What Southwest Airlines Can Teach Ground Transportation Leaders

Drivers and vehicles — those are the two essential ingredients in our business. We take drivers and vehicles, and together, we move people.

Much of my focus in Ground Transportation Insights has been on the people side of the business. That’s intentional — people are the more complex part of the equation. But equipment — whether motorcoaches, transits, minibuses, school buses, cutaways, sprinter vans, or SUVs — plays an equally important role in how effectively we deliver service.

Over the years, I’ve managed fleets of just about everything: MCIs, Prevosts, Van Hools, Setras (the predecessor to Mercedes-Benz coaches), Gilligs, and New Flyers on the transit side. I’ve run fleets filled with nearly every upfitter on the mini/cutaway platform, as well as sprinters, transits, and Chevy Suburbans. I even had a few Blue Bird school buses for a shuttle route at one point.

Most of these fleets were inherited, which meant learning each brand’s quirks, reliability, and fit for the work at hand. After nearly 20 years in this business, my opinions are shaped by two things above all: reliability and suitability. Because, truthfully, there isn’t always a huge gap in capability among manufacturers within a given segment.

Still, I’ve often wondered what it would look like to start from scratch — to build a fleet from the ground up, without legacy constraints of cost, contracts, or availability. That thought always brings me back to what I call the Southwest model.

What We Can Learn from Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines operates a fleet composed entirely of Boeing 737s. According to Planespotters.net, Southwest currently flies about 800 aircraft, with more than 40 on order — all variants of the 737. Aside from a short-lived experiment with 727s in the 1970s, the airline has stayed true to that single-type strategy for over 50 years.

That decision has paid dividends. Operating a single aircraft type gives Southwest enormous leverage with Boeing — not only on pricing but also on design input, parts access, and long-term support. Internally, it simplifies everything: pilot, crew, and mechanic training; maintenance procedures; spare parts inventory; and scheduling.

Today, Southwest flies three variants of the 737 — the 700, 800, and Max 8. Compare that with American Airlines, whose fleet is almost evenly split between Boeing and Airbus, spanning five aircraft types. The result? Southwest’s profitability is more than double that of American’s. Fleet uniformity isn’t the only reason, but it’s certainly part of the formula.

It’s also worth noting that Sun Country Airlines — the most profitable U.S. carrier by operating margin — flies only one aircraft: the 737.

Applying the “Southwest Model” to Ground Transportation

While this isn’t an ad for Boeing, it is an argument for simplified fleets in ground transportation. The benefits are remarkably similar:

• Lower training costs – fewer vehicle models mean streamlined driver and mechanic training.
• Simplified parts management – reduced SKUs, faster repairs, and lower inventory costs.
• Stronger purchasing power – standardizing around a few models increases leverage with manufacturers and dealers.
• Greater operational flexibility – easier scheduling, rotation, and maintenance planning.

Dr. Benjamin Hardy, in The Science of Scaling (with Blake Erickson), writes that “simplicity is essential to scaling.” Scaling requires focus, and focus requires simplicity. (Hardy & Erickson, 2025) In fleet operations, that’s as true as it gets. Fewer makes and models create a simpler, more scalable, and more profitable operation.

Some operators have already embraced this approach — running nearly identical fleets across markets. Others, understandably, are tied to legacy purchases or customer-specific contracts. But for those building or refreshing fleets, there’s real value in asking: What would our business look like if our fleet were simpler?

The Stability Factor

Of course, there’s also the issue of manufacturer stability and how it can affect operators pursuing a simplified fleet strategy. Last year’s Van Hool bankruptcy and resulting takeover by VDL serve as reminders that overreliance on a single manufacturer can create vulnerabilities if that supplier faces financial or operational turbulence.

So while simplicity is a powerful advantage, it can’t be the only determining factor. In my experience, vehicle selection ultimately comes down to a combination of capability, reliability, suitability, availability, manufacturer viability, and supportability — including access to service networks, parts availability, and training.

A simplified fleet should make your operation stronger, not more fragile.

Final Thought

We’ll always need both parts of the equation — people and equipment — to move our business forward. But while people are the heart of our operation, a simplified fleet might just be its backbone.

Brian Dickson is the owner of Bus Business Consultants and author of Ground Transportation Insights on Substack. Drawing on leadership roles in motorcoach operations and Disney’s Guest Transportation, he helps operators improve performance, culture, and growth—Bus Business Consultants: Driving Performance, Culture, & Growth in Ground Transportation.

This article was originally published on October 25, 2025 at Ground Transportation Insights.

The views expressed are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Bus Association.