansas City quickly started in December
2005.
At a June 15, 2006 joint press conference held by the City of Dallas, the City
of Ft. Worth, Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport, American Airlines, and Southwest
Airlines, the said parties announced a tentative agreement on how the Wright
Amendment was to be phased out. Both the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives passed Wright-related legislation on September 29, 2006, and it
was signed into law by the president on October 13, 2006. The new law became
effective on October 16, 2006, when the FAA Administrator notified Congress that
any new aviation operations occurring as a result of the new law could be
accommodated without adverse effect to the airspace.
Southwest's tribute to Arizona undergoes maintenance at Portland International
AirportSouthwest started selling tickets under the new law on October 19, 2006.
Highlights of the agreement are the immediate elimination of through-ticketing
prohibitions, and unrestricted flights to domestic destinations eight years
after the legislation takes effect. This agreement was a resounding victory for
Southwest Airlines because nationwide service became possible, and the law
defined the maximum number of gates at Love Field. Southwest controls all of the
Love Field gates except for the two each that American and Continental control.
The future of the Legend Airlines terminal for use by commercial airlines is in
doubt because of the limit on number of gates.
Southwest remains the dominant passenger airline at Love Field, maintains its
headquarters, hangars, and flight simulators adjacent thereto, and reflects its
ties to Love Field in its ticker symbol (LUV).
Despite the restrictions on its home base, Southwest proceeded to build a
successful business on an unusual model: flying multiple short, quick trips into
the secondary (more efficient and less costly) airports of major cities, using
primarily only one aircraft type, the Boeing 737.
Destinations
Main article: Southwest Airlines destinations
Southwest Airlines currently flies to 64 destinations throughout the United
States. The airline added its 64th destination on August 26, 2007 when it
resumed service from San Francisco, California.
Current service
Ramp operations at William P. Hobby Airport, with a Boeing 737-300 parked at a
gateSouthwest does not use the more traditional "hub and spoke" flight routing
system of most major airlines, preferring instead the "Point to Point" system.
Currently, Southwest serves 64 cities in 32 states, with more than 3,200 flights
a day. It has notably large operations in certain airports. Las Vegas's McCarran
International Airport has non-stop service to almost all of Southwest's
locations. [18] Other airports with large Southwest operations include Chicago
Midway International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport,
Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Tampa
International Airport and Houston's William P. Hobby Airport, with all of these
airports operating non-stop flights to more than half of the Southwest system.
An average of 80 percent of Southwest passengers are local passengers, meaning
only 20 percent of all passengers are connecting passengers. This is
significantly higher than most airlines, where passengers often connect in hub
cities. [19]
As part of its effort to control costs, Southwest tries to use secondary
airports which generally have lower costs and may, or may not be, more
convenient to travelers than the major airports to the same destinations. For
example, Southwest flies to Midway Airport in Chicago, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood
International Airport in South Florida, Love Field in Dallas, Hobby Airport in
Houston, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, New Hampshire, and T.
F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island, instead of O'Hare International
Airport, Miami International Airport, DFW International, IAH International in
Houston, and Logan International Airport in Boston, respectively. Southwest also
serves the New York Metropolitan area at Long Island MacArthur Airport.
A Southwest plane prepares for its next flight at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank,
CaliforniaSouthwest makes exceptions to the philosophy of serving secondary
airports by flying into some larger airports in major cities, such as Phoenix
Sky Harbor International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Airport,
Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Philadelphia International,
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International and
Pittsburgh International. In the Los Angeles market Southwest flies to both the
major city airport, Los Angeles International, and to three of the four
secondary airports, Bob Hope Airport, John Wayne Airport, and LA/Ontario
International Airport (it does not serve Long Beach Airport). With the
restoration of service out of San Francisco International Airport on August 26,
2007, Southwest now serves all three airports in the San Francisco Bay Area; the
other two being Oakland International Airport and San Jose International
Airport.
Southwest withdrew from San Francisco International and Houston Intercontinental
in favor of using smaller airports with fewer operations nearby. In February
2007, Southwest announced its intent to return to San Francisco International
Airport as its next city opening, and began service to SFO on August 26, 2007.
The airline also once served Stapleton International Airport in Denver but
withdrew in 1986 because of excessive ATC delays during poor weather exacerbated
by minimal separation between the runways. Southwest returned to Denver in 2006
with service to the new Denver International Airport. Besides Houston
(Intercontinental) and Denver (Stapleton International), the airline has
withdrawn completely from airports in Beaumont, Texas and Detroit, Michigan
(Detroit City Airport).
On October 5, 2006, Southwest Airlines started operations at Washington-Dulles
Airport (IAD) with 12 daily flights from two gates in Concourse B.
Southwest is the largest intra-state airline in California, with 674 flights
total in the state, 355 of which are intra-California.
