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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The principles of marketing apply to the airlines industry also as much as any other product/service. Airlines marketers also have to cater to the needs of customers. The following definition developed by the British institute of management holds good for airlines: Marketing is simply customerorientation, looking at your business from customers point of view. An airlines executive put it differently, In airlines business we need three thing: service, more service, and even more services. This report focuses on passenger handling and flight operation did by airlines. By this report you can get the overview of the services and functions of the airlines. In this observation for passenger handling and flight operation, first take on the job training and observed the passenger handling done by the airline staff at the airport i.e. hospitality, information, function of airline and also flight operation done by airline staff at the airport i.e. baggage container, boarding check, break up. As one goes through detail of this report he/she can know the services and functions of air lines. Flight operation and Passenger handling are combined activity. If one of the functions of FO and PH is lacking then it affect to the functions of the both activities. Brief information about airport function which passenger have to pass through it. Passenger handling of departure passengers at airport. Step 1. Announcement for Security checking and Check in. Step 2. Issuing Boarding Pass and Baggage Tag to the passengers Step 3. Immigration Step 4. Security Hold and Boarding Check Now For Passenger Handling of Arrival Passengers at Airport. Step 5. Immigration Checking Step 6. Collect their Baggage Step 7. Custom Checking
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Many other services also included in passenger handling like Greetings to arrive and Departing Passenger First Priority to First class and Business class passengers When passengers require some guidance or information than floor workers have to provide accurate information to the passengers. If flight is delayed than floor workers has to serve food and tea-coffee to passengers. Wheel Chair Facilities for Aged people and physically handicap people. If the passenger is infant or not mature Airline takes responsibility to handover such passenger to their relatives at the Airport.
INDUSTRY PROFILE:
Definition Of Aviation
Aviation refers to flying using aircraft, machines designed by humans for atmospheric flight. More generally, the term also describes the activities, industries, and regulatory bodies associated with aircraft.
History
Many cultures have built devices that travel through the air, from the earliest projectiles such as stones and spears, to more sophisticated buoyant or aerodynamic devices such as the boomerang in Australia, the hot air Kongming lantern, or kites. There are early legends of human flight including a kite flight by Yuan Huangyou in chain, the parachute flight of Armen Fireman and the glider flight of Abbas Ibn firnas. The modern age of aviation began with the first untethered human lighter-than-air flight on November 21, 1783, in a hot air balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers. Balloon flight became increasingly common over longer and longer distances throughout the 19th century, continuing to the present. The practicality of balloons was limited by the fact that they could only travel downwind. It was immediately recognized that a steerable, or dirigible, balloon was required. Although several airships, as steerable balloons came to be called, were built during the 1800s, the first aircraft to make routine flights were made by the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont. Santos-Dumont effectively combined an elongated balloon with an internal combustion engine. On October 19, 1901 he became world famous when he flew his airship "Number 6" over Paris to win the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize. Santos-Dumont's success with airships proved that controlled and sustained flight was possible. On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers flew the first successful powered, heavier-than-air flight, though their aircraft was impractical to fly for more than a short distance because of control problems. The widespread adoption of ailerons made aircraft much easier to manage, and only a decade later, at the start of World War I, heavier-thanair powered aircraft had become practical for reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and even attacks against ground positions. Aircraft began to transport people and cargo as designs grew larger and more reliable. In contrast to small non-rigid blimps, giant rigid airships became the first aircraft to transport passengers and cargo over great distances. The best known aircraft of this type were manufactured by the German Zeppelin company. The most successful Zeppelin was the Graf Zeppelin. It flew over one million miles, including an around the world flight in August of 1929. However, the dominance of the Zeppelins over the airplanes of that period, which had a range of only a few hundred miles, was diminishing as airplane design advanced. The "Golden Age" of the airships ended on
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June 6, 1937 when the Hindenburg caught fire killing 36 people. Although there have been periodic initiatives to revive their use, airships have seen only niche application since that time. Great progress was made in the field of aviation during the 1920s and 1930s, such as Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight in 1927. One of the most successful designs of this period was the Douglas DC-3 which became the first airliner that was profitable carrying passengers exclusively, starting the modern era of passenger airline service. By the beginning of World War II, many towns and cities had built airports, and there were numerous qualified pilots available. The war brought many innovations to aviation, including the first jet aircraft and the first liquid-fueled rockets. After WWII, especially in North America, there was a boom in general aviation, both private and commercial, as thousands of pilots were released from military service and many inexpensive war-surplus transport and training aircraft became available. Manufacturers such as Cessna, Piper, and Beechcraft expanded production to provide light aircraft for the new middle class market. By the 1950s, the development of civil jets grew, beginning with the de Havilland Comet, though the first widely-used passenger jet was the Boeing 707. At the same time, turboprop propulsion began to appear for smaller commuter planes, making it possible to serve small-volume routes in a much wider range of weather conditions.
