You will prepare and submit a term paper on Commercial Analysis and Planning for Southwest Airlines. Your paper should be a minimum of 2750 words in length. The organization has created an enhanced reputation in the US aviation market. In addition, this organization is committed to offering quality services to its customers to improve its overall performance and to ensure the long-term survival of its business (1CAPA Centre for Aviation, 2015. 2CAPA Centre for Aviation, 2015). It also places increased importance on creating and providing its employees with an ideal work environment, in which they can deliver their dedicated efforts towards the accomplishment of the broad organization along with their personal goals. The organization over the last four decades has further been able to foster continuous innovation and creativity with the objective of catering to the changing needs and preferences of its customers in the most proficient manner (Vidović, & et. al., 2013).

The financial and economic performance analysis of Southwest Airline will be internally analyzed using the financial data for the corresponding last two years, i.e. 2013 and 2012. In addition, the financial and economic performance of the organization will be assessed externally by comparing the financial ratios for the organization with its key competitor, namely JetBlue Airways. JetBlue Airways is also a US budget carrier and one of the major competitors of Southwest Airlines. The organization has a huge fleet of Airbus A320, which operates across different destinations of the world, including North America, the Caribbean region, and South America. The organisation has undertaken hybrid strategies to attract a large number of customers to compete successfully in the highly dynamic aviation industry (3CAPA Centre for Aviation, 2015. Wu, 2012).

The analysis of the operating data using the above metrics enabled to evaluate the operating performance of Southwest Airlines meticulously. The organization witnessed slight growth in its operating revenue per ASMs (Available seat miles).