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The Airline Industry’s Tech Problem — Digital Marketing News This Week

Jeremy Kressmann

Skift Take

Technology-driven innovation has done wonders for airline industry stock prices. But is that innovation also doing wonders for passengers? Right now the answer seems to be no.

What's left to be said at this point about United Airlines' horrific passenger "re-accommodating" situation from last week? Putting aside the company's misguided thinking about everything from customer service to crisis communications, there may be an even bigger issue lurking beneath the surface: Any company, not just United, can get into trouble when it prioritizes procedure over customer-first thinking. A great explanation of this phenomenon comes from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in his yearly letter to shareholders. As Bezos notes, good companies don't get overly focused on "process" at the expense of customers.

"Good process serves you so you can serve customers. But if you’re not watchful, the process...becomes the proxy for the result you want

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