CASE CONTEXT
Imagine a company where employees hate the moment when they wake up because they know that they’re going to have to go to work. Once at work, these employees, who even consider maximizing their sick leave just to have an excuse not to be there, are all day with disgruntled customers complaining about the lousy service, the late planes and lost baggage. When the saving grace of break time finally arrives, these employees rush out and exert the utmost effort to pretend not to be associated in any way with the company to avoid helping other employees and more so to avoid the irate and angry customers.
After the few minutes of reprieve that lunch and coffee breaks provide, these very unfortunate employees are thrust once again into the hellish environment where each and everyone is trying to step on you because it’s the only way to keep their jobs amidst the rampant cost cutting by management. Working in this kind of company, these employees can’t help but to transfer all the negative energy even to their customers. Of course, you can expect that the company’s reputation will be like that of a skunk, a reputation that repels almost all that come near it.
To top of the employees’ miseries, sometimes, they don’t even get paid. Imagine working in an environment like the one described, without even being compensated properly, and even sometimes not being compensated at all. This is what is was like to be working for Continental Airlines in the year 1994. It’s unfortunate that the above description couldn’t be rightly called an exaggeration of how awful Continental’s situation was at that time because it actually accurately depicts it.
Founded over more than 80 years ago as Verney Speedlines, Continental’s pioneers Walter T. Varney and his partner Louis Mueller would probably turn in their graves if they ever lived to see the state that their creation is in. Most would look at Continental and would probably say that there never was a perfect situation where euthanasia would be justified. At the state that it was going at that time however, mercy killing wouldn’t be needed because the company was indeed on its way to its demise. But, like it was taken out from a movie, out of Continental’s gloomy darkness came forth a bright and headstrong guy by the name of George Bethune.
If others looked at Continental and saw only destruction in its future, Bethune saw a company which has the potential to become one of the best and which deserved to be fought for. Fuelled by his confidence and enthusiasm, it didn’t take long for him to take over the outdated and jaded CEO. Now that Continental has found itself a leader, it’s time for the leader to act. Bethune didn’t waste any precious time trying to get accustomed to his new leather chair. He immediately launched his brainchild, the Go Forward Plan. And as it’s been said many times, it was history after that.
PROBLEM
Having successfully executed the “Go Forward Plan” and resuscitating Continental Airlines’ dire situation, how could the company sustain its upward trend amidst new and never-before experienced problems more specifically, problems that affect its customer base? Moreover, what must it do in order to become better equipped to handle problems that are caused by external forces (e. g. terrorist attacks)?
SWOT ANALYSIS
We used SWOT Analysis in Continental’s “Go Forward Plan. In examining the strengths of the company, we discuss through explicating each of the four (4) parts of the plan.
STRENGTHS
Market Plan Fly to Win
Plan of action is focused and determined Bethune’s Fly to Win is very remarkable in the sense that it had a very clear goal, i. e. to stop doing those things that were causing the company to lose money and to concentrate on the company’s market strengths. What sets it apart from other strategic plans is that it goes straight to the point and does not dilly dally whatsoever and makes sure that the company will see through its plan whatever it takes.
Also, stating its goal in the most straightforward manner as possible leaves no room for misinterpretation and allows the members of the organization to make decisions based on this simple guideline and objective. Strategic and efficient streamlining process For a lot of companies, streamlining of business operations is a very difficult task, but not for Continental Airlines. Streamlining involved changes and although the ones that Continental Airlines implemented were drastic in nature, these were necessary in order to get its act together and achieve its goal of flying to win.
All measures that involved cutting costs (such as closing money-losing hubs, eliminating Airbus 300 from their fleet, cutting back on some of Continental Lite’s flight schedules, etc. ) were undertaken. Not only that, the company knew very well when and where it was necessary to raise fares. Doing these things as part of the streamlining process could have taken other companies decades to implement. Thanks to Bethune’s vision and strategy, Continental Airlines has taken the necessary and appropriate measures to take the company to greater heights.
Understanding the consumers’ real needs and matching product offerings with those identified needs As what Marketing professionals’ mantra goes, marketing is satisfying the consumers’ needs. It makes a whole lot of sense considering that they are the very ones who keep any business alive. Therefore it is crucial to know the market’s needs, wants and motivations. In Bethune’s Fly to Win, Continental Airlines did just that. By stepping into the shoes of its customers, Continental Airlines was able to find out that its customers preferred to pay in full for full-service flights, and not for Continental Lite’s products.
