M.

Sajid Saeed (+44 1414161015)

Dissertation Proposal

How low cost airlines can achieve competitive advantage by adapting innovative marketing strategies?

For Assignment or Dissertation Help, Please Contact:

Muhammad Sajid Saeed +44 141 4161015 Email: tosajidsaeed@hotmail.com Skype ID: tosajidsaeed

M. Sajid Saeed (+44 1414161015)

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT..........................................................................................................................................2 1. INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................................3 1.1 Title ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Background ......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Problem Identification ........................................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Rationale of the Study......................................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Research Aims and Objectives ............................................................................................................ 5 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................................................6 2.1 Introdution .......................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Marketing Strategies ........................................................................................................................... 6 Topic1: Gap Analysis Model .................................................................................................................. 6 Topic2: Porters Model of Competitive Advantage .............................................................................. 7 Topic3: Organisational Environment .................................................................................................... 7 Topic4: Relationship Marketing Approach ........................................................................................... 8 Topic5: Marketing Mix .......................................................................................................................... 8 3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 10 3.1 Research Paradigm ........................................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Data Collection Method .................................................................................................................... 11 3.2.1 Primary Data .............................................................................................................................. 11 3.2.2 Secondary Data .......................................................................................................................... 11 3.3 Data Analysis Method ....................................................................................................................... 12 3.4 Population and Sampling .................................................................................................................. 13 3.5 Research Methods Limitations ......................................................................................................... 14 3.6 Resource Planning and Timetable..................................................................................................... 15 3.7 Research Ethics ................................................................................................................................. 15 3.8 Research Limitations ......................................................................................................................... 16 4. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................ 16 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................... 17

M. Sajid Saeed (+44 1414161015)

ABSTRACT
Over the past two decades, the competition between European low cost airlines within the airline industry is becoming fierce and consequently these airlines are facing rigorous criticism in terms of customer service issues. The significance of this study is to demonstrate the situation of low cost airlines by following a marketing point of view and also to inform how low cost airlines can achieve competitive advantage by adapting innovative marketing strategies. For this purpose, five key marketing strategies and tools (i.e. gap analysis model, Porters model of competitive advantage, organisational environment, relationship marketing, and marketing mix) will be the part of the discussion throughout the dissertation. A mixture of data collection methods will be used to collect data where the questionnaire method will be employed to conduct primary research. The findings of the paper will suggest which marketing strategies are appropriate for low cost airlines to attain sustainable competitive advantage.

M. Sajid Saeed (+44 1414161015)

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 TITLE
How low cost airlines can achieve competitive advantage by adapting innovative marketing strategies?

1.2 BACKGROUND
A few decades ago, people and businessman with high incomes could afford to travel through airlines but today, people with average incomes can also travel locally and internationally due to cheap fares offered by low cost airlines which are also known as no-frills or low budget airlines. The Southwest Airline was the first low cost airline which started its operations in 1971 and become popular in 1973 due to low fares against low customer quality (Oliveira and Huse, 2008). Nowadays, there are a number of low cost airlines exist that provide services in Europe and the rest of the world. The debate on obtaining sustainable competitive advantage using innovating marketing strategies is a subject of detailed examination from the past two decades (Obermiller and Burke 2008). The competition between no-frills within the airline industry is becoming fierce but competition with full service airlines cannot be neglected as well. Since 2000, the full service airlines (or traditional airlines) are facing a threat due to the expansion of low cost airlines. Indeed, some events such as 9/11 has affected many businesses including airline industry but low cost airlines did not face crisis due to low operating costs and the provision of low ticket options to customers. Barrett (1999) explains that customer support is an essential requirement for the establishment and survival of a low cost airline. In the beginning, customers may accept low services against low prices but in the future they expect improvement in services with same level price due to competitive offers from other airlines (ibid). Similarly, low prices may increase the number of the low cost airlines customer base but it cannot be said that the airlines can achieve customer loyalty on the basis of low prices. In this regard, the airlines should consider the changing needs and demands of the customers on regular basis (Lawton, 1999). Over the years, Ryanair is known as one of the successful low cost airlines that have attracted the customers on the basis of cheap fares but it also faced considerable criticism mainly on the basis of customer service issues

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(The Economist, 2007). In addition, it is also observed that low cost airlines do not protect against the changes in customer perceptions and growing competitive environment.

