1. Chapter 2 Case Study, Southwest Airlines, Question #1.You will need to specifically submit charts/graphs along with analysis/conclusions in an Excel format. include your data entry, your calculations, etc.

Southwest Airlines

One night over dinner early in 1967 in San Antonio, Rollin King presented his idea for a new airline to Herb Kelleher by drawing a triangle on a napkin and labeling the three corners as Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. King's idea was to offer reasonably priced nonstop service between the three cities; and as a result, Southwest Airlines was created. Out of this initial meeting, Southwest Airlines was incorporated in Texas on March 15, 1967. Commercial service commenced on June 18, 1971, with three Boeing 737 aircraft serving three Texas citiesHouston, Dallas, and San Antonio. Southwest Airlines grew rapidly; and in January of 1974, they carried their one-millionth customer. In the next couple of years, several new jets and destinations were added, including five new cities in 1977 alone. By mid-1988, Southwest had expanded its service to offer almost 900 flights each day across its route system covering 27 cities in 13 states; and by 1989, revenue had exceeded the billion-dollar mark. Southwest won its first Triple Crown Award, based on Department of Transportation statistics for the year 1992, ranking first in fewest customer complaints, best on-time performance, and best baggage handling.

In 1993, Southwest was named one of the top 10 best companies to work for in Americarecognized for job security, opportunities, youngest companies, strongly unionized, and where fun is a way of life. In 1994, Southwest became the first major airline to offer ticketless travel; and in 1996, it became the first major airline to post a website with the launch of their "Home Gate" site. In 1997, the airline ranked first on Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" list.

Southwest topped the monthly domestic originating passenger rankings for the first time in May 2003. In 2011, AirTran Airways became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines.

In 2013, Southwest launched the first Southwest service to a destination outside the 48 contiguous states with service to San Juan, Puerto Rico. In July 2014, Southwest began its first international flights to Nassau, Bahamas; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Aruba. Later in the year, Southwest continued its international launch with service to Mexico and the Dominican Republic. In 2015, Southwest's international service grew to seven countries with new service to San Jose, Costa Rica; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; and Belize City, Belize.

Presently in its 48th year of service, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary customer service delivered by more than 58,000 employees to more than 130 million revenue passengers annually. Southwest operates more than 4000 flights a day, serving 99 destinations across the United States and 10 additional countries. It is considered to be the world's largest low-cost airline. The mission of Southwest Airlines is "dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit."

The data shown below for the top seven U.S. airlines, including Southwest Airlines, represent three key variables in airline operations and financial success. Suppose you are a business analyst for Southwest Airlines and are asked to visualize these data for management so that they could better understand the airline industry and its place in it. In addition, management is searching for insights regarding possible relationships between the market cap, enplanements, and a number of destinations. Using the visual tools presented in this chapter and other visualization tools, compose a report to Southwest management on your findings.

Airline Market Cap ($ billions) U.S. Enplanements (millions) Number of Destinations 1. Delta 37.1 143.076 328 2. Southwest 25.8 151.740 97 3. American 25.3 144.191 163 4. United 21 100.119 375 5. Alaska 19 26.067 104 6. JetBlue 7 38.214 197 7. Spirit 3.4 23.813 57