Southwest, founded by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher, began as a small Texan airline almost 35 years ago and has grown to become one of the largest airlines in America. It was created on the following premise: “If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time, at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline!” (www.southwest.com)
Today Southwest Airlines flies more than 70 million passengers a year to 60 great cities all across the country, and they do it more than 3,000 times a day. They have 436 of the newest jets in the nation, with each plane being an average age of 9 years. (www.southwest.com)
Southwest’s combination of low fares, outstanding customer service, and strong leadership have helped the airline remain profitable even in the midst of tragedies like the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.