Air Canada Case Analysis Essay

The United States carries over one third of the globe’s total traffic, where Over 1.5 billion passengers fly annually. Over the past 20 years, air travel has grown at an average of about 5% per year, the reason for annual change is usually differences in economic growth, and of course other environmental factors, such as the current war. As a rule, the annual growth in air travel has been about twice the annual growth in GDP. Deregulation, liberalization, and competition have essentially altered the management strategies and practices of airlines. Productivity improvements and cost management have been two of the greatest concerns for US airlines for the past twenty years. As a whole, the airline industry must continue to improve their specialization in terms of fleet utilization, pricing and revenue management, and schedule optimization.

r market by entering into strategic code-sharing agreements with international carriers, such as Cathay Pacific , and American Airlines

Air Canada is Canada 's largest full-service airline and the largest provider of scheduled passenger services in the Canadian market, the Canada-U.S. trans-border market and in the international market to and from Canada. In 2010, Air Canada improved its reputation as one of the world’s leading international air carriers. Significant progress was made on executing and delivering on its four key priorities and this, coupled with improving economic conditions, allowed Air Canada to record operating income of $407 million in 2010, a $677 million improvement from 2009. Air Canada’s financial strategy is to continue to improve both the level and sustainability of its

1. United Airlines is owned by the UAL Corporation and was incorporated on December 30, 1968. The actual company was formed may years before this actually in 1925 and was a private mail carrying service between Pasco, Washington, and Elko, Nevada, and from these humble beginnings they formed a were able to start a company that would come to be a global leader in the airline service. From the 1960’s to the 1980’s the company had 6 different presidents and started to expand and venture into different aspects of business other then airlines and were unable to have any success. These companies that they purchased were not a success and were later resold.

WestJet Airlines is a Calgary-based discount airline founded in 1996. Starting with only three aircrafts in 1996, the company is now “Canada’s leading high-value low-fare airline.” The management of WestJet Airlines assumes that the success of the business is anchored in the culture of the corporation and the welcoming service provided to its customers. Beddoe, the president and the CEO of WestJet, is proud of the airlines performance and the customer service it offers. He believes that the corporate culture was the key to success and the company’s attainment. WestJet’s culture is very entertaining, hassle-free, unperturbed, and relaxed. The ratings of the customer satisfaction are higher than those of the other airlines. Top management

WestJet Airlines is a Canadian airline that differentiates itself with their low cost flights and exceptional customer service. The company’s philosophy is “just because you pay less for a flight, doesn’t mean you should get less.” WestJet has been growing rapidly since 1996, however, they believe in growing responsibly by being cautious of their environmental and community impact (“About us”, n.d.). As WestJet has a strong presence locally, our analysis will mainly focus on WestJet’s domestic segment.

* Expanding year by year and adding more traveling destinations which include the United States and popular sun-destinations

Westjet’s business plan, since day one, has been focused on a distinct advantage over other airlines: lower costs and increased customer satisfaction. It executes this plan by investing in one type of aircraft to serve main cities in North America instead of investing in different aircrafts needed to reach all

Like any airline, Air Canada aims to be the best in the industry. Its objective is for the continuous improvement of employee engagement and customer experience. In its pursuance for the global champion status, Air Canada strategically identifies and implements reduction of cost and initiatives for generating revenues and pursues growth opportunities that are internationally profitable (Air Canada - The Official Website", 2017). It also leverages competitive advantages for appropriate enhancement of margins, largely by increasing connecting traffic through new and existing international gateways and effectively expanding and competing in the leisure market to and from

WestJet airlines was founded in 1996 by Clive Beddoe, a successful Albertan entrepreneur who was desperate to find a solution to the rising costs of business travel expenses (WestJet, n.d.a). Beddoe combined a small group of Canadian business savvy investors with a regional airline President and together they sought the experience of successful industry leader David Neeleman, founder of Morris Air and developer of the One Skies passenger reservation system (Pederson, 2001). Often referred to as the Southwest Plan, WestJet’s original business model was simple; offer passengers a superior experience at a price that was comparable to driving or taking the bus. This was easily accomplished by operating one type of aircraft, removing excess frills, hiring employees whose personality fit a specific type, and by developing a company culture that focused on safety and taking care of the guests (WestJet, n.d.a.).

The success of WestJet Airline over a course of time has been exponential and remarkable. Over the span of 15 years, the company has expanded tremendously, operating in 18 countries with a fleet of over 90 aircrafts having nine thousand employees. Being a “high-value low-fare budget airline” it aims at delivering “world-class guest experience”. The key driver for the success of WestJet is the use of Information Technology. WestJet’s core value has always been around IT with highly competitive and technical employees, providing them an edge over its competitors.

Bombardier a Canadian transportation company is struggling to keep the company going, and the company reports to cut down jobs after decline revenue sales announcement. Bombardier seeks to the government for help in hope to get back into the competition with the aviation market. Bombardier is a leading manufacture transportation company that is specialized in aero structures and engineering services, being the maker of the latest trains and aircrafts. Bombardier the Canadian company has declared to lay off employees due to the lack of buyers in specific aircrafts market. Therefore, the lack of buyers has lead the demand for labor market and aircrafts market to decrease. One way for Bombardier to avoid a decrease in supply is to reduce the cost

This article discusses the growth and success of Canadian airline WestJet. The company was established in 1994 by Clive Beddoes who stumbled upon an opportunity to collaborate with fellow businessmen: Tim Morgan, Don Bell, and Mark Hill to create a cost-effective and very profitable airline in western Canada. Together they achieved a concept of an airline that would be low-fare but rich in culture to maintain its integrity. With the help of David Needleman, president of Morris Air, the team developed a business plan and visualized what is now WestJet Airlines. They built an integrative, financial model and business plan which included only three aircraft and features of being: direct, cost-effective, and short-haul. Within 30 days of constructing a business plan the needed capital was raised and the foundation for WestJet airlines kicked off. In 1995 WestJet was established and began rapidly integrating into eastern Canada.

Westjet Airlines has achieved considerable success in the past few years, winning estimable rewards related to its service, gaining loyal customers and, of course, increasing market shares. It devotes to a “high-value, low-fare airline” which provides humanized services to customers. Another pride of Westjet is its IT, which designs all systems in-house and is operated based on the business demands.

There have been few inventions to change how people live and experience the world considerably as the creation of the airplane. Today, traveling by air has become the norm and it would be difficult to imagine life without it. Air travel has improved the way people are able to conduct business by shortening travel time and changing their thought of distance. The companies within the airline industry exist in a very competitive market. One of those companies, Southwest Airlines, features low-fare, no-frills air service with frequent flights of mostly short routes. Costs are kept down by the exclusive use of Boeing 737 aircraft, which allows for low maintenance costs and quicker turnaround times for flights, and by an emphasis on ticketless travel (Encyclopedia Britannica). This paper will address two segments of the general environment and how they affect Southwest and the airline industry; evaluate how Southwest has addressed two forces of competition; predict what Southwest might do to improve its ability to addresses these forces; assess the external threats affecting Southwest; discuss Southwest’s greatest strengths and most significant weaknesses; determine Southwest’s resources, capabilities, and core competencies; and analyze their value chain.