1.3 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Over the past few decades, the businesses are adopting many market-driven strategies to satisfy needs and expectations of their customers. These strategies are primarily based on creating, communicating, and delivering customer value and satisfaction (Aksoy et al., 2003). As compared to traditional (full service-based) airlines, the low cost airlines offer low quality service against low prices and they are largely successful in Europe. But on a number of occasions, these airlines faced rigorous criticism mainly on the basis of customer service issues (The Economist, 2007) such as check in services, exhausting booking services, inappropriate seating environment, and unpleasant environment. Additionally, most of the customers also avoid travel through low cost airlines due to risk and safety concerns especially after 9/11 terrorist attacks (Air Transport Association, 2003). Due to these reasons, low cost airlines are rapidly losing their profitability, credibility, and market share. Therefore, these airlines should urgently address their customer relationship issues because if they continue with customer dissatisfaction than they may face huge losses in the near future due to a failure of their business models. Some low cost airlines such as Ryanair have recently improved their customer services (Milmo, 2010) but due to the bad experience had by the ex-customers, there is a need to inform them about their improvement in services. In this context, the core research issue is to find out which innovative marketing tools and strategies the European low cost airlines can adopt to attain sustainable competitive advantage.

1.4 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

The issue mentioned in problem identification section (see section 1.3) is particularly important at this time when low cost airlines are losing their credibility, profitability, and market share. The rationale of this study is to demonstrate the situation of low cost airlines by following a marketing point of view and also to inform how low cost airlines can achieve competitive advantage by adapting innovative marketing strategies. In this context, the author will discuss different marketing-based theories and models where the gap analysis model (Zeithaml et al, 2009), porters model of competitive advantage (Porter, 1985), organisational environment (Porter, 2008) and relationship marketing approach (Day and Wensley, 1988) are prominent.
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M. Sajid Saeed (+44 1414161015)

1.5 RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The primary focus of low cost airlines is to provide cheap fares to their customers with no snacks on the board. Due to a considerable profit margin, the competition between low cost airlines in Europe has been increased dramatically over the last few years. On the basis of this, the core aim of the study is to inform how low cost airlines can achieve sustainable competitive advantage by adopting innovating marketing strategies. The study aims to accomplish the following objectives: To investigate key service quality issues of low cost airlines To inform how competitive advantage can be achieved through a generic strategy To critically analyse how relationship marketing can help low cost airlines to identify the needs and demands of the customers To recommend appropriate marketing strategies and approaches that low cost airlines can implement to achieve sustainable competitive advantage With reference to the aim and objectives of the research, the key research questions that this study intends to answer include: What are the service quality issues currently facing by low cost airlines? Is this essential for low cost airlines to provide low quality service against low price? What is the role of relationship marketing to identify needs and demands of the customers? Which innovative marketing strategies can help low cost airlines to achieve sustainable competitive advantage?

M. Sajid Saeed (+44 1414161015)

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUTION
This section has an objective to provide a detailed literature review on how to achieve competitive advantage by adapting innovative marketing strategies. The basis of this research is to examine multiple innovative marketing strategies surrounding the marketing mix of low cost airlines for the intention to investigate key service quality issues. For this purpose, five key marketing strategies and tools (i.e. gap analysis model, Porters model of competitive advantage, organisational environment, relationship marketing, and marketing mix) will be the part of the discussion.

2.2 MARKETING STRATEGIES

Baker (2008) defined marketing strategy as a process that can allow an organisation to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage (p. 27). Many other theorists support this definition by stating that marketing strategies are the prominent tools that an organisation can utilise for the purpose to develop effective strategic marketing plans. These marketing plans define the target markets and segments in order to offer them a value proposition with sustainable competitive advantage which leads profitability leverage into the marketplace (Kotler and Keller, 2006; McDonald, 2008). Hooley et al (2004) added that the resources of any organisation also provide the foundation for defining the major marketing capabilities to achieve sustainable competitive edge over competitors. However, a marketing strategy developed without taking into account the factor of organisational environment is useless (Doyle, 2008; Porter, 2008). So, the formulation of a successful marketing strategy is based on many factors where organisational environment and internal and external resources are essential. Topic1: Gap Analysis Model Service quality is a critical factor that affects business performance and customer satisfaction. Among numerous service quality concepts, the gap analysis model (or SERVQUAL) can be used to analyse the basis of service quality issues (Zeithaml et al., 1988; Kasper et al., 2006; Zeithaml et al., 2009). Furthermore, this model also helps management to find out the ways to improve the quality of the service by identifying the causes of the issues. The gap analysis model is mainly
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M. Sajid Saeed (+44 1414161015)

