Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age

In this case an airline service situation occurred that should not have happened in The Network Age. The poor use of available technology led to service problems with a loyal customer. Professor McPherson assumed that since a decade before 1995 with a similar situation and less technology he experienced extraordinary service that now in The Network Age the service of the London-based airline would have exceeded that of around 1985. With the increasing use of technology in this era there is no reason why the airline would have not embraced the technology available to them to identify that he was a first class, full fare, gold card close connecting passenger. The airline should have waited for Professor McPherson and not closed their gates 7 minutes early, he deserved a little extra service than the kind that was provided, they didn't even know who he was. I have concluded that the airline did in fact possess the technology necessary to have waited for the professor, I conclude this because the Atlanta-based airline embraced the technology available to them and delayed a flight 15 minutes, so that 8 connecting passengers may have the opportunity to board. I'm not suggesting that the London-based airline delay their flight, but it is to my understanding that the gate should have closed at 6pm.

When analyzing this situation, it comes to mind that perhaps the London-airline decided to push back early because they thought they had a full flight and that whoever was not on board was a no-show, maybe their system failed to notify them that McPherson was on his way to connect. I still believe there is no excuse for the incidence, maybe technology was something the employees were still learning to use therefore there should have been an alternate method such as a paper list or a phone call from the gate where McPherson was connecting from, they should have called the London bound flight to advise them that a first class passenger was on his way. I am pretty sure the airline has the resources to do what is expected of them, management simply failed to have the best strategy in handling their operations in place. Being that airlines are in the service industry, customer service should be one of their top priorities, this is the way that they capture repeat loyal customers, it is an industry with a lot of competition and an incident like this one most likely caused them to lose a 10 year devotee of the airline.

Professor McPherson's assumptions