Case 3 -Online Air Travel: Expedia,
Orbitz, and Travelocity Lead the
Pack
Submitted by - Hnin Yadanar Bo (Roll No- 6)
Aung Ko Min (Roll No-42)
Eindra Thin Htet Soe (Roll No -81)
Q (1). Does the service characteristic of intangibility change once a service is
placed on the web?
Ans: The intangibility characteristics of a particular service come into play when
services cannot be heard, seen, felt, tasted etc and hence, becomes even more
evident on the web and doesnt change. This means that a customer (while booking
tickets online) might or might not have a sense of the service quality before going
for the product, unlike in the case of buying groceries from the market place. This
leads to a certain level of uncertainty since customers will then have to start
looking for other signs to know about the service quality. This could be done by
browsing through the website, looking at the product portfolio, getting a feel of the
website structure, content and aesthetics used. Customer testimonials can also
sometimes be viewed in order to draw comparisons between the company and its
competitors. Companies would need to invest time and energy into building very
good websites and online touch points with customers for better brand perception.
Positioning of the brand plays a major role. Physical evidence, presentation and
conduct of employees/staff are also other concentration areas for better brand
development. Portraying a friendly, dynamic and unique image will go a long way
in ensuring better connect and tangibilizing the brand.
Q(2). Does the service of inseparability once a service is placed on the wed? Please
explain.
Ans: Yes, wed-based service is not separate. Because services cannot be separated
from the service providers. Inseparability (also known as simultaneity) is used in
marketing to describe a key quality of services that distinguishes them from goods.
In this case, some parts of airline are inseparability service when flight
is on-boarded, service can be consumed only. Pre-service consumption includes
airport lounge facilities, web-checking, interconnection between customers, service
providers, and other customers sharing the experience. Moreover, wed-based
service are minimize waiting time and increased customer satisfaction.
Q(3). Does the service of heterogeneity once a service is placed on the wed? Please
explain.
Ans: Yes, online air travel can be heterogeneity on the wed. Mostly, wed-based
services are more consistence than labor-intensive services when booking online.
But the service quality by plane may differ from the first time customers travelled
by that airline to the second. Because employees who directly speak to a customer
service representative is more or less experienced.
Q(4) Does the service characteristic of perishability change once a service is
placed on the web? Please explain.
Ans: Perishability is used in marketing to describe the way in which a service
capacity cannot be stored for sale in the future. Services cannot be stored, saved,
returned, or resold once they have been used. Once rendered to a customer, the
service is completely consumed and cannot be delivered to another
customer.Services are perishable in two regards. First, the relevant resources,
processes, and systems of a service are assigned for delivery during a definite
period in time. For example, an airline can only sell seats on an airplane prior to
the departure. This service is only available for that definite time period. An empty
seat on a plane never can be utilized and charged after departure.Second, when the
service has been completely rendered, this particular service irreversibly vanishes
as it has been consumed by the consumer. For example, once a passenger on an
airplane has been transported to his destination, he cannot be transported again to
this location at this point in time.The perishability services are not useful after once
use and it is not storable, save and returnable. If the service is placed on the web it
cannot return to company or not save for future use. These types of services are not
reverse and no any other person can use these on second time. The perishability
services can be placed online with the relevant system, and process.
Q(5). Why would an airline, such as Southwest Airlines, not participate with
online travel search engines such as Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity?
Ans: It costs money to be there and they can control the variables and
environment better on their website.Short Answer: It costs money to be there and
they can control the variables and environment better on their website.In order to
be price competitive, they did not want to pay travel agents a 10% commission.
(This was the 1970s) So they sold tickets by the phone, at the airport, or at their
office, but always direct. As computers evolved, travel agents began connecting to
an airlines fares by computer, rather than books and a phone. Airlines began
developing proprietary systems for managing ticket sales, allowing other airlines to
be in their systems for a fee. The biggest were Apollo (United) and Sabre
(American). Southwest still refused to pay the distribution costs of the tickets.
When the internet became more broadly available to consumers, Southwest jumped
on the opportunity, becoming the first major airline to sell tickets online. Other
airline followed and soon after, 3rd party sites came to be, using the GDS' (Global
Distribution Systems) like Sabre and Apollo to display all of the flights and fares.
Acting like modern day travel agents, and putting many travel agents out of
business.Today, while Southwest has become a much larger airline, it still does not
want to pay the GDS' for access to their systems. However, today Southwest has a
much stronger brand which can drive more people to their website. And by having
the website as the primary channel of distribution, they can control a lot of things
that they could not within the confines of a GDS.
It has been debated whether the GDS' are really necessary anymore as middlemen.
And besides Southwest, other airlines are trying to bring more people to their
controlled distribution channel. In the past few days, Delta and American have
removed their flight from several 3rd party websites.
