AIRLINE SHUTTLESMARKET SEGMENTATION IN PRACTICE

In 1961 Eastern Air Lines started a new concept on flights from New York City to Boston and Washington, DC. Branded as the Air Shuttle, Eastern offered flights every two hours which soon became hourly. What truly made the service unique was that customers did not need to reserve a seat in advance. All they had to do was show up at the airport and they would be guaranteed to be on the next flight out. Standby aircraft were kept nearby in case of sold-out flights. One-way tickets from New York to Boston were $12 and from New York to Washington, DC were $14 dollars. In 1989 Eastern sold the shuttle to Donald Trump who attempted to make it more of a luxury experience. Following a series of bankruptcies and mergers, the original Eastern Shuttle now belongs to American Airlines. In the 1980s Pan Am had its own competing shuttle service which now belongs to Delta Air Lines.

Case study questions - Chapter 4 1. What market segment(s) were the shuttles designed to serve? 2. Research online the Delta Shuttle and American Shuttle and describe the markets, schedules, and services offered today. Are there any significant differences between them? 3. The Northeast United States is not the only place in the world with shuttle service. For instance, Iberia and Vueling offer a shuttle service between Barcelona and Madrid in Spain and multiple carriers offer air shuttle service between So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Research and describe one of these shuttle services or investigate other high-profile cities that you suspect may also have shuttle services and report on them.