Markets lacking Southwest service
Due to intense competition from near-monopoly airlines such as Delta, Northwest,
Continental and others, some markets are not cost-effective for Southwest. New
York City-area flights are serviced from Long Island MacArthur Airport or
through Southwest's codeshare with ATA Airlines to New York-LaGuardia instead of
directly through the three main New York-area airports (LaGuardia Airport,
Kennedy (JFK) International, or Newark Liberty International). Other large
cities without Southwest service include Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati,
Memphis, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
With the exception of Florida, the southeastern part of the U.S. route map
geographically has a large string of voids. There are only four cities in the
whole region - Birmingham, Nashville, Raleigh/Durham and Jackson. Another void
also persists in the mid northern part of the US stretching from Wisconsin to
Montana/Wyoming and also Alaska.
For Seattle in 2005, Southwest proposed service to Boeing Field, which is a
smaller airport closer to downtown than Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
However, King County leaders refused to allow a terminal to be built or service
to begin.[20]
At this time, Southwest does not serve any destinations outside the United
States. While other low cost carriers such as AirTran, Frontier, and JetBlue
have started to fly to international destinations, Southwest Airlines has not
ruled out the possibility of an international market in the future, as they are
within range of their 737-700 aircraft. CEO Gary Kelly stated in June of 2007
that because of shrinking profits, the airline will likely slow its rate of
expansion. [21]
Top ten airports
The following airports, as of July 20, 2007, are the top ten most served by
Southwest Airlines:[15]
Southwest Airlines top ten airportsCityDaily departuresNumber of
gatesNonstop cities servedService established
Las Vegas23221531982
Chicago-Midway22729471985
Phoenix20524421982
Baltimore/Washington18026401993
Oakland14811211989
Houston-Hobby14616291971
Dallas-Love Field13314151971
Los Angeles (LAX)12011191982
Orlando11612331996
San Diego9610161982

New service
On June 27, 2007, Southwest Airlines announced substantial additions to their
route schedule, adding new nonstop flights (mainly out of Denver) which are
slated to begin November 4, 2007.
On February 9, 2007, Southwest Airlines announced internally that it was
planning to restart operations at San Francisco International Airport, a station
the airline closed in 2001.[22] Southwest CEO Gary Kelly has stated that the
airline plans to commence service at SFO beginning in the "early fall" of 2007.
On May 11, 2007, in an e-mail to Rapid Rewards members, Southwest announced that
service to and from San Francisco would begin August 26th with eight daily
nonstops to San Diego, seven to Las Vegas and three to Chicago's Midway Airport.
Southwest also announced that they will be participating in Disney's Magical
Express program in Orlando, FL. The program allows passengers to check their
bags through from their home airport through to their rooms at a Walt Disney
World resort. [23]
Effective November 4, 2007
Daily nonstop service between Albuquerque, NM (ABQ) and Denver, CO (DEN)
begins.
Daily nonstop service between Amarillo, TX (AMA) and Denver, CO (DEN) begins.
Daily nonstop service between Austin, TX (AUS) and Denver, CO (DEN) begins.
Daily nonstop service between Oklahoma City, OK (OKC) and Denver, CO (DEN)
begins.
Daily nonstop service between Seattle/Tacoma, WA (SEA) and Denver, CO (DEN)
begins.
Daily nonstop service between Birmingham, AL (BHM) and New Orleans, LA (MSY)
begins.
Daily nonstop service between San Francisco, CA (SFO) and Los Angeles, CA
(LAX) begins.
Daily nonstop service between Oakland, CA (OAK) and Tucson, AZ (TUS) begins.
Effective February 4, 2008
Daily nonstop service between Buffalo, NY (BUF) and Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL)
begins. [24]
Daily nonstop service between Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) and Fort Lauderdale, FL
(FLL) begins.
Discontinued service
Effective November 4, 2007
Daily nonstop service between Midland/Odessa, TX (MAF) and El Paso, TX (ELP)
ends.
International service
Southwest Airlines has set a goal to begin international services or ticket
international flights in 2009. Services are likely to be operated by ATA.
Destinations may include Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico. In 2010, plans to
partner with other carriers for transatlantic and transpacific flights. European
service may be operated by Southwest. [25] [26]
The Southwest Effect
Main article: The Southwest effect
A Southwest plane lands in Las Vegas, Nevada. Southwest and US Airways are the
dominant carriers at McCarran International AirportThe success and profitability
of Southwest's business model led to a common trend being named after the
company: The Southwest Effect. Since Southwest's original mission in Texas was
to make it less expensive than driving between two points (in the early 1970s,
during the first major energy cost crisis in the U.S.), it developed a template
for entering markets at rates that allowed the airline to be profitable, yet
only on the basis of lean operations and high aircraft use. The key concept to
the Southwest Effect is that when a low-fare carrier (or any aggressive and
innovative company) enters a market, the market itself changes, and usually
grows dramatically. For example, when fares drop by 50% from their historical
averages, the number of new customers in that market may not just double, but
actually quadruple, or more.
