Case Analysis of American Airlines
In an attempt to generally identify the airlines and travel industry this analysis will examine the "key players" in these industries. Whenever we think of the airline industry by definition the key players in this industry include commercial/private airline companies, employees, aircraft manufacturers, customers/consumers of flight service, travel agencies and government entities responsible for regulation of the industry.
Currently the airline industry as a whole seems to be on the road toward recovery. Even before the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks, industry-wide revenues and profits were far below expectations. This pre-attack downturn was an indirect result of the dot.com bubble burst as
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Others like Don Carty former CEO of American Airlines had to be let go to get a fresh start and new perspective for the company.
No "golden parachutes" were provided for mid to low level employees. Even if these laid off employees only make up 1% of current jobless numbers, this is still 1% too much in an already struggling economy.
Growth and the steadiness of consumer spending is a testimony to the resilience and dedication of all workers who have been directly affected by recent events. For the first time in history pilots are complaining about more work and less pay. Employed flight attendants have had to take up the slack and other crew members have to work harder and longer to keep the planes in the air.
Initially after the attacks regular customers and frequent flyers in the industry reduced the amount of air travel they were willing to undertake. No one wanted to fly and companies couldn't expect their brightest employees to volunteer for hazardous duty pay on business trips. Vacationing and other travelers also chose to stay home or drive to get where they wanted to go. Passengers are the life blood of the airline industry and at the time when ticket sales were most needed, the revenue just wasn't their. The added inconvenience of stricter security measures has also helped to deteriorate the already suffering
The airline industry is a hyper-competitive marketplace as many airlines have gone out of business
The airline industry is one of the largest global industries in the world. Airline companies in the airline industry have gone through challenging obstacles in the past decade. Many changes have occurred within the industry and increased regulations have driven up cost for the industry. The attacks on 9/11 left the industry in shock when planes were used in terrorist attacks in the United States. These attacks changed the mentality of the industry and shifted the focus towards safety. Safety was also a major concern in the industry with the breakout of SARS in 2003 and the H1N1 flu in 2009. The airlines had to ensure that public health and safety of the travelers were
Overall, the five forces model suggests that the overall intensity of competition in the airline industry is likely to be severe. Back in the early 1980 's competition was very intense. During the late 1980 's the monopolization of major routes by a few major carriers, the limited availability of free landing spots at major hubs and the emergence of limited brand loyalty and tacit price agreements have all helped reduce the intensity of competition. However, as already mentioned, slumping demand in the early 1990 's plunged the industry once more into a severe price war. Airline travel is a commodity-type product, with limited potential for differentiation.
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 shook the United States in a profound way, deeply upsetting the national perception of safety within U.S. borders. No industry or sector of the economy felt the impacts of these events more than the airline industry. Both the immediate reaction to the attacks and the long-term repercussions have negatively affected the industry. Today’s airline industry is much different than it was prior to September 11. There is a much smaller work force, more low-cost carriers, more security and more fees associated with flying.
Some argue that the 9/11 attacks hastened the airline industry to make changes that would have come sooner or later because many carriers were already in financial trouble. The airlines were forced to make cuts in their cost structure and renegotiate labor expenses due to a decline in passenger demand, which realistically was needed regardless of the 9/11 attacks (Logan).
This paper discusses the impacts of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the aviation industry. Specifically, how aviation industry members were forced to alter their marketing mix in response to the events. The four "P 's" of marketing were all modified. The airlines had to change their product (route structures) and their prices. They also had to change their promotion tactics to ease the customer 's "fear factor". Lastly they had to alter the means of delivering their product to the consumer due to enhance security measures (place).
The situation of the U.S airlines has been affected by a number of factors through time and is not a secret that has been passed by moments difficult, especially in the economic part. One of these factors were the terrorist’s attacks of 911. No other event in history has changed the way of doing business that the fateful events of September 11, 2001. Apart from the significant human loss, the millionaire impact to the economy of New York and in the United States and multi-million dollar expenditure associated with the global war against terrorism, attacks on the World Trade Center (World Trade Center or WTC) in New York and the Pentagon trembled the authority of the United States, at a time when it was going through a recession. All this made
September 11, 2001, was a horrific event that rocked the world and the way people viewed the safety of airline travel. The airline industry was hit the hardest after that day and it was uncertain if they could regain their customer’s
A super hero and villain is not normally associated with airlines, but in the article “A Tale of Two Airlines” by Christopher Elliot puts that into perspective. The two airlines in question are Spirit and Southwest. Although, both have some similarities they have considerably different views on how to treat customers. Southwest believes treating customers with respect while fares maybe be a little higher. Sprit’s beliefs are to treat customers “like cargo” with low fares. The hero being Southwest with friendly attendants and better overall customer interaction. Elliot is saying you should reward the heroes’ business not the villains just because of low fares.
Two airlines go head to head as major competitors in “A Tale of Two Airlines” by Christopher Elliott. The good and the evil are Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines. What makes these two airlines stand out in the crowd? Economical airfare rates that consumers love.
The 9/11terrorist attacks seriously affected air travel and led to the demise of many airlines. Scores of airline industry workers still need to regain what they lost in both wages and benefits, and are hopeful of an industry turnaround this year (USA Today, 2009).
American airline industry is steadily growing at an extremely strong rate. This growth comes with a number economic and social advantage. This contributes a great deal to the international inventory. The US airline industry is a major economic aspect in both the outcome on other related industries like tourism and manufacturing of aircraft and its own terms of operation. The airline industry is receiving massive media attention unlike other industries through participating and making of government policies. As Hoffman and Bateson (2011) show the major competitors include Southwest Airlines, Delta Airline, and United Airline.
The airline industry is interpreted as being very unstable due to the immediate reaction to tragedies. The airline industry was affected following the September 11th tragedy and it affected other industries indirectly. The airline industry plays a key role in
With 1988 operating income of $801 million on a revenue of $8.55 billion, American Airlines, Inc. (American), principal subsidiary of Dallas/Fort Worth-based AMR Corporation, was the largest airline in the United States. At year-end 1988 American operated 468 aircraft on 2,200 flights daily to 151 destinations in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, France, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela, and West Germany.
One of the world’s most competitive and prominent industries is the airlines industry. It generates huge amounts of income as well as employment each year. Some of the common names in US air travel service providers are Alaska, Northwest, Southwest, US airways, American etc.