Publications

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

July 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Northwest Airlines and the Detroit Snowstorm (A)

Northwest Airlines forced hundreds of passengers to wait up to 8 1/2 hours on aircraft after reaching their destination in an unusually horrible service disaster. The case explores what occurred, why it occurred, and the feelings of those involved. View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Failure; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry

May 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

David Dao on United Airlines

By: Benjamin Edelman and Jenny Sanford

In widely circulated videos, United staff and Chicago security forcibly remove a passenger from his paid seat on an aircraft, injuring him severely. United leadership must decide how to respond to public outcry. View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Service Operations; Air Transportation; Contracts; Reputation; Air Transportation Industry; Chicago

November 1981 (Revised November 1982)
Case

Senator Kennedy and the Airlines

By: J. Ronald Fox

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

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January 2016 (Revised March 2016)
Case

HNA Group: Global Excellence with Chinese Characteristics

By: William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Joycelyn W. Eby

By 2015, the HNA Group had grown from its roots as Hainan Airlines, a small airline founded in 1993 into a global conglomerate that ranked #464 in the Global 500. Much of this success it had achieved by cross-industry expansion within China, but since 2008, it had... View Details

Keywords: China; Aviation And Aerospace; Airline Industry; Airlines; Globalization; Corporate Culture; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; China

July 1997 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Depreciation at Delta Air Lines and Singapore Airlines (A)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Jeremy Cott

Depreciation policies at Delta Air Lines and Singapore Airlines are compared and contrasted against a summary of operating data from each airline. Questions focus attention on differing depreciation policies. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Policy; Financial Statements; Air Transportation Industry

February 1984
Case

Chicago-Midway (B): Midway (Southwest) Airlines

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; Market Entry and Exit; Air Transportation Industry

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March 2013 (Revised May 2013)
Supplement

Distribution at American Airlines (C)

By: Benjamin Edelman

Presents 2011-2012 updates to American's distribution strategy including new challenges and disputes. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Distribution; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry

April 2013 (Revised April 2014)
Case

The Miracle of Japan Airlines

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi and Victor Stone

Keywords: Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; Japan

December 1979 (Revised July 1982)
Case

Trans World Airlines (A) (Condensed)

By: Wickham Skinner and Robert Rodat

Keywords: Air Transportation Industry

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July 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Teaching Note

Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines (TN)

By: Frances X. Frei

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Air Transportation Industry

January 2009 (Revised June 2009)
Supplement

Distribution at American Airlines (B)

By: Benjamin Edelman

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Air Transportation Industry

November 2010
Supplement

LAN Airlines in 2008: Connecting the World to Latin America (B)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jorge Tarzijan

Provides updated facts on Lan Airlines as of 2010. It is meant to be used as a supplement to "Lan Airlines in 2008: Connecting the World to Latin America" (Harvard Business School Case 709-410). View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Competitive Advantage; Air Transportation Industry; Latin America

August 2008 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Lan Airlines in 2008: Connecting the World to Latin America

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Jorge Tarzijan and Mitchel Jordan

Lan Airlines operates three distinct models: low-cost for domestic short-haul flights, full-service for international routes; and an international cargo business, the latter of which makes up 33% of Lan's overall revenues (markedly different from many U.S. legacy... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Air Transportation Industry; Latin America

November 1990 (Revised August 1992)
Case

American Airlines (B): Compensation and Cost Reduction

American Airlines' strategy in the 1990s calls for continued growth, improvements in customer service, and cost reduction. Central to cost reduction efforts is the need to contain labor costs. After having signed a very expensive new contract with its pilots' union in... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Labor Unions; Compensation and Benefits; Air Transportation Industry; United States

April 2007
Supplement

Continental Airlines - 1992 (Abridged) (CW)

By: Stuart C. Gilson

Keywords: Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry

October 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

"Friendly Skies, The": Welfare-to-Work at United Airlines

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ellen Pruyne

In 1997 United CEO Gerald Greenwald was appointed chairman of the national Welfare-to-Work Partnership by President Clinton and committed United to hiring from the welfare rolls. A welfare-to-work recruitment program was rapidly established and soon followed by a... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Selection and Staffing; Retention; Employees; Recruitment; Welfare; Air Transportation Industry