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Strategy of Virgin Atlantic Airlines

Strategy of Virgin Atlantic Airlines   Virgin Atlantic Airways is a British airline operating between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia from its London Gatwick Airport and London Heathrow Airport bases, and using Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft. Most of these aircraft offer the Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class configuration of cabins. The airline owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines registered an annual operating loss of 132 million pounds on a  2,357 million-pound turnover in the year to February 2010. From the beginning, Virgin Atlantic has been a rival of British Airways.[1]   Virgin Atlantic Airlines’ strategic mission is to grow a profitable airline that people will patronize and where people will like to work. A comparative analysis of the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) will help executives summarize the major facts and devise a course of action in the face of constantly changing external and internal factors. Virgin Atlantic’ strengths include its recognition by 98% of the British public, the expectation of good customer service by clients in each separate class and the firm’s introduction of innovations like in flight music, ice cream and games. Its weaknesses include flight delays and inefficiency, limited travel routes and the separation of Hot Air magazine from traditional advertising magazines. The opportunities open to Virgin Atlantic include the continued thrust toward innovative, good value, caring and quality services, providing in flight Internet connection and adding more airline routes. The threats it faces include the too rapid and global expansion of the Virgin brand image without focus on the important products, competition offered by British and United for routes and fluctuating fuel prices.[2] On the transatlantic front, Virgin Atlantic has declared the British Airways/American Airlines planned merger in 2008 as anti-competitive, because this will eliminate competition, raise prices and reduce service. The move is a reaction to the factor of rivalry in Porter’s 5 Forces business strategy framework. To maintain profitability, Virgin Atlantic has concentrated on its core competencies, including strategies on sustaining quality service and relationships with its Upper Class clients by way of route closures to Toronto, Chicago and Cape Town and reduction of flights and personnel across the North Atlantic. The latter is due to significantly less traffic following the September 11, 2001 incident in the US. The company has also introduced recycling initiatives on its aircraft and offices to declare its concern for the environment, cost effectivity and healthy and safe procedures. These moves are in line with the PESTLE business strategy model, which seeks to understand the operating environment of a business independent of its internal operations. To show the value Virgin Atlantic places on all stakeholders, it has attempted to keep all Virgin family members employed in the Virgin group by offering employment possibilities with the group’s leisure and health club and has also planned to rehire ex-employees once the airline industry resurges.[3]   Virgin Atlantic Airlines has chosen upper class customers who basically travel on business on transatlantic routes as its specific marketing target based on size and growth potential, competition, company objectives and feasibility of success in the market. The company offers fun, innovative and distinctive upper class service, including Internet capabilities and a high-tech inventory management system, at business class prices. The Virgin brand is one of the top 50 global brands, with people all over the world increasingly preferring the Virgin Atlantic brand image for its reputation of quality and experience in airline travel.[4] Virgin Atlantic Airlines has doubled its profits to more than $100 million in 2008 due to its fuel hedging and rising sales of first and business-class seats. The company is winning market share from competitors because of resilient load factors as travelers take advantage of bargain fares.[5]   While dropping unprofitable routes and reducing personnel, Virgin Atlantic has chosen not to cut back on its influential advertising campaigns. Its ’25 years and still red hot’ marketing thrust was able to resist the economic downturn and was successfully picked up websites, bloggers and cyber geeks worldwide.[6] 	   	 	 		 		 		 		 		[1] “Virgin Atlantic Airways”, 		Wikipedia, 16 June 2011, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Atlantic_Airways> 		 		[accessed 23 June 2011] 	 		 		 		 		 		[2] Donal Manning et al, “Virgin 		Atlantic Marketing Case Study”, SalterQuest.com, pdf, 2005, <http://www.safarigraphics.com/salterquest/portfolioPDFs/ws_Virgin_Atlantic_Marketing_Case_Study.pdf 		 		[accessed 23 June 2011] 	 		 		 		 		 		[3] ibid 	 		 		 		 		 		[4] ibid 	 		 		 		 		 		[5] Sarah Arnott, “Virgin Atlantic 		Defies Airline Slump”, BloombergBusinessweek, 27 May 2009, <http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2009/gb20090527_747393.htm> 		 		[accessed 24 June 2011] 	 		 		 		 		 		[6] ASC Staff, “Interview: Paul 		Dickinson, Virgin Atlantic”, ArabianSupplyChain.com, 21 March 		2010, <http://www.arabiansupplychain.com/article-3760-interview-paul-dickinson-virgin-atlantic/> 		 		[accessed 24 June 2011]

Strategy of Virgin Atlantic Airlines

Strategy of Virgin Atlantic Airlines Virgin Atlantic Airways is a British airline operating between the United Kingdom and North ...

