A tale of two airlines case
F . WARREN MCFARLAN
Tale of Two Airlines in The Network Age: Or Why The Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well!
As Professor Roger McPherson’s wait to go through the security process a second time dragged on into its third hour on this Spring day in 2002, (all passengers had to be rescreened upon the discovery that one of the airport screening machines was unplugged) he was reminded of another delayed business trip and the role that information technology played in the story.
At 5:30pm on February 15, 1995, 200 feet off the ground, Professor Roger McPherson gazed anxiously through the fog as his airplane moved to touch down at Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, more than 1 hour and 15 minutes late. He had 30 minutes to catch his 6:00pm flight to London, where he would be meeting with the executive leadership of a major British power company to discuss their information strategy.
He felt fortunate, however, to be flying this carrier, which had a reputation for outstanding service. He was even more comfortable because he had a full-fare first-class ticket and was a Gold Card member. Professor McPherson was always uneasy about the large premium charged for full, first-class tickets, but knew that in a crunch it often meant the difference between a making a connection and missing one. He well remembered a decade ago flying this airline from Milan to London to connect to a flight to New York. Bad weather then had also reduced his 1-hour-and-30-minute connect time to 10 minutes. A discussion of the problem with the first-class cabin attendant had resulted in a phone call from the pilot to London (the airline 's hub city), and a car to whisk him and one other passenger to the New York flight, which took off only one minute late. That extraordinary service had made Professor McPherson a 10-year devotee of the airline.
In the network age, he knew it would be different and he was secure. The airline flying to London would have identified him off their computer
Tale of Two Airlines in The Network Age: Or Why The Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well!
As Professor Roger McPherson’s wait to go through the security process a second time dragged on into its third hour on this Spring day in 2002, (all passengers had to be rescreened upon the discovery that one of the airport screening machines was unplugged) he was reminded of another delayed business trip and the role that information technology played in the story.
At 5:30pm on February 15, 1995, 200 feet off the ground, Professor Roger McPherson gazed anxiously through the fog as his airplane moved to touch down at Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, more than 1 hour and 15 minutes late. He had 30 minutes to catch his 6:00pm flight to London, where he would be meeting with the executive leadership of a major British power company to discuss their information strategy.
He felt fortunate, however, to be flying this carrier, which had a reputation for outstanding service. He was even more comfortable because he had a full-fare first-class ticket and was a Gold Card member. Professor McPherson was always uneasy about the large premium charged for full, first-class tickets, but knew that in a crunch it often meant the difference between a making a connection and missing one. He well remembered a decade ago flying this airline from Milan to London to connect to a flight to New York. Bad weather then had also reduced his 1-hour-and-30-minute connect time to 10 minutes. A discussion of the problem with the first-class cabin attendant had resulted in a phone call from the pilot to London (the airline 's hub city), and a car to whisk him and one other passenger to the New York flight, which took off only one minute late. That extraordinary service had made Professor McPherson a 10-year devotee of the airline.
In the network age, he knew it would be different and he was secure. The airline flying to London would have identified him off their computer