1. In the case, both airlines upgraded to the same application but approached the upgrade process differently. What were those differences, and how much impact did they have on the outcome of the project?

WestJet decided to switch over their software to Sabre, a provider of technology to more than 300 other airlines and owner of popular travel site, Travelocity. The company decided upon switching over in October, after switching to a lighter, winter schedule. To aid with the changes the airline canceled some flights. When preparing for the transfer WestJet’s biggest challenge was the overnight transitions of 840,000 files/transactions of customers who had already purchased flights. WestJet did not feel it was necessary to reduce the numbers of passengers on the flights operating after the cutover, nor did they tell customers of its upgrade plans until the day of the switch.
In regards to the impact on the outcome of the project, WestJet’s Web site crashed repeatedly, which lead to an overwhelmed call center. The issues from the long waits and booking difficulties took months to resolve which caused WestJet’s customer loyalty scores to fall. This forced the airline to send apology letters, offer flight credits, and evidentially a month later bolstered its call center with temporary staff members in India for assistance.
On the other hand, JetBlue Airways upgraded to the same software after studying what happened during WestJet’s transition. Upon the switch over, JetBlue decided to make its switch on a Friday night in January. The airline then trimmed its schedule that weekend and purposely sold abnormally low numbers of seats on any remaining flights. Because of the crash of WestJet’s Web site issues, JetBlue developed a backup system. Lastly, JetBlue contracted 500 outside reservation agents.
As for the impact of the updates, because of all the prep and