Yuri Gagarin was the first human to travel to space on April 12, 1961, while Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot on the moon on July 21, 1969
Since the 1960s, composite airframes and quieter, more efficient engines have become available, but the most important innovations have taken place in instrumentation and control. The arrival of solid-state electronics, the Global Positioning System, satellite communications, and increasingly small and powerful computers and LED displays, have dramatically changed the cockpits of airliners and, increasingly, of smaller aircraft as well. Pilots can navigate much more accurately and view terrain, obstructions, and other nearby aircraft on a map or through synthetic vision, even at night or in low visibility. On June 21, 2004, Spaceship One became the first privately funded aircraft to make a spaceflight, opening the possibility of an aviation market outside the earth's atmosphere.
In the same period, the domestic market size will cross 60 million and international traffic 20 million. Aircraft manufacturer Airbus pegs India's demand at 1100 aircraft, worth US$ 105 billion, over the next 20 years. According to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, the country will need 1,500 to 2,000 passenger planes in 10 years, up from 260 now. India continues to show steady year on year growth, with a 7 per cent increase in the number of flights into and out of India (an additional 835 flights and more than 200,000 seats a month). The number of flights has virtually doubled from 6,800 in May 2001 to 13,200 in May 2007. In fact, India is in third place in the Top 10 list of countries with the highest number of additional flights in May this year, behind only China and the US.
Air India GoAir Airlines IndiGo Airlines Jagson Airline Jet Airways Jet Airways Konnect Kingfisher Airline Paramount Airways SpiceJet Airlines JetLite (Air Sahara) Kingfisher Red (Air Deccan) MDLR Airlines
Future of Aviation industry in India With a surging demand and with the entry of a large number of domestic and international companies into the sector, India aviation Industry is sure to witness a phenomenal growth in the near future demonstrating a CAGR growth rate of more than 15% in the forth coming years. It is also estimated that the Ministry of Civil Aviation in India will alone handle about 280 million passengers by the year 2020. Industry experts envisage about US$ 110 billion new investments in the Indian aviation sector with not less than US$ 80 billion exclusively targeted for the purchase of new aircraft and US$ 30 billion for developing the infrastructure at the airports.
Scheduled air transport service: It is an air transport service undertaken between two or more places and operated according to a published timetable. It includes: 1. Domestic airlines, which provide scheduled flights within India and to select international destinations. Air Deccan, Spice Jet, Kingfisher Airline and IndiGo are some of the domestic players in the industry. 2. International airlines, which operate scheduled international air services to and from India. Non-scheduled air transport service: It is an air transport service other than the scheduled one and may be on charter basis and/or non-scheduled basis. The operator is not permitted to publish time schedule and issue tickets to passengers. Air cargo services: It is an air transportation of cargo and mail. It may be on scheduled or non-scheduled basis. These operations are to destinations within India. For operation outside India, the operator has to take specific permission of Directorate General of Civil Aviation demonstrating his capacity for conducting such an operation.
At present, there are 2 scheduled private airlines (Jet Airways and Air Sahara), which provide regular domestic air services along with Indian Airlines. In addition there are 47 nonscheduled operators providing air-taxi/non-scheduled air transport services.
Apart from this, the players in airline industry can be categorized in three groups: Public players Private players Start up players.
There are three public players: Air India, Indian Airlines and Alliance Air. The private players include Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Kingfisher Airlines, Spice Jet, Air Deccan and many more. The startup players are those planning to enter the markets. Some of them are Omega Air, Magic Air, Premier Star Air and MDLR Airlines
ENABLING PROMISES
MAKING PROMISES
PROVIDER
KEEPING PROMISES
CUSTOMER
There are three entities in the entire transaction: Customer: He is the person who wishes to satisfy his need i.e. of transportation from one destination to another.
Company: This is both the dreamer and the offerer. It is the various airlines, which offer its aviation services to satisfy the customers demand for transportation from one destination to another. For e.g.: The Indian airlines
Provider: these are finally the people who interact with the customers. They are the ones who carry out the final transaction. The customers actually come in contact with the service provider and not the company. For e.g.: The Airhostess and the crew.
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SEGMENTATION:
Most airlines use a very traditional segmentation strategy, dividing passengers into business travellers and economy travellers (mostly leisure travellers). The common strategy is to squeeze as much profit as possible from business class passengers who are attracted by superior services and corresponding high prices and, at the same time, to try and fill the rest of the seats and ensure growth by attracting economy class passengers with lower fares.
Business passengers
They are crucial for airlines' profitability. With less spare time and more cash in their pockets, they agree to pay a premium price for a premium service. Today business passengers account for approximately 48% of passengers and these 48% contribute 66% of airlines' revenue. The premium prices they pay for wider and more comfortable seats, better choice of meals and seats, luxurious lounges. Airlines can choose from a multitude of premium services to offer to business travellers. Some of these extras range from seats equipped with faxes and telephones; massage services and suit ironing services in the recently introduced arrival lounges. Business passengers believe it is worth extra money if they can save time and arrive looking fresh for an important meeting. Business passengers will avoid transit flights even if a longer flight could save them money. But amongst other perks, flexible reservation services are probably the most important to them. Reservations for business trips are often made just a couple of days in advance. A no penalty cancellation policy is also very important to business passengers. The best way to reach business travellers is through printed advertising. Business news media, such as "The Economic Times" and Business Today are some of the best publications through which airlines can reach business travellers. Many airlines design special promotional programs that target corporate bookers and meeting planners, who are responsible for business trips reservations. Frequent flyer programs are an added bonus for business passengers.
