The big questions in life: There are many questions that tend to go unanswered such as, how big is the universe? Is there life on Mars? What was first, the chicken or the egg? Or as of lately, can I book a flight in Spanish on southwest.com?
Well, we still do not have the answers to the first three, but we do for the last one, and it is YES, now you can!
First things first, when you get a chance, check out the site southwest.com/vamonos
Why translate?
We decided to have a fully translated website (to Spanish), to showcase our commitment to this Customer segment. As a brand, we felt that all of our Customers should be able to experience the "true" Southwest brand experience, and translating to their language, a romance language, meshed very well with the LUV Airline. From a business opportunity perspective, we also understand Hispanics account for over one trillion dollars in purchasing power, but gravitate towards companies that give them the importance they deserve – and rightfully so. That is why when we were looking at acculturation (the different ways in which people are adopting/adapting to their host culture); we realized that only having an English site was under serving a large amount of the Hispanic population. This is why we feel that southwest.com/vamonos not only brings to life the Southwest personality, but will connect with the largest growing US population segment.
Why now?
Let’s take a look at some very telling figures:
As of this year:
The Hispanic population is currently 51+ million strong, and continues growing
Hispanics account for about 16.5% of the total US population
2020 Projections:
Hispanics are expected to reach or surpass the 60 million population mark, and will be 66 million
If population projections hold true, close to one of every five people in the US will be of Hispanic descent (19.4%)
2050 Projections:
A little after SWA’ eighth decade, the Hispanic population will be 132.7 million
At this point in time, more than one in every 3 (33.2%) people in the US will be of Hispanic descent!
Hispanic Population By Market[ii]:
Hispanics represent at least 20% of the population in the following key DMAs:
San Francisco 26%
LA 48%
Phoenix 30%
Denver 22%
Dallas 30%
Chicago 24%
Houston 38%
Miami 52%
New York 25%
Hispanics Spend More on Domestic Travel – for any reason in the past year[iii]
Key Cultural Indicators[iv]:
Place of Birth: 65/35% of Hispanics were born outside/inside the United States
Language Spoken at Home: 52/26/22% of Hispanics are Spanish Dominant/speak Spanish and English equally/speak English Only
Language Away from Home: 47/13/39% of Hispanics outside of home have the following language breakdown English/Both Equally/Spanish
Internet Penetration: 61/39% of Hispanics have/don’t have access to the Internet
southwest.com is the most visited airline web site in the world… and with the addition of southwest.com/vamonos, all the fun of booking in their preferred language will be accessible to our Spanish speaking Customers as well!
Endnotes:
2012 U.S. Diversity Markets Report
[ii] The Nielsen Company. 2012 TV Universe Estimates Report
[iii] Simmons NCS/NHCS Survey 2011
[iv] 2012 U.S. Diversity Markets Report