With this important learning, the company was able to take the necessary steps and was able to capitalize on this newly-gained information. Recognizing and reinforcing its partners Before the Go Forward Plan, Continental Airlines were treating travel agents as mere agents. But with Bethune’s Plan, Continental Airlines was able to recognize the value that these travel agents were bringing into the company. Because of this, the company was able to regain the trust of these travel agents and ultimately regained the trust of its customers who were booking through the agents.
Giving the consumers exactly what they want Fly to Win’s strength also lies on the fact that it moved from being company-oriented to being customer-oriented. The latter form of orientation is more beneficial since (as mentioned earlier) the customers are the ones who keep the company in business. Giving them exactly what they want— departing and arriving on time, transporting their baggage properly and promptly, etc. makes them feel that what they’re paying the company for its services is worth it.
Financial plan: Fund the Future
Having gone through two bankruptcies and being on the brink of another, Continental badly needed a reliable financial system able to produce sufficient cash flows. Rather than rely on short-term external aid, Mr. Bethune aggressively implemented the Fund the Future plan. Reliable financial system The company’s financial system underwent a major overhaul under the then new CFO Larry Kellner. Continental management now receive updated and reliable estimates of revenues, costs, and cash flows; managers were able to make more informed decisions about which routes are profitable and where fares can be raised to generate higher income.
Through time, people came to trust the system; measurements become more accurate, decisions become more effective, and resources were more properly allocated. Limited types of planes and related costs The number of plane types in Continental’s fleet was trimmed down, thereby reducing related maintenance and training costs. This enabled the company to focus and build expertise in specific models of planes. The out-of-service planes could still generate income through sublease contracts. Continental further reduced its operating costs by entering into code-sharing agreements with other airlines.
Minimized risk in debt payments Although the company cannot avoid paying its debts, there were several measures undertaken to minimize risk and strain on company finances. Contracts were renegotiated and debt was refinanced at lower interest rates. Aircraft were operated under leasing agreements, and some airport and terminal facilities were also under operating leases. Moreover, jet fuel purchases were hedged to provide a buffer in case of unexpected fuel price hikes.
Product plan: Make Reliability a Reality
Gordon Bethune’s battle cry in his noble and lofty attempt to completely reengineer Continental’s reputation as possibly one of the worst and least liked airlines in the United States, reads “Make Reliability a Reality. ” Indeed it is one catchy phrase; one that could surely be thought to have come from a witty and bright marketing agent. But the genius and consequent success of the revamping of Continental’s product so to speak, which is basically the entirety of the service that they provide the customer, can’t be attributed to the quip and ring of the slogan.
Any person with at least a modest background in marketing and an average intelligence can chance upon a nifty and catchy phrase or slogan. A truly effective plan aimed to resurrect a long dying image however, needs much more than a clever ring in its title. Much more in the case of Continental Airlines wherein the company’s executives needed to send out apologies and requests for forgiveness to various institutions and travel agents in order for them to give Continental another chance.
But with the bold new changes that Bethune has initiated, their humble act of contrition won’t go to waste as their promises of a better Continental Airlines, especially changes involving their direct service to their customers, would not be broken. Reliability a Reality’s success lies in the fact that every effort that the plan initiates is a concrete and measurable manifestation of one of the customer pains that Continental has failed or fails to fulfill which has caused its slow accumulation of such an awful reputation.
The statement in the case which reads “Anything measurable is improvable” is basically the essence of the genius that caused the successful turnaround of both Continental’s image and overall service. As proven through prior experience, the simplicity and concreteness of Bethune’s plan are the primary elements that allowed the employees and the other people involved to have an easy time both accepting and implementing the new changes. Boost on-time performance The first and arguably the most important part of the plan included the boosting of on-time performance.
This easily measurable standard which dictates that a plane can be considered on-time if it arrives at the gate within 15 minutes of the arrival time, is Bethune’s choice as the primary performance gauge that dictates whether Continental’s operations are running smoothly. This was an exceptional move for Bethune because not only is the on-time performance a readily measurable and available thanks to monthly reports by the US Department of Transportation, it is also a good enough of a broad indicator that can determine whether all the cogs of Continental Airlines are working well.