based on two types of gaps: customer gap and provider gap (Zeithaml et al., 2009). The customer gap refers the difference between customer expectations and customer perceptions whereas the provider gap is based on four other gaps to close the customer gap. They are: the management perception gap, the quality specification gap, the service delivery gap, and the market communication gap (ibid). These gaps will be used to investigate and analyse key service quality issues to low cost airlines. Topic2: Porters Model of Competitive Advantage According to Porter (1985), an organisation can achieve sustainable competitive advantage by occupying a sustainable leadership position against its competitors. Porters generic strategy framework is appropriate for any organisation to critically evaluate its competitive position by selecting a generic strategy which could be based on cost leadership, differentiation, or focus (Johnson et al., 2008). Cost leadership refers to the same services that a firm delivers against its competitors but at a lower price whereas differentiation occurs when an organisation provides greater services for similar price as of its competitors. A focus is an economics based strategy that firms adopt to target particular market segments in order to achieve local rather than an industry wide competitive advantage. Each low cost airline in the European airline industry follows a generic strategy. Barrett (1999) explains that sustainability of low cost airlines can be assessed through numerous success factors such as response of the customers, managements ability, value chain, and relationships to aviation segments. Environmental changes cannot be neglected in formulating a generic strategy. Today, the business environment is shifting from localisation to globalisation and it is also causing to a rise in global competition. The changes in the global business environment refer to an opportunity for the low cost airlines to improve their marketing strategies to respond competitors in the external business environment. Topic3: Organisational Environment According to Fifield (1998), no organisation in the 1990s and 2000s, regardless of size and market power, can pursue its goals in disregard of the business environment within which it operates (p. 33). The study of organisational environment gives an idea about the nature of the rivalry as a step for the firms intending to establish a sustainable competitive advantage (ibid).
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Porter (2008) declared that rather than concentrating on immediate competitors, the main concern for any organisation should be to focus on four competitive forces such as suppliers, customers, substitute products, and new market entrants. He also mentioned that the fundamental causes of competitive forces will reveal current profitability of the sector as well as to provide a structure to foresee the level of profitability. Topic4: Relationship Marketing Approach The companies can use relationship marketing as a tool to influence a generic strategy. Relationship marketing is a strategy of targeting, attracting, and retaining customers (Day Wensley, 1998). In fact, this strategy contrasts with the transactional marketing approach which focuses on raising the number of individual sales. The purpose of relationship marketing is to understand and identify the needs of the customers in order promote customer loyalty, engagement, and interaction (Liou, 2009). Organisations usually attract customers with their products, brands, and pricing strategies whereas methods used to retain customers include loyalty cards, customer service, products quality, customer satisfaction, and customer feedback. Today, a relationship marketing strategy using social media platforms is more commonly used as compared to other marketing strategies. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a popular concept in the context of relationship marketing which is used to focus more on customer retention rather than customer acquisition. Barrett (1999) declared that a large customer support is one of the significant requirements to develop a successful low cost airline. The low cost airlines in Europe use relationship marketing to develop and retain long-term relations with their customers that influence generic strategies (ibid). Over the past few years, Ryanair is one such airline that has been successful in attracting customers using relationship marketing approach by offering them low fares. Topic5: Marketing Mix When firms market their products or services, they require to create a successful mixture of: the right price, for the right product, in the right place, using most appropriate promotional strategy. For this purpose, the organisations set a marketing mix strategy for their products which is a blend of 4Ps that are product, price, place, and promotion. On the other hand, service-based organisations use three additional Ps that include process, people, and physical evidence. In the
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words of Kotler and Armstrong (2010), the marketing mix is a set of controllable tactical marketing tools product, price, place, and promotion that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market (p. 52). The appropriate utilisation of marketing mix is very important for the low cost airlines in order to gain competitive advantage. The airline service industry is primarily based on two types of services: on the ground services and in-flight services. According to Barrett (1999), it is a best practice for no-frills to design different marketing mix strategies for different types of services. Easy Jet and Ryanair are the popular low cost airlines in Europe. These airlines are always in search to put pressure on each other and on full service-based airlines by making changes in each element of marketing mix (Doole and Lowe, 2008). Figure 2.1 shows the mixture of relationship marketing and Porters model of competitive advantage applied to low cost airline industry.
Figure 2.1: Mixture of innovative marketing approaches

Source: Day and Wensley (1988).

