ABSTRACT
We come now to one of the most demanding aspects of airline marketing today – the attempt to apply relationship management concepts. Theoretically, the segmentation of the air travel market means that airlines should be well placed to take advantage of some of the techniques of relationship marketing. As they have attempted to do so, though, very substantial costs have arisen, costs which make the question of the return being obtained on their investment a controversial one. Also, to their shame, too often the relationships between an airline and its customers are poor and, in this author’s opinion, in many cases deservedly so.
