Airlines' futures

Most airlines had been at the height of their prosperity before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The incident has, however, afflicted the airlines with severe financial crisis. Airlines realised that they needed to change their ways of business, placing customers' behaviour and WTP (willingness to pay) before anything else. This is referred to as a customer-specific service – considering their buying pattern, WTP, demand elasticity, etc. In order to do this it is necessary to know customers' profiles or buying history. This is called customer-centric Revenue Management, which is a mixture of RM (Revenue Management) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Airlines should provide the right service and the right product ahead of the customer's request. So far airlines have been waiting for customers to choose their displayed products, but from now on the air carriers should move closer to customers to grasp what needs to be done.