Leisure Travellers
They represent a totally different market. The most important consideration for most of them is the price. The lower the airfare, the more people will fly the respective airline. By and large, with the exception of wealthy travellers, this segment will not pay extra for premium services and will agree to change several planes during their trip if this option costs less than a direct flight.
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Despite lower margins provided by this segment, leisure travellers are very important to an airline's bottom line. Part of the reason is that technological progress in the area of tele-conferencing and increased use of the internet for business communications is expected to reduce the number of business travellers. Thus, airlines are counting on the leisure segment to provide further growth. How can airlines benefit from the growth opportunities in the leisure segment without losing immediate profit opportunities in the business segment? This is a tough issue in airline marketing management. By improving services and reducing prices for economy class passengers, airlines risk that some business passengers will switch to economy class. This has already happened with Japan Airlines, for example, which was forced to eliminate business class seats on some of its flights. On the other hand, if an airline focuses on business class passengers, it risks losing its economy class passengers to another airline. Since business class passengers are not many, a company relying mostly on business travellers will often end up flying half-empty planes, losing the potential revenue generated by lower priced economy seats. On the other hand, few airlines catering solely to economy class passengers can be successful because a low fare carrier must fill the entire plane if it is to generate revenue from its low-margin operations. The allocation of business and economy class seats on a plane is determined through a process called yield management. A good yield manager knows the approximate proportion of business and leisure travellers for each flight in advance, based on sophisticated statistical models. Thus he/she tries to sell early, the economy seats at a cheaper price, while keeping enough seats reserved for business travellers, who usually book at the last minute. Keeping just the right amount of business seats reserved is important: selling too few economy seats in advance may result in a less-than-full plane while selling too many economy seats may result in a full plane, but with insufficient revenue to gain a profit. This kind of segmentation serves airlines well enough when implemented within one company. It would be very difficult for any single airline to target just one of these two segments - business or leisure - successfully. There are exceptions - small regional that serve destinations where the majors do not fly, for example, are in a better position to implement a low price policy. They can even get business travellers to fly them despite the lack of premium services because no other airline would get them there. Air Deccan is a classic example, proving that low cost carriers can thrive. Major international carriers, however, need to target both the business and the leisure segments they may also target different ethnic and geographical segments
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differently, depending on the markets from which they draw the majority of their customers. For example, even though Japan Airlines advertise extensively to the American public, their message -"Your needs. Your Airline," seems to work best for the traditional Japanese audience. Inside one country, two national carriers may also focus on different destinations, which is the case with Jet Airways and Air Sahara. Passengers' tastes determine airlines' strategies. While Jet Airways focuses on comfort and luxury, valued by Indian passengers, Air Sahara equips its business class seats with plugs for laptops and telephones, appreciated by business travellers. Overall, airlines seem to achieve best results when they subscribe to the segmentation theory, supported by yield management techniques and a careful monitoring of the economic changes in their geographical markets.
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Future Service:
As mentioned above the customer needs keep changing, the future is unknown. The customers may be looking in for more frequent inexpensive air travel, something like air taxis, supersonic speed. This decreases the time thus reducing the cost.
7 Ps:
PRODUCT
The airline industry is a service that satisfies customer needs for travelling. In the airline industry the customers can be divided into two segments, business and leisure. While the airline industry started out as a luxury item, business travel has changed this industry to a necessity. As we further become a global economy and communication between international companies intensifies, travel needs continue to increase. The leisure traveller has always had the need for the airline industry. Satisfying the customer needs today involves competitive rates, convenient booking of flights and benefits with those flights. Some of the problems with this industry are personally experienced by the customers. The airlines have a difficult time being punctual and this has become the norm in the industry, although some companies try to avoid it. The industry is highly susceptible to situations that result in declines in air travel, such as political instability, regional hostilities, recession, fuel price escalation, inflation, adverse weather conditions, consumer preferences, labor instability or regulatory oversight. Airlines are now in the commodity business as the public demands low-priced transportation. It has moved from elite to a common form of transportation. Today's travellers know how to surf the web for bargains through a myriad of sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire, and Cheap tickets. As a commodity, airlines cannot increase prices to increase profits, so their only choice is to cut operating costs such as labor costs.
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Amid the competition, airlines have refocused their attention on the customers. The industry still heavily targets frequent flyers, as members can earn miles through travelling, car rentals, hotels, and credit card use. On overseas flights, business class seats convert to real flat beds. Soon passengers will have internet access during flights. Airlines are also catering to the consumer by offering mostly organic menus, while others are offering mealsto-go before boarding. For travellers pressed for time, many airlines offer fast check-in, online at home before leaving for the airport; or self-service check-in kiosks where passengers identify themselves with a credit card, print their own boarding pass, change their seat, and purchase meal coupons.
PRICE
The following are the pricing strategies: Premium Pricing: The airlines may set prices above the market price either to reflect the image of quality or the unique status of the product. The product features are not shared by its competitors or the company itself may enjoy a strong reputation that the 'brand image' alone is sufficient to merit a premium price. Value for Money Pricing: The intention here is to charge the average price for the product and emphasize that it represents excellent value for money at this price. This enables the airline to achieve good levels of profit on the basis of established reputation. Cheap Value Pricing: The objective here is to undercut the competition and price is used to trigger the purchase immediately. Unit profits are low, but overall profits are achieved. Air India and Indian Airlines have slashed their prices to meet the competition of private airlines so that they can consolidate their position in the market.