In addition to this, customer surveys significantly show that if there’s one thing that customers value regarding air travel, it’s that the flights arrive on schedule. Having pinpointed a very powerful standard to which they can work on, Bethune set out to put a system in place that would turn out to be a critical factor not only in the plan’s success but a factor in the overall relationship of Continental’s workforce. Reward system for employees
To facilitate and instigate the changes needed to achieve a better on-time rating, Bethune launched a reward system which grants all employees an additional $65 initially if Continental ranked among the top 5. Minor changes were applied to the provisions and the amount of the bonus. These changes were done in order for the bonus to not be perceived as solely focusing on rankings, but on the overall attitude and culture of working together to achieve the goals of the company.
The only thing that Bethune did differently, again a very simple move on his part but an integral one, was to define the difference between a simple payment or reward, and an incentive. Sure both terms are easily interchanged, but the difference lies in the perception of the employees. Once they realized that the best way to earn the reward was to work together as a whole and not just simply find the fastest means to the desired end, the system transformed from being a simple reward system, to being a system where working together earns additional incentives.
To highlight the difference created by Bethune’s approach, a simple reward system can be applied to anybody, even a dog, but what he created through careful understanding of the dynamics of what was happening inside his company, was a system wherein there’s a prevalent understanding of the interdependence of each part of the company and that when each part works together properly, they achieve a higher level of performance that will allow them to enjoy better rewards. Not only did the plan increase employee morale and performance, it helped save Continental some money.
Instead of spending on the effects of being inefficient, they spent the money rewarding their employees, which even costs less and at the same time, being one of the leaders at on-time performance. In that way, Everybody wins. . Improvisation of other aspects of the service. Apart from being on-time, Continental strived to improve other aspects of the its service including better baggage handling, larger overhead bins, better reservation systems, and other minor tweaks such as changing on-plane drinks and food.
In all these efforts, Bethune did not lose his way because the focus remained on how to add value to the customer’s experience. In the whole plan, efforts that have a direct relationship with customer satisfaction were prioritized. Continental transitioned from a company who has one of the worst reputations, to becoming the standard setter. D. People plan: Working Together One of the primary reasons why George Bethune was so successful in reversing Continental’s downward spiral was his ability to recognize that whatever success Continental would achieve, it would have to be attained through its people.
In as much as it sounds so unreachable, George Bethune actually aimed to overhaul and redefine Continental’s culture when it comes to how they treat their fellow employees with the “Working Together Plan. ” Principles to be held in order to change culture At the heart of the working together plan are certain principles that George Bethune realized were important to uphold if he ever wanted to achieve his goal of changing Continental’s culture.
Employees who are given the freedom to decide on their own will perform better; Employees who are well informed and who feel that management is being honest with them will work towards the company’s goals better; Employees who feel that they can readily approach their superiors to discuss certain aspects of the job will feel more will work better and will give more honest feedback; Employees in a company need to want and be working towards the right direction, otherwise it’s useless trying to guide them; Employees who are happy not only perform better, but will be able to work with other people more efficiently; Employees need to trust each other and to treat each other properly to be able to achieve teamwork; Employees who are well compensated and who can see that their labors have good fruit will be happier.
Having these principles in mind, plus the courage, patience, and perseverance to actually apply them and put them in concrete actions is what made the Working Together Plan a success. The most important aspect in this plan is the realization that the best possible situation for Continental is to have a symbiotic relationship with its people where satisfied employees work together towards a common goal, a goal which is of course the same as the company’s goal. After all, if inside the company people aren’t happy and aren’t treating each other well, how could you expect to treat customers in the way they want to be treated.
WEAKNESSES
As there is nothing that can escape from the rays of the sun, there are also things that do not have anything to escape from and Continental is of no escape to any circumstances. Not anticipating risks After the 9/11 attack exploded, Continental Airlines was put into shock. Financially, they were not totally broke off because of the help airlines received from the government. However risk management is not well thought off in terms of its operations. They were not flexible so they were jammed and caught in between. It is a task of the Risk Management team to be more futuristic, daring and bold in terms of identifying all possible problems that may arise.
The white and black thinking hats, signifying optimism and pessimism respectively, must work hand-in-hand and accept all answers from both parties. Overgenerous to employees There is a saying that “you can’t please everybody,” but for Continental, it seems to want to delight the employees with more than the things that would make them happy. Too much positive reinforcement defeats the purpose of implementing such. Because people start to be used to such due to the frequencies, the motive of the bonuses and incentives to employees is totally eradicated. History is always attached even to new management Having a new management requires employees to build trust and confidence to the management.
However what seems to happen in Continental is that employees do not try to believe in happy endings which make it difficult for management to get the support of the whole team. Building trust is difficult at first but as far as at the end of the day, those who first did not believe will be moved that sweet endings are not just in fairytales but also in reality.