M. Sajid Saeed (+44 1414161015)

3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

The research methodology refers to a systematic way of carrying out research using a specific set of research methods to identify proper solutions to the research problem (Neuman, 2006). In this section, a number of research methods will be discussed that the researcher will use to conduct this study. These research methods will be selected bearing in mind the core aim of the research, which is to inform how low cost airlines can achieve sustainable competitive advantage by adopting innovating marketing strategies.

3.1 RESEARCH PARADIGM

Currently, two research paradigms are available in the social sciences: quantitative research and qualitative research. The qualitative research follows interpretivism philosophical paradigm where the nature of the research is subjective, descriptive, and exploratory (Creswell, 2007). In addition, the qualitative research process is based on facts and figures to discover fundamental impacts and consequences through statistics (Bryman and Bell, 2007). In contrast, the quantitative research follows positivism philosophical paradigm where research approach is objective and it considers quantitative data to test research hypotheses (Bryman, 2008). The choice of research paradigm is vital in this study. In this regard, the researcher will choose a combination of both approaches. The selection of a mixture of both approaches is based on collecting the data required to answer each research question. The qualitative approach will be used to explore which innovative marketing strategies can help low cost airlines to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, the qualitative research will be based on to address the research questions using words and other facts and figure (Bryman and Bell, 2007). On the other hand, quantitative research will be used to analyse primary data using graphs, charts, percentages, and numbers. The basic purpose of using quantitative data is to show the problematic service issues to low cost airlines. Also, the results and findings of quantitative data will be crucial to recommend appropriate marketing strategies and approaches that low cost airlines can implement to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

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3.2 DATA COLLECTION METHOD

According to (Saunders et al., 2009), there are two types of data collection methods i.e. primary and secondary. In order to achieve the objectives of the research, a combination of both data collection methods will be used in this study. It is believed that the selection of both sources of data collection will enable the researcher to have an idea about the service issues of low cost airlines. Also, this mixed approach will facilitate the researcher to decide which innovative marketing strategies can help low cost airlines to achieve sustainable competitive advantage over full service-based airlines. 3.2.1 Primary Data The primary data is the first hand information collection about a particular issue or concern (Saunders et al., 2009). Primary data is inherently required to thoroughly address the research questions of the study (Bendant and Piersol, 2000). In this regard, the researcher will choose a survey method to collect primary data. A total of 100 questionnaires will be distributed to the customers who had the experience of travelling through low cost airlines such as Ryanair, Easy Jet, and Air Berlin. Among three different types of survey methods (postal surveys, in-person surveys, and online surveys), the researcher will choose online survey method for getting quick responses. Both close-ended and open-ended questions will be included in the questionnaire to encounter the drawbacks of each method. The questionnaire will be designed and distributed online through the surveymonkey.com website. This website provides the facility to researchers to record survey responses of friends and other community on social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, Banner Ads, and Emails. It is believed that the researcher will get substantial responses by targeting friends and other people through these social networking websites. 3.2.2 Secondary Data The secondary data is the collection of second-hand or already used information about a particular issue or concern (Saunders et al., 2009). In this particular research, the secondary data will be collected from a number of sources related to airline industry such as airline magazines, newspapers, airline case studies, online via internet, and other published material in the form of books and journal articles.
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3.3 DATA ANALYSIS METHOD

The researcher will use SPSS and MS Excel programs to analyse the data collected through questionnaires. SPSS will be used because different types of analysis can be conducted easily by entering true data into the software. The researcher will use SPSS to calculate descriptive statistical formulas such as mean, standard deviation, and skewness. In addition, numerous tests such as t-tests, p-tests, and alpha identification will also be conducted through SPSS. In fact, SPSS lacks in displaying attractive graphs and charts; therefore, the researcher will use MS Excel to display significant information graphically. According to the proposed plan, the factors affecting service quality of the low cost airlines will be ranked using Relative Index (R.I) formula. The R.I formula is used by a number of theorists (e.g. Iyer and Jha, 2005; Assaf and Al-Hejji, 2006; Black, 2010; Doloi et al., 2012) in the past particularly for ranking purposes. The Relative Index formula is written below where nx is the number of respondents agreeing with the x option.

