GROUP B

Joe Jacobs, Katie Pitlyk, Blair Milster & Debbie Chapman

	www.aa.com
	MANAGERIAL WORK
	DECISION ROLE
	EXAMPLES OF DECISIONS
	SUPPORT PROVIDED
	KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION, PRESENTATION AND SELECTION
	DSS BENEFITS

MANAGERIAL WORK

The Decision Support System of American Airlines is designed to support the user's decision whether to fly with American Airlines. It does this by querying the user for their travel characteristics (times, dates, departure and arrival cities) and then it searches the various flights in its databases and presents the user with different options for completing their travel plans with American Airlines.

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DECISION ROLE

What this DSS does is remove the traveler's need to put together flight itineraries before they can, then the DSS considers them in terms of what the traveler considers to be important. The traveler can now look at their options for travel and then evaluate them in terms of what is important to the traveler. For example, the DSS finds out the different ways the user can get from point A to point B, so all the user has to do is decide which option fits into their preferences and/or needs in terms of time (departure, delays, connections, etc.), costs, and comfort (first class, business, or coach).

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EXAMPLES OF DECISIONS

Examples of decisions that the American Airlines DSS system supports:

1. What flight does one want to take?
• When does one want to return?
• When does one want to depart?
• How much does one want to pay?
• Does one want a direct flight or a layover?
• Does one want to fly first class, business class, or coach?


2. What items are required in order for one to travel by airplane?



3. How much time does one need to take off of work based on flight itinerary and time allotted for security checkpoints?



4. One will need to make arrangements to and from the airport once the flight is selected.

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SUPPORT PROVIDED

Characterization of the support provided, including:

1. What knowledge does it provide?
• Price
• Flight number
• Kind of aircraft
• Membership earned mileage
• Arriving city, date, and time
• Departing city, date, and time
• Seats available in desired class
• Security checkpoint updates and what items are required for travel
• Details of different flights to help the user decide which flight should be taken


2. What problems does it solve during decision-making?
• Provides user the ability to view the flights available based upon user's choices.
• Allows first time flyers of American Airlines easy-to-follow instruction on how to reserve a flight.
• Informs the user what changes have been made in security procedures and what types of items are needed for domestic and international travel.
• Assists users by providing on-line information for travel planning, security updates, documentation required for travel, and flight status updates.
• Provides updated frequent flyer information, therefore, enabling a frequent flyer the ability to plan flights based upon mileage earned, elite status service, and free timetable downloads.


3. What kinds of support does it furnish?
• View seat maps
• Vacation planning
• Refund information
• Check flight status
• Reserve a car or hotel
• Check out special offers
• Travel planning assistance
• Find flight dates and times
• Check out new service routes
• Information on health and air travel
• User can choose flight status delivery
• Finds gate and time for any given flight
• View frequent flyer membership information
• Download mobile and wireless timetables at no charge
• Instructs a guest member how to reserve a flight with American Airlines
• Reserve a flight on-line if a member of American Airlines AAdvantage® club
• Review current flight reservations and allows instructions on how to change flight information
• Information on programs and services for all members, guest members, and former TWA members


4. How could the system be used?
• Find travel planning information.
• Allows American Airlines to tactfully solicit users.
• Find gate, time, and status of any given American Airlines flight.
• Users can obtain information about the American Airlines company.
• Plan a trip based on user's desired needs and allows the user to sort flights by schedule or by price.
• Provides on-line forms for guest members to fill out if they desire to become a member of American Airlines.
• American Airlines club members can view on-line their frequent flyer mileage information and any special offers.
• First time flyers, frequent flyers, and international flyers can receive the latest updates in airport security, travel warnings, and documentation required for travel.

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KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION, PRESENTATION, AND SELECTION

The American Airlines DSS provides a user friendly interface for both first-time flyers up to experienced, frequent flyers. American Airlines assumes users of their DSS are interested in traveling by airplane, therefore, the DSS considers all types of flyers; first-time, frequent, international, members and non-members of AAdvantage®, and former TWA flyers in their DSS design. The trademark colors (red, white, and blue) of American Airlines are distributed throughout the page creating a colorful and eye-catching layout. This layout not only is pleasing to the users eye, but is a subtle way of incorporating marketing strategies into a DSS. Each page provides instructions and guidelines in the forms of buttons, tags, highlighted text links, and selection boxes, which enable the user to manuever quickly throughout the DSS.

The American Airlines home page provides a semi-defaulted flight planner with a current month's calendar that allows the user to simply click on the desired dates of travel. The semi-defaulted planner is a visual training aid for the user of the DSS. The DSS does require the user to enter the departing and arriving cities. One disadvantage of the DSS, which could be modified to better assist the user by providing a drop down menu of cities where American Airlines hubs are located, including an "other" option allowing the user to enter a city of choice. By doing so, American Airlines could track the "other" cities as possibilities for future hub locations. Another home page feature provides members of American Airlines the ability to login to their own home page, which provides current mileage updates, specials, and incentives earned according to the number of American Airline flights the member has purchased. In addition, the DSS enables first-time users interested in joining AAdvantage® to do so by filling out an on-line form. For the users who are not interested in becoming an AAdvantage® member, they are encouraged to use the DSS as a guest member and are provided instruction on how to reserve a flight as a guest member.

Once a member performs a login by using their AAdvantage® number and selected pin number, their name appears at the top of the page. After a first-time user signs up for AAdvantage®, they can immediately login to their own home page. Members are sent an e-mail confirmation of their login account information and are informed they will receive an official membership card in the mail 4-6 weeks after their first mileage transaction is posted. If a member has forgotten a pin number, the DSS provides instructions on changing the pin number. The DSS tracks member usage through the use of cookies and informs the user that their mileage account information is updated when flight transactions have occurred. Members of AAdvantage® have the ability to fill out a personal profile form that asks questions based on the flyers preferences for reserving flights.

The DSS of American Airlines requires information obtained from the users selections to be sent out across the American Airlines network sorting through multiple databases to determine flights that are available to offer to the user for purchase. In order to do so, American Airlines must have real-time system & database updates with behind the scenes personnel maintaining those systems.

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DSS BENEFITS

Benefits of the American Airlines Decision Support System:

• User friendly interface.
• Current travel updates are available.
• Changes in travel plans can be performed on-line.
• Flight itineraries can be viewed and special requests can be made.
• Airport security and regulation information can be obtained on-line.
• Members can receive Net SAAver e-mail offers and updates from American Airlines.
• Users can use the model to select flight information that exactly fits their needs.
• Never rude to the user and willing to search available flights on-demand, over and over again.
• Free timetable downloads are available for pc's, laptops, palm pilots, and other forms of technology.
• The model can be manipulated by the user with no time limit restrictions placed on the user for making a desired decision.
• Flight reservations can be made on-line, therefore, one doesn't have to wait on the phone for the next available representative.
• Investors, members of American Airlines, or any general user of the DSS can obtain information about the American Airlines Corporation.
• Loved ones, friends, colleagues, etc. of passengers on American Airline flights can visit the DSS as a guest member in order to get flight information updates or contact phone numbers for contacting American Airlines representatives.
• Records of mileage accounts, club status, special membership offers, and personal profile information is current and can be viewed anytime 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without having to keep the paperwork filed away somewhere.

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URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~s060134/american.html
Page owner: Debbie Chapman
E-mail: getn2shape@hotmail.com
Source: AmericanAirlines®