SWOT Analysis of Cathay Pacific

SWOT analysis of Cathay Pacific   Using SWOT analysis, Cathay Pacific aspires to be a leader and will help to share future policies that affect the aviation industry by working with government and its partners as the strength. Cathay Pacific also identifies leveraging its brand and demonstrating that it is a company that can be trusted is its next target. A key part of the corporate reputation for the future points to the communication with its staff and getting them involved in delivering a more sustainable growth path (Flattoau, Matthews and Lott, 2006).   A key strength is through its dynamic team, the highest quality service could be provided hence making the customers happy with their choice. Further, Cathay Pacific is also committed to Hong Kong and its people that is why through its organisation and management style, various conditions are created to make it possible to deliver campaigns that in part a substantial investment to developing the industry and enhancing the company’s position as a regional transportation hub (Cathay Pacific online; Beckford, 1998, p. 185).   As such, the service is renowned because of the people who are always willing to go the extra mile to make the passenger feel special. The people use their training and intuition to provide all those little things that passengers may want even before they start asking for them so passengers can enjoy an exceptional travel experience.   One of the most evident marketing capabilities of Cathay Pacific is its affiliation with ‘oneworld’ alliance as Cathay Pacific’s other strength. Oneworld enables its members to offer customers more services and benefits than any airline could provide alone. Through the world renowned global airline alliance, Cathay Pacific was able to be a flight of choice since it can provide greater convenience of being able to choose flights on more days, or more flights on any given day. Customer satisfaction is what Cathay Pacific is after through providing the customers more flight choices, smooth transfers, access to other airport lounges and enhanced benefits.    Another strength apparent on Cathay Pacific’s operation is that it invests heavily on loyalty programmes as part of its customer relationship approach. There are two loyalty programmes for Cathay Pacific and one among this is the Marco Polo Club, which is a frequent flyer program. The Club is one of the most well-established schemes for Cathay Pacific and Oneworld alliance. The programme is so holistic that it is treated another brand inside Cathay Pacific especially since it is immediately adjacent to first class where passengers paying full economy fares enjoy improved service and facilities (Chan 2000).   Cathay Pacific’s weakness would be on its organisational structure that has become inefficient as the company become more complex. This could hinder Cathay Pacific’s ability to manage its international network of subsidiaries and other alliances. Prior to acquisition of Dragonair, Cathay Pacific has lost its competitive advantage which resulted in declining sales because of intensifying competition. During the 2000s, Cathay Pacific realised that there is the need to overcome the challenges of competition thus acquiring Dragonair. Future challenges of additional competition brings if Cathay Pacific will not resolve in strategic option (Page, 2007).    An opportunity and a threat, what Cathay Pacific and Dragonair can do to remain competitive in the regional and global airline industries is to strongly disprove the open skies in Hong Kong. Major routes of Cathay Pacific are also being served by five foreign airlines hence passengers have wide choices of carriers as well as schedules and fares of flights. Open skies therefore could threaten the operation of Cathay Pacific and Dragonair. This is to protect the financial stability of Hong Kong as well as that of the two carriers. Cathay Pacific and Dragonair have crucial roles in maintaining the interests of the entire aviation industry particularly in the Asia Pacific region (HKTDC, 2000).       References   Beckford, J 1998, Quality: an introduction, Routledge, London. Cathay Pacific information, retrieved on 22 February 2010, from http://www.cathaypacific.com. Chan, D 2000, ‘Air wars in Asia: competitive and collaborative strategies and tactics in action,’ Journal of Management Development, vol. 19. no. 6. Flattoau, J, Matthews, N & Lott, S 2006, ‘Big Deal?’ Aviation Week & Space Technology, vol. 164, no. 5, pp. 41-42. Page, S 2007, Tourism management: managing for change, 2nd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann. The Reality of Open Skies and Its Relevance for Hong Kong, 2000, HKTDC, retrieved on 22 February 2010, from http://info.hktdc.com/message/404.htm.

