Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines Case Study Essay

Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines Case Study Southwest Airlines prided themselves on their commitment to customer service and equality by offering a streamlined business model with an emphasis on simplicity and efficiency that has remained the same for the most part since the airlines’ inception in 1967. At the time of the case study, Southwest had been profitable for the past 28 years, an achievement many airlines are incapable of boasting due to the volatility of the airline industry. One of the unique policies that Southwest employs is their ‘single-class service,’ where seats are not assigned, and those who check in first board the plane first and have their pick of available seating. In order to improve and maintain†¦show more content†¦In addition, if one flew over 50 round-trips or 100 single-way trips one could receive a Rapid Rewards Companion Pass, which allowed members to designate one person to travel with the Rewards Member free for one yea r. However, beyond the generous aforementioned offerings, Southwest refused to give anyone pre-boarding privileges or seating regardless of preferential status. In recent years, this had become a bone of contention among frequent fliers, who felt as though their continued patronage deserves some kind of pre-boarding or preferential seating privileges. Southwest’s current strategy involved customers being willing to sacrifice the amenities and privileges offered by the more premium and expensive airlines in order to receive a cheaper fare, quicker gate turn-around, fewer cancellations, and a higher safety record. If Southwest were to change their egalitarian policies and values and offer frequent fliers low-numbered boarding cards, it would help keep their current frequent flier customers in addition to potentially attracting new ones who were initially turned off by their lack of pre-boarding preferential treatment. However, it would create a cognitive dissonance between the firms’ core values and their practices. Southwest offered two types of fares; an unrestricted, generally available option which was fully refundable and allowed for changes to travelShow MoreRelatedName at Least Two Things That Southwest Is Doing Efficiently1486 Words   |  6 PagesPlane Smart Harvard Business School – Case Study Summary Abhishek Mehra Balaji P Saruabh Ranadive Sarang Bhutada * 2. 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