REVIEW: Driving Airline Business Strategies through Emerging Technology

Airline Industry Information, Jan 15, 2003

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

In an ever-increasingly competitive market where your customers are no longer seemingly satisfied with just a basic service provision, how can you differentiate that little extra and get the customer to come and use your product? This is an issue that is gripping the consumer aviation marketplace currently.

Of course, if you are the only carrier who flies a given route that is one very important differentiator. Whether you service a primarily lesiure-orientated marketplace, primarily business-orientated marketplace or a good mix of both, the use of 'emerging technology' to streamline your operations might be the key. However, with revenues and passengers falling it can take the nerves of an accomplished gambler to decide whether investing more money is a good thing which will bring in extra rewards or whether you might as well flush the money down the toilet.

Naturally, technologists have been making often ambitious claims about the future role of technology for some time, but maybe now things are starting to come together. In less than 200 pages the author manages to provide an excellent overview of the changing face of the airline consumer (albeit written before the post 'September 11' downturn in air travel took full effect) and an examination of the airline industry-at-large. Developing technology offers a number of benefits to travellers and airlines alike, and perhaps with the recent rush for 'technologically-aided security' many side benefits can be bolted on. Budgets aren't always found for innovation but government-mandated security still has to be paid for. I found this book quite inspiring in part for its common-sense approach to the matter. Many other authors, when promoting a technological advance or forecast, tend to get rather too excited and either over-promise or just lull the reader into another world with techno-overkill. Here, despite being written for a reader who is already involved in the aviation business, the book could equally be enjoyed by a more interested amateur. Getting this fine-line balance can be quite hard but the author has done well here.

Further reading suggestions and excellent footnotes also enable this book to be used as a jumping board into further research that might, in itself, yield additional ideas and benefits.

CONCLUSION:An interesting read on a subject that will inevitably happen in one form or another.

Title: Driving Airline Business Strategies through Emerging TechnologyAuthor: Nawal K. TanejaPublished by: Ashgate Publishing LtdISBN: 0-7546-1971-0Price: GBP45Reviewer: Darren Ingram

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