Airliner World – May 2018

88 AIRLINER WORLD JUNE 2018

W

ith a record annual

net income in 2017

of $3.5bn and a 166th

consecutive quarterly

dividend just paid to

shareholders at the end of March, the

milestone achievements of Southwest

Airlines continue to grow, seemingly

inexorably. It is, of course, recognised

as the originator of the classic low-cost

business model, which enabled it to

offer low fares. And still it outperforms

its competitors. But has the carrier

learned anything from others who have

added their own modifications to the

model? Chief operating officer (COO),

Mike van de Ven, considers the

question before providing some

People, Purpose and Performance

background to the model.

“When we started, we were totally

focused on offering everyday low fares,

which require everyday low costs,”

he begins. “We were also just laser-

focused on great service. Back in those

days, we used the word ‘love’ a lot. We

were at Love Field [its Dallas

headquarters], LUV was our ticker

Since its inception

Southwest Airlines has

almost exclusively operated

Boeing 737 aircraft (except

for a few leased 727-200s)

and today is the world's

largest operator of the type.

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