Southwest has been a major inspiration to other low-cost airlines, and its
business model has been repeated many times around the world. Europe's easyJet
and Ryanair as well as Canada's WestJet, are some of the best known airlines to
follow Southwest's business strategy in that continent (though easyJet operates
two different aircraft models today). Other airlines with a business model based
on Southwest's system include New Zealand's Freedom Air , and Malaysia's AirAsia
(the first and biggest LCC in Asia) and Thailand's Nok Air.
Morris Air
One airline influenced by Southwest was Morris Air, founded by June Morris and
David Neeleman, based in Utah and operating in the northwestern U.S. Southwest
Airlines purchased Morris Air and absorbed the capital and routes into its
inventory and service. David Neeleman worked with Southwest for a short period.
When his non-compete agreement expired, Neeleman founded JetBlue Airways, a
competing airline that also incorporates many principles and practices pioneered
by Southwest, including building a positive, warm employee culture and operating
a simple fleet.[27]
TranStar Airlines
Southwest Airlines has mostly pursued a strategy of internal growth, rather than
by acquisition of other airlines as commonly occurs. However, in addition to
acquisition of Morris Air Transport (see above), Southwest did acquire
competitor Muse Air in 1985, which operated McDonnell Douglas MD-80s. Muse Air
was renamed TranStar Airlines.
Icelandair
In 1997, Southwest and Icelandair entered into interline and marketing
agreements allowing for joint fares, coordinated schedules, and transfer of
passenger luggage between the two airlines at Baltimore. Icelandair operated
flights between Baltimore and Keflavik Airport in Iceland. Connecting service
between several U.S. cities and several European cities appeared in the
Southwest timetable [28] The frequent flyer programs were not included in the
agreement. This arrangement lasted for several years but is no longer in
existence.
ATA Airlines
ATA Airlines, one of Southwest Airlines main competitors in the Chicago market,
historically operated out of Midway Airport alongside Southwest. ATA declared
bankruptcy, and in 2004, Southwest injected capital into ATA that (among other
things) would have resulted in Southwest's 27.5% ownership stake in ATA upon
their exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
In a departure from its traditional "go it alone" strategy, Southwest entered
into its first domestic codesharing arrangement with ATA, which enabled
Southwest Airlines to serve ATA markets in Hawaii, Washington D.C., and New York
City.
In late 2005, ATA secured $100 million in additional financing from the firm of
Matlin Patterson, and Southwest's original deal with ATA was modified such that
Southwest no longer retained the 27.5% stake (or any other financial interest)
in ATA. The codeshare arrangement, however, continues to remain in place and has
expanded, with some internal controversy, to include all of ATA's 17
destinations and all of Southwest's 63 destinations. In 2006, Southwest's pilot
union approved a codeshare sideletter to their contract with limitations on the
growth of this and other codeshare agreements. While these restrictions today
are minor, outsourcing remains a growing concern in the unions current contract
negotiations.
During 2006, Southwest Airlines began marketing ATA only flights. ATA's
dependence on the Southwest network continued to grow in 2006, and today ATA
offers over 70 flights a week to Hawaii from Southwest's hubs in PHX, LAS, LAX,
ONT, and OAK. Additional connecting service is available to many other cities
across the United States. Plans have been announced for ATA to offer exclusive
international service for Southwest by 2010. Southwest today has taken over all
ground operations for ATA at MDW, OAK, PHX, LAX, and LAS. These contracts
provide that Southwest ramp personnel will now handle all ground operations
(loading of aircraft, ground servicing, etc.) for ATA. The details of these
contracts have not been made public but represent Southwest's and ATA's growing
mutually beneficial codeshare relationship. Presently, there is no plan to open
the ATA/Southwest codeshare to ATA's sister carriers; North American Airlines or
World Airways, even though they are co-owned by the same corporate entity
created from ATA Holdings.
Beginning in February 2005, ATA was run by John Denison, Southwest's former
Chief Financial Officer. Effective January 1, 2007, Denison turned things over
to Subodh Karnik, who is now President and Chief Executive Officer. Denison
remains ATA's Chairman and Chairman of Global Aero Logistics Inc., the new name
of ATA Holdings.
Corporate culture
Intertwined with Southwest's innovative business model has been a consistent
emphasis on the value of people, both customers and employees. From the
beginning of its operations, Southwest urged employees to have fun doing their
work, and to make the experience of flying Southwest not only convenient but
enjoyable.
Southwest experience
The experience of flying on Southwest is quite different from that of most other
U.S. airlines from beginning to end.
Tickets cannot be purchased through common online venues like Orbitz or
Travelocity, although a minority are booked through travel agents. However, most
of Southwest tickets are issued directly by the airline over the phone or online
at the company's website which features Web-only fare discounts.
Unlike other major airlines, Southwest allows passengers to change reservations
without penalty (save the potentially additional cost of the new ticket). While
this provides flexibility to customers, Southwest does not allow same-day
standby travel on a different flight (usually a free service at other airlines)
without upgrading to maximum fare.
