Every company thrives on its customers. The customer is king, as a satisfied customer shows a high intent to repurchase, thereby ensuring the long-term success of the company. To achieve this, it is essential to expand customer relationship management and establish customer loyalty, so that the willingness to switch remains low due to loyalty to the company. Pursuing this goal is complicated, as cost factors often take precedence. This is also reflected in the aviation industry, which is feeling the impact of the crisis through significant cutbacks. Using the example of an Austrian airline, it is demonstrated how the use of customer relationship management tools affects customer retention and what opportunities exist for maintaining and expanding customer relationships despite the challenging circumstances.