Strategic Planning

Charles Chitwood
JMC 4463
Southwest Airlines
Part 1 - Stakeholders
Passengers
Passengers are Southwest’s most important stakeholders because they affect Southwest
and they are affected by the airline. Airline passengers are Southwest’s primary consumer. They
affect the company by purchasing tickets and riding on the airline. If Southwest does something
the passengers do not like, they can affect the company greatly by no longer flying with
Southwest. Likewise, if the passenger enjoyed the flight, they will most likely continue to fly
Southwest. Passengers can be affected by Southwest in many ways. They can be affected by
flight delays or cancellations, by how rough or smooth the flight was, and by how easily they
received their checked bags. They affect Southwest just by how much they enjoyed the flight.
The passengers can make or break the airline depending on their opinion towards it.

Pilots
Pilots are probably the second-most important stakeholder for Southwest. The pilots are
the group making things happen for the airline. They affect the company doing their job and
flying the plane. They have to make sure the plane arrives on time, the plane ride is as
comfortable to the passengers as possible, and everyone is safe and calm. Every pilot is
responsible for the lives of everyone aboard the airplane. In the same way, pilots are responsible
for Southwest’s reputation and image every time they pilot a Southwest aircraft. Pilots are
affected by Southwest in the same ways passengers are. If Southwest cancels flights, it means the
pilot does not get to work and make money. Also, Southwest can terminate its relationship with a
pilot due to complaints or other grievances. This might not put the pilot completely out of work,
but their income would take a large hit.

Flight attendants
Flight attendants affect the airline by regulating how much passengers enjoy their time on
the airplane, which directly relates to the passengers likelihood of flying with Southwest again. If
a passenger has a problem or complaint mid-flight, it is up to the flight attendants to solve that
problem to the best of their ability. If the passenger’s problem was not fixed, it affects Southwest
far more than it affects the individual flight attendant. They also affect Southwest by making sure
passengers follow safety regulations. If the passenger does not comply, it affects that passenger
and the flight attendant, but it may have a larger effect on Southwest in the long-term. Flight
attendants are, to an extent, the most visible face of an airline. Meaning that the conduct of flight
attendants directly affects and influences people’s perception of Southwest as a whole. Southwest
affects flight attendants in the same way pilots are affected. Any cancellations or delays has
affects on that attendant’s livelihood and ability to make money. Southwest also affects flight
attendants by the types of passengers on a flight. Flight attendants must know how to
communicate with disabled people, people of all age ranges, and people of different cultures and
upbringings.

Manufacturers
Manufacturers are the first stakeholders who are affected by Southwest in much different
ways than the prior stakeholders. The manufacturers are being affected, during every
maintenance check, every time their planes are in use, and every time that equipment is faulty.
While not every problem with an airplane can be blamed on the manufacturer, most problems
with the body of the plane get blamed on them. If there is a problem, Southwest, or a regulatory
body, can ground a plane forever or until it is fixed, which also affects the manufacturer.
Manufacturers affect Southwest through the quality of their work. They must ensure that every
piece they produce is safe, up to code and on time. Safety must always be the manufacturers’ first
priority because their product holds the lives of many people. If their parts are inspected and
found not up to code this can be damaging the manufacturer and Southwest’s relationship.
Likewise, if the manufacturer consistently puts out quality, up-to-code products, Southwest is far
more likely to trust them with their business. Southwest is also more likely to trust a
manufacturer with their business if they fill orders on time consistently.

