Southwest Airlines 2000 Annual Report Download - page 11

The Southwest team understands you can’t just have low
fares to be a winner in the airline industry. You must provide
excellent Customer Service and offer what is important to the
Customer. In 2000, Southwest led the industry in Customer
Satisfaction for the tenth straight year, according to complaint
statistics accumulated and published by the U.S. Department
of Transportation. In today’s environment where the airline
industry is faced with tremendous increased
scrutiny by the traveling public, the media, and
the U.S. government, we are particularly
pleased with our #1 ranking.
The reasons for our high satisfaction rating are
numerous. We charge low fares with few restrictions
and offer a generous frequent flyer program. We also offer
frequent flights to lots of places. Our all-jet fleet of Boeing
737s is one of the youngest in the world and is clean, safe,
quiet, and comfortable.
Our Customers also benefit from our unique operating
strategy, which keeps total trip time, both on the ground and
in the air, to a minimum. We serve convenient airports,
schedule on a point-to-point basis, and provide quick, simple
ticketing, boarding, and seating procedures, which combine to
expedite all aspects of our Customer’s trip. Southwest
consistently leads the industry in reliability, once again
canceling the fewest number of flights among the major
airlines. Our state-of-the-art flight dispatch system also allows
us to safely minimize weather and operational delays.
Most importantly, our Customers enjoy flying Southwest
because they are treated like guests. From the moment you
book a Southwest flight until you arrive at your final
destination, our team provides caring, friendly Customer
Service, delivered with our own unique Southwest brand of
fun.
The combination of our low fares and high Customer
Satisfaction produced a winning season with an all-time high
annual load factor of 70.5 percent in 2000. As we celebrate
our 30th season, Southwest has renewed its focus on
Customer Service, as we adjust our operations to more
efficiently accommodate higher load factor levels and
increased air traffic control and ground congestion.
Our team is diligently reviewing our operations and
flight schedule to identify opportunities for Customer
Service improvements, particularly in ontime performance
and baggage handling. Our recent decision to discontinue
flight operations at San Francisco International Airport on
March 5, 2001, is an example of steps we are taking to
enhance Customer Service in these critical areas. We
continue to serve the Bay area, however, at Oakland
and San Jose airports. Although this was a difficult
decision, it demonstrates our commitment to
Customer Service excellence and underscores
the enormous flexibility we have with our
operations.
It is this type of unwavering commitment and
dedication to high-quality Customer Service that once
again earned Southwest top ranking in the National
Airline Quality Rating study, conducted annually by the
W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State
University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha
Aviation Institute. Southwest was also cited for having
one of the best national reputations by a consumer
survey conducted by Harris Interactive Inc. and the
Reputation Institute, as published in The Wall Street
Journal. Southwest was the only airline to make the list.
In addition, Southwest was named best low-fare air
carrier in the Business Travel Awards by Entrepreneur
magazine and was recognized for excellence in Customer
Relationship Management in CIO magazine’s “CIO 100
List.”
Armando Arellano, Customer Relations, Senior Telephone
Representative
Colleen Barrett, Executive Vice President — Customers
Tammye Walker-Jones, Director, Flight Attendants