Customers are not assigned seats; rather, they are assigned to one of three
"boarding groups" depending on their check-in time (earlier check-ins get to
board earlier), and are left to choose their own seats on the plane, which helps
the airline to board passengers faster. At the May 2006 shareholders meeting,
Southwest management announced a study of potentially adopting an
assigned-seating system in 2008, as part of a reservations-technology overhaul
now under way. In Q4 of 2007, Southwest will announce a new boarding/seating
method.[29] No details of the new boarding process have been released but
Southwest has been testing a new process at the San Antonio airport which
assigns passengers a numeric position in the boarding queue.[30]
As a result of the boarding policy, several independent companies have offered
automatic check-in services for Southwest. These companies take customer's
orders for check-in ahead of the 24 hour mark (when the airline makes a flight
available for online check-in) and transmit the necessary data for check-in to
Southwest as soon as the airline opens up online check-in for a particular
flight. The result of this service is that people using it generally get the
first boarding group (known as the "A" boarding group). These early check-in
sites include iboarda.com and CheckinSooner.com. Southwest has not embraced this
practice and has sued boardfirst.com in federal court with trial set for fall
2007.
Southwest still allows three pieces of luggage to be checked in free as opposed
to the limit of two on the domestic flights of some other U.S. airlines.
In the past, meal service was less than on full service airlines (now often
called "legacy airlines"), with shorter flights receiving just a single small
snack and soft drink, and longer flights (with a duration of about 3 hours or
more) meriting a "Snack Pack" of prepackaged goods. In recent years these meals
in a bag typically exceed the food served on full-service airlines like United
or American. Southwest also offers free in-flight beverages (excluding alcohol).
Although there is no video entertainment, Southwest is known for colorful
boarding announcements and crews that burst out in song. The singing is unusual,
and is quite popular among customers, but has been noted by some travel critics
as being offensive and intrusive.[31]
For all the leanness in comforts, which helped it pass through the post-9/11
travel slump as one of the few profitable major American airlines, Southwest
manages to maintain excellent customer satisfaction ratings. In 2006, according
to the Department of Transportation December year end operating statistics,
Southwest ranked number one (lowest number of complaints) of all U.S. airlines
for customer complaints, with 0.18 per 100,000 customers enplaned. Southwest
Airlines has consistently received the fewest ratio of complaints per passengers
boarded of all major U.S. carriers that have been reporting statistics to the
Department of Transportation (DOT) since September 1987, which is when the DOT
began tracking Customer Satisfaction statistics and publishing its Air Travel
Consumer Report.
Rapid Rewards
Southwest's frequent flier program is called Rapid Rewards. Currently, customers
receive one credit for each one-way trip (even though the flight may have
stopovers). A free ticket, expiring after 11 months, is automatically issued
when a member accumulates 16 credits in a 24-month period. Double Rapid Rewards
credits used to be awarded for online booking, but this policy was modified at
the end of 2003. At that time the bonus was reduced to .5 credit for each
segment booked online, (i.e., each round-trip ticket booked online received a
total of 3 Rapid Rewards credits). This was discontinued in April 2005. In
addition, one-half credit is also earned for using a Southwest partner to book
any car rental and/or hotel stay, regardless of whether a Southwest flight is
involved. This arrangement has won numerous Freddy Awards over the years.
In February 2006, Southwest instituted capacity controls to redeeming its free
tickets. This means that the airline limits the seats offered to frequent
travelers using free certificates on each flight, whereas previously if there
was a seat available, one could use the award, provided the passenger was not
flying on one of the five blackout dates.
In early 2006, Southwest expanded its codeshare agreement with ATA Airlines and
now allows redemption of award tickets on Hawaii flights at the rate of two
awards per round trip flight. Southwest and ATA stress that reward availability
to Hawaii will be very limited. Travelers can also earn twice the normal number
of credits when they purchase airfare on Hawaii-bound flights.
Playful, effective advertising
The company, from inception, employed humor in its advertising. Examples include
"Just Plane Smart," "The Somebody Else Up There Who Loves You" and "THE Low Fare
Airline". The airline's current slogan is "A Symbol of Freedom". A select
history of print and video ads are available on the company website[1].
Since the 1990s, Southwest has been running a television ad campaign based on
the phrase "Wanna get away?" The commercials present comical, embarrassing
situations in which people find themselves wanting to "get away". Most ads are
accompanied by the sound clip "[ding] You are now free to move about the
country"; self-parody of the in-flight announcement that "you are now free to
move about the cabin".
The PA "ding" has become synonymous with Southwest Airlines, and inspired the
name of an online ticket offer program, Ding!.
The Southwest Airlines television commercial, “Flight Attendant,” was named in
Adweek’s ‘Best Spots’ in August 2006.
