Publications

November 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Airbus A3XX: Developing the World's Largest Commercial Jet (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane

In July 2000, Airbus Industries' supervisory board is on the verge of approving a $13 billion investment for the development of a new super jumbo jet known as the A3XX that would seat from 550 to 1,000 passengers. Having secured approximately 20 orders for the new jet,... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Investment; Forecasting and Prediction; Capital Budgeting; Valuation; Government and Politics; Demand and Consumers; Product Development; Product Positioning; Air Transportation Industry; Air Transportation Industry

September 2006 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Airbus vs. Boeing (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Erich Alexander Voigt and Jordan Mitchell

Looks at the development of the competitive actions between Airbus and Boeing from 1992 to 2006. Begins with the question of whether Airbus and Boeing should collaborate on the development of a VLCT (Very Large Commercial Transport) or whether Airbus should develop... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competition; Cooperation; Air Transportation Industry

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

Find at Harvard

2017
Government Testimony

Passenger Right to Record—Petition for Rulemaking

By: Benjamin Edelman and Mike Borsetti

We ask DOT to affirm that passengers have the right to record what they lawfully see and hear on and around aircraft. We explain why such recordings are in the public interest, and we present the troubling experiences of passengers who have tried to record but have... View Details

Keywords: Aviation; Consumer Protection; Recording; Video; Audio; Privacy; Social Media; Air Transportation; Rights; Contracts; Air Transportation Industry

Read Now

October 1990 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Changing the Culture at British Airways

By: John P. Kotter

In just 10 years, 1980-1990, British Airways turned around both its declining image and financial situation. Focusing on the paramount importance of customer service, British Airways went from "bloody awful" to "bloody awesome." Experiencing a financial crisis in 1981... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Customer Relationship Management; Corporate Strategy; Privatization; Air Transportation Industry; United Kingdom

Web

Curriculum - Business & Environment

that exports roses to predominantly Europe. Because cut flowers have a limited shelf life and consumers want them to retain their appearance for as long as possible, Sian or its distributors used international air cargo to View Details

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

February 2001 (Revised October 2001)
Case

JetBlue Airways: Starting from Scratch

JetBlue Airways shows how an entrepreneurial venture is able to use human resource management, specifically a values-centered approach to managing people, as a source of competitive advantage. The major challenge faced by Ann Rhoades is to grow this people-centered... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Values and Beliefs; Competitive Advantage; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Business Startups; 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

November 2016
Supplement

Irregular Operations

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

This video shows a dispatcher responding to an irregular operations situation caused by weather at an East Coast airport. View Details

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

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

21 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

Are You Sabotaging Your Own Company?

it says, people can cause time-sucking distractions that stall an organization’s output by doing physical damage to equipment, buildings, and methods of transportation using everyday items found in a home or workplace. This involves petty... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

September 1995 (Revised March 1999)
Teaching Note

Canadian Airlines: Reservations About Its Future (A) and (B) TN

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Keywords: Air Transportation; Risk and Uncertainty; Air Transportation Industry; Canada

April 2010 (Revised July 2010)
Teaching Note

JetBlue Airways: Managing Growth (TN)

By: Robert S. Huckman

Teaching Note for [609046]. View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry

August 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Accounting Turbulence at Boeing

By: Jonas Heese, Suraj Srinivasan, David Lane and James Barnett

Unlike its rival Airbus, Boeing had used a practice called program accounting to record its commercial aircraft expenses since the 1980s. Program accounting allowed Boeing to expense estimated average costs instead of the actual production costs of an aircraft. This... View Details

Keywords: Asset Recognition; Program Accounting; Airline Industry; Accounting; Production; Cost; Air Transportation Industry