From Impressed to Obsessed: 12 Principles for Turning Customers and Employees into Lifelong Fans

CHAPTER 8

Finish Strong

Over the course of its nearly 100-year history, the US airline industry has struggled to make a single dollar of cumulative profit.¹ Throughout that time, carriers have tinkered with a wide variety of passenger touchpoints in an attempt to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. They’ve rolled out loyalty programs, experimented with seating configurations, tested new meal and snack services, launched in-flight entertainment platforms, and introduced self-service check-in options.

In 2009, however, Alaska Airlines turned its attention to a part of the passenger experience that had been largely neglected by other carriers: baggage retrieval. That was the year the airline introduced its “25-Minute Baggage Guarantee.” ...