ECO 500 - American Airlines, The American Airlines case

• American Airlines
• Microsoft Corporation
• Heinz Corporation

These case studies represent a variety of real-world situations. The American Airlines case addresses revenue management, the Microsoft case looks at how a company maintains market power, and the Heinz case exemplifies how a company deals with competition. Each company is in a different market structure and, therefore, finds itself facing different challenges with different options to meet those challenges.

Select one company/case study to focus on for the final project. Each company is in a difficult situation. Your objective is to analyze the situation with regard to which profit-enhancing tools are being used, what type of demand the company is facing, what its cost structure is, and what constraints and opportunities the market environment poses. Ultimately, these are the questions:

• What led the company to this situation?
• What would you recommend the company the next step?

In this journal assignment, craft a preliminary problem statement based on these questions. Your response should demonstrate your understanding of the issue at hand and include discussion of various relevant market factors that may have impact on the problem. Selecting the appropriate economic model to use in your analysis will be important in guiding your research.