OPERATIONS ASSIGNMENT
As flying becomes a commodity and as airlines strive to offer the lowest fares possible, Southwest is finding it increasingly hard to distinguish itself from its competition. A proposal has been made to offer a business class on its longer flights. This class would have more comfortable seats, more legroom, and complimentary magazines, movies, meals, drinks, and Wi-Fi. A toilet would be dedicated to this section. These passengers would also get priority boarding and de-boarding of flights. If the experiment is successful Southwest would consider rolling out business class on all its flights.
What are the operational implications of this proposal?
What role do the other functions (specifically, Finance, Marketing, and HR) have to play in examining the feasibility of this idea and successfully implementing it?