Airline: A Strategic Management Simulation (4th Edition)

Easy to start-up and use—even for readers with no computer experience—this Windows based strategic management simulation turns individuals into teams with the responsibility of running a regional airline. By analyzing a company's history, financial reports, and other information provided, the teams make decisions concerning hiring, forecasting, suppliers to use, costs, etc. Teams are challenged to establish objectives, plan the strategy to accomplish those objectives, and then operate the airline on a quarter-by-quarter basis. Each team's decisions are input into a computer which acts as the flying public and assigns sales to each firm based on the decisions each has made. Team members are shown how to keep adequate records, analyze happenings and develop relationships, effectively organize the team, and delegate the work. For use by various organizations promoting team building, strategic management, and marketing strategy.

Understand that this is a simulation guide and you must use the simulation as part of a registered class. As for faults, there are many. The most glaring error is the almost total absence of information related to selections you must make from the very beginning. There is essentially no discussion of pros and cons of various options presented, therefore if any of the information is not completely understood prior to beginning the class (which obviously defeats the purpose of the class) errors can be made which can prove disastrous for the remainder of the simulation. Only my long history in the industry assisted me in making reasonable choices in the numerous gray areas.

If you insist on taking a class that uses this simulation, buy a comprehensive airline management text and read it prior to starting the class (perhaps the books by Douganis would be most helpful). Don't even think about buying this for personal use; you will get nothing from it.

As an aside, the software is extremely buggy (for myself and many others in my class), so be prepared to enter all decisions multiple times, have data disappear, never be able to find your information, etc.

All in all this is without peer in the truly horrible textbook category. If you can take an equivalent course based on case studies, or for that matter ANY other text, by all means do so. I was obviously very disappointed by this book (and software): it sounded like a good idea at the time, and I genuinely thought it could prove of value to my knowledge of the materiel; instead all I got was indigestion.


New 4th Edition...on it's way   January 10, 2001
 2 out of 5 found this review helpful

Stay tuned folks, the new and improved 4th edition is scheduled for publication during the third quarter of this year!


Where's the rest of the simulation? It's important!   May 11, 2000
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

The manager or student who does not have the assistance of an 'airline-experienced' professor, the computer software and the additional training material makes this simulation process much more difficult to comprehend, understand and complete. If the publisher and the writer would include the extra material plus the computer software, this could be a great training tool for many airline managers and others.

If you must buy this simulation in its present form, consider purchasing Paul Dempsey's book: Airline Management to get through this.


One of the top business strategy simulations   September 27, 1999
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Used worldwide, this is one of the best selling simulations for use in senior level business strategy, global strategy, marketing management, services marketing/management, airline management and tourism managment courses. The book that is listed is the STUDENT MANUAL for the course. The instructor will have the software for the simulation. This is not a stand-alone product but must be administered by the instructor in the course. This book would be the same book as purchased in the college bookstore.