For instance: Respondents 15 25 41 10 9 100 Therefore, R.I. = [1(15) + 2(25) + 3(41) + 4(10) + 5(9)] / 100(5) = 273 / 500 = 0.55 (Moderate important) Figure 3.1 shows the flowchart of the research design of the study. Ordinary Scale 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

1- Least influencing factor 2345- Major influencing factor

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M. Sajid Saeed (+44 1414161015) Figure 3.1: Flowchart of research design of the study

3.4 POPULATION AND SAMPLING

Sampling is the process of choosing a number of samples from the entire population (Saunders et al., 2009). The researcher will focus only on the European market particularly low cost airlines because of huge competition between them in attracting customers on a regular basis. The first reason for focusing this sector is the rapid growth of the European airline industry. Due to this rapid growth, a number of new entrants are emerging quickly and the strategy of low price alone is not guarantee of long-lasting competitive advantage (Klophaus, 2005). Another reason is that the European low cost airlines are different in the context of sizes and number of customers (ibid) so this makes it more appropriate to investigate and analyse different innovative marketing strategies which can help low cost airlines to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

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The discussion will surround four low cost airlines: Ryanair, Easy Jet, Air Berlin, and Wizz Air. The selection of these airlines is based on some reasons. Most of the discussion will be based on Ryanair and Easy Jet because they are the present market leaders of European low cost airline industry and each airline serves around 50 million customers each year. Air Berlin and Wizz Air are two other low cost airlines which are relatively new in the airline industry and offering more services against cheap fares. The researcher will follow a convenient sampling approach which is a type of non-probability sampling and easily available to him (Bryman and Bell, 2007). There are two reasons for selecting convenient non-probability sampling approach. First, it is suitable for business studies (Ferber, 1977) and most of the business researchers used this approach in the past. Secondly, the alternate approach (i.e. probability sampling) requires lots of preparation, and a number of difficulties and additional costs are also associated with it (Bryman and Bell, 2007).

3.5 RESEARCH METHODS LIMITATIONS

As discussed earlier in section 3.2 that primary and secondary data collection methods will be used to conduct this study. The survey method will be used for primary data collection. However, this method is not always perfect and there are a number of limitations associated with it. Denscombe (2010) states that questionnaires can bias the findings towards the researchers rather than the respondents way of seeing things (p. 170). Similarly, Moore (2001) mentioned that three common disadvantages of the questionnaires which are: low response rate, never know if correct person answers, and difficult to go into depth. In this survey, the researcher will use an online survey method to collect information about low cost airlines. Smith et al (2009: 25) highlights a number of disadvantages associated with online surveys as follows: o Limited online skills or internet access of the respondents o Lack of subject accountability due to limited control and anonymity over sample composition o Lack of human assistance to provide clarification of questions

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Wrenn (2006) argued that the quality of the secondary data is not credible in conducting marketing researches. Furthermore, the secondary data is also not up-to-date and the researcher may need to struggle for choosing the updated and correct data. Due to this reason, the researcher may get incomplete or unclear information about particular airline which may hinder the researcher to draw reasoned conclusions (Denscombe, 2010).

3.6 RESOURCE PLANNING AND TIMETABLE

Three types of resources will be required to complete this dissertation: information technology resource, human resource, and financial resource. The information technology resource will be required to search and record primary and secondary data. Human resources will include the researcher himself as well as the respondents to provide the answers of the questionnaires to address each research question. Lastly and most importantly, the financial resources will also require for travelling and printing purposes. All these resources are inherent to achieve the objectives of the research. The Gantt chart in table 3.1 shows that how the researcher will manage his time and resources.
Table 3.1 Gantt chart of the research
MILESTONES TASKS 10th Aug 20th Aug 31st Aug 10th Sep 20th Sep 28th Sep

Preparation Literature review Design and distribute questionnaires Survey data collection Survey data analysis Evaluation and validation Thesis writing Thesis submission

3.7 RESEARCH ETHICS

According to Saunders et al (2009), three rules must be followed in conducting any type of research. The first rule is to obtain correct and accurate data/information. Second, to safeguard the sensitive information; and the third is to avoid revealing the personal data to third parties. In order to conduct this research, the following set of ethical principles will be followed.

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Nobody will be forced to participate in the survey Participants will be informed about the objectives of the study The personal details of the respondents will not publicised and their identity will remain anonymous Ethical language will be used throughout the survey by keeping in mind the self-respect of the respondents No inappropriate or inadequate method/technique will be used to collect data The particular data will not be used against any organisation for illegal or threatening

purposes

3.8 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS

There are two research limitations in this study: 1. Time will be a limiting factor in carrying out this dissertation because first it will hard to find out people who have travelled through low cost airlines; and second, a quick and strong follow-up will be required to get maximum responses on time 2. The findings and conclusions of the research will be based on the opinions, perceptions, and observations of the customers and it is believed that the perception and opinion of each human being about the same idea is not always similar (Pollard, 2002).

