Southwest | International Aviation HQ

15Dec

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

History

How Rollin King Made Southwest Airlines Into The Giant it is Today!

Though overshadowed by his more famous friend and co-founder, Herb Kelleher, without Rollin King Southwest Airlines would've never come to be. After all, he's the one who had the idea to found it in the first place! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Early Life Rollin White King was born on April 10 1931 in Cleveland, Ohio as the only child born to Griffin and Elizabeth King. Growing up at the height of the Great Depression, a young Rollin watched as his parents struggled to make ends meet, instilling in him a drive to succeed through hard work. Attending Shaker Heights High School, the nearest high school to his family's home in the Shaker Heights suburb of Cleveland, Rollin excelled in all his studies, but particularly in English where h...

An in-Depth History of Southwest Airlines

15Sep

By Salomón Marco7 Comments

Airlines

An in-Depth History of Southwest Airlines

Whilst it's by far the youngest of the "Big Four" US airlines, the history of Southwest Airlines is no less interesting than that of United, or Delta or American Airlines. At least to a certain extent, it's actually more intriguing! Now the largest low-cost carrier in the world, Southwest has had to fight for almost everything it has today - be it actually getting off the ground in the beginning, operating outside of Texas or internationally - often having to sacrifice other parts of their business to do this. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Foundation The story of Southwest Airlines starts with two men: Herb Kelleher and Rollin King, who both had a dream to revolutionize air travel. Herb Kelleher Born into a poor, working-class ...

Herb Kelleher: The King of American Low-Cost Airlines

16Jun

By Salomón MarcoNo Comments

History

Herb Kelleher: The King of American Low-Cost Airlines

Today, Southwest Airlines is the undisputed king of American low-cost aviation. Yet without Herb Kelleher, Southwest as we know it today would've never been born. Imagine that! Having founded Southwest Airlines (then called Air Southwest Co) in 1967, Herb would be the driving force in getting the airline off the ground (no pun intended) and growing it into one of the "Big Four" airlines. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Early Life Herbert David "Herb" Kelleher would be born on March 12 1931 as the youngest of four children to Irish-American soup factory foreman, Harry Kelleher, and his wife, Ruth. Born in the township of Haddon Heights, just outside Camden, New Jersey, the Kelleher family would soon move to the neighboring Audubon, due to Ha...

Delta Express: How Delta Tried to Beat Southwest And Lost… The First Time.

8Aug

By Gareth SeagullNo Comments

Airlines

Delta Express: How Delta Tried to Beat Southwest And Lost… The First Time.

The rise of low cost airlines has devastated airlines like Delta. As such, Delta tried to beat Southwest at their own game, using Delta Express to do so. However, this failed, but why exactly did this happen? Many of the lessons that Delta learned from the failure of Delta Express allowed them to start Song Airlines, their second low cost airline. An airline that also failed too... (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Before Southwest Before Southwest was founded, Delta, as with many other legacy carriers, was one of the most profitable airlines. The Golden Age of Aviation led to Delta being extremely luxurious and quite profitable. Before and during WWII, Delta operated air mail flights as well as operating scheduled passenger flights, with the ...

Why is Southwest Airlines so Successful?

15Feb

By Christopher Harrow9 Comments

Airlines

Why is Southwest Airlines so Successful?

Low cost carriers are all the rage in Europe, with hundreds being created and going bankrupt each year. In America, however, this isn't so common. There are a few low cost carriers in the US, but by far the most successful is Southwest Airlines. What makes them so much more successful than the others? There are a number of factors that make Southwest so much more successful than other low cost carriers in the US. These range from simple tricks, to more in depth ways. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); History Southwest Airlines' origin livery. Photo courtesy of Bill Abbott via Flickr Southwest began under a different name- Air Southwest Co. founded by Herbert Kelleher and Rollin King in Texas in 1967. For its time, its business model as revoluti...

Will we see more budget airlines in Europe?

30Nov

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Airlines

Will we see more budget airlines in Europe?

For the past 10 years, we have seen an increase in low cost budget airlines in Europe, that have attempted to undercut the market of the established airlines. Many of these have attempted expand into long haul budget airlines, but many of these have failed. Despite this, their continent-oriented competitors have gone from strength to strength. But does this mean that we will see more of them in the future? I doubt this very much. It is unlikely that new budget airlines would be able to offer such low prices, as the current semi-established airlines do, and stay solvent at the same time. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Why do I believe that we have seen the end of new budget airlines in Europe? The short answer is: Money. Currently, the largest Europe...

What is the future of aviation? Aviation in 10 years…

16Nov

By Christopher Harrow2 Comments

Analysis

What is the future of aviation? Aviation in 10 years…

We have had aviation for over 100, since the Wright Brothers first flew in 1903, but what about the future of aviation? What can we expect of aviation in the next 10 years or so? The future of aviation can really be broken down into 5 key points: Environmental Speed Efficiency Size The death of the Hub and Spoke theory What is the future of aviation environmentally? Aviation has grown exponentially in the last 10 years, but the next 10 years will be the most significant for the industry. Aviation is currently the main focus of environmental activist groups. They believe that not enough is being done to curb the amount of CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere by our aircraft. This is something that they believe has to change now. They propose that regional ...

Why have low cost long-haul airlines gone under in the last 5 years?

2Nov

By Christopher Harrow2 Comments

Airlines

Why have low cost long-haul airlines gone under in the last 5 years?

Airlines going under isn’t a new thing, since the first airlines started, some airlines have gone under. But this phenomenon of low cost long-haul airlines going under has been exasperated in the past 5 years. So, why have low cost long-haul airlines gone under in the last 5 years? Most of the time, airlines have gone under due to poor management of finances, but the past 5 years have proven different. Whilst poor financial management may have been a factor, the main issue is sustainability. Most of the airlines that have gone under have been low cost long-haul airlines. These m are not usually your typical low cost airlines like Ryanair or EasyJet, but are usually low cost and long-haul airlines. Think along the lines of Wow Air, Thomas Cook and Primera Air- all of these had the same...

Morris Air: The Only Southwest Contender

14Sep

By Christopher HarrowNo Comments

Airlines

Morris Air: The Only Southwest Contender

Southwest is known for being the largest low cost airline in the US. However, at one point in time, Morris Air was a serious threat to Southwest. They were such a threat, that Southwest had to buy the airline! In Southwest's 50 years of flying, the only airline to threaten Southwest's success was Morris Air. In fact, many of the practices that has made Southwest so successful in recent years, actually started with Morris. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Pre-Formation In 1970, June Morris founded Morris Travel in Salt Lake City. Morris Travel soon became one of the largest travel agencies in all of Utah. By 1980, Morris Travel had become one of the largest travel agencies in the US. The success of Morris Travel (and the invention of the intern...