Tableau Write Up Guide

(Assume pre COVID Days)

Problem:

American Airlines (AA) reported a $3 billion loss in 2019. The airline attributes this loss to increased competition in the domestic industry, especially with respect to business class travel. The problem being investigated is the effect on profits of lost sales. We think this is the problem, with respect to profitability, because the airlines cost structure has not changed according to reports. The most logical driver of lost profits is therefore lost sales.

Investigation:

VISUAL 1

Visual 1 is needed to start the investigation of AAs sales in comparison to the rest of the domestic industry. It clearly shows that AAs total revenues have declined, in total, over a three year period, while United, Southwest and Delta have had steady increases. We are going to investigate the sales of AA more intently.

VISUAL 2

Visual 2 is needed to further investigate AAs revenues, over the past three years, by investigating the trends in overall sales, domestic sales, business class sales, coach sales and foreign sales. The visual clearly shows that all sales have declined, over the period, except for coach sales, and that the most precipitous decline has been in the business class. We are going to investigate the business class sales more closely.

VISUAL 3

Visual 3 is needed to drill down into the business class sales of AA over a three year period, looking at both AAs trend and the industry trend. The visual clearly shows that AAs sales have declined over the period, with the majority of the decline attributed to domestic business sales rather than foreign business class sales. Further, the competition has shown steady increases in these sales, both foreign and domestically.

Conclusion:

The analysis supports our initial problem statement that AA has lost profitability, over a three year period, due to lost sales. We have been able to attribute this loss to a decline in sales in the domestic market. We suggest that AA focus its attention on becoming more competitive in this segment.