A Southwest plane at Chicago Midway International Airport"Just Plane Smart"
Shortly after Southwest started using the "Just Plane Smart" motto, Stevens
Aviation, who had been using "Plane Smart" for their motto, threatened a
trademark lawsuit.
Instead of a lawsuit, the CEOs for both companies staged an arm wrestling match.
Held at the now demolished Dallas Sportatorium (the famed wrestling facility)
and set for two out of three rounds, the loser of each round was to pay $5,000
to the charity of their choice, with the winner gaining the use of the
trademarked phrase. A promotional video was created showing the CEOs "training"
for the bout (with CEO Herb Kelleher being helped up during a sit up where a
cigarette and glass of whiskey (Wild Turkey 101) was waiting) and distributed
among the employees and as a video press release along with the video of the
match itself. Herb Kelleher lost the match for Southwest, with Stevens Aviation
winning the rights to the phrase. Kurt Herwald, CEO of Stevens Aviation,
immediately granted the use of "Just Plane Smart" to Southwest Airlines. The net
result was both companies having use of the trademark, $15,000 going to charity
and a healthy dose of goodwill publicity for both companies.
Colorful personalities
Southwest employees are generally well-known for friendliness, (for example, one
pilot is known to greet passengers while playing the banjo); this is often
attributed to a unique "love-based" corporate atmosphere that made chairman and
founder Herb Kelleher a celebrity in the business world. The President of
Southwest is corporate secretary Colleen Barrett, who has been with the company
since day one. Southwest's CFO is Laura Wright. In July 2007, it was announced
that Herb Kelleher will resign his position as Chairman effective May 2008.
Colleen Barrett will leave her post on the Board of Directors and Corporate
Secretary in May 2008 and President in July 2008. Both will remain active
employees of Southwest Airlines.
Southwest has 1,133 married couples. In other words, 2,266 Southwest Employees
have spouses who also work for the company.
Concerns attributed to labor unrest and complaints by the Transport Workers
Union of America (TWU) representing Southwest flight attendants were reportedly
a factor in the recent resignation of Kelleher's hand-picked replacement as CEO.
Jim Parker resigned in July 2004 and was replaced by Chief Financial Officer
Gary Kelly.[32]
Organized labor
Although Southwest is considered a "low fare" airline, it is heavily unionized
compared with other airlines. [33] The Southwest Airline Pilots' Association, a
union not affiliated with the Air Line Pilots Association, International,
represents the airline's pilots. [34] The Aircraft Maintenance Technicians' are
represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA).[35]
Airline
The American version of the reality show Airline showcased Southwest Airlines
passengers and employees in daily mishaps and life at some of Southwest's major
airports (BWI, MDW, LAX, & HOU). The show premiered January 5, 2004 on the A&E
Network, but was canceled after 70 episodes on December 15, 2005.
Fleet
An example of a Southwest Boeing 737-700 with the airline's new leather
seatingCurrent fleet
The Southwest Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of September
2007:
AircraftTotalPassengers
(Economy)RoutesNotes
Boeing 737-300194137Short-medium haulLaunch customer
Boeing 737-50025122Short haulLaunch customer
Boeing 737-700293
(132 orders)137All routesLaunch customer
All but 2 are fitted with blended winglets.

The airline operates more Boeing 737s in its fleet than any other airline in the
world; Southwest is often cited as an example of an airline streamlining
operations by having only one type of aircraft. However, Southwest operated
leased 727-200 aircraft during the late-1970s and again in the mid-1980s and
subsidiary TranStar Airlines operated DC-9s and MD-80s during the mid-1980s.
Southwest has been a launch customer for all three of the Boeing 737 variants it
currently operates, and was the first airline to put both the Model 500 and
next-generation Model 700 into service. Southwest has a mix of old and new
aircraft with both its "classic" and "next generation" 737 aircraft. [36]
As of September 2007, Southwest has an average fleet age of 9.8 years,[37] and
fly an average of about 7 flights per day. The average aircraft trip length is
627 miles with an average duration of one hour and 49 minutes. This means the
daily utilization of each plane is, on average, 12 hours and 30 minutes.[15]
Southwest's seats are the same width as any other operator of 737s in the United
States. However seats are approximately one inch narrower than Airbus A320
series operated by low cost carriers such as Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, US
Airways, Skybus Airlines and several other competitors. Southwest's seat pitch
averages between 32 and 33 inches, which compares to average of 31 to 32 inches
for U.S. domestic airlines. However, rival low-fare carrier JetBlue Airways
offers from 32 inches to 36 inches.[38]
Southwest's 737-300 and 737-500 aircraft are not equipped with glass cockpit
technology, as the 737-300s, 737-400s, and 737-500s of some other airlines are.