OPPORTUNITIES
On a lighter note, Continental can still reclaim their stance and drop off their flaws in a moment by presenting avenues for improvement and thus having another chance to build its image. Focus on and further promote first-class services A competitive advantage of Continental Airlines is their premium class service for both international and domestic flights.
With their world-class facilities and services, they will be able to maximize this further and earn greater revenues. Continental should find communication channels that will target the first-class market and convey its message – when flying first-class, fly only with the best, fly with Continental Airlines. This market is also very profitable since they are the ones who fly often and are willing to pay a premium for first class service. They are not only high value customers but loyal customers as well. They can also increase their market share domestically and internationally through frequent flier programs as well as the privileged use of their new facilities.
Analyze the revenue increases experienced by Continental Express Continental Airlines should take a look into Continental Express’ 33% increase in passenger revenue to see what has caused it and to be able to put to use such information to further increase revenues for the parent company as well. Encourage usage of E-tickets Due to the increasing percentage of sales of e-tickets, Continental Airlines should continue to encourage its use since it is not only more convenient for the customers but efficient as well for their operations. Form partnerships with hotels and other related businesses to create travel packages Continental Airlines can form alliances with reputable hotels and businesses that create a total business or vacation travel. Mutual relationship should be created between the parties to permit good communications flow.
Partnering with these establishments is a win-win situation to both parties for instance, advertising. Publicity of the country and the particular partner establishment can be given by Continental to passengers while on-board and consequently the establishment does as well for Continental. Improve the Web site for customers to easily avail travel packages To further decrease commission expenses, Continental Airlines can form partnerships with complimentary business like car rentals, and hotels. Through these tie-ups, they will be able to come up with travel or accommodation packages. Once these packages are created, it should be made available through their Web site as well. This will not only increase customer satisfaction due to the convenience it offers, it can also help promote travelling as well.
THREATS
Let us now focused ourselves on what may still hinder Continental Airlines in achieving success. Possible Risk Factors After the starting success of Gordon’s Go Forward Plan, employees have gained a positive attitude to the current Continental bosses. Employees have established good relationships not only to the customers but even to the company’s big bosses, managers and their fellow employees. However, the Go Forward Plan failed to anticipate the possible risk factors that may dampen the short-lived success of the entire proposition.
In this regard, the aftermath of the 9/11 attack posed big threat to the company. Employee’s view in the current administration may change Due to the need to lay off some employees as well as cutting down costs on employee benefits and bonuses, employees’ view on the current administration may change. They may tend to re-live the scenarios before the Go Forward Plan. This means that employee morale can be diminished as the total number of employees and their bonuses are decreased at the same time. Employees will start to think once again that the company seem to care less of their welfare and that the company is only after recovering from the tragedy.
With this employee attitude, the company is threatened to fail in delivering the promises they offer – on-time arrivals, properly handled baggage, few if not zero customer complaints, and others. New Management may implement new culture Together with the necessary changes to respond to the 9/11 attack is a change of executives for Continental. The company is faced with the question “will Larry Kellner and C. D. Mc Lean fit well for the positions Brenneman had left? ” Bethune, for sure, has done his thorough analysis before deciding on appointing Kellner and Mc Lean on the key positions in the company.
However, it is good to note that Brenneman co-authored the Go Forward Plan. Without him, Bethune is left with two individuals who know less in making vital decisions for the turnaround strategy of the company. The line of hinking for the company goals may now be different. Thus, the company is not only challenged with the two new executives, who know less about their vital and major positions but also with the possibility of experiencing new culture and working environment.
These changes happening one after the other may create confusion and chaos not only on the employees but also to the management. A weak and problematic working environment poses threat to the quality of service the company offers. Another drastic worldwide event like the 9/11 attack Continental Airlines as well as the other airlines in the U. S is threatened with the possibility of another terrorist attack.
With the masterminds of the attack not yet being caught and with the existence of another terrorism tactics, the whole industry is faced with the problem on how to react to possible situations. More so, the whole market may continuously exhibit negative attitude to the idea of traveling through planes. Thus, the airline industry is burdened on implementing a campaign to win back customer trust and confidence as well as encouraged to ensure safety of the employees and customers on board.
STRATEGIC CANVASS
Looking at the strategic canvass, one can note that continental has high ranks on on-time flights, 4th and handled baggage, 3rd. However on the two remaining aspects, Continental only ranks 5th and 7th.
