Southwest Airlines
In 1971, all these hurdles had finally been overcome. It was on June 18 that Southwest Airlines began its operations with three Boeing 737-200 jets. The CAB had no authority to intervene because the route network included only the Texan destinations Dallas, Houston and San Antonio-and the board in Washington had no jurisdiction over routes within Texan airspace. Only after the deregulation of the late 1970s did Southwest Airlines begin to expand. Dallas airport Love Field became the young airline's home base. Even though it had already been decided that the airport was to close down, Southwest went all the way to the courts and finally won-meaning that flights within Texas, as well as to neighboring states, are still possible from Love Field. Its biggest plus-compared to mega airport Dallas-Fort Worth-is its location, much nearer to the city center of Dallas. In Houston too, Southwest decided in favor of the traditional airport near the city center called Hobby, which also meant it could keep its distance from Continental Airlines and its hub in Houston. Choosing airports near the city center is a decisive component in Southwest's concept, which focuses on fast and cheap transport. Herb Kelleher, later at the top of Southwest for years, said very early that passengers would hardly understand that they should spend more time in getting to the airport, checking in, checking out and driving downtown again than on the flight itself. The typical Southwest flight of about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) takes a maximum of an hour and twenty minutes. Southwest offers lots of direct connections from city to city, together with perfect connecting flights at its hubs with swift connections and all that within short distances from the city centers. Contrary to other big US airlines, Southwest does not have a central hub but several regional centers which actually reduces waiting on the ground considerably. A large hub would be against the entire philosophy of Southwest. While a classic hub and spoke system keeps jets at the gate for an average of 45 to 55 minues. Southwest manages sixty percent of its turnarounds in fifteen minutes.
Love Field inspired the airline's marketing strategy too, which has always aimed at keeping the company in the limelight. From its very first days, Southwest had gone all out to be a funny and absolutely incredible airline. Its main target group of the early 1970s was the male business traveler and attractive stewardesses, it was said could best lure them. Of course, the flight attendants wore the time's fashion-ultra short hot pants in shining orange, laced go-go girl boots and broad seventies-style belts enabling them to distribute "Love Bites" peanuts and cocktails with names like "Passion Punch" and "Love Potion" without batting an eyelid. There were large ads with slogans like"There is someone up there who love you", which contained the word "love" no less than eighteen times, showing that the airline was clearly made for people who wanted fun. Some gags even went further to give the passengers a laugh, the cabin crew hid on the hand luggage racks under the cabin ceiling or simply wore reindeer or Easter bunny costumes, according to the season. At the same time, in-flight service has always been something Southwest has cut down in order to keep fares as low as possible. The typical frugal in-flight meal consists of drinks, peanuts or cookies-and nothing else. Boarding passes and choice of seats do not exist and there is no luggage transfer available for connecting flights either.
A UNIFORM FLEET IS ECONOMIC
From the beginning, Southwest thought it best to operate a uniform Boeing 737 fleet to keep maintenance and training expenses to a minimum. This was, however far from easy with the first-generation Boeing 737s. From 1979 through 1981 and in 1983/84, Southwest leased Boeing 727-200s from Braniff and People Express, the Boeing 737-300 being the first type that catered for all of Southwest's needs. The airline went on to become the launching carrier for the -300,-500, and -700series and has remained the world's largest operator of the 737.
Air cargo was not neglected either. Southwest introduced a "rush cargo" system with a same-day delivery service, based on the same simple concept as its passenger business. As early as 1973, the airline was able to generate real profit-a sensational result in a business that takes for granted a ten-year period before profits cover the initial investment. Lamar Muse left the airlines in 1978 to found his own company called Muse Air . Vice president Herbert D. Kelleher took over the lead and kept Southwest heading the right way. His greatest achievement was to create an excellent atmosphere among employees, which is why Southwest has occupied top positions on lists of popular jobs for years. Kelleher was a master of intensive communication between management and employees, even though he never left any doubt that making money was the aim......
