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It doesn’t add up!
Southwest Airlines is considered one of the more financially successful airlines in the United States, and they are the subject of numerous business case studies.
A recent article on Southwest’s strategy triggered an ‘aha’ moment for me as it explained why, while many airlines emulate what Southwest does, none have achieved the same financial success.
If we consider Southwest’s strategy, it appears typical of any low-cost carrier — cutting costs to maximize profitability. But there is a difference. Southwest’s strategy is not a focus on cost-cutting, but a focus on the quick turnaround of its planes.
With this as the organization’s strategic outcome, the strategy of every department and division in Southwest is focused on achieving this. From having a single aircraft type to increase passenger and crew familiarity to enhance speed of cleaning, and enplaning and deplaning; to using a modified numbered boarding procedure that saves an average of 10 mins. From being an early adopter of online self-service ticketing to speed up check-in time; to the type of employees Southwest hires. Everything is done with the singularly purpose of reducing turn-around time.
It is this core theory that drives everything Southwest does and it is their ‘secret sauce’…
