Publications

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April 1979 (Revised May 1993)
Case

MASSPORT

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Keywords: Transportation; Transportation Industry; Massachusetts

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April 2000 (Revised December 2001)
Case

AirTex Aviation

By: Brian J. Hall and Carleen Madigan

Two young and inexperienced MBAs buy a virtually bankrupt company. They design a decentralized control system organized around profit centers. As a case in control systems, there is ample detail for a discussion of design issues, control of independent profit centers,... View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Management Systems; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Air Transportation Industry

October 1982
Supplement

Southwest Airlines: Interview with Lamar Muse, January 1978, Video

Presents an interview, made shortly before Mr. Muse left the airline, concerning how he responded to the Braniff fare cut during the great Texas Air War in spring 1973. His pithy and direct comments are invariably very well received by class participants. Instructors... View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Marketing Communications; Crisis Management; Air Transportation Industry

January 2016
Case

Sentient Jet: The Uber of Private Jets

By: Anat Keinan and Sandrine Crener

Founded in 1999 in the Boston area, Sentient Jet had become a leading private aviation company in the United States. Its success was built on the introduction of a groundbreaking membership program that offered business travelers the flexibility and convenience of... View Details

2000
Other Unpublished Work

Fettered Flight: Globalization and the Airline Industry

By: Richard H. K. Vietor, Daniel Yergin and Peter C. Evans

Keywords: Air Transportation; Globalized Markets and Industries; Air Transportation Industry

December 1974 (Revised February 1985)
Case

Southwest Airlines (A)

Southwest Airlines, a small intrastate carrier serving Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, begins service in 1971 in the face of competition by two larger, entrenched airlines. Improved quality service, lower prices, and innovative advertising and promotional strategy... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Marketing Strategy; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; Texas

January 1989
Case

Cathay Pacific Airways (A): Globalization of Airline Reservation and Distribution Systems Technology

By: James I. Cash Jr.

Keywords: Air Transportation; Information Technology; Air Transportation Industry

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May 2011
Supplement

TSA: An Overview

By: Michel Anteby

Video of Federal Security Director at Logan Airport and Deputy Assistant Federal Security Director discussing TSA operations. View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Operations; Safety; Business and Government Relations; Air Transportation Industry; Boston

June 2002
Case

Southwest Airlines in Baltimore

By: Rogelio Oliva, Jody Hoffer Gittell and David Lane

The number of connecting passengers through Southwest Airlines' Baltimore station has grown 100% CAGR since 1997. Originally designed as a point-to-point network, this load of connecting passengers has been stressing Baltimore ground operations, resulting in an erosion... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Growth Management; Air Transportation; Service Operations; Air Transportation Industry; Maryland

June 1975
Case

Marsh & McLennan (B)

Presents the results of a computer simulation of aircraft hull insurance. Discussion will focus on the interpretation of the results described. Designed to be handed out in class. Rewrite of an earlier supplement by P. Vatter. View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Insurance; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry

01 Mar 2017
News

3-Minute Briefing: Wick Moorman (MBA 1989)

When I stepped down from Norfolk Southern after 45 years, I absolutely did not plan to take another job. I said no to Amtrak. Then they called again. I negotiated hard, obviously, for compensation. I’m making a dollar a year. . . . I think passenger rail View Details

Keywords: April White

April 2016
Teaching Note

HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics

By: William C. Kirby and Joycelyn W. Eby

This teaching note is designed to support the teaching of HBS case number 316-013, "HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics." View Details

Keywords: Corporate Culture; Airline Industry; China; Cross-cultural Adaptation; Air Transportation; Business Conglomerates; Globalization; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Air Transportation Industry; China

October 2019
Supplement

Airbus vs. Boeing (I): Airbus Introduces the A350 (2015)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the introduction of Airbus’ A350XWB (Xtra Wide Body) in 2015. It also describes Airbus and Boeing’s current endeavors in 2015, including Airbus’ development of the A330neo (new engine option) , Boeing’s work on the 737 MAX, and Boeing’s announcement... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Air Transportation; Projects; Competition; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry; United States; Europe

McLean revolutionized the centuries-old shipping industry by developing the first safe, reliable, and cost-effective approach to transporting containerized cargo. By pioneering containerized shipping, McLean soon dominated the shipping... View Details

Keywords: Transportation

01 Jun 2015
News

Lessons from a Megacity

The first step in researching the public transportation system in Buenos Aires: send the private driver home. “How could we be there studying public transportation and not use it?” asks Eryn Schultz (MBA... View Details

Keywords: April White; Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation; Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation

1983
Other Unpublished Work

Orbiting Space Observatory - HBS Analysis and Decision Case

By: J. Ronald Fox

Keywords: Decision Making; Air Transportation; Science; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry

1992
Chapter

The Hubris of Regulated Competition in Airlines

By: R. H.K. Vietor

Keywords: Air Transportation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Air Transportation Industry

September 2016 (Revised August 2018)
Supplement

United Airlines: More Out-and-Back Flying?: Case Supplement #1

By: Ryan W. Buell, Willy C. Shih and Michael W. Toffel

This spreadsheet supplement accompanies 617-010 United Airlines: More Out-and-Back Flying? and is intended to provide students with an opportunity to apply analysis concepts with real operational data. View Details

Keywords: Service; Service Excellence; Service Management; Operating Systems; Operational Complexity; Operational Disruptions; Operational Efficiency; Operational Focus; Air Transportation; Operations; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Air Transportation Industry; United States