Southwest Airlines CEO: High Tech = Low Cost

By Baselinemag  |  Posted 2005-05-09 Email Print this article Print
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CEO Gary Kelly explains how the airline uses technology to turn planes around quickly and maintain its primary advantage: low costs. It must work, as Southwest is the only U.S. carrier to be profitable every year since 1972.

In an industry characterized by rising costs and threats of bankruptcy from major carriers, Southwest has matured and grown, making a profit for each of the past 33 years.

It's done that by keeping to the cost-efficient principles on which it was founded, and by never confusing "cost-efficient" with "cheap."

In this interview with Baseline Editor-in-Chief Tom Steinert-Threlkeld, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly talks about his eight months in the CEO's chair, his 19 years at the company and how expensive technology helps Southwest Airlines keep its costs so low.

  • Lead Story:

    Introduction: Flying Low with Southwest Airlines: How to make the dollars count.

  • First, eliminate waiting and make ticketing convenient for passengers.
  • Next, work closely with the CIO and apply the same tough analysis to IT as to operations.
  • Keep managers focused by doing weekly analyses. Know what you need to know and when you need to know it.




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