airlines - American, Delta, and United, essentially operate an oligopoly where they have divided up the geography. In Dallas, American Airlines wins the product war because they uniquely fly nonstop to many places. The biggest argument for schedule as product is based in nonstop versus connection. To repeat with an airline, unless no other airline has a schedule that works, is a complex set of issues that include loyalty, airport, and onboard service. That’s because the schedule is already given at that point. The schedule is critical for the first step, but not so important in the second. A more complete view of the airline product would be thought of in two steps: what makes me choose an airline, and what makes me repeat with that airline. But an airline doesn’t get to flex their product to win unless the schedule works for the customer. A More Complete View Of The Airline ProductĪn airline’s product is more than its schedule. The person seeing either kind of behavior is likely to think very differently about that airline’s product. I have also seen flight attendants that watch carefully and jump in to help as soon as needed. I have been on flights where an elderly person is struggling to get a bag in to overhead bin, and the flight attendant just ignores it and lets a customer help. When it comes to the flight attendants, the biggest issue is indifference. Again, you don’t get to this level of the product onion until you win the price and schedule level. Once on the plane, product becomes the seat, overhead bin space, entertainment or not, food or not, and the flight attendants.
Increasingly, the airline with the best consumer-facing technology will be considered the best product, as long as long as they fly to where you are going. Services like Dohop can add by finding even non-airline protection options. With better apps and options, the airline can give the customer some control regarding options for them. One of the biggest frustrations when flying is the lack of control. Technology is playing a bigger role here. Again, given the schedule, the airline that treats you best when the snowstorm or thunderstorm hits would absolutely be considered a product attribute by its customers. Communication, protection, and empathy can all make a huge difference between misery and tolerance. Being Good When Things Go BadĪirlines often differentiate themselves when things get bad.
It’s just that given the schedule, other factors are part of the airline’s product mix. Now, the schedule had to be there to make these kind of games accessible, so saying the schedule is the product is not a far stretch from the truth. One of the main reasons to build within a program is to make upgrading possible. Rewarding on a rolling 12-months basis makes more sense.įor these kind of travelers, the loyalty program is clearly part of the airline’s product. As the year ends, the flyer who meets a tier level on Delta may switch to American to try get some status on each carrier. One of the structural problems of most airline loyalty programs is that they reward past travel for future benefit. Once you started, this may drive future flight decisions until you meet some desired threshold. Louis and travel mostly to the Southeast, you’d have the choice of building points with Southwest, Delta, or American. Frequent Flier Programs Matter To Someįor more frequent travelers, loyalty can drive some airline choice behavior. Then, find the lowest price within that group. First, figure out who can get you there within your timeframe. This is why schedule dominates the product discussion. to Chicago via Dubai? Or if flying from Boston to Richmond, you wouldn't even have that kind of ridiculous option.
You may love Emirates, but would you pay the price and take over a day to fly them from Washington, D.C. If an airline can’t get you from where you are and want to go, they don’t even enter the decision matrix.
An airline’s schedule is the basis of its product.
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