Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Southwest Airlines
Another company with an effective business model was Southwest Airlines, which
was founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher but did not change its name to Southwest
Airlines until 1971.
As an example of using computers to aid business operations, Southwest was
the first airline to have a website starting in 1995. Southwest continues to have
more website visits than any other airline and does more business through its web-
site than any other airline. Southwest was also a pioneer in
fuel hedging
, or con-
tracts that buffered the airline against increasing fuel costs.
Southwest eventually became powerful enough to cause the repeal of the
Wright amendment, which had limited the airline's ability to fly to states other
than Texas. Southwest is now the largest, most successful, and most profitable
U.S. airline.
Younger readers may not have been aware that three of the most successful
modern companies in America—FedEx, NASDAQ, and Southwest Airlines—are
all relatively young and began their growth to dominance during the 1970s. All
used computers and software in interesting ways to help them grow and become
cost effective.
Computer and Software Companies Formed During the 1970s
Many companies that have played important roles in software development were
founded during the 1970s. There are many others besides the ones mentioned here,
but these samples run the gamut of companies that either grew to become enorm-
ously wealthy or quickly passed from view. Both extremes reflect the history of
software.
Several companies later to become famous in the computer and software sec-
tors started out as something else: consulting companies or making some other
kinds of electronic products. It was the excitement of the burgeoning computer and
software domains that attracted so many startups that migrated toward computers
and software.
When looking at the companies in software and computers that were formed
during the 1970s, readers will notice that many of them were created in “Silicon
Valley,” which is essentially the Santa Clara valley in California.
The original towns included in Silicon Valley ran north from San Jose up past
Palo Alto. This region included Stanford University and was not far from U.C.
Berkeley on the other side of the Bay. Steve Jobs, the cofounder of Apple, for
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