BySam Weaver

&Shane Stuart

Recent Turbulence

• Fined $10.2 Million• Possible fuselage cracks

• Misled the agency• Blamed on computer error

Better to Keep Your Mouth Shut!!!

• Dealt with problem head on• Issued statement on website

• Corporate blog• CEO used as punching bag on CNN

Favorability???

• Corebrand review• Kent Jarrell

– Crisis Management and Litigation Specialist

• "The story flips on them because there hasn't been a lot of criticism. That makes the story move even more among journalists because here's an airline with a good reputation considered to be the most successful in the field, and all of a sudden it has a problem that cuts to the core of what could be an Achilles heel for low-cost airlines: safety."

Hitting A Few Bumps

• Familiarity

• 2002 – 75%

• 2007 – 75%

• Favorability

• 2002 – 66.6%

• 2007 – 48.8%

Blogosphere

• Start paying attention to blogs• Identify “High Authority” blog• Employees causing problems?

• “I don’t believe you!”

Ad Issues

• Take things more seriously• “Want to get away?”

• Can forgive passengers• Passengers can’t forgive Southwest

• Stay away from getting injured

Sources

• http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIK0kzhEJzM• http://adage.com/article?article_id=125584• http://www.prweb.com/prfiles/2007/02/08/503826/

Southwest_Airlines_logo.jpg• http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/US/03/07/southwest.planes/

art.kelly.cnn.jpg• http://www.worldwonderphotos.com/images/watermark/

Southwest-Airlines-Boeing-737-at-LAX-1.jpg• http://www.salem-news.com/stimg/march072008/sw-jet-

air.jpg