Southwest Airline’s History on the Web
When it comes to online infrastructure and design, the first user that comes to mind probably isn’t a major U.S. airline. That’s why, back in 1996, if you were to search “southwest.com,” the website that would appear would have directed you to a site featuring “the incredible natural beauty of Utah’s Southwest desert.” According to the text description, this website is simply a placeholder for what would soon become Southwest Airline’s homepage.
When that page did arrive in 1997, it had a simple design with little to offer outside of easy-to-use links to flights and fares and the newly instated Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa card. What I found interesting is that searching competitors such as American Airlines and United Airlines proved to be unhelpful, as they weren’t shown until the early 2000’s. This could be because of a change in management or that they underwent a name and brand change, which is likely after the September 11th attacks.
The first Southwest graphic finally made an appearance in December of 1998 to feature their Rapid Rewards Double Credit offer. It just so happens that in 1998 Southwest’s earnings of $433.4 million exceeded the previous year’s $317.8 million by 36.4 percent. The airlines profitability had increased, no doubt in some part due to their successful online advertising.
The following year the country adapted to more advanced online ticket sales and Southwest was onboard. As long as users had Netscape version 1.22, Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.02A or AOL version 3.0 or higher, they could purchase airline tickets for up to a few months in advance.
Following the advancement of web design and the introduction of better html usage and images as well as interactive sites, Southwest’s website slowly improved its graphics and interfaces with little change through the early 2000’s. The only very notable change is the addition of important travel tips labeled as “A Message to our Customers” on the homepage. This addition is first noticeable on October 1, 2001; less than a month following the September 11th attacks.
The design of the page did not change from its prior layout and graphic image that can be seen on their August 21, 2001 page.
In fact, the page didn’t change at all until late 2002 when the company changed its graphic to a picture of some of their “friendly” employees to add to their nationwide reputation of being loveable and easy to work with. The caption of the photo speaks for itself when it says, “We’re a company of People, not planes.” This is how their website would remain until 2007.
What I find most noticeable about the Southwest website is that their aim to please the costumer has been apparent since its beginning. Every change they have made has appeared to be less about gaining income and more about gaining happy fliers, which in turn, leads to more income. From the first page available to view back in 1996 to the most recent in 2015, the company has made it a priority to give viewers an easy-to-use design with quick access to assistance links and contacts within the company. The design of its webpage to this date is focused on appealing images that make draw viewers in and appeal to their need for comfort when traveling.
