Southwest Airlines Co.: Marketing Responses to Airline Deregulation

The proposed thesis focuses on the current issues surrounding the travel industry today, more specifically, airline deregulation. An analysis will be made of the industry, both before and after deregulation. This paper will begin with a detailed study of the deregulation process, which set the groundwork for the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. It is important that the integrity and quality of the airline industry, be maintained by continually offering competitive airfares, new markets, safe aircraft and convenient, uncongested terminals. Each of these areas must be addressed to maintain growth and profits for the airline industry. Southwest Airlines has been very successful and profitable in its eighteen-year existence. The company appears to have adjusted to deregulation quite well. Throughout the turbulent transitionary period (1978-88), Southwest Airlines continually outperformed most of its competitors. This paper will analyze the key marketing strategies and policies of Southwest Airlines and determine the basic framework from, which they operate. The factors which contributed to Southwest Airlines\u27 ability to adapt to a deregulated environment will also be analyzed. How the airline industry adjusted to a deregulated market will also be examined, and specifically, how one relatively small airline, Southwest Airlines, has, thus far, successfully met the marketing challenges of this dynamic and competitive market