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Airlines usually practice differential pricing. There are three classes: The First Class, The Executive or Business Class and The Economy Class. Fares for each class are different since the facilities provided and the comfort and luxury level is different in each class. Seasonal fares are also fixed, fares rise during the peak holiday times. Low-cost Pricing: With the advent of the low-cost airlines in the Indian aviation industry, a different low-cost flying concept has come up. Since these low-cost airlines are trying to woo the customers by providing air travel in exceptionally low prices, a price-band kind of pricing has to be designed. In low-pricing strategies, the airlines provide very low prices for the flight tickets. Also, they prices are made cheaper by booking the tickets long before the flight date. APEX Fares: In this scheme, people are given very cheap rates only if tickets are booked at least before the specified time period. But the draw-back here is that if the booking is cancelled, a substantial amount of money is not returned.
PROMOTION
Integrated Marketing Communication A successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a service can be communicated clearly to the target market. An organisations promotional mix can consist of: Advertising Public Relations Sales Promotion Personal Selling Direct Mail Internet / E-commerce In airline industry all the above methods are used for promotion purpose.
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The aims of promotion fall into three main categories: to inform, to remind, & to persuade. It will always be necessary to inform prospective consumers about new products & services, but other issue may also need this type of communication to consumers; new uses, price changes, information to build consumer confidence & to reduce fears, full description of service offering, image building. Similarly consumers may need to get reminded about all these types of issues, especially in the off-peak season. It is vitally important to recognize that promotion, or marketing communications generally, may not always be aimed at potential consumer or end user of service. In many business areas, it is to design promotions aimed at channel customers to complement end user promotion.
PLACE
In Airlines, they utilise more than one method of distribution. For e.g. they sell tickets through travel agents & sell seats on flights to tour operators, whilst also operating direct marketing. Whichever distribution strategy is selected, channel management plays a key role. For channels to be effective they need reliable updated information. For these reason, I.T has been widely adopted such as on-line booking system.
Channel structures vary somewhat by the nature of the service Internet booking system Telephone reservation system.
PEOPLE
The people section of the Marketing Mix is the most important section of the extended Marketing Mix. It is broken up into three sections: Employees, Consumers and the Company. Do we have enough employees to provide a good service? ; Do they have the necessary personal and professional skills? , Do they understand the brand-values? , Are they enough motivated or too tired?
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Those are questions that airlines companies have to ask themselves, and which answers are going to have important consequences in the type of service provided.
The analysis of the buyer behavior is really interesting in this sector. Every individual have different needs and expectations in this market, so segmentation and positioning will be also fundamental. Furthermore, its normally an industry where, the user follows all the steps of the buyer behavior in the selection and purchase of the service. Special importance have the Information Search by the customer (which is normally more complete than in other purchases) and beliefs and attitudes, which are the most important challenges of this analysis because normally have an important weight in the final decision of the customer. In a market as competitive as this one, a personal bad experience or just a non favourable belief or attitude can determine the user's choice forever. That's why the Brand Image is also fundamental for this kind of Companies. For e.g. A Jain would be satisfied with the service only if he is served Jain food and it should be kept in mind that the customers next to him are also Jain or at least vegetarian. Therefore, management faces a tremendous challenge in selecting and training all of these people to do their jobs well, and, perhaps even more important, in motivating them to care about doing their jobs well, and to make an extra effort to serve their customers. After all, these employees must believe in what they are doing and enjoy their work before they can, in turn, provide good service to customers. The "people" component of the service marketing mix also includes the management of the firm's customer mix. Because services are often experienced at the provider's facilities, other customers who are being served there can also influence ones satisfaction with a service. For e.g. crying children in a nearby seat on an airplane or illmannered customer are all examples of unpleasant service conditions caused by a firm's other patrons.
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PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
The service is intangible because unlike a product it can't be experienced before it is delivered. It is the ability and environment in which a service is delivered. Because it is intangible customers are at greater risk when deciding whether to use a service, so to reduce this risk, and improve success, potential customer are offered the chance to see what the service would be like with the use of testimonials, demonstrations etc. Physical layout is not only relevant to its promotional materials, but also to the layout and structure of the organization, and websites. Customers have far higher expectations and therefore they select the particular service which they know will satisfy their want. Promotional materials and written correspondence provide tangible reassurance; they can be incorporated into the firm's marketing communications to help reduce customer anxiety about committing to the purchase. Service firms should design these items with extreme care, since they will play a major role in influencing a customer's impression of the firm. In particular, all physical evidence must be designed to be consistent with the "personality" that the firm wishes to project in the marketplace. They can offer to the consumer more than a fly: additional services, and so they focus their promotional efforts in communicating that to the potential user.
PROCESS
The customer service department of any airline company deal with a number of processes involved in making marketing effective in an organisation e.g. processes for handling customer complaints, processes for identifying customer needs and requirements, processes for handling requirement etc.
