United Airlines flies to more than 200 domestic and international destinations and operates more than 3,300 flights a day. Although the airline’s hubs are strategically located in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, United’s 47,000 employees live in every U.S. state and in many countries throughout the world. According to United.com, “The Company’s portfolio of products offers the right service to the right customer and the right price.”

United Airlines dominates the business travel market that flies in and out of Denver, Colorado. United’s major strengths are the number of destinations served, multiple flights to single destinations throughout each day; different types of aircraft that offer first class, business class, and coach seating classes; and a dedicated and professional staff including gate personnel, pilots, flight attendants, and baggage handlers.

United also benefits from the lower price sensitivity of it business travelers. Business travel is typically not paid for by the individual passenger but by the passenger’s employer.

Consequently, price is frequently not the most important decision criterion when selecting an airline, whereas, flight schedule and timeliness become more important decision-making criteria.

Despite United’s success in the business traveler market, it has not been as successful in the non-business market as the airline would like. After sitting down with several focus groups to determine how non-business travelers purchase their airline ticket, the following multi-attribute matrix was developed:

As managers examined the decision-making matrix, they attempted to answer the five questions listed below. You have been hired as an outside consultant to assist in determining the correct course for United’s future marketing efforts as they pertain to non-business travelers. Please help United answer the six questions posed below.

Discussion Questions

1. According to the data collected from United Airlines and presented in the above multi-attribute matrix, describe five useful pieces of information for future managerial decision making.

2. According to the data collected from United Airlines and presented in the above multi-attribute matrix, which airline is preferred by non-business travelers?

3. Compared to the airline preferred by non-business travelers, which attributes should United Airlines seek to improve? Which attributes should receive the most immediate attention?

4. After flying with United Airlines, passengers were asked to record their perceptions regarding their experience pertaining to each of the decision-making criteria. The results are displayed in Table form below (expectation scores were obtained from the original multi-attribute matrix. Given this information, determine the size and direction of the service gap and whether customers were dissatisfied, satisfied, or delighted.

5. If United’s customers’ expectations are misaligned with their actual perceptions, what can United do to correct the situation so that in future purchase decisions, accurate rankings are entered into the consumer’s multi-attribute matrix?

6. Discuss the pros and cons of United Airlines actively pursuing non-business customers.

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CONSIDERATION SET OF AIRLINE ALTERNATIVES FOR NON-BUSINESS TRAVELERS DECISION- SOUTH- IMPOR- MAKING UNITED FRONTIER WEST AMERICAN TANCE CRITERIA AIRLINES AIRLINES AIRLINES AIRLINES WEIGHTS Price 9. 9. 9. Flight Schedule 8. Destination 10 10 10 10 Baggage Fees Leg Room In-light 10 8. 9. 8. 8. Entertainment Options Totals