Southwest+History

In 1967 Air Southwest Co. is incorporated by a group of investors from Texas. At the time, the airline serviced only three Texas cities including Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Air Southwest Co. had a bumpy start as three competing airlines filed suit against them. The competing airlines attempted to prevent Air Southwest Co. from flying; however in December 1970 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Air Southwest. The company changed their name to Southwest Air and finally on June 18, 1971 began operations. In 1978 Herb Kelleher became the new chairman for Southwest and in 1981 was promoted to president and CEO. In between the promotion of Kelleher, Southwest Air broadens its flights to New Orleans. Once again the company expands its services beyond Texas and New Orleans on to the west coast. Southwest finally became a major airline when they exceeded the $1 billion revenue mark in 1989. Southwest decided to expand the company when they acquired both Morris Air and Arizona One in 1994. Two years later Southwest launches their first online booking site. In 2001 the airlines took a big hit due to the tragic happenings on September 11th. Southwest came back with earnings of $313 billion in 2004 which was a big success compared to other airlines. On June 19, 2001 Colleen Barrett became president and COO along with many other managerial changes. Over the years, Southwest received many awards including being considered Forbes magazine naming Southwest as the 7th World’s Most Admired Companies in 2009.

Works Cited "Southwest Airlines Co. -- Company History." //Find Funding with Banks, Investors, and Other Funding Sources | FundingUniverse//. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. [].

"Southwest Airlines Newsroom: By Date." //Southwest Airlines Newsroom: Welcome//. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. .