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Example of Jet (Entire Process) Purchasing process According to epinions.com, travelers' overall purchasing experiences with Jet have been very positive. People like how easy it is to choose from the different one-way fares online to make up a round-trip reservation. Some travelers prefer to use Jettelephone reservation agents for purchasing their tickets. Overall, these reservation agents have been described as very courteous and helpful. Destination Choices We found many negative reviews on epinions.com when it came to Jet destination offerings. Several people complained that Jet doesn't offer service (either non-stop or connecting) to enough destinations. Some complained about Jet operating out of smaller, less convenient airports (like Poona and Nasik). People also complained that Jet only offers limited flights per day to some destinations, making travel less convenient for some. Overall Customer Service Based on our findings at epinions.com, Jet customer service is very highly regarded. Although some people have had unpleasant experiences, almost everyone who gave an opinion raved about the service from Jet flight attendants, gate agents,
ticketing/reservation agents, and even the pilots. The 7 Ps - price, product, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence comprise the modern marketing mix that is particularly relevant in service industry, but is also relevant to any form of business where meeting the needs of customers is given priority.
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PEST Analysis:
A PEST analysis is an analysis of the external macro-environment that affects all firms. P.E.S.T. is an acronym for the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors usually are beyond the firm's control and sometimes present themselves as threats. For this reason, some say that "pest" is an appropriate term for these factors. Let us look at the PEST analysis of the Indian aviation sector: Political Factors In India, one can never over-look the political factors which influence each and every industry existing in the country. Like it or not, the political interference has to be present everywhere. Given below are a few of the political factors with respect to the airline industry: The airline industry is very susceptible to changes in the political environment as it has a great bearing on the travel habits of its customers. An unstable political environment causes uncertainty in the minds of the air travellers, regarding travelling to a particular country. Overall Indias recent political environment has been largely unstable due to international events & continued tension with Pakistan. The Gujarat riots & the governments inability to control the situation have also led to an increase in the instability of the political arena. The most significant political event however has been September 11. The events occurring on September had special significance for the airline industry since airplanes were involved. The immediate results were a huge drop in air traffic due to safety & security concerns of the people. International airlines are greatly affected by trade relations that their country has with others. Unless governments of the two countries trade with each other, there could be restrictions of flying into particular area leading to a loss of potential air traffic (e.g. Pakistan & India) Another aspect is that in countries with high corruption levels like India, bribes have to be paid for every permit & license required. Therefore constant liasoning with the minister & other government official is necessary. The state owned airlines suffer the maximum from this problem. These airlines have to make several special considerations with respect to selection of routes, free seats to ministers, etc which a privately owned airline need not do. The state owned airlines also suffers from archaic laws applying only to them such as the retirement age of the pursers & hostesses, the labour regulations which make the management less flexible in taking decision due to the presence of a strong union, & the heavy control &interference of the government. This affects the quality of the service delivery & therefore these airlines have to think of innovative service marketing ideas to circumvent their problems & compete with the private operators.
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Economic Factors Business cycles have a wide reaching impact on the airline industry. During recession, airline is considered a luxury & therefore spending on air travel is cut which leads to reduce prices. During prosperity phase people indulge themselves in travel & prices increase. After the September 11 incidents, the world economy plunged into global recession due to the depressed sentiment of consumers. In India, even a company like Citibank was forced to cut costs to increase profits for which even the top level managers were given first class railway tickets instead of plane tickets. The loss of income for airlines led to higher operational costs not only due to low demand but also due to higher insurance costs, which increased after the WTC bombing. This prompted the industry to lay off employees, which further fuelled the recession as spending decreased due to the rise in unemployment. Even the SARS outbreak in the Far East was a major cause for slump in the airline industry. Even the Indian carriers like Air India was deeply affected as many flights were cancelled due to internal (employee relations) as well as external problems, which has been discussed later.
Social Factors The changing travel habits of people have very wide implications for the airline industry. In a country like India, there are people from varied income groups. The airlines have to recognize these individuals and should serve them accordingly. Air India needs to focus on their clientele which are mostly low income clients & their habits in order to keep them satisfied. The destination, kind of food etc all has to be chosen carefully in accordance with the tastes of their major clientele. Especially, since India is a land of extremes there are people from various religions and castes and every individual travelling by the airline would expect customization to the greatest possible extent. For e.g. A Jain would be satisfied with the service only if he is served Jain food and it should be kept in mind that the customers next to him are also Jain or at least vegetarian. Another good example would be the case of South West Airlines which occupies a solid position in the minds of the US air travelers as a reliable and convenient, fun, low fare, and no frills airline. The major element of its success was the augmented marketing mix which it used very effectively. What South West did was it made the environment inside the plane very consumer friendly. The crew neither has any uniform nor does it serve any lavish foods, which indirectly reduces the costs and makes the consumers feel comfortable.
