Airimagination

by Nawal K. Taneja

Unprecedented social changes, accelerated by facilitating technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic, are calling for airlines to think deeply and non-conventionally on what will be important to existing and new travelers, as they change their lifestyles. New thinking requires airlines to extend the boundaries of their businesses to go beyond their traditional domains. This need goes beyond the renovation and iteration of conventional products to the transformation of products requiring new ideas and ways to scale them. Examples include the development of cost-effective urban air mobility, intermodal passenger transportation, door-to-door travel that is sustainable, and personalized offers. Airimagination : Extending the Airline Business Boundaries raises some thought-provoking questions and provides a direction for practical solutions. For example, what if airlines developed products and services that finally meet end-to-end needs of customers seamlessly by collaborating in the value-adding open ecosystems, using platforms that facilitate effective engagement with both "digital and nondigital" customers and employees in real time and at each touch point? Ironically, the current time is an advantage for some airlines as they already have had to deal with a deep and wide disruption caused by the pandemic, leading operations to start from ground zero. This book, the latest in a long and well-regarded series by Nawal K. Taneja, explores innovative best practices within the airline business world, complemented by numerous insightful perspectives contained in multiple forewords and thought leadership pieces. This book is aimed primarily at high-level practitioners within the airline industry and related businesses.

236 pages, Hardcover

Published September 29, 2022

About the author

awal K. Taneja has over 45 years of experience in the airline industry sector, having worked for and advised major airlines and related businesses worldwide. His experience also includes the presidency of a small airline that provided schedule and charter service with jet aircraft and the presidency of a research organization that provided consulting services to the air transportation community throughout the world. Within the academic community, he has served on the Faculties at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (as an Associate Professor) and at the Ohio State University (Professor and later as Chair of both the Department of Aviation and the Department of Aerospace Engineering). On the government side, he has advised worldwide Departments of Civil Aviation, Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism in matters relating to the role of government-controlled airlines and their management. He continues to advise airlines and related businesses, government policymakers, and the financial investment groups on the changing dynamics of the global aviation industry, evolving airline business models, and the role of evolving technologies to adapt to face ambiguity, complexity, volatility, and uncertainty.