Presented by: NATHANAEL SURYA PRAWIRO QURRATU AYUN AMRAN RAMZI RINALDHI VANIA PRASTICA P

Southwest Airlines was the pioneer of low cost carriers that originated from Love Field, Dallas Texas at 1974.
What kept it low cost:
Flew a single type aircraft Flew point-to-point routes. One employee is capable of doing multiple jobs.

What made Southwest interesting is the rapid reward system.

 Problem 1: Southwest Airlines had a service system that was not flexible and therefore did not cater to the needs of its customers Problem 2: Southwest Airlines did not periodically change its product/service development to follow the markets growth and change.
Problem 3: Southwest Airlines is weak in maintaining the core competency that it has.

 Certain customers demand preferred service due to how much money they have contributed to the company.
If we relate it to the Service Package (Chase & Jacobs, 2011), the services provided by Southwest did not fulfill two features which are information and implicit services. Solution: Southwest could provide an online service where customers could purchase independently the services they wish to have at an additional cost. For example, meals or seat reservations.

 If we relate it to Design for Customer (Chase & Jacob, 2011) we can see that Southwest did not design their services to facilitate their customers.
Their services feels out-of-date and will not be able to cope with the ever tightening competitions that is growing day by day.

This also leads to making their rapid rewards system less maximized. Solution: Southwest could implement a mileage system in which points could be used for tickets or maybe to get prizes or to upgrade their seating zones.

 Southwest has a weak long run competency.

There is nothing that makes it stand out from its competitors other than the fact that it has cheap prices. But as time goes by we can see that even with cheap prices, you can lose your loyal customers if your services is not being improved. Solution: Southwest must make a periodic survey of what the wants of its ever changing consumers are.

Conclusion
Southwest Airlines needs to be aware of their loyal consumers that feels their needs are not being addressed to. The event that happened to Liz Bast could have happened to other customers that felt the rules of Southwest is too strict and not flexible. Even though Southwest is the pioneer of low cost carriers, they can not keep offering the same services to their customers each year. Customers have dynamic needs and the advancement of products must be made.
The rapid rewards program is not the appropriate system for their consumers in this day and age. Their consumers now are looking more for better services rather than free flights.

 Southwest needs to think more to the long term and not only the short term goals. Rapid reward is an example of a short term way to get the markets favor. But in the long run due to the lack of better service and a weak core competency, its loyal customers will slowly deplete. Southwest must make periodic surveys about its customers and provide additional services that are optional to the customers that are willing to pay extra to get it.

Lesson Learned
As a company that deals with service, Southwest Airlines must include their consumers in making strategies and decisions. This is because service products deal heavily on their consumers demands.
Improvements or innovations in services are needed periodically to fulfill the needs and wants of their consumers that are so dynamic to keep up with the ever changing market and to increase their competitiveness. To know and understand the needs of consumers is really important. This could help a company increase their services, make a new product, and to see how the market views a certain product, and in return to also see the strength and weaknesses of another product.