SWOT Analysis of Cathay Pacific

SWOT analysis of Cathay Pacific Using SWOT analysis, Cathay Pacific aspires to be a leader and will help to share future policie...

Organic Carrot Production :SWOT Analysis

Organic Carrot Production Introduction Commercial organic carrots are relatively difficult to grow compared to many other vegetables. Carrots require specialised machinery for sowing, weeding and harvesting, and usually need some hand weeding to avoid yield losses due to competition from weeds. All these elements add to their cost of production. They do, however, reward growers who overcome the difficulties and produce good, high quality crops. However, in terms of commercializing and marketing the organic products such as carrots, there is a need for an analysis to determine its competitiveness. SWOT Analysis The paper will use the SWOT Analysis to determine the strategy development of the production. Strengths The primary strength of the production is to support the organic sector particularly in agricultural level of the country and in the long run assist the economy. The organic carrot production can help the society in terms of income earning because it has a tradition of volunteerism, self-help and self-determination. Furthermore, the production promotes the philosophy and practices address consumers' interests in health and wellness, the environment and animal welfare. The producers of organic crops, processors and handlers belong to flexible organizations that meet their members' needs and facilitate communication within the community. The support of the government can emphasize the promotion for supply of goods that can be a great factor in the carrot production industry which adds to its size and expansion in production in the long run. New organic carrot producers continue to emerge and continue to meet ever-evolving consumer needs and together use marketing systems directly to consumers. The organic sector has multiple marketing channels that include the boxed delivery of produce, farmers' markets, packing plants, product brokers and distributors, among others. Weaknesses There are identified deficiencies in infrastructure of the organic carrot production that could impede the achievement of the future goals. The ignorance or resistance of the society might affect the marketing of the organic carrots in the market and to the consumers because it is often not consistent with the principles of organic production. The agricultural sector lacks an adequate production knowledge base, or the knowledge base for organic processing is limited - even more so than the knowledge base for organic production. The other factor that might contribute to the weakness is the organic agricultural issues tend not to be addressed by the larger agricultural research institutions. Another is the lack of research and attention that happens in local government. Another is the challenge for the continuous production, which might not be satisfied if there are changes in the weather or soil degradation which proves that there is a lack of research and extension support for organic farmers, especially during the transition phase from conventional to organic systems. The issue of production capacity, product quality, and consistency presents the future demand for organic carrots that can greatly affect the ability of producers to supply products. Opportunities Opportunities identify areas that the organic products like carrots can perform according to the consumer focus. The Organic production can attract the consumers and create more on the procurement of locally grown food and associates local with organic products. The organic carrot production is socially responsible in that it supports fair labor practices which can aid both the large producers and small farmers. In addition, there is an emerging pattern of social consciousness among consumers which makes the introduction of organic carrots in the market is promising. This advantage is gained due to the raised public awareness of organic agriculture and increased support and the consumers’ fear on pesticides, and stories in the popular press continue to remind the public that pesticides can have an adverse effect on health. Because of this, the production of organic carrots is within the line of pest management that could benefit organic producers. On the other hand, the challenge on the group of producers can be answered through the programs that will teach the appropriate organic production and promote in adding strengths to the organic producer service industry. Threats There are issues or threats involved in the organic carrot production. One of which is the perception that organic farming methods will not provide enough food to feed the world. Another is the perception that organic food is not as safe as conventionally produced food. And lastly, the misinformation generated by those ignorant of the organic sector and what it represents. All of the three issues can attract the incompetency of the organic carrot production. Sources: Mildura, D.M., (2007) Organic Farming: Carrot Production, Agriculture Notes [Online] Available at: http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/DPI/nreninf.nsf/v/53572311634B6EE5CA25740F00145731/%24file/Organic_Farming_Carrot_Production.pdf [Accessed 12 October 2010] New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets (2009) Production Guide for Organic Carrots for Processing [Online] Available at: http://nysipm.cornell.edu/organic_guide/carrot.pdf [Accessed 12 October 2010].

Organic Carrot Production :SWOT Analysis

Organic Carrot Production Introduction Commercial organic carrots are relatively difficult to grow compared to many other vegetables....

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