Southwest Airlines 2002 Annual Report Download - page 8

Southwest airlines co. 2002 annual report 7
Frequent Flights
We serve 59 airports with 375 aircraft and carried over 63 million Customers in 2002. That made us the fourth largest U.S. air carrier. We
offer lots of flights to the cities we serve and continued to increase them in 2002. That gives our Customers convenience and reliability with lots
of options to get where they want to go, when they want to get there. In fact, in markets we serve, we are usually the largest carrier in terms of
Customers carried and flights flown.
Strong Financials
Our industry is cyclical, energy intensive, labor intensive, and, finally, capital intensive. Operating costs are mostly fixed, and operations are
subject to weather conditions and federal oversight. In short, it’s a risky business. To “be prepared,” we maintain healthy cash reserves, low levels
of indebtedness, and ready access to more financing. We are the only U.S. airline whose credit is rated “investment grade” (“A” by Standard &
Poor’s and Fitch) by each of the three major rating agencies. At the end of 2002, we had $1.8 billion in cash on hand, or close to six months’
cash operating expenses; a fully available bank revolving credit facility of $575 million; unmortgaged assets of approximately $5 billion; and
debt to total capital of only 40 percent, including aircraft leases as debt. It’s no wonder Southwest was recently named as Global Finance’s “Best
Company” in North America in the Airline sector.
Legendary Customer Service
Southwest is a company of great People who genuinely care about our Company, our Customers, and the communities we serve. Despite the
stress and strain of instituting drastic changes in airport security and a disastrous airline economic environment, we intensified our focus on
Customer Service and our resolve to provide affordable air transportation. Our People came to work each day with their usual smiles and caring
hearts, prepared to do whatever was required to quickly adapt to the multitude of new and complex security measures and procedures, which were
mandated by the federal government throughout the year. Our Employees have wholeheartedly embraced numerous technological and other
security-driven changes, which were implemented to improve the overall Customer airport experience and our operational efficiency.
Although 2002 was one of the most challenging years in our history, our committed and insuperable Employees continued their 32-year
tradition of delivering incomparable Customer Service. For the 12th straight year, Southwest had the best Customer complaint record of any U.S.
airline. During 2002, Southwest was also recognized as the Best Low Cost Carrier, in Business Traveler’s Annual Best in Business Travel Reader
Survey, and Best Low Cost Airline in the 2002 Official Airline Guide. In addition, Southwest ranked first among airlines for Customer Service
satisfaction, according to a survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, as reported in The Wall Street Journal. Southwest was also again
named by FORTUNE as one of the most admired companies in America and the most admired airline in America.