Instead, the flight decks are fitted with analog gauges, more similar to those
of the earlier 737-100 and 737-200 variants. Note the analog attitude deviation
indicator (ADI) and horizontal situation indicator (HSI) (the blue-colored
instrument and one below it) in this Southwest 737-3H4 and note the electronic
versions of the same instruments (EADI and EHSI) in this United Airlines
737-322. There are electronic displays throughout the cockpit of the 737-700 and
other "Next Generation" 737 variants, and Southwest has programmed their 737-7H4
models to emulate the appearance of the 737-300 and 737-500 for standardization
purposes.
Since production of the 737-300 and 737-500 has ended, recent Southwest orders
have been exclusively for the 737-700 model.
Southwest is the world's largest operator of the 737. Their current active fleet
is over 500 aircraft. In terms of total 737 production (all models in history),
deliveries of new aircraft from Boeing to Southwest accounts for approximately
9% of total production. Southwest has one of the largest fleets in North
America.
Retired fleet
Southwest Airlines Retired FleetAircraftYear RetiredReplacementNotes
Boeing 737-2002005Boeing 737-700Southwest's first aircraft type

Livery
Southwest Boeing 737-500 in the classic livery Southwest Boeing 737-300 in the
new livery The original blended winglets of Southwest Airlines meet the new,
blue variant at Tucson International Airport.Southwest's original primary livery
was beige and red, with orange on the tail end, and pinstripes of white
separating each section of color. The word Southwest appears in white on the
beige portion of the tail. (Although, on the original three 737-200s, from June
of 1971, on the left side of the plane, the word Southwest was placed along the
upper rear portion of the fuselage, with the word Airlines painted on the tail
where Southwest is today N21SW. On the right side, the word Southwest was in the
same place as today, but also had the word Airlines painted on the upper rear
portion of the fuselage.N20SW.
Southwest introduced the Canyon Blue Fleet in 2001, its first primary livery
change in its 30-year history. Spirit One was the first plane painted in the
color scheme. The new livery replaces the primary beige color with canyon blue
and changes the Southwest text and pinstripes to gold. The pinstripe along the
plane is drawn in a more curved pattern instead of the straight horizontal line
separating the colors in the original. The original livery is gradually being
phased out, but three aircraft will remain in the original livery to commemorate
Southwest's original three cities.
Almost all of Southwest's 737-700s have blended winglets, with a few exceptions,
such as aircraft purchased from other carriers or corporations. The first planes
to be fitted with the winglets remain in the plain colored winglet (matching the
stripes on the fuselage), but later aircraft to be fitted have winglets with
"SOUTHWEST.COM" written on them. All aircraft will eventually be repainted to
the ".com" winglets. Special livery aircraft with winglets, such as Shamu, have
plain white winglets.
Additionally, Southwest will install blended winglets on up to 90 of its 737-300
aircraft beginning in mid-January 2007, with AAR of Indianapolis, Indiana,
accomplishing the work. The first modified aircraft, N368SW, resumed service on
February 22, 2007.
Some Southwest planes feature special themes, rather than the normal livery.
These theme planes have been given special names, usually ending in "One". Some
of the most well-known examples are:
Shamu: The three aircraft are painted to look like an Orca, with
advertisements for SeaWorld. (N334SW), (N713SW), (N715SW)
The first aircraft to be painted in the "Shamu" scheme was N334SW (1988), a
737-300, and it was later followed by N507SW (Shamu II) and N501SW (Shamu
III), both 737-500s. Subsequent to the retirement of Southwest's 737-200s,
the 737-500s began to stay within a smaller geographic area formerly
operated by the 737-200s, and as such, Sea World was no longer getting the
optimal national exposure from these two aircraft. Two 737-700 aircraft,
N713SW and N715SW, were repainted as the new Shamu aircraft, and both N501SW
and N507SW were eventually repainted in Canyon Blue colors. All three
current Shamu aircraft are no longer referred to as Shamu I, II, or III. The
artwork on the nose of each aircraft simply states "Shamu". The overhead
bins of these aircraft display ads for Sea World, except towards the front
and back of the airplane, where the bins get smaller and are no longer
uniform.
The Spirit of Kitty Hawk: (1984) Livery and title introduced the Boeing
737-300 aircraft to the Southwest Airlines fleet. This plane is the oldest in
Southwest's fleet. (N300SW)
Lone Star One: (1990) The flag of the state of Texas applied across the
aircraft. (N352SW)
Arizona One: (1994) The flag of the state of Arizona applied across the
aircraft. (N383SW)
The June M. Morris: (1994) In honor of June Morris, Signature and Morris Air
logo on the nose. Logo removed for Canyon Blue repaint. (N607SW, Original,
Canyon Blue)
California One: (1995) The flag of the state of California applied across the
aircraft. (N609SW)
Silver One: (1996) 25th Anniversary aircraft. Originally polished bare metal,
it was later painted silver for easier maintenance. It was then re-painted
with a silver metallic paint. This aircraft also featured silver seats, which
were replaced to conform with the rest of the fleet for simplicity. Silver One
also featured silver heart shaped drink stirrers.(N629SW, Original, Silver
Paint, Canyon Blue)
Triple Crown One: (1997) Livery dedicated to the employees of Southwest, in
recognition of Southwest receiving five Triple Crown airline industry awards
(best on-time record, best baggage handling, and fewest customer complaints).
