Solved: Analysis of Competitive Advantages for Southwest Airlines Itemize

Southwest Airlines (SW) has been able to distinguish theselves in terms of practices and staying different to create an unique identity for themselves.

The Competitive advantages are:

• Excellent Quality of Service
• And operational Efficiency
• Fuel Price Hedging

• Boarding Process re-engineering
• Aircraft savings
• Innovative Service of Ding!, that helps provide the best fares to the selected customer.
• Service Leadership and customer orientation for the long run.

So, SW has been doing a lot more as compared to other Airlines, and more so as compared to Low cost carriers.

They have tried to remove or diminish channel conflicts for the most loyal customers, provide great experience and gain customer loyalty through minor an incremental innovation.

These advantages are sustainable as they keep long term goal of customer satisfaction and build the trust through service leadership. Though at the same time if other players start imitating there are chances in a long duration they can imitate it.

So, these practices are not non imitable, but at the same time the customer loyalty which SW has will take time to replicate.

The sustainability can be made better through regular interaction, higher engagement and tracking competitor moves.

These advantages are durable and if competitor moves are watched and counter measures are taken carefully these are durable, but as the market is limited except for:

• Operational efficiency
• And culture, that is ingrained through the leadership that focuses on servant leadership.

On main way to avoid the imitability is by

Not allowing the company secrets out in public and keep building the culture.