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Technological Factors The increasing use of the Internet has provided many opportunities to airlines. For e.g. Air Sahara has introduced a service, through the internet wherein the unoccupied seats are auctioned one week prior to the departure. Air India also provides many internet based services to its customer such as online ticket booking, updated flight information & handling of customer complaints. USTDA (US trade & development association) is funding a feasibility study and workshops for the Airports Authority of India as part of a long-term effort to promote Indian aviation infrastructure. The Authority is developing modern communication, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management systems for India's aviation sector that will help the country meet the expected growth and demand for air passenger and cargo service over the next decade. A proposal for restructuring the existing airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata through long-term lease to make them world class is under consideration. This will help in attracting investments in improving the infrastructure and services at these airports. Setting up of new international airports at Bangalore, Hyderabad and Goa with private sector participation is also envisaged. A good example of the impact of technology would be that of AAI, wherein with the help of technology it has converted its obsolete and unused hangars into profit centers. AAI is now leasing these hangars to international airlines and is earning huge profits out of it. AAI has also tried to utilize space that was previously wasted installing a lamination machine to laminate the luggage of travelers. This activity earns AAI a lot of revenue. These technological changes in the environment have an impact on Air India as well. Better airport infrastructure, means better handling of airplanes, which can help reduce maintenance cost. It also facilitates more flights to such destinations.
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SWOT Analysis:
STRENGTHS
Liberal Environment: India's airlines operate in a liberal environment in both the domestic and international spheres. With three major airline groups and four smaller carriers all operating domestic routes, there is no shortage of competition, although this factor combined with excess capacity has tended to depress yields. Nevertheless, carriers are free to operate any domestic routes without seeking permission from the government, and without restriction on pricing. One condition that airlines find onerous however, is the requirement to operate a proportion of ASKs to remote and underdeveloped regions of the country. On the international front, the Indian government has pursued an increasingly liberal approach to bilateral air services agreements with key overseas markets, resulting in greater access for foreign carriers. Emirates for example, the largest foreign carrier by capacity into India, will operate 185 weekly frequencies to ten cities across the country by the end of 2009. India's carriers have a combined international capacity share of just over 36% but face strong competition from foreign carriers, both full service and low cost. Modern Fleet: In light of the fact that much of the growth in Indian aviation has occurred in the last five years, the country's airlines operate a relatively young and modern fleet, ensuring a high quality passenger experience, improved safety and good operational reliability. High Quality: India's airlines offer a good quality product in each of the operating models in existence. Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are competitive in terms of their inflight service against the leading carriers in the world. Kingfisher for example is one just half a dozen global carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, with a Skytrax 5 star rating. In fact it could be argued that the full service product on domestic routes is excessive for the sector lengths involved and results in a higher cost structure, which the passenger does not necessarily see value in paying for. The LCCs too, by and large, offer a comfortable, efficient and reliable service. Until a couple of years ago, Air Deccan was one carrier that had developed a reputation for poor on-time performance, flight cancellations and overbooking, however since being acquired by Kingfisher, most of these operational issues appear to have been resolved. Economic Growth: Economic growth has historically been the primary driver of air traffic, and the relationship has generally been even stronger in developing countries. Between 2004 and
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2007, India enjoyed four years averaging 9% per annum GDP growth. This slowed to 6.5% in 2008, however against the background of a global economic recession, this was a creditable performance. The increased business confidence following the general election result in May 2009 has eased concerns that growth may slow further. The stock market has soared 25% in the last month and the outlook for growth and consumption has improved, which is a positive for the aviation industry. Political Stability: The re-election of the Congress Party, with a stronger majority is expected to allow the new administration to push ahead with further economic reforms, which had to date been blocked by coalition partners. The prospect of a government which has the ability to last its full term and pursue its agenda is extremely encouraging. In addition, Minister Praful Patel, who was the architect of the dramatic transformation of the aviation sector, has retained the portfolio, which brings experience and stability to the aviation industry.
WEAKNESSES
Airport Infrastructure: The rapid growth in air traffic over the last few years exposed the deficiencies of airport infrastructure across the country. After decades of neglect, many of India's airports were forced to operate well above design capacity. The resulting congestion in the terminals and on the runways delivered a poor experience for the passenger and a costly, inefficient operating environment for the airlines. However, although a weakness today, it is also fair to say that it is becoming less so, as the airport modernization program starts to deliver results, with new airports in Bangalore and Hyderabad, and improving facilities at Delhi and Mumbai. The upgrade of non-metro airports remains behind schedule so it may be another 3-4 years before we see good quality facilities across the country, but there are tangible signs of improvement. Airways Infrastructure: Although congestion on the ground is relatively visible, another current area of weakness is the limited investment that has taken place in improving infrastructure for air traffic management. This too results in expensive aircraft holding patterns, indirect flight paths and sub-optimal use of runways. National Carrier: The state-owned carrier, Air India, is in a dire situation. The carrier is estimated to have posted losses of close to USD1 billion in 2008/09, and morale within the bloated workforce is at a low. With no clear direction, management instability at the top and continuing issues with the integration of Air India and Indian Airlines, the carrier is in need
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of radical restructuring. It is imperative that the government develops a turnaround strategy for Air India as an urgent priority. Deep Pockets: Over the last three years, India's carriers have accumulated billions of dollars in losses and debt. Ironically, a characteristic that would normally be considered a strength namely deep pockets - has resulted in carriers remaining afloat that would perhaps in other circumstances have failed. With the backing of either the government or large corporations, several carriers have been able to access funding that they might have been denied on a strictly commercial basis as standalone airlines. As a result of the intense competition which has been perpetuated, airlines have struggled to raise fares to break even levels. High Cost Structure: India's airlines operate in a relatively high cost environment, primarily due to the punitive taxation structure. The greatest impact is felt in the area of sales taxation on fuel, which can increase the cost to 60% above the international benchmark. The limitations of airport infrastructure also increase costs due to the fact that carriers are unable to schedule fast turnarounds, resulting in reduced aircraft utilization. In addition, the fact that high quality ancillary services such as MRO and training are not currently available in India, means that aircraft and personnel have to be sent overseas. Skilled Resources: Domestic air traffic in India tripled in the five years to 2008, while international passengers doubled. This rate of growth far outstripped the capacity to develop skilled technical and management personnel. The gap was partly addressed by employing expatriates, particularly as pilots, and by learning on the fly. This means there is a lack of indepth experience and knowledge at all levels. Furthermore, there is an absence of high quality training infrastructure in-country to deliver the resources to support future growth. This lack of personnel affects the government as well and the FAA has expressed its concern at the shortage of qualified safety inspectors within the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). India has been put on notice that unless this issue is addressed, it may be relegated to a Category II nation, which would mean that Indian carriers would not be permitted to increase services to the US.
