The Importance of Organizational Culture for the Success of Usa Low-cost Airlines

The aim of the present paper is to investigate the role played by the organizational culture to the success of the USA low-cost airlines, taking as example two major operators: Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. This exploratory research was conducted using two methods. An analysis of the secondary data offered by the specialized literature was followed by primary data collection, through structured interviews with the representatives of Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. The results show that the success of the two low-cost airlines was based not only on their cutting costs strategies, but also on the organizational culture they have promoted during time. This organizational culture is based on closed relationships between the employees, clients and suppliers, among which the communication is simplified and transparent. These particularities of the two operators have made huge differences between them and other low-cost airlines in terms of resilience to the economic downturns, increased number of transported passengers, of revenues and profits. SEA Practical Application of Science Volume III, Issue 1 (7) / 2015 376