Trans World Airlines, Inc. (TWA) was chartered in the state of Delaware in 1978, and is the successor to the business of its predecessor corporation, Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc., originally formed in 1934. TWA, though, did not become a public company until November of 1983. In the early years, TWA was at the forefront of the airline industry. On April 17, 1944, TWA made a record flight from Burbank to Washington in 6 hours and 57 minutes. On January 30, 1947, TWA introduced the first transatlantic all-cargo service, which was the first all-cargo service ever operated over the North Atlantic. In 1961, TWA was the first airline to institute in-flight motion pictures. The automated Doppler radar system was introduced by TWA on its transatlantic flight from New York to London on October 1, 1962, which was the first transatlantic flight to ever operate without a professional navigator. In 1967, TWA became the first airline to only use jet planes, and in 1970, TWA was the first airline to introduce Boeing 747 service inside the United States. TWA was also the first airline to offer non-smoking sections aboard every aircraft in its fleet. After being one of the main innovators in the airline industry, TWA found itself in financial trouble, in 1991, and began its downward spiral to where it is today.
In July 1991, TWA found itself short on cash. In order to obtain extra cash, TWA transferred New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago-London route authorities to American Airlines for $445 million. This did not help TWA's financial problems, though, and in January of 1992, TWA filed a petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Cod...
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...bsp;TWA has a strong hub in St. Louis and a competitive advantage in the business travel market. If it expands its services in St. Louis to help facilitate more business travel, TWA could raise its revenue and cut its debt. TWA is also capable of finding outside investors to finance its debt. It can issue more stock and use the proceeds to pay off the debt. If TWA works hard in the next couple of years, it will be able to pull itself out of debt and show profits for the first time since 1995. TWA has little margin for error to correct its current position. Management needs to carefully predict, assess, and implement its options quickly and efficiently. TWA has the potential to be a great company. It was a leader in the airline industry in the first half of this century and could continue that legacy into the new century.
To a certain extent I can agree to the Supreme Courts rule in who gets custody of the children. The mother of the two children did give them up without thinking of the consequences of her actions. The ICWA however has helped many people in their cases and selected rulings. Although we cannot reverse the past, there is still ways we can incorporate our support in correcting the way the system works.
The Airline Industry is a fascinating market. It has been one of the few industries to reach astounding milestones. For example, over 200 airlines have gone out of business since deregulation occurred in 1978. Currently, more than 50% of the airlines in the industry are operating under Chapter 11 regulations. Since 9/11, four of the six large carriers have filed for and are currently under bankruptcy court protection. Since 9/11 the industry has lost over $30 billion dollars, and this loss continues to increase. Despite the fact that the airline industry is in a state of despair, JetBlue has become the golden example, a glimpse of what the industry could be.
In a 1944 magazine article, Eleanor Roosevelt claimed that American “women are serving actively in many ways in this war [World War II], and they are doing a grand job on both the fighting front and the home front.”1 While many women did indeed join the workforce in the 1940s, the extent and effects of their involvement were as contested during that time as they are today. Eleanor Roosevelt was correct, however, in her evaluation of the women who served on the fighting front. Although small in number due to inadequate recruitment, the women who left behind their homes and loved ones in order to enlist in the newly established Women’s Auxiliary Army Corp (WAAC), and later the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), were deemed invaluable to the war effort.
The seventh largest major domestic airline in the United States (US), Southwest Airlines, is commonly known or referred to as a low-cost carrier. Southwest Airlines is the only major airline that provides short-haul, point-to-point service in the United States. In fact it was the first airline of its type ever started; it has become the archetypical low-cost airline. The idea has proven itself so well, that other start-up airlines have based their company strategies upon the basics of Southwest. Today, there are two other low-cost air carriers (the other two airlines are considered national airlines and not major airlines) that are actively and aggressively competing with Southwest Airlines for business and profit turning. The three American low-cost air carriers are currently posting profits even in light of the US economy’s current state of affairs, with Southwest Airlines first, JetBlue second, and Air Tran third, in profits. How is this possible when the major six airlines are reporting losses of millions and millions of dollars each quarter? The answer to this question begins about 30 years ago.
In 2008 the public found out about Southwest missing required safety inspections, while still flying planes that needed to be inspected (Thompson, et al., 2012). CEO Gary Kelly was quick to publicly apologize for both incidents and reaffirmed the company’s obligation to safety. Looking at comparative statistics in 2010, denied boarding’s due to oversold flights have went up from 1.42 in 2009 to 2.59 in 2010, which puts them at the 3rd worst in the industry (Thompson, et al., 2012). This is also 3.5 times higher than it was in 2005. If maintaining customer satisfaction is their top priority, this needs to be tackled. Another weakness reported in a Southwest SWOT analysis includes contractual obligations which were $2,510 million in FY2014, compared to $1,208 million in FY2010 (Liu, 2012). Even with these statistics, there is still plenty of room for opportunity with the recovery of the U.S. airline industry, recovery of tourism, acquisition of Air Tran, expansion into the International market and improved customer satisfaction (Liu, 2012).