One can deduce that the Go Forward Plan was very successful in instilling the attitude of promptness and reliability to Continental employees. The bonuses given during the Go Forward Plan paid off that even if there is no similar amount of bonuses given after the 9/11 attack, employees continue to execute the same working habits. Having these in mind, one can conclude that Continental airlines can strengthen their image and strategy through banking on their strengths – delivering on-time flights and handled baggage. One can notice in the line graphs of the other airlines that there is always a trade-off between on-time flights and handled baggage. Those companies who rank high in on-time flights rank low in handling baggage.
As noted in the case, when employees try to be very prompt in terms of flight time, they neglect some responsibilities like taking into account the baggage, cleanliness of the planes, etc. This scenario may explain why companies except Continental airlines cannot afford to perform well in both criteria. Thus, Continental Airlines, backed by the Air Travel Consumer Report, can make a promise that they can surely bring their passengers on time to their destination without having to lose any customer baggage. The two remaining criteria serve as areas for improvement for Continental Airlines. As the company encourages e-booking, a system must be developed to help the company monitor the reservation, cancellation and buying and selling of plane tickets.
Through this, the company will lessen if not eliminate the chance of selling too many tickets for a flight with no enough seats for all. More so, the nature of the complaints must be taken into account so that management will know well how to address them. Continental Airlines must formulate abrupt responses to customer complaints so as to show that truly the airlines look after their customers. Complaints must be noted and discussed thoroughly to avoid having to deal with them again.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is every company’s wish to be number in their industry. It may be an ambitious move however, there is nothing wrong with striving to be at the peak of success and experience what it has to be on top.
As for Continental Airlines, Southwest Airlines may be the top of the mind airline brand by customers but they are not always the “Number 1” in all aspects of the industry giving Continental and other airline players the chance to be labeled “The Best. ” At this part, we will be proposing moves that are possible for Continental Airlines to implement. Using the 3C’s Model, which consists of Customer, Company, Competition, the model helps us look through at these three different success factors strategically. We will be discussing solutions that Continental Airlines may apply in each of these three factors.
CUSTOMER
Every business cannot sustain and build up without customers. These people are the reasons first and foremost, that businesses bud up. Adapting the famous quotation, “the customer is always right,” does not directly equate to giving in what the one specific market wants. It is more about creating value that make customers go back to the business for more. Rewards or incentives for customers to take plane Continental Airlines should offer customers who opts to fly with them a certain “loyalty program” wherein frequent customers can be offered upgrades and discounts on particular months especially when there is no travel traffic. For first-time travelers of Continental, they can be offered special drinks while on board. Provide safety on board
Making people feel secure while they are using your product is inevitable in every aspect of any business. Careful and stricter identification rules can be implemented at the Continental Airlines receiving counter for heavy luggage. Aside from the long inspections made at the airport entrance, customers will understand another baggage inspection round. Inside the plane, Continental’s stewards and stewardess should regularly roam around to ask about the customers’ needs and in the case that if they feeling something wrong out of their normal day, Continental can aide by responding to that unusual feeling through application of medical techniques they are thought about.
Veering away from such drastic scenarios, stewards and stewardess should make the customers feel that they are indeed approachable so in any time that something might occur to them, there would be no panic situation and hysterical situation on the customer side. Bigger discounts for business people Business people are the frequent flyers of the airline industry. Continental Airlines can capitalize on these people by offering seat upgrades or discounts if they have traveled with Continental a particular number of times or number of mileage. Aside from being an individualistic approach, Continental can also offer group or family packages to business people to signal to them that Continental is not just a business friend but also a fun and adventurous one.
COMPANY
Intensify online ticketing At the beginning of year 2000, the world entered the digital age. Thus, to keep up and to take the company forward, Continental Airlines should take advantage of online ticketing. Although it was already mentioned in the case that they are moving toward that direction, there should be more efforts to encourage its customers to book online. For instance, Continental Airlines can give discounts to repeat online ‘book’ers (e. g. Book online today and pay 10% less for your next online booking). Also, the company could come up with a raffle wherein everyone who books online is eligible to win 2 free roundtrip tickets to the destination-of-the-month.
To make this effective, the chances of winning should be fairly reasonable, that is, there is at least a 5% chance of winning (unlike in the lottery). Diversify portfolio In order to become better equipped to handle the negative repercussions of certain fortuitous events and to manage the effects of unexpected problems whose roots Continental Airlines in no way has a control over, our group suggests that the company diversify its portfolio. One suggestion is that it grow its online booking of flights, car and hotel reservations. In short, Continental Airlines will also become a one-stop travel organizer. In this regard, Continental Airlines can improve their website and include more offers and create attractive bundles for its customers.