Owners
Owners of Southwest are directly affected by how the airline performs, by the airline’s
image and by how much passengers enjoyed their flight. They are affected by how many tickets
they sell, by the price of airplane tickets and by how many tickets competing airlines sold. The
owners are affected by how people perceive Southwest. If there are any problems on a flight, that
affects the owners. This includes any instance from lost luggage and crying babies, to unruly
passengers and structural problems with the plane. The owners are, in the same way, positively
affected by any good publicity that Southwest receives. Also, Southwest is affected by the
conduct of its owner. This is true on any given day, but it is especially true during any crisis
situation. Any crisis response given by the company or its leaders, whether good or bad, reflects
directly onto the owners of Southwest. While they are not the people who are writing and
communicating through the crisis, the owners are on top of the company so any feedback is
directed at them.
Part 2 - Publics
Selected Stakeholder Category - Passengers
To begin this section, I will make a list of some possible consequences this stakeholder
category may come across.
Possible Consequences
Passengers might miss their connecting flight due to their first flight being delayed. A
passenger would have a problem if the airline lost their luggage. A passenger may have a
problem with mask requirements on airplanes. This could be a problem for an anti-mask
passenger, or a problem for a different member of that flight. A passenger may have a problem if
there is a crying baby on the flight. A passenger may have a problem if the TSA takes something
from their luggage. This is in no way Southwest’s fault, but the passenger may direct his anger
toward the airline. Passengers may have a problem with the price of their ticket rising due to
hidden fees.
Next, I will take these possible problems and move them into a question format. This will
let me see which questions would be best to add to a questionnaire for this stakeholder category.
This questionnaire will help me assess which problems this stakeholder category finds most
important. This will also assist me in identifying different publics within this stakeholder
category, and it will help me determine whether those publics are active, aware, latent, or a
nonpublic.
Possible Questions
● Your flight was delayed and you will miss your connecting flight later this
evening.
● Your flight lands on time, but the airline lost the bag you checked.
● There is another passenger on your plane who is refusing to wear a mask in-flight.
● Your plane is beginning to take off when a baby begins crying and will not stop.
● TSA searches your carry-on bag and decides to confiscate your hairspray.
● Your plane ticket cost significantly more than you first thought due to hidden fees.
After listing these possible questions for the questionnaire, I had to make a decision about
which questions would help me identify active publics in the best way. To narrow down my
choices, I decided to choose the questions that were associated with bigger societal problems or
questions that would be more important to a passenger personally. I decided to immediately get
rid of the questions about a baby crying and TSA taking hairspray. While these are technically
problems, they are more like inconveniences and are not detrimental to passengers. I then
removed the question about losing luggage. This one was a real problem that could have very
adverse effects such as not having good clothes for a job interview. I removed this one because I
thought the three remaining questions would better help me identify the different publics. I like
the remaining three questions because I think I would get a wide range of responses. For
example, some people do not really care if their flight was delayed. Other people might care a
great deal, and getting to their destination on time is very important to them.
Questionnaire
This is a rough draft of the questionnaire I developed to help identify different types of
publics with the passenger stakeholder category. This questionnaire will also help me later in
discern activist groups who may identify with one or more of the questions.
Question 1
First, please consider how much you stop and think about each of these three problems.
Please let me know your feelings on how serious the particular problem is and whether or not
you think about it often, sometimes, rarely, or never. Please assign a 4 for often, a 3 for
sometimes, a 2 for rarely, and a 1 for never.

1. Your flight was delayed and you will miss your later connection. ______

2. There is another passenger on your flight who refuses to wear a mask. _____

3. Your plane ticket cost significantly more because of hidden fees. _____

Question 2
Now, would you please think about whether or not you could do anything personally that
would make a difference with how the particular problem is handled. If you wanted to do
something about the problem, would your efforts make a great deal of difference(4), some
difference(3), very little difference(2), or no difference(1).

1. Your flight was delayed and you will miss your later connection. ______

2. There is another passenger on your flight who refuses to wear a mask. _____

3. Your plane ticket cost significantly more because of hidden fees. _____

Question 3
Now, if you would please answer a third question about the same problems. For each
problem, please show me to what extent you see a connection with yourself, personally, and each
of these situations. You are connected to the problem if you believe the problem would affect you
or does currently affect you. Please tell me if your connection is strong(4), moderate(3), weak(2),
or if you see no connection(1).

1. Your flight was delayed and you will miss your later connection. ______
 2. There is another passenger on your flight who refuses to wear a mask. _____

3. Your plane ticket cost significantly more because of hidden fees. _____
Part 3 - Issues
I think all of the problems that were voiced in my questionnaire have very aware publics
associated with them, but I do not think that all of these problems have activist publics or even
need them to an extent. I can not think of anyone I know who likes when their flight is delayed.
As annoying and inconvenient as it is, most of the time you can not help your flight being
delayed. A flight might be delayed due to harmful weather conditions, restrictions from air traffic
control, or some kind of problem with the aircraft. The majority of the time, flights are delayed to
ensure the passengers have as safe a flight as possible. For these reasons, I would not identify an
activist public with the question about delays. In a similar way, I would not identify an activist
public with the question about hidden fees. As I stated earlier, some people simply do not care
about hidden fees. There definitely is an activist public against the payment of hidden fees. With
a quick Google search I was able to find a number of people who work to avoid those fees and
keep them away, but the amount of people who just live with the hidden fees outweighs the
activist public.
The activist public I chose to identify from my questionnaire was Covid-safe airline
passengers. This question has the largest societal implications seeing as we are still in the middle
of a pandemic. This public also has the largest ability to do something about the issue at hand.
This is because the problem with the airline is stemming from a larger societal problem, and the
activist public is living this problem everyday. This public can have a large effect on Southwest
Airlines. For example, if Southwest fails to keep Covid health and safety regulations, or do not
require the regulations, many in the activist public would likely move their business to a different
airline. Southwest can affect this activist public through keeping up with healthy travel
techniques. If the airline requires masks or vaccinations to be able to board the plane, Covid-safe
passengers will be more willing to fly with Southwest. Vice versa, the airline can alienate the
activist public by dropping all regulations related to Covid-19.
I think the best way to communicate with the public is through social media. If I was in
charge of communicating with Covid-safe airline passengers, I would post content related to the
regulations of the airline. I would also use the platform to provide clear steps for people who are
confused on what is needed to fly. Lastly, I would like to respond personally to individuals who
ask questions over social media about flying during the Covid-19 Pandemic. This will make the
airline seem more relational and it will make the communication with the public more
personable.