Case | HBS Case Collection | 1994

Southwest Airlines: 1993 (Abridged Update)

Abstract

Southwest Airlines management is faced with increasing competition. It must decide which of several route extensions provide the appropriate competitive response while preserving the internal culture that has made the airline so successful.

Keywords: Air Transportation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Management Teams; Organizational Culture; Air Transportation Industry;

Language: English

Format: Print

4 pages

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Citation:

Heskett, James L. "Southwest Airlines: 1993 (Abridged Update)." Harvard Business School Case 395-025, August 1994.

This is the fourth in a 35-year series of HBS cases on an organization that has changed the rules of the game globally for an entire industry by offering both differentiated and low-price service. The focus of the case is on whether Southwest Airlines should buy gates and slots to initiate service to New York's LaGuardia airport, which does not fit the airline's profile for cost, ease of service, and other factors. The bigger issue is how the organization should deal with competition that has successfully emulated more and more of what it does in an operating environment that has changed significantly. Hence the subtitle, which was suggested by Herb Kelleher, Southwest's Chairman and CEO, Emeritus.

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