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Zero Gravity Business - Southwest Airlines

Guest post by: Rebel Brown

Article Overview: While every other airline in the industry is in trouble, Southwest continues to grow and thrive. Why? Southwest ditched the status quo that brings Gravity to the airline industry. Here's how.

Zero Gravity Business - Southwest Airlines

Here's another example of a Zero Gravity business in action.

While every other airline in the industry is in trouble, Southwest continues to grow and thrive. Why? Southwest ditched the status quo. Southwest soars because they changed the game, avoiding much of the Gravity that’s currently tanking the airline industry.

Streamlined scheduling:Traditional airlines use scheduling approaches and fundamental rules of operation that have been in place forever - for example the hub and spoke scheduling pattern. The results are less- than-spectacular efficiency when it comes to plane utilization.

Southwest threw that model to the wind. Their scheduling model is based on innovative principles that eliminate any form of hub model. That evolution results in industry-leading efficiency and performance for themselves—and great on-time service for their customers.

Standardized equipment:Airlines create extra cost by having multiple types of aircraft to service different routes and loads. Think about all the spare parts and diverse skillsets you need when you have a fleet of different cars. Now apply that to the aircraft - and it gets really complicated and very expensive.

Southwest threw that status quo to the wind as well. They standardized on the same aircraft. The Boeing 737—in three sizes—comprises their entire fleet. Think about the savings and efficiency they gained from that common sense move.

Superb service:Passengers consistently love Southwest for their exceptional customer commitment. Their cheery attendants and drive for customer satisfaction set them apart in a big way - especially today with all the grumpy employees of other airlines. Their employees are happy and well treated and it shows on every flight.

But it goes beyond happy employees. Southwest listens and adapts! We all hated the cattle car runs for the gate; now we have orderly boarding. When everyone else started charging for pillows, blankets, peanuts and more, Southwest didn't their lead, and kept their fares comparable with almost everyone in the industry. We all benefit from Southwest’s determination to defy Gravity and maintain their business Velocity.

While other U.S. airlines are declaring bankruptcy and/or merging with each other to stave off total annihilation, Southwest posted a $294 million profit in 2008 (excluding one-time items). $400 million of additional profit generated by special programs was lost to escalating fuel prices.

Think about that. If fuel had remained in a reasonable price range, Southwest profits would have approached $700 million during 2008. As it is, they still made ~$300 million that year, while most other airlines were going out backward.

Now there’s a master of flight—pun absolutely intended!

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Article Tags: airline industry, efficiency, hub and spoke scheduling, passengers, plane utilization, southwest airlines, status quo, zero gravity



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