By Gerry Yemen and Elliott Weiss, a senior researcher and a professor, respectively, at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.The big idea: News flash — airlines are service operations. With elites comfortably flying the friendly skies under Premieres, AAdvantage, Gold Member and SkyPriority programs, what do service operations look like for an airline carrier that offers no frequent-flier perks? What choices must an organization make to compete effectively?