2009 was a killer for the airline industry as it continued to reel from the one-two whammy of high fuel charges and increasing price sensitivity among its bread-and-butter business travelers.  Most carriers responded by passing on every conceivable cost to customers and then creating attendant annoying marketing programs  — my personal favorite being the opportunity to buy back your own frequent flier miles that were prematurely yanked away (gee, thanks anyway Delta).   Since Americans resent being overtly nickel-and-dimed to death, the brand perception of most major U.S. airlines took a huge hit. 

The bright spot in this sorry travel landscape was Southwest Airlines.   Isn’t it ironic that by simply sticking to their brand values, business strategies and operational policies while others changed around them, Southwest went from being the ‘bus-in-the-sky’ to feeling rather premium?   The one tweak they made to their seating procedure fixed the problem of having to come early and stand around unproductively, so business people choose the airline more often too. 

In the 2009 J.D. Power and Associates study of airline customer satisfaction, Southwest Airlines was the only company to demonstrate overall improvement from 2008. 

Warm and friendly – check.  Reasonable prices – check.  Treat you like they want your business – check.  Now if they only flew in to Chicago O’Hare instead of Midway. 

- Peggy Brown

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