Southwest Airlines Company Analysis

Introduction Southwest Airlines Company (SAC) has turn out to be a shining example not only in the airline industry, but in the business world as a whole. At the heart of the carrier, their vision and mission statements have been diligently working to turn a dream into reality by becoming the world’s most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline, as well as be dedicated to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit, respectfully (Investor Relations, 2015). As a Fortune 500 company, SAC employs over 49,000 personnel to provide first-rate service more than 100 million customers annually. They credit much of their success to its triple bottom line approach

Everything starts with their employees. According to SAC One Report (2016), the airline has provided in the neighborhood of $945 million toward employee retirement through 401(k) matching contributions and through shareholder profit-sharing related to 2015 results. What is more, they donated more than $19 million in goods and services and ticket donations to their employees through incentive programs (Conscious, 2015). Also, they create innovative programs to increase productivity, generate ideas to trim costs so we can keep fares low, and give back to our communities and the planet. In all honesty, I like to see that companies care, which would be one of focal points to seek employment with the SAC. They demonstrate the ability to implement employee-centered process improvement programs and equip their employees to deliver high-quality customer service that converts passengers into a loyal

The company has implemented several initiatives to remain true to their triple bottom line approach to take care of mother Earth. More specifically, the airline committed $175 million over a six-year period to retrofit its fleet with advanced avionics to support required navigational performance which is the cornerstone of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Traffic Control System (Carley, 2011). In the long run, emplacing this device will help pilots with flight paths that will reduce 1560,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and $25 million fuel costs (The Responsible Airline Report, n.d.). To further increase their efforts, last year the airline purchased 1.8 billion gallons of fuel with three million gallons made of low-carbon renewable jet fuel made using forest residues or remnants (DiBenedetto,