Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 "Shamu One"
Today one of the largest and most influential airlines in the world, Southwest Airlines has humble origins: it was formed as Air Southwest by Herb Kelleher in 1967 to provide service between Houston and Dallas. By keeping his airline entirely within Texas, this allowed Kelleher to avoid heavy Federal taxes. After fighting off a legal challenge by Braniff and Continental, the airline began revenue service in 1971, but not before Kelleher changed the name to Southwest Airlines. It began with four Boeing 737s, which remains the airline's only operating type (albeit much advanced versions) to this day.
Because of gate space and costs, Southwest's operations in Dallas were from the old airport, Love Field, rather than Dallas-Ft. Worth International. Kelleher deliberately copied the business model of Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA): PSA used quick turnaround times to maximize profit, customer incentives, and dressing their stewardesses in trendy short skirts and boots; his intention was to turn Southwest into Texas' version of PSA, and it generally worked.
After a few tough early years, which included fighting Congress for the ability to operate interstate flights from Love Field, Southwest began to thrive, albeit slowly. Its capital increased to the point that it could buy out MuseAir and Morris Air, two rivals; the latter gave Southwest access to California and the Pacific Northwest. Southwest gained a reputation for employee satisfaction, as the airline's shares were mostly held by employees. It also gained a reputation for cutting corners, leading to several million dollars in fines. Nonetheless, Southwest's business model began to attract attention: with a fleet much smaller than the big American airlines such as Delta and United, Southwest was turning a considerable profit. This only increased when Southwest became one of the first airlines to get a website and allow for online booking, in 1994.
Because of its limited flight network, aircraft utilization, and popularity, Southwest was one of the few airlines that weathered the post-9/11 airline downturn well. It also embarked on an aggressive advertising campaign, provided free snacks and no baggage fees, and encouraged its employees to "have fun," leading to a great deal of online exposure--pilots would make Star Wars references, while flight attendants would rap the safety briefing. This reputation as a "fun" airline only added to Southwest's appeal, as well as its status as one of the safest airlines in the world.
Today, Southwest is the largest low-cost airline in the world and one of the largest in the United States; its business model has been followed with great success elsewhere, such as European carriers Easyjet and Ryanair. Its market share and route network extended even further with its acquisition of AirTran in 2014.
By far the most famous of Southwest's special liveries, "Shamu One" debuted in May 1988, and immediately drew rave reviews for its inventiveness and eye-catching lines. The famous killer whale's profile stretched the length of the plane and was even repeated on the engine covers. Southwest went a step further: passengers flying on Shamu One were given commemorative pins, inflatable Shamu One airplanes, and shirts, while the crew wore special uniforms.
It proved to be a huge success for both Southwest and its partner in promotion, Sea World of Texas. So popular was Shamu One that four other Southwest 737s would wear the livery, as Shamus Two through Five. In 2014, however, after controversy over Sea World's treatment of animals, Southwest decided to end its partnership and repainted the Shamus, ending one of the most famous aircraft liveries to ever fly.
This model depicts Shamu One, N334SW, in Southwest's older "Desert Gold" scheme. N334SW was painted as Shamu throughout most of its service, and never flew with any other airline. It was withdrawn from service sometime in the early 21st Century, and scrapped by 2014.
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 "Shamu One"
Today one of the largest and most influential airlines in the world, Southwest Airlines has humble origins: it was formed as Air Southwest by Herb Kelleher in 1967 to provide service between Houston and Dallas. By keeping his airline entirely within Texas, this allowed Kelleher to avoid heavy Federal taxes. After fighting off a legal challenge by Braniff and Continental, the airline began revenue service in 1971, but not before Kelleher changed the name to Southwest Airlines. It began with four Boeing 737s, which remains the airline's only operating type (albeit much advanced versions) to this day.
Because of gate space and costs, Southwest's operations in Dallas were from the old airport, Love Field, rather than Dallas-Ft. Worth International. Kelleher deliberately copied the business model of Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA): PSA used quick turnaround times to maximize profit, customer incentives, and dressing their stewardesses in trendy short skirts and boots; his intention was to turn Southwest into Texas' version of PSA, and it generally worked.
After a few tough early years, which included fighting Congress for the ability to operate interstate flights from Love Field, Southwest began to thrive, albeit slowly. Its capital increased to the point that it could buy out MuseAir and Morris Air, two rivals; the latter gave Southwest access to California and the Pacific Northwest. Southwest gained a reputation for employee satisfaction, as the airline's shares were mostly held by employees. It also gained a reputation for cutting corners, leading to several million dollars in fines. Nonetheless, Southwest's business model began to attract attention: with a fleet much smaller than the big American airlines such as Delta and United, Southwest was turning a considerable profit. This only increased when Southwest became one of the first airlines to get a website and allow for online booking, in 1994.
Because of its limited flight network, aircraft utilization, and popularity, Southwest was one of the few airlines that weathered the post-9/11 airline downturn well. It also embarked on an aggressive advertising campaign, provided free snacks and no baggage fees, and encouraged its employees to "have fun," leading to a great deal of online exposure--pilots would make Star Wars references, while flight attendants would rap the safety briefing. This reputation as a "fun" airline only added to Southwest's appeal, as well as its status as one of the safest airlines in the world.
Today, Southwest is the largest low-cost airline in the world and one of the largest in the United States; its business model has been followed with great success elsewhere, such as European carriers Easyjet and Ryanair. Its market share and route network extended even further with its acquisition of AirTran in 2014.
By far the most famous of Southwest's special liveries, "Shamu One" debuted in May 1988, and immediately drew rave reviews for its inventiveness and eye-catching lines. The famous killer whale's profile stretched the length of the plane and was even repeated on the engine covers. Southwest went a step further: passengers flying on Shamu One were given commemorative pins, inflatable Shamu One airplanes, and shirts, while the crew wore special uniforms.
It proved to be a huge success for both Southwest and its partner in promotion, Sea World of Texas. So popular was Shamu One that four other Southwest 737s would wear the livery, as Shamus Two through Five. In 2014, however, after controversy over Sea World's treatment of animals, Southwest decided to end its partnership and repainted the Shamus, ending one of the most famous aircraft liveries to ever fly.
This model depicts Shamu One, N334SW, in Southwest's older "Desert Gold" scheme. N334SW was painted as Shamu throughout most of its service, and never flew with any other airline. It was withdrawn from service sometime in the early 21st Century, and scrapped by 2014.