This comparison between American Airlines (AA) and US Airways (AWE) starts from the year ending report in 2008 after AWE finally completed embedding America West into their operations in October, a process begun in 2005. Neither has taken part in any mergers or takeovers since then and, despite AWE briefly flirting with the idea of taking over United Airlines in 2008, merger and acquisition plans for both had been subordinate to recovering from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
Southwest Airlines: A Case Analysis. ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS It is evident that the greatest strength Southwest Airlines has is its financial stability. As known in the US airline industry, Southwest is one of those airlines who are consistently earning profits despite the problems the industry is facing. With such stability, the corporation is able to make decisions and adjust policies, which other heavily burdened airlines may not be able to imitate.
Twenty-two consecutive years of profitable operations which is unmatched in the US airline industry.
Southwest Airlines business opened for operations in 1971, after Rollin King and Herb Kelleher raised enough capital to finance their plan. Their service model broke off from the typical large airline policies and procedures. The typical model had an airline that was “home based” from a hub and ran routes to and from that location. This model added cost that Southwest wanted to avoid, causing them to implement point-to-point flights. The leadership team also made decisions to eliminate the inflight meal options to reduce overhead costs. Customer service and the overall experience of their customers became the valued operating vision and mission for Southwest. Eventually utilizing technology for online booking to the fullest potential saved precious time and gained efficiencies. Though the company started strong and grew slowly, several elements affected the long-term success of the company. Some of the factors that caused Southwest to reevaluate organic growth processes included not operating out of key United States hubs, the rise in fuel costs, and troubled contract negotiations.
Southwest Airlines strategy of focusing on short haul passenger and providing rates as low as one third of their competitors, they have seen tremendous growth in the last decade. Market share for top city pairs on Southwest's schedule has reached 80% to 85%. Maintaining the largest fleet of 737's in the world and utilizing point-to-point versus the hub-and-spoke method of connection philosophy allowed Southwest to provide their service to more people at a lower cost. By putting the employee first, Southwest has found the key to success in the airline business. A happy worker is a more productive one as well as a better service provider. Southwest will continue to reserve their growth in the future by entering select markets only after careful market research.
It has stayed relevant to the market through its propelled philosophy of relationships to generate profits in the business. Since its establishment in Monroe, Louisiana the once tiny airline has stretched to greater heights serving in 6 continents. It has also established a distinguishable name among its competitors with a reputation of leading customer services. However, even as an established venture, the company needs to maximize its profits in order to stay in business and expand in to new territories beyond its conquered boundaries. A strategic analysis was carried out by our team to establish the company’s current situation. A SWOT analysis was performed to come up with three referenced, strategic alternatives. This alternatives are meant to act as a strategic guidance to the company in order to enhance growth. The strategic recommendation provided will improve and enable the business to cope with the competitors while the implementation of the strategy section will outline the way to go about achieving these alternatives in the business setting. Lastly, we put up a discussion on the evaluation procedures and necessary controls for the
The airline industry has become more and more competitive over the years. It takes determination, preparation, knowledge, and recourses to start an airline company, and that is just what happened forty-five years ago in Dallas Texas. Southwest Airline is a very successful airline company serving around 100 million customers annually (Southwest Corporate Fact Sheet). Many things stick out about Southwest such as their satellite-based WIFI and free luggage. These accommodations appeal to the customers. The company describes its mission as “dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit” (About Southwest). From a customer standpoint, there is nothing else
There are few things that are impressive about Southwest Airlines first one is how they treat the employees. For Southwest Airlines employees are first and customers are second. If the employees are treated well that will bring in happy customers. Next is that Southwest is not only with their low prices but is able to create a competitive advantage by offering a fun and humorous experience when flying. Finally another impressive fact is when Herb Kelleher’s retire from CEO position yet remained a Southwest employee till July 2014. Even after the retirement he was still active with the Southwest Airlines that reflected his enthusiasm and dedication for the
United Airlines and Continental Airlines have a very interesting, rich, and almost ironic history. Varney Airlines and air mail service was started by Walter Varney in the early 1920’s and became the United States of America’s first fully functioning airline. During the early 1930s, Varney Airlines began to operate in El Paso Texas, with only six employees made up of only two pilots. After Varney moved its headquarters several times it finally came to rest in Denver in 1937. According to the Texas State Historical Association, “Robert F. Six became president in 1938 and held the position for more than 20 years” (Odintz). This made him one of the longest serving presidents in the company’s...
The company that we are auditing is a regional convenient store chain called Wawa. Many local people think that the store is a cash cow that cannot do anything to hurt its profits or market share. The truth is, the company is large and successful but it is not invincible and for many reasons. The company is privately traded, meaning it cannot issue common stock to help itself get out of hard times financially. Wawa is local with stores in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Although Wawa has a good reputation with local people, out of town people are not as aware. Fortunately, Wawa distributes products that are inelastic in nature. Gasoline, food, and tobacco products for most people, no matter what the condition of the economy is or how much money they cost, they will still buy them.