4. CONCLUSION
Referring to the problem statement in section 1.3, low cost airlines in Europe are facing fierce competition on the basis of cheap prices against low customer quality. Currently, these airlines are also facing criticism in terms of customer service issues (The Economist, 2007) such as check in services, exhausting booking services, inappropriate seating environment, and unpleasant environment. Consequently, they are rapidly losing their credibility, profitability, and market share. It is believed that a combination of five marketing approaches (i.e. gap analysis model, Porters model of competitive advantage, organisational environment, relationship marketing, and marketing mix) can resolve this matter. A detailed investigation about these matters will include primary and secondary researches and the final conclusion of the dissertation will inform how low cost airlines can achieve sustainable competitive advantage by adopting innovating marketing strategies.
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REFERENCES
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Doole, I. and Lowe, R. (2008). International marketing strategy. 5th edition, London: Seng Lee Press Doloi, H., Sawhney, A., Iyer, K. C. and Rentala, S. (2012). Analysing factors affecting delays in Indian construction projects, International Journal of Project Management, 30, pp. 479-489. Doyle, P. (2008). Value-Based Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Corporate Growth and Shareholder Value. 2nd edition, John Wiley & Sons Ferber, R. (1977). Research by convenience, The Journal of Consumer Research, 4(1), pp. 5758. Fifield, P. (1998). Marketing strategy. 2nd edition, Routledge. Hooley, G., Saunders, J. and Piercy, N. (2004). Marketing strategy and competitive positioning. 3rd Edition, London: Prentice Hall Iyer, K. C. and Jha, K. N. (2005). Factors affecting cost performance: evidence from Indian construction projects. International Journal of Project Management, 23, pp. 283-295. Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th edition, Prentice Hall Kasper, H., Helsdingen, P. and Gabbott, M. (2006). Services Marketing Management: a strategic perspective. 2nd edition, England: John Wiley and Sons Klophaus, R. (2005). Frequent flyer programs for European low-cost airlines: prospects risks and implementation guidelines, Journal of Air Transport Management, 11, pp. 348-353. Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. M. (2010). Principles of marketing. 13th edition, Prentice Hall Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2006). Framework for marketing management and customer case. 3rd edition, Prentice Hall Lawton, T. C. (1999). The Limits of Price leadership: Needs-based Positioning Strategy and the Long-term Competitiveness of Europe`s Low Fare Airlines, Long range planning, 32(6), pp. 573-586.

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Liou, J.J.H. (2009). A novel decision rules approach for customer relationship management of the airline market, Expert Systems with Applications, 36, pp. 4374-4381. McDonald, M. (2008). Malcolm McDonald on Marketing Planning: Understanding Marketing Plans and Strategy. Kogan Page Publishers Milmo, D. (2010). Ryanair must move away from low fares. The Guardian, 12 September 2010 Moore, S. (2001). Sociology Alive. 3rd edition. Nelson Thornes Neuman, W. L. (2006). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 6th edition, Boston: Pearson Education Obermiller, C. and Burke, C. (2008). Sustainable business as marketing strategy, Innovative Marketing, 4(3), pp. 20-27. Oliveira, A.V.M. and Huse, C. (2008). Localized competitive advantage and price reactions to entry: Full-service vs. low-cost airlines in recently liberalized emerging markets, Transport. Res. Part E, doi: 10.1016/j.tre.2008.09.003. Pollard, A. (2002). Readings for reflective teaching, Continuum International Publishing Group Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance. New York: The Free Press. Porter, M. E. (2008). The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review, January, pp. 7993 Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A.(2009). Research methods for business students.5th edition, England: Pearson Education Limited. Smith, C. A., Kisiel, K. W. and Morrison, J. G. (2009). Working through synthetic worlds. Ashgate Publishing Ltd The Economist, (2007). Snarling all the way to the bank. 23 August 2007 Wrenn, W. B. (2006). Marketing research: text and cases. 2nd edition, Routledge

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Zeithaml, V.A., Parasuraman, A. and Berry, L.L. (1988). SERVQUAL: a multi-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of the service quality, Journal of Retailing, 64(1), pp. 12-40. Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., and Gremler, D. (2009) Service Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus across the Firm. 5th edition, New York: McGraw-Hill

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