Beyond disruption lies innovation: What really creates jobs, value and long-lasting businesses

by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

The era of international travel began in the mid-19th century, with the golden age of transatlantic ocean-going. The British company Cunard, a leader in the industry, transported millions of immigrants from Europe to the United States around the turn of the 20th century. By the end of World War II it had emerged as the largest Atlantic passenger line, operating 12 ships to the United States and Canada as it captured the flourishing North Atlantic travel market in the first postwar decade.

That golden age came to an end with the advent of commercial jet flights. Whereas one million passengers crossed the Atlantic by boat in 1957, air travel caused that figure to fall to 650,000 by 1965, with roughly six people flying for each passenger going by sea. Ocean liners simply could not match the speed and convenience of jet planes.

But while other oceangoing companies were destroyed by the advent of the jet age, Cunard innovated “luxury vacationing at sea” and opened up the modern cruise industry. Until then ocean liners, like airplanes, had been viewed principally as a mode of transportation from point A to point B. Cunard changed that by making them platforms for recreation and star-studded entertainment.