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Essay / Southwest Airlines Industry Opposition Analysis
Southwest Airlines was developed to satisfy a growing need for efficient local air transportation between major growing cities in Texas. Rollin W. King found a niche opportunity to grow a business to meet the needs of the combined population of Texas' four major cities, which data showed 4,856,000 residents. Additionally, a major airport hub was under construction as the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport, which would serve two cities. The airport was primarily controlled by Braniff International Airways and Texas International Airlines. These competitors have proven difficult to access a very competitive business for Southwest Airlines. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Braniff served an international market including major US cities, while TI focused on the local side of the market. These two companies were in conflict over logistical issues with combining ports for long and short flight aircraft, leading to resistance and legal issues for years to come. Braniff developed a poor reputation for punctuality and eventually became commonly known as the world's largest non-scheduled airline. This was not considered likely and although Braniff had an 86% share of air traffic in the region, there was certainly room for competition to make up for the mistakes of its dominant predecessor. In addition, a sorting system was put in place to stimulate more efficient use of the main airport hub that the three companies wanted to co-exist. Muse, a financial consultant, informed King of these shortcomings of his competitors and areas for improvement to run the business more efficiently. Southwest's turnaround began when King and Muse looked to the West Coast and explored new/used jets in high-pressure negotiations to find more capital to grow the company. The Boeing Company finally entered into a contract to sell four Boeing 737 jets for the price of $16.2 million. To meet the capital raising deadline, Southwest implemented intensive marketing and advertising to maximize profits and reserve every seat on every flight. They hired staff with good attitude and innovative contribution to the service process. Additionally, they created a fun atmosphere in the cabin of their Boeing 737 aircraft to standardize cleaning and maintenance. Their advertisements made statements such as "Finally, a $20 ticket that won't bother you" and "a fare to remember". These advertisements attracted a pool of enthusiastic customers to discover a reinvented airline. Southwest was known for rotating planes efficiently to maximize utilization and there were no assigned seats, so customers were also encouraged to be punctual. These two goals worked well together and their flights developed an effective reputation. Southwest also discovered the benefit of having frequent flight times and shorter routes, which allowed its Boeing 737s to have optimal flight time to pay for themselves. Southwest focused on less populated airports and encouraged carry-on bags to pursue its primary goal of efficiency. By providing only soft drinks and peanuts, their inventory and perishables were reduced, allowing for a more streamlined business model. In these.