The overhead bins in Triple Crown One one are inscribed with the names of all
employees that worked for Southwest at the time, in honor of their part in
winning the award.(N647SW)
Nolan Ryan Express: (1998) Commemorative sticker dedicated to famous Texas
pitcher Nolan Ryan who is MLB's all-time strikeout leader with 5,714
strikeouts. (N742SW)
Nevada One: (1999) The flag of the state of Nevada applied across the
aircraft. (N727SW)
New Mexico One: (2000) The flag of the state of New Mexico applied across the
aircraft. (N781WN)
Spirit One: (2001) 30th Anniversary aircraft. (First Aircraft in New Canyon
Blue paint scheme) (N793SA)
The Spirit of Hope: (2004) Dedicated to the Ronald McDonald House. Overhead
 bins are covered in artwork from kids at a Ronald McDonald House in Washington
State. (N443WN), (The overhead bins)
Maryland One: (2005) The flag of the state of Maryland applied across the
aircraft. (N214WN)
Slam Dunk One: (2005) Basketball superimposed on side of aircraft and a
different NBA team logo on each overhead bin in the cabin, recognizing
Southwest's partnership with the National Basketball Association. (N224WN)
Southwest received both the 5,000th 737 produced (February 13, 2006) (N230WN)
and the 2,000th "Next Generation" 737 produced (July 27, 2006) (N248WN). The
2,000th "Next Generation" 737 is marked as such in its livery, though the
5,000th 737 is not similarly marked.
Southwest received their 500th 737 on June 28, 2007. This aircraft is marked
to honor this milestone. (N281WN)
All special planes prior to Spirit One originally wore the standard beige, red
and orange livery colors on the vertical stabilizer and rudder. Subsequent
special editions—Maryland One and Slam Dunk One, so far—feature tails with the
canyon blue color scheme, and all earlier specials, with the exception of Triple
Crown One have been repainted to match.
Incidents and accidents
Southwest has had three major incidents of note, one involving a passenger
fatality caused by other passengers providing assistance to the in-flight crew,
and one involving a ground fatality. Southwest Airlines has never had a
passenger fatality due to an accident.
On March 5, 2000, Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 overran the runway upon
landing at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, now called Bob Hope Airport,
Burbank, California, injuring 43. The incident resulted in the dismissal of
the pilots, and the plane written off.
On August 11, 2000, passenger Jonathan Burton broke through the cockpit door
aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 1763 while en route from Las Vegas to Salt
Lake City. In their own defense, the other passengers restrained Burton who
later died of the resulting injuries.[39][40] "Unfriendly Skies", A CSI
episode reflecting similar plot elements, aired on December 8, 2000.
Wikinews has related news:
Southwest Airlines flight skids off runway at Chicago's MidwayOn December 8,
2005, Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 skidded off a runway upon landing at
Chicago Midway International Airport, in heavy snow conditions. A six-year old
boy was killed in a car struck by the plane after it had skidded into a
street. There were also several minor injuries reported from passengers
onboard the aircraft and on the ground. Aircraft involved was N471WN which
later became N286WN after being repaired.
Awards and recognitions
The American Brand Excellence Awards recognize leading national brands that
best serve the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses. For 2007,
Southwest Airlines came out tops in the Travel segment, based on a City
Business Journals Network nationwide survey of 1,000 business decision-makers
who evaluated 251 brands.
Southwest Airlines’ Rapid Rewards program was honored in InsideFlyer
magazine’s 2006 annual Freddie Awards for Best Program of the Year, Best Award
Redemption, Best Award, Best Web Site, and Best Bonus Promotion Honors.
For 2007, the eighth year in a row, Business Ethics magazine lists Southwest
Airlines in its “100 Best Corporate Citizens,” a list that ranks public
companies based on their corporate service to various stakeholder groups.
Southwest is one of only 11 repeat winners that have made the list all eight
years
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.
 Since 2000, HISPANIC magazine has listed Southwest Airlines as Corporate 100
for leadership in providing opportunities for Hispanics and for supporting
recruitment, scholarships, and minority vendor programs.
The Express Delivery & Logistics Association honored Southwest Airlines as the
“2006 Airline of the Year.”
In 2005, American Small Business Travelers Alliance ranked Southwest Airlines
as the "Best Airline Among Small Business Travelers."
Southwest president Colleen Barrett was chosen as 2007's Tony Jannus Award
winner, becoming the first woman to be honored in the 44-year history of the
respected aviation award.
Professional Women's magazine included Southwest Airlines in their 2006
ranking of the "Most Admired Companies Among Women."
