Technology in the Sky

1
Technology in the Sky
southwest.com

• Iris Palacios

2
Its Beginning

• Southwest Airlines began in 1971and has now
  turned into a multi million dollar business
  becoming a member of the FORTUNE 500 and an
  Employer of Choice flying throughout 57 cities in
  29 states.

3
Establishing a Trend

• Southwest was the first airline to establish a
  home page on the Internet

southwest.com
4
Developing Success with the Aid of Technology

• Initially, five employees comprised Southwest's
  web site development team
• The site took about nine months to create
• Today there are more than 45 fulltime employees
  on the airline's marketing automation team, with
  about half of them working on the software
  development team

5
Attracting the Consumer

• More than 2.7 million people subscribe to
  Southwest's weekly Click 'N Save emails
• Click 'N Save provides notification of weekly
  specials found only on the web
• Double credit promotion lets you fly free after
  just 4 roundtrips by simply purchasing your
  travel at southwest.com

6
The Economic Impact
Southwest reported that approximately 30
percent, or 1.7 billion, of its passenger
revenue for 2000 was generated by online bookings
via southwest.com
7
The Savings
Southwest's cost per booking via the Internet is
about 1, and the cost per booking via a travel
agent is about 10. The cost per booking to
Southwest via the airline's reservations agents
lies somewhere in between.
8
Who Benefits from the Savings

• Stakeholders
• Increase number of consumers higher yields in
  returns
• Consumers
• Lower prices greater accessibility for trips
• Employees
• Job security due to increase profit generation
• Possibility of creation of new jobs due to growth

9
What Happens after our Nations Tragedy
While most airlines decide to do away with
Internet-only fare offers, Southwest Airlines
says role of web site remains critical during
National Crisis