OPPORTUNITIES
Market Growth: Despite the rapid expansion of recent years, India has only just scratched the surface of the potential for the aviation sector. Trips per capita remain low even by the standards of other developing countries. China's domestic market is more than four times
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the size of India's 40 million passengers. Even, Australia, a country with a population of just 21 million, compared with India's 1.1 billion, has a market 25% larger. Similarly on the international front, less than 1% of Indians travel overseas each year. Inbound visitor numbers at 5.4 million in 2008 for the entire country, were less than for Dubai or Singapore. It is not difficult to see the expansion potential from such a low base as economic growth continues apace. Geographic Location: India is ideally positioned as a major aviation hub at the crossroads between Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. The fact that aviation was a neglected sector for so long has allowed airports such as Dubai and Singapore to effectively establish themselves as offshore hubs for Indian passengers, and they now have a significant head start. However, as India's airports improve, and its airlines receive international awards for their service, there may be an opportunity to leverage its huge home market to compete with these longer established hubs. Lower Costs, Higher Quality: India has already managed to develop a dynamic aviation sector despite, and not because of, its environment. The improvements in airport and airspace infrastructure, the development of indigenous training and maintenance facilities and the potential for fiscal reform, all point to the potential for Indian aviation to increasingly operate in a lower cost, higher quality and more efficient manner. This could in due course lead to an opportunity for India to develop as a global outsourcing hub in areas such as aerospace manufacturing, MRO and training.
THREATS
Middle East Aviation: The carriers of the Gulf are aggressively expanding in India, with high frequencies from multiple destinations to their hubs, from where passengers can access extensive global networks. The ability for a passenger for example to travel one-stop from Ahmedabad to Hamburg, or multiple daily frequencies from Mumbai to London, connecting at an attractive hub, is a strength which Indian carriers simply cannot match at present. It will take time and the question is how far ahead will the Middle East carriers be by that stage. Terrorism: India has seen frequent terrorist activity in recent years. The country has shown great resilience in bouncing back after each attack, however inbound international traffic in particular is sensitive to such events. Similarly the potential for India to develop as a global traffic and services hub is contingent upon it being seen as a safe and attractive destination.
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ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY:
Intense competition in Indian Aviation Industry has made the role of technology very important for domestic airline companies. Technology can help in making travel comfortable, allow easy access to tickets and reduce time to check-in. A considerable amount of money is also saved by automation. Following points highlight the increasing use of Technology by different Airlines: Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines is planning to install a landscape camera at the bottom of the aircraft that will enable passengers get a view of the take-off and landing of their airplane when flying on domestic routes. They are also going to allow GSM phones to be used on board for the first time. They are already providing live TV as part of our highend In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) initiatives. Kingfisher Airlines has announced the launch of two world-class technological innovations to enhance guest convenience. The first cuttingedge innovation is the introduction of the Roving Agent at the airport. Now guests with hand baggage need not have to wait at the check-in counter to collect their boarding pass, instead they can directly approach the Kingfisher Airlines Roving Agents deployed outside the security check-in area who will book them on their choice of seats. Also launched is the facility of Web Check-in. Now Kingfisher Airlines' guests can sit in the comfort of their homes or offices and print their boarding passes. All a guest has to do is log on to the official website of Kingfisher Airlines, www.flykingfisher.com, and click on the link - web check-in. Fill-in your reservation details and the screen will display the choice of seats available onboard that particular flight. Once booked, the guest can conveniently print out the boarding pass and carry it along with him/her on the day of the flight and proceed straight to the security check counter at the airport. The Airbus A380, the world`s largest and most advanced passenger airplane, which is widely regarded as the future of aviation, marks a momentous milestone in the history of civil aviation in India. Kingfisher Airlines, Indias fastest-growing airline, has engaged Sabre Airline Solutions, the global leader of software and services for the airline industry from planning to execution, to provide a full suite of more than 20 enterprise applications to enhance its guest processing functions, as the airline continues its rapid expansion of its operations. Kingfisher Airlines is also leveraging other technology from Sabre Airline Solutions to help analyze the market and determine the best approaches to maximize revenue. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and Dish TV have joined hands to provide live in-flight entertainment on Kingfisher aircraft. The in-flight entertainment system is one of the best in the world. The increasing use of the Internet has provided many opportunities to airlines. For e.g. Kingfisher has introduced a service through the internet, wherein the unoccupied seats are auctioned one week prior to the departure.