According to Institutional Investor magazine, Southwest Airlines ranked number
one in the Consumer category among all airlines as the “Most Shareholder
Friendly Company” based on the effectiveness of Southwest’s governance and
investor relations as part of their overall efforts to maximize share holder
value.
Southwest Airlines took top honors in the ninth Business Travel News Annual
Airlines Survey.
In 2006, Southwest ranked in GIjobs.nets list of 50 military friendly
employers. At number 37, Southwest was the only major commercial airline to
make the list.
In its January 2006 issue, Institutional Investor ranked Southwest CEO Gary
Kelly as one of America's top CEO's. He was ranked best CEO in the airline
sector.
References
^ International Air Transport Association. Scheduled Passengers Carried.
Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ Southwest has maintained this rating every month that statistics have been
released.Southwest Airlines Industry Standings
^ Ben Mutzabaugh (2007-01-17). Southwest Posts a Profit for 34th Consecutive
Year. USA Today. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ Gayle Sato Stodder. "Making people count: Southwest Airlines - Company
Profile", 1997. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ Reversed and injunction denied, Texas Aeronautical Commission et al. v.
Braniff Airways et al., 454 S.W. 2d 199 (Supreme Court of Texas, May 13, 1970)

^ Certiorari denied, 400 U.S. 943 (1970)

^ Winifred Barnum. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ We Weren't Just Airborne Yesterday. Southwest Airlines (2007-05-02).
Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ Libby Sartain (1998). Why and how Southwest Airlines uses consultants.
Journal of Management Consulting. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ a b Southwest Airlines. The Case for Repeal. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ "BWI Airport and Southwest Airlines Salute African American Aviation
Pioneers - 1st African American Chief Pilot, 1st African American President of
female flying organization highlight Feb. 24 program", Baltimore/Washington
International Airport, 2005-02-05. Retrieved on 2006-06-09.
^ Carlos Blanco, J. Lehman and N. Shimoda. "Airlines Hedging Strategies: The
Shareholder Value Perspective", 2005. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ Brian Lusk. LUV and the Blogosphere. Retrieved on 2007-06-24.
^ Susan Breslow Sardone. Southwest Airlines - Fly Smart on Southwest - Air
Southwest. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ a b c d Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines Fact Sheet. Retrieved on
2007-06-10.
^ Southwest Airlines. History of the Wright Amendment. Retrieved on
2007-06-10.
^ American Airlines. New Comprehensive Study Shows Opening Dallas Love Field
 To Long-Haul Flying Would Have Serious Consequences. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ Where We Fly.
^ Jeremy Sickler. Chapter 7: Flight Arrival Flow: Southwest vs. Legacy
Carriers. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ Airline Industry Information. "Southwest Airlines addresses rejected offer
at Boeing Field in King County", 2005-10-12. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ "Southwest Airlines Mulls Slowing Expansion", 2007-06-10. Retrieved on
2007-06-10.
^ "Southwest Airlines Announces San Francisco Treat", 2007-05-11. Retrieved on
2007-06-10.
^ Garcia, Jason. "Disney prepares to ramp up its popular airport-shuttle
service", 2007-09-01. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
^ SWA announces new flights from FLL
^
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/19/business/NA-FIN-COM-US-Southwest-
International-Flights.php/

^ Evolution at Southwest, Aviation Week and Space Technology, September 3,

2007, p. 46 (interview with Bob Jordan, Executive Vice President Strategy
Procurement and Technology)
^ Peterson, Barbara (2004). Blue Streak: Inside jetBlue, the Upstart that
Rocked an Industry. Portfolio Hardcover. ISBN 1-59184-058-9.
^ Rob Kaiser. "Southwest may add cities to Iceland deal", Baltimore Business
Journal, 1997-02-21. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ Dan Reed. "Southwest plans new seating policy, schedule changes", USA Today,
2006-06-27. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
^ Susie, Boersma (2007-08-23). Enhanced Boarding. Southwest Airlines Blog.
Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
^ David Grossman. "I don't hate Southwest anymore", USA Today, 2005-10-17.
Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ Trebor Banstetter. "Southwest Airlines CEO quits", Knight Ridder Newspapers,
2004-07-16. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20040716/ai_n11465633
^ http://www.swapa.org/
^ http://www.amfanatl.org/
^ Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The Boeing Next-Generation 737 Family".
Retrieved on 2006-06-10.
^ Fleet Age of Southwest Airlines. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
^ http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/JetBlue_Airways/information.php
^ Salt Lake City police. Police report. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
^ Elliott Hester. Airlines must fortify the cockpit. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
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ABX Air • Alaska Airlines • Aloha Airlines • American Airlines • Astar Air
Cargo • ATA Airlines • Atlas Air • Continental Airlines • Delta Air Lines
• Evergreen International Airlines • FedEx • Hawaiian Airlines • JetBlue
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United Airlines • UPS • US Airways
Associate Members: Aeroméxico • Air Canada • Air Jamaica • Mexicana
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 [show]Airlines of the United States
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