On the other hand, a better way of preparing itself for fortuitous events and unanticipated problems that concern the entire airline industry, Continental Airlines can invest in unrelated but profitable businesses. Holding shares in negatively correlated businesses manages the risks that the company faces. By doing so, should there be any other terrorist attacks that are airline-related, Continental Airlines have backup reserves from their other businesses. Make bonuses more effective The problem with Bethune’s bonus plans is that Continental Airlines is becoming too generous to its employees. Generosity is not a problem but as the saying goes, too much of something is bad enough.
Because the company has been too generous, the money that could have been reinvested in the company or somewhere else and that could have saved the company after 9/11, were mostly given as bonuses. Also because the bonuses come in as often as possible, its effectiveness as a reward/ positive reinforcement decreases. What Continental Airlines can do is to set higher standards. In that way, not only does the company save up on bonus expenses but also, the employees are challenged and are motivated to do an even better job. Continue to hedge jet fuel purchases With the war in the Middle East, a decrease in oil supply might occur affecting fuel prices.
Continental Airlines should continue to hedge its fuel purchases to decrease the risk of price fluctuations. Capitalize on Luxury planes To accommodate its first class customers, Continental Airlines will need to continue improving its premium facilities and services for them to maintain their competitive advantage and to grow its market share. This should be taken as an investment since this will increase their revenues since its loyal high value customers, who are their most profitable customers as well, will have high customer satisfaction. Lease out-of-service planes Subleasing out-of-service planes will help Continental Airlines in generating cash inflows from assets that are no longer useful to them.
However, they should also make sure of the condition of the planes that they will be subleasing since they will be the one incurring the maintenance expenses for these aircrafts. Keep the 53% ownership of Continental Express Continental Airlines should look into its potential since it has experienced significant increases in passenger revenues. More markets for Continental Express can be explored as well.
COMPETITION
The basic theme of our group’s recommendation with regard competition is unlike the usual recommendations. You see, the situation that the entire industry is in after 9/11 is a devastating one. Because of this, our group thinks that this is the perfect time to unite as an industry and to promote co-opetition.
By joining forces and forming alliances with other airlines, the costs and efforts of rebuilding the industry after what happened are spread and distributed out to all the players. In that way, no single company shoulders incredibly huge costs. As an industry, they can evaluate their respective market traffic in all of their hubs and points and from that, implement code sharing in destinations/ routes that are not too profitable. After the entire airline industry has successfully implemented co-opetition and rebuilt the industry, then it is time to promote healthy competition once again. When that time comes, we suggest Continental to sponsor a US sports league, to be specific, to become the official airline sponsor of the Major League Baseball.
It is a wise investment since consumers have time and time again expressed their preference for products and/ or services from companies that sponsor events they like. Turnaround strategies for a business in crisis The turnaround strategies of Continental Airlines in the mid 1990s can be used in future times when the company needs to respond to a crisis. The overall turnaround strategy is a “combination of efforts” which involves the following 4 categories: Selling of Assets Continental has previously employed this strategy when it sold its excess parts inventories in the mid-1990s. This is also achieved when limiting flights to profitable routes or in deciding to close certain hubs. Strategy Revision
Continental has done this in overhauling its financial and human resource management systems. The company could further benefit by implementing strategies that focus on high-value customers. Boosting Revenues Aside from increasing air fares, Continental may boost revenues by offering a travel planner services in which they help the customer arrange not just the flight itself but also hotel accommodations and other services the customer is interested in. Cut Costs The company keeps its costs down through effective contract negotiations, hedging and code-sharing agreements. Turnaround strategies will inevitably involve risks and must be implemented before it is too late.
CONCLUSION
The group strongly believes that the different recommendations categorized through the 3Cs – Customer, Competitor and Company – will help Continental Airlines to address the different growing concerns in the industry and within the company. Through using the framework, Continental not only identified the needs and roles of each player in the market but also formulated ways to strongly answer these requirements.
In addition to the recommendations from the 3C framework are necessary steps done by most companies in times of crisis or attacks that greatly affect the economy status of the industry. The group identified combination of efforts from selling of assets, revision of strategy to boosting revenues and cutting costs. Through the diffusion of efforts, Continental will surely not miss out any possible and feasible way to fly back to the glory days of the company.