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Public sector airline Air-India is exploring the possibility of launching an information technology (IT) subsidiary to handle its automation activities. Jet Airways has launched an Interactive Voice Response (IVR)-based payment and ticketing services. The service will allow passengers to complete their reservation with credit cards through a secure gateway and instantly receive their e-tickets via email. Low-cost carriers such as Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo are currently allowing a web-check apart from online booking.
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INDIAN AIRLINES
Fly Smart Fly Indian Airlines
Indian skies are mainly served by three domestic airline services namely, Indian airlines, Jet airways and Sahara Airlines. Together they make all the major cities and tourist places accessible. Indian Airlines In 1953, a new dream took shape to air link the vast south Asian subcontinent by a single, modern and efficient airline. The airline was Indian Airlines. Today Indian Airlines, together with its fully owned subsidiary Alliance Air, is one of the largest regional airline systems in Asia with a fleet of 56 aircraft, 11 wide bodied Airbus A300s, 30 fly by- wire A320s, 11 Boeing 737s and 3 Dornier D 228 aircrafts. An Indian Airline is presently fully owned by the government of India and has total staff strength of around 22000 employees. Its annual turn over, together with that of its subsidiary Alliance Air, is well over Rs. 4000 crores. Not just connecting India, the airlines network spans from Kuwait in the west to Singapore in the east and covers 75 destinations 59 within India and 16 abroad. The Indian Airlines international network covers Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain in the west, Thailand, Singapore, Yangon and Malaysia in south - 46 -east and Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Maldives in the south Asian sub continent infrastructure. The airlines aircraft maintenance facilities are of the highest international standards. It has developed state of art facilities for all aspects of maintenance, including engine overhaul. These facilities are used not only by Indian airlines but also by other airlines from time to time. Their training facilities for pilots are integrated at Hyderabad where commanders and captains are trained in all types of aircraft in the Indian Airlines fleet. States of - art full flight stimulators are available for A300, A320, and B737. Several airlines continuous technology up gradation also extends to other areas such as reservations, passenger handling systems and customer service. Indian airlines flight operations center on its four main hubs the main Metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. Together with its subsidiary Alliance Air, Indian Airlines carry a total of over 7.5 million passengers annually.
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JET AIRWAYS
We dont fly aircraft, we fly people
This is the motto of this private owned airline. They have chosen the yellow rose as their motto as it symbolizes friendship, warmth and caring, Jet Airways was set up with the objective of providing high quality and reliable air travel in India. Since a very high percentages of the Indian domestic air traffic comprised of business travelers, their focus from the very beginning was to emerge as the businessmans preferred airline. This led to a product and service design that aimed at world-class norms in professional service and efficiency, beginning with the choice of aircraft itself. Their operations commenced with a fleet of flour modern generation Boeing 737 300 aircraft. These aircraft were the first to fly the Indian skies. For training and conversion of their pilots and engineers, they utilized the training facilities of Ansett (Australia). For world-class norms in service, they were aided by speed wing (a British airways subsidiary) to conduct a programme on customer service excellence for staff across functions at all levels. To ensure accurate and efficient reservation system, they tied up with and are co hosted with SABRE one of the worlds best reservation systems. Within three months of operation, they also become an associate member of IATA; a party to the IATA multilateral interlines agreement and a member of the IATA clearinghouse. Since their commencement, they also have achieved the status of the largest private domestic airline in India. The figures speak themselves as below: 1. From 4 aircrafts in 1993 94 to 34 aircraft in 2005 2. From 12 destinations in 1993 94 to 40 destinations in 2005 3. From 24 daily flights in 1993 94 to over 195 daily flights in 2005 In the process they have market share of 36 %. Their emphasis on technology is one of the key factors of their success. They fly only modern and next generation aircraft and maintain a young aircraft fleet, making them one of the youngest fleet in the world.
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AIR SAHARA
Emotionally Yours
The people at Sahara believe in delivering the best to all their customers. It is this belief that is reflected in all their services. They have a fleet of 1. 1 Boeing 737 2. 5 Boeing 737 200 3. 4 Boeing 737 400 They are among first to offer tele check in facility to all their passengers. To ensure smooth baggage handling. Exclusive valet service is provided at all Sahara airlines airport counters. There in flight services are built around total customer care and customer satisfaction. Increased leg space to ensure grater legroom on both Sahara Royal and Sahara Special classes provide total seating comfort on board. Sahara Royal passengers can also avail the pleasures of their entire in flight reading library. Sahara special passengers are also provided with a personalized reading kit, which include at least three major dailies. It is their firm belief to uphold the highest standards of traditional Indian hospitality, culture and courtesy. Their highly trained personnel ensure that your trip is not only comfortable but also a memorable one right from the time of check in.
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Bibliography
Books:
Marketing Service
Websites:
indianinfoline.com airsahara.net indian-airlines.nic.in jetairways.com google.com (search engine) civilaviation.nic.in indiatravelite.com
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