Southwest airlines project

Document Type:Research Paper

Subject Area:Marketing

Document 1

It looks at how unique this company is and what different strategies it has different to the competitors. The paper then describes the analysis of the products market by looking at the market, its demand, and how competitive the company is in the airline industry. It also focuses on the environmental forces that influence the operation of this company in the American market and the segmentation of this market. The forces are to determine how suitable the environment is for the company’s operations and the challenges it faces. The research then looks at the strategies for marketing this company regarding selecting the target market, the mixing of the product portfolio, and the strategy of product positioning. The organizational values are the core of management and include action, reliability, and informal communication and feedback.

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Other rival airlines have no developed job specialization like Air Southwest. An example of the job specialization is where the pilots assist in cleaning the aircraft to minimize the turnaround time. As at the end of 2016, the airline operated 737 aircraft, 723 Boeing and served a total of 101 destinations in 40 different states, Columbia district, Puerto Rico, and eight countries internationally. The company also offers ancillary services like unaccompanied minors and the transportation of pets. Southwest provide for their customers and employees with a caring attitude and concern (George et al. The airline's principal goal is to become a domestic airline that operates direct flights on the routes of short-haul with low price fares and a high frequency. The airline's strategy of operation focuses on six traits that are: limited number of passengers, meager prices for tickets, reliable departures that are frequent, high utilization of aircraft, highly productive gate crews and ground, and short-haul routes connecting the medium-sized cities and the secondary airports.

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The airline's vision is "to become the world's most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline. The airline has taken many measures to become user-friendly including charging low prices and connecting most major towns. Southwest Airline was established in 1967 and has been operational since then increasing its flights, employees, operations, and productivity. Before the introduction of airlines, passengers traveled through other modes of transport. The airline passengers before the opening of Southwest Airlines used other airlines that were not low-cost. The services of the southwest airline are in the growth phase f the life cycle (George et al. Southwest airline is known as a leader low-cost airline and an initiator in the industry. Terrorist activities threaten air travel and the cost of airline security is increasing.

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Fluctuations in the prices of fuels have reduced the company’s profitability (George et al. Market Analysis Market Definition Southeast Airline targets American citizens that need to fly within the borders to visit family and friends on the east coast. It also targets tourists aiming at flying that need to fly out of the secondary airports. The target market of Southwest Airline is the Americans in pursuit of low-cost flights with guaranteed safety and care-oriented services with convenience. The Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines were rated the best in providing customer satisfaction as traditional carriers while the Southwest Airlines was the top as low-cost carriers. The unique business model allows the company to get high returns on its capital. The company enjoys the advantage of being well positioned strategically and financially above its competitors in the market.

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Most of the upcoming business investors are interested in the price of the shock-term stock and volatility of the earnings as it is sufficient for long-term investors. The additional services by Southwest Airline like excellent customer service, fun flights, and Companion Pass attracts and maintains more passengers in the airline. The domestic operations of Southwest Airlines are influenced and controlled by bodies of the government particularly the Federation Aviation Administration. An example is the "Wright Amendment" in 1978 that prohibited this airline from flying non-stop and providing the through-plane service. The through-plane service would cater for aircraft to from Dallas Love Field to the other destinations in the seven cities it was permitted. There was another recent law that was passed repealing the reinstitution of the Wright Amendment from 2014.

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Most of the heavyweight airlines have instituted legal battles in the US courts against Southwest Airlines most of which this line has won having them all dismissed (Chen, 2016). Market Segmentation By operating a low-cost carrier, the company seeks to serve value and cost-conscious customers, business executives, and short distance travelers who prefer a low-cost fare. The above category forms the first segment of Southwest Airline while the second segment comprises value-conscious families in the US and senior citizens. The segmentation of this airline is extensive the airline's brand that appeals to the conscious travelers who have no problem with the philosophy of no-frills means the airline attracts many small enterprise owners, the young adults, families of the middle class, and the short distance travelers the airline is operated in a simplified manner to keep the charges low.

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The consumers are American passengers all over the US irrespective of their age, ethnicity, or gender. The unifying factor of all the consumers is their need to save by using the low-cost domestic flights. The above condition would mean that the company basing all their services on the low-cost no-frill technique might not cover all their potential customers. The airline company should synergize these low-cost flights with some comfort aspect like entertainment in the industry to avoid cannibalization in the market and maintain and increase a significant market share. They should accomplish the above by introducing different classes for different passengers depending on their specifications. This synergy of the services would reduce the dilemma and consumer confusion as they might prefer some level of comfort.

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The product positioning strategy by Southwest airline of Early Bird Check-in should be maintained as it makes their service stand out of the competitor services. It also has many flights and covers most routes which give it a competitive advantage (Czaplewski et al. Price A company has to choose a pricing strategy that gives it a competitive advantage. The Southwest Airline should use a competitive pricing strategy as it needs to compete favorably with the rival companies. The company has already had customer loyalty and need to charge much and user-friendly prices to maintain this customer loyalty. Competitors are devising new ways to lure consumers to their brand hence the need for the company to keep up with the competition. With more coverage, they can improve their sales maintaining the position of offering low costs and keeping their consumers while they fetch more.

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