For any airline, their reservation system is the most important element that will determine their success or failure in the travel business. The reservation system has to be able to handle a very large amount of data and must be able to offer the services and systems that customers need and want from an airline. The first steps in determining what and how their reservation system needed to be updated JetBlue and WestJet needed to run a systems analysis. As Laudon (2013), stated, “First step is to identify the problem, gather information, devise alternative solutions, and make a decision about the best solution” (p. 372). Defining the problems is not as simple as it sounds. While considering these problems many different people must have some input into what those problems, such as various members of the company. Many have different ideas about the nature of the problem and its severity.
Deciding to upgrade the reservation system will have a major impact on both operational activities and decision-making aspects. In operational activities the upgrade will allow their customers much more functionality and hopefully far more self-services operations thereby making their system more efficient and their customers travel plans and arrangements will be more efficient which will make for a happy customer. Also, while upgrading they system will enhance management and employee’s ability to quickly analyze any situation making it easier and quicker to make decisions quicker and more efficient, thereby making customers happier since they will have less wait time for responses to their inquiries.
“The systems analysis includes a feasibility study to determine whether each proposed solution is feasible, or achievable, from a financi...
... middle of paper ...
...red to handle these problems. JetBlue ended up using its backup site several times” (Laudon, 2013).
Also being a firm believer in learning from others, our own company would have taken similar precautions and prepared a backup of our system. It is better to be safe than sorry, we would also make sure we had the proper amount of staff to handle the potential rise in customer complaints or inquiries and it would also be very important to make sure my employees were well trained in the new system to understand how it is supposed to work. This would better prepare our employees to handle potential situations that may arise from problems or glitches with the new system.
Works Cited
Laudon, K. C. and Laudon, J. P. (2013). Part II: Information Technology Infrastructure. In Essentials of Management Information Systems (10TH ed., pp. 372-373, 402-403). Prentice Hall
JetBlue renamed it the 320 because of their new plane but they used the same none the less. It was used to regulate how reviews were done. It standardized services and made pilots all the way down to ground crews be more consistent. The system that JetBlue implemented was built by the culture and value of the company. These values are established because of the 320 degree plan. They stressed communication and customer experience. Because of the 320 degree appraisal system, management was able to get a grasp of the concerns of employees and have a greater understanding of employee performance.
The Airline Industry is a fascinating market. It has been one of the few industries to reach astounding milestones. For example, over 200 airlines have gone out of business since deregulation occurred in 1978. Currently, more than 50% of the airlines in the industry are operating under Chapter 11 regulations. Since 9/11, four of the six large carriers have filed for and are currently under bankruptcy court protection. Since 9/11 the industry has lost over $30 billion dollars, and this loss continues to increase. Despite the fact that the airline industry is in a state of despair, JetBlue has become the golden example, a glimpse of what the industry could be.
In today's competitive marketplace, all firms are seeking ways to improve their overall performance. One such method of improvement, recently adopted by many firms, is benchmarking. Benchmarking is a technique used to evaluate internal business processes. "In this analysis, managers determine the firm's critical processes and outputs, baseline those processes, then compare the performance of each process against a standard outside the industry" (Bounds, Yorks, Adams, & Ranney 1994). To effectively improve a business process to world-class quality, managers must find a firm that is recognized as a global leader, not just the industry standard. Successful benchmarking requires tailor-made solutions, not just blind copying of another organization. Measurement and interpretation of data collected is the key to creating business process solutions.
Southwest Airlines: A Case Analysis. ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS It is evident that the greatest strength Southwest Airlines has is its financial stability. As known in the US airline industry, Southwest is one of those airlines who are consistently earning profits despite the problems the industry is facing. With such stability, the corporation is able to make decisions and adjust policies, which other heavily burdened airlines may not be able to imitate.
...6. Fisher Center for Information Technology & Management, University of California in Berkeley. June 1995
Before to select the proper alternative, three alternatives were analysed and evaluated under four decisions criteria: customer experience, cost, growth rate / market penetration and ease to implementation (See Exhibit 2: Factor Analysis). Between all the alternatives, it was suggested that Southwest Airlines enters to New York City by bidding the slots and gates at the LGA (See Exhibit 3: Alternatives Analysis). This alternative sustains the challenge of changing the customer experience which means adding more flights from and to the East; furthermore, entering to new markets will reinforce “the power of the network” through LGA. At the same time, this decision will allow signing more code-sharing agreements with other airlines flying to international destinations and offer new products and services to LUV customers as loyalty rewards, in-flight internet, onboard duty-free purchases, etc.; as a result of this, it will increase passenger’s insights and experiences by flying with Southwest Airlines. Nevertheless, there is potential risk by selecting this alternative, in the recent years the energy prices has had a huge increase affecting costs, fares and even capacity needed, however Southwest Airlines has been able to hedge fuel for decad...
The Southwest Airlines company and its culture is one that is often cited in today 's business classes. The airline is widely known to be “different” compared to many of its competitors, a result of its founding values and strong corporate culture. This culture developed early in Southwest’s history and was deeply entrenched due to the competitiveness of the airline industry, as well as due to some of the pressures experienced as a result regulatory issues and stiff competition.
University of Idaho. (2014). Information Technology Services: Appendix 1: ITS Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Retrieved from http://www.uidaho.edu/its/strategic-plan/appendix-i.
Southwest Airlines is one of the nations most successful airline travel companies. The company has implemented many measures to gain a positive public opinion. First of all at the foundation of Southwest Airlines is a fantastic mission statement its mission is “the dedication to provide the highest quality of customer service with a sense of warmth, friendliness, and upbeat business spirit.” By continuing with this mission, Southwest Airlines has achieved a stunning thirty-one years consecutive profitable years and many prestigious awards for the fewest complaints by many administrative organizations including the United States Department of Transportation. Another reason for Southwest Airlines success comes from the company’s leader, the
DuBois, S. (2012, February 17). The real threat facing the airlines - Fortune Management. Fortune Management Career Blog RSS. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/02/17/the-real-threat-facing-the-airlines/
to major airports but later it went down as PE try to grow faster and
Which of the three generic strategies (Cost leadership, Differentiation, and Focus) is JetBlue following? Discuss how information systems is used in JetBlue to support its strategy.
There are other ways in which airlines customers are segmented. The airline services are divid...
Guests can make bookings through a combination of ways. In August 2003, AirAsia became the first airline in the world to introduce SMS booking where guests can now book their seats, check flight schedules and obtain latest updates on AirAsia promotions from the convenience of their mobile phones. AirAsia also recently introduced GO Holiday, the airline’s online programme where guests can book holiday packages online in real time. (Temporal, 2006)
Perry, B., 2005, Organisational Management and Information Systems. [e-book] Oxford; Elsevier. Available at: Google Books . [Accessed 14 November 2013]