This airline was founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King, and it is a low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. It started giving its services from just three planes, and sooner it became the top low-cost airline company.
It has a total of 121 destinations in the US and Central America. 162.7 million passengers traveled through this flight in 2019, and $22.42 billion in revenue was generated.
It is working on the hub strategy; thus, the company can schedule flights back to the different destinations during peak hours. It is working in 40 states and has 107 airports.
Currently, 60,000 employees are working in it, and it will hire 8000 more employees in 2022. New destinations like Hawaii, Mexico, Colorado, California, and Miami were also included.
Although it has such striking features, many competitors try hard to beat it. For example, Southwest faces stiff competition from Delta, United, American, Spirit, JetBlue.
Let us discuss all of them one by one
1. Delta Air Lines
It is the topmost airline globally, working in more than 50 countries. In short, its network is spread across 6 continents.
The company has 750 airlines, and best of all, these flights are budget-friendly. Moreover, delta airlines generate a large amount of revenue each year as they have 5400 flights scheduled every day
Besides, delta has more destinations than southwest, and before 2020, it served 200 million passengers and was generating twice the revenue as delta.
However, delta faced a staff shortage in 2021, due to which they canceled 157 slides for Christmas eve. Moreover, it is also part of SkyTeam, largest airline alliance. These are the characteristics due to which delta is considered the biggest competitor of the sky wheel.
2. American Airlines
Wholly owned regional carriers and mainline fleet are leading American airlines in the US. It also includes envoy Aviation, PSA Airlines, and Piedmont Airlines.
It is the largest company in the US, and currently, almost 133,000 employees are working in it. The company generated total revenue of $45.76 billion revenue. However, there was a decrease in revenue due to COVID, and it lost almost $17.33 billion.
Furthermore, the company faced many technical issues in 2021, due to which they had to cancel their flights. However, both southwest and American airlines target upper middle class and frequent business travelers.
The most significant competitive advantage of American airline is its advantage customer loyalty program.
There is an offer of 5 mileage credits for every dollar you spend, which attracts frequent fliers very much.
On revenue per passenger per mile, American Airlines is beating Southwest Airlines. Moreover, it is counted as the founding member of the OneWorld alliance, due to which there is much increase in its competitive edge over the southwest.
3. United Airlines Holdings
It is the best airline for people who belong to the upper-middle class, VIPs, and often business travelers as it provides top-tier services to them. It is also one of the most famous airlines in theUnited States.
Currently, 93,000 employees are working in it, and it is giving its services in 154 countries. Moreover, it has 812 aircraft. In 2020, United’s revenue declined from $43 billion in 2019 to $15.35 billion and made a loss of $7 billion.
Moreover, it has a robust market presence in the US. In addition, it flies across six continents, including North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.
United airline holding is a star alliance member; currently, it has 1000 airports. In 2020 it carried almost 57.8 million passengers to their places. Similarly, 162.4 million people used this airline for traveling to their required places in 2019.
However, 325 flights scheduled for Christmas were canceled. MileagePlus and United Club keep the frequent fliers stuck to this flight. Moreover, the united program plays the leading role in poaching customers from the southwest.
4. JetBlue Airways
It is the 7th largest airline in North America and the top 4 competitors of southwest airlines. Currently, 22,000 employees are working in it, and it has mimicked the low-cost flight rate of Jetblue airway for traveling across North America.
The company faced a significant staff issue, and almost 200 flights were canceled for Christmas. Then, the company took all possible staff to overcome the staffing deficiency and flight cancellation. As a result, the total revenue generated by JetBlue airways in 2020 was $8 billion.
In step 2021, the airline company was given the title of no.1 domestic airline Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards. Moreover, the company has won this award for consecutive 3 years.
The award was given to this flight after rating their in-cabin comfort, in-flight service, customer service, and value. It has more than 1000 flights scheduled daily.
Due to its unique features, management and comfort, it is considered a competitor of southwest airlines. So if due to some reason, you cannot travel through the southwest, there is no need to worry. You have the alternative of JetBlue airways.
5. Spirit Airlines
It has daily 500 scheduled flights, and it is one of the American low-cost carriers, thus economical for everyone. In addition, it has almost 60 destinations across the US, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
In 2020 the total revenue generated was $1.8 billion, and in 2019 it generated a 3.8 billion revenue, which is a good amount. Southwest and Spirit Airlines have been grappling with spikes in bookings.
This company canceled more than 28,000 flights in July and August 2021, and its primary reason was staff deficiency and technical problems.
According to spiritual airlines, disruption affected thousands of customers and was worth $50 million in revenue. Thus, it is the best flight company in North America and the best substitute in the southwest.
So if you are also going to travel from North America, you must avail this golden opportunity of saving money by traveling through economical flight.
6. WestJet Airlines
It is a Canadian airline and the top rival of the southwest airline. This company started giving its services in Canada in 1996, and it aimed to become a cheaper alternative to Southwest Airlines.
11,957 employees are working in this company, and the annual generated by it in 2020 was $3.8 billion. 1996-2004 was its era of success in the domestic market, and soon, it copied the domestic success in the US.
Mexico and the Caribbean were added to its network in 2007. Moreover, by 2012 it could fly in more than 100 countries. In short, its fame is increasing at a very high speed in North America, and many people have started using it instead of the southwest to save their money.
7. Alaska Airlines
If we classify airlines based on their fleet size and passengers, Alaska Airlines is number 5 in the US. It has 20 different destinations in the state. It generated $3.75 in revenue in 2020 and $8.78 billion in 2019.
The main thing that benefits Alaska from the southwest is its customer service. Moreover, it has many awards due to its excellent services and
Belize City was added to Central American destinations in November 2201 by Alaska Airlines. It canceled just a few flights in 2021 as compared to the southwest.
If you are an upper-middle-class traveler, Alaska is the best airline for you.
