Southwest Airlines

Question

Has never laid off or cut the salary of an employee going on 45 years.Now why wouldn&#x27;t other companies copy this business model?One answer is greed. What is your answer?

Midnight1 · Answer

Has never laid off or cut the salary of an employee going on 45 years.Now why wouldn&#x27;t other companies copy this business model?One answer is greed. What is your answer?

searchwarrant · Answer

They can&#x27;t afford to copy the model. If they do they&#x27;ll become prey just like most carriers that turn little or no profit. SW sits and waits for route takeover. My dad financed Sw first and 2nd fleet of airplanes. Called it the most impressive business model he&#x27;s ever seen.

GimmeMoneyNow · Answer

My answer:Ugly stewards/stewardesses that probably make minimum wage &#x2B; free flight miles, Pilots that graduated with a D&#x2B;, and I&#x27;m sure, the bottom-basement of mechanics. Think the grown up Rusty&#x27;s job (Ed Helms) from the new National Lampoon&#x27;s Vacation movie. They&#x27;re the  "Wal-Mart" of airlines.....

vetdrm · Answer

Also has the best deals going.

wallstreetcappers · Answer

Low beta airlines...they lock in future fuel contracts VERY long term and do not roll the dice like the other carriers.

In one way when times are good (low fuel cost, higher demand) they underperform due to this approach but in the reverse (higher fuel costs, lower demand) they can survive...unlike many of the others who have gone under several times due to leverage and not locking in futures contracts.

THEMUGG · Answer

SW is crap unless you&#x27;re flying alone. I see the advertised $99 sales but they&#x27;re never available when you look. I get better fares on Alaska with better service.

cave0707 · Answer

What wallstreets says ... also ... they only fly the 737&#x27;s ... flying only one type of aircraft cuts down on costs drastically.  Only have to keep inventory parts of one type of aircraft ... operational simplicity ... aircraft interchangeability ... list goes on and on.

mainman11111 · Answer

not shocked that no one mention that this airline purchased a sh~t ton of oil barrels at 15-20 a barrel back in the day.they got the pipeline down for sure.

searchwarrant · Answer

[Quote: Originally Posted by THEMUGG] SW is crap unless you're flying alone. I see the advertised $99 sales but they're never available when you look. I get better fares on Alaska with better service.
[/Quote

wallstreetcappers · Answer

I think you missed my post #6, you are mistaken in saying they bought oil barrels, of course they do not purchase oil barrels as you suggest.They purchase futures contracts which entitle them to buy the fuel (not oil) from a refiner per agreements they have established.

Kurshka · Answer

I think they are great. Been taking flights from San Diego to Sacramento for over 25 years.Mids

bettingforfun · Answer

Wall and Cave have both hit the nail on the head. Futures and one kind of airplane.  They are the In n Out of the airline industry.

1129ken · Answer

There are times you just don&#x27;t have a choice. You buy the slice of pizza at Target.

Killer_B · Answer

Agree the "come on" $99 or $59 fares are complete b.s.

SW gets you there and back and 2 bags go free, definitely no frills.

Love In N Out, and it's a good comparison, limited menu v. one plane type, no meals, no first-class...

cave0707 · Answer

I just need to get from point A to point B ... and I don&#x27;t wanna get on some ghetto Greyhound bus cause it&#x27;s disgusting and too far.  Southwest it is.

mainman11111 · Answer

just wait till the raiders move to las vegas. southwest all those fans every other weekend ( los angeles or oakland to las vegas )just lobbying.

Midnight1 · Answer

40 consecutive years of profitability in an industry that has seen companies come/go/merge is outstanding. They get you on & off their planes quickly & in some cases with your baggage waiting for you when at the baggage area.

They have a culture like no other in the industry & I compare their employees to those at Costco who have one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the retail industry. Costco is another "no frills" company that actually takes a loss on their rotisserie chicken & $1.50 hotdog/soda combo to maintain customer loyalty.

The management of these 2 companies have provided stability & consistency. So why do so few other companies follow their lead?

Kursh...will be hammering Gulfstream soon.

nature1970 · Answer

Absolutely detest flying. The flight is fine, but getting through tsa in logan  SUCKS.... I liked amtrack  but a sleeper is as much as first class tickets from Chicago to Vegas don&#x27;t really mind the short bus ride at the end.... so it&#x27;s by car for me. Last time I was in loan it took nearly three hours to board spirit airlines the flight was 45 minutes .... TSA should stand for totally screwing airline companies, cause the initial displeasure sticks with someone .

Southwest Airlines

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