The December 2022 holiday season was anticipated to mark the first “post-COVID” holiday. However, an unusually severe storm hit at the end of December, causing widespread flight cancellations. Most airlines recovered within a day or two, but Southwest Airlines Co. was disproportionately affected. By December 28, 2022, the airline had cancelled 59 per cent of its flights, compared to an average of 1–2 per cent for other airlines. This led to a total of 16,700 cancellations between December 21 and December 31. The crisis was exacerbated by Southwest Airlines Co.’s outdated crew management software, insufficient ground crews, and its unique point-to-point route network. Unlike hub-and-spoke networks, which concentrated resources at major hubs. Southwest’s point-to-point system offered more non-stop flights but lacked flexibility in crisis response. In the aftermath of the crisis, Southwest was grappling with various critical questions. Would investments in new technology suffice? Which technological advances would make the best investments? With obvious structural deficiencies in place, should the airline consider restructuring? How should Southwest navigate the aftermath of the December 2022 crisis to ensure resilience and sustainability?
Southwest Airlines: Navigating Winter Turbulence
Jeffrey Clement
Product #:W36574
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Information Systems, Management Science
Setting:United States, 2023
Subjects:
Industries:
Geography:
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Learning Objectives
This case is intended for graduate courses in strategic information technology (IT) management, operations management, or crisis management. It is also suitable for undergraduate courses in strategic IT or management information systems such as analysis and modelling of business systems, enterprise systems, or information systems in the organization. The case can also be used for executive education courses on strategic IT management. The case discusses the alignment between organizational structure, operational management, and technology; in particular, how that alignment may change over time. The case also presents opportunities to discuss organizational fragility and resilience, as well as public relations in technology-driven crises. For students in management information systems, this case provides the opportunity to consider how other functional areas interact with the company’s IT department. Specifically, after completion of this case, students will be able to
- discuss how different technology systems can address parts of a problem, and how the organization may outgrow these systems over time;
- consider how IT systems can be scaled with the organization to address the types of problems that are likely to be encountered, although IT systems may not be able to resolve fundamental or unworkable issues; and
- evaluate how likely disruptions are to occur, the likely impact (i.e., how fragile the organization is), how well the organization can recover (resilience), how technology contributes to fragility, and the degree to which technology can aid resilience.