To begin with definitions,
“Consumers” are those people who actually travel. They are therefore easy to identify and analyse. They make their existence clear by reporting for flights and their requirements and preferences can be analysed using questionnaires.
They are therefore usually given a great deal of attention by those responsible for Marketing in the airline business. Unfortunately, they may not be decision-makers about
the things that matter. In Marketing, such decision-makers are defined as
“Customers”.
There are at least four customer decisions which must be analysed: