Cross-platform network migration of airline business model: A Signal of the "new game" hybrid model

The shift in airline industry competitive landscape provides a fit in analyzing firm level performance. The industry traditional structure has been dominated by two contesting business models: Full Service Network Carriers and the Low Cost Carriers. The level of contestability among the existing business models has pushed carriers to seek new level of operational efficiency by migrating the current business model. For this reason, this paper attempts to explore this strategic shift by drawing the imperative from Air Berlin´s business performance as it attempts to define its footprint as a hybrid carrier. Evidence presented in the paper explores the core characteristics that have underpinned a troubled industry and evidently presents the metric indicators of Air Berlin. The findings clearly indicates that airline business models are no longer sustainable in their current forms, hence there is a need to adopt a cross‐platform migration in order to capture a new level of operational efficiency.