http://www.airlinerworld.com 89Southwest Airlines sets the gold
standard for low-fare carriers and
enjoys continuing growth and
healthy profit margins. Company
chief operating officer, Mike van de
Ven, tells Bernie Baldwin how a staff-
centred strategy is behind its success.People, Purpose and Performance
symbol (stock exchange symbol), we
had advertising that said: ‘Someone
else up there loves you’. As other air-
lines have come through and tweaked
that model, I’m not sure that anyone
has equalled us yet.”
“We argue all the time if one is more
important than the other [low fares and
service]. And we always conclude that,no, the genius is in the ‘and’. We need
the low fare AND the great service.
We’ve stayed true to our roots over 47
years on that.”
He also believes there are still major
differentiating factors which separate
Southwest and still makes it the bench-
mark operation today. “I do feel that
Southwest really is in a category bySouthwest Airlines sets the gold
standard for low-fare carriers and
enjoys continuing growth and
healthy profit margins. Company
chief operating officer, Mike van de
how a staff-
centred strategy is behind its success.A passenger pats the
Southwest Airlines’ heart
logo on the aircraft’s fuse-
lage as he boards the car-
rier’s inaugural commercial
service using its new Boeing
737 MAX 8.
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