Porter's Five Forces Analysis Of Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Australia (Virgin) launched in 2000 (as Virgin Blue) and established itself as a low cost airline, with a reputation for exceptional customer service. In July 2010, Virgin launched its’ Game Change Program, a strategy to reposition the airline as a premium carrier. (Virgin Australia, 2013)

Virgin Australia which was formerly called Virgin Blue is the Australia’s second largest airline. The airline was started in 2000 by British business tycoon Sir Richard Branson and former Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey. The airlines started as low-cost carrier, but went on to become a “new-world carrier” (Virgin Blue media release, 2011). This low cost airline went on to become a full-service airline by 2012 with the name of Virgin Australia. Since the year 2000 the airlines grew rapidly and posed threat to Qantas airline and over the years Virgin Blue looking at the marketing trends and characteristics of the aviation industry grew into a Full Service Airline and is considered a four star airline by research consultancy firm Skytrax.

The biggest challenge facing any new entrants and Virgin Blue is competing with the brand identification of Qantas and the following that they have from the Australian public. When Virgin Blue first entered the market they were also competing with Ansett for customers and since the collapse of Ansett, Virgin Blue and Qantas had to compete for their customers. Qantas has established a frequent flyer program to keep

The first part of this report provides a broad introduction into the business of Virgin Australian by examining its principal sources of revenue, its nature of operating, its competitors, the market share and the regulations affecting its operations. From this, it can be seen that Virgin Australia operates in a very competitive environment and generates revenue by the core business of passenger and cargo transport.

Using the case study, this section will examine the strategic issues and problems relevant to the Virgin Group and the strategy that the company has adopted. The case study briefly describes the Virgin Group empire and its corporate strategy. Furthermore, it proceeds to highlight a number of strategic issues Virgin group was experiencing. According to the National Academic Press (2009) a strategic issue is understood to constitute fundamental policy choice with the capacity to accept the mission, mandates, financing structure, management, processes, users or customers and product mix or service level of an organization. The primary issues that Virgin group is facing relates to both Virgin Atlantic

This new territory caused the first major shift in the strategic thinking of Virgin as the airline was capital intensive and by 1985 airfares price war and the investment needs of virgin Atlantic (the airline) had taken its toll on Virgin finances with the result that publicly listed to raise more equity. Virgin’s music, retail, and vision business was brought together to form the Virgin Group and 35% of its equity was listed. Branson was not happy with this new arrangement because of the control that shareholders would hold on direction and this was not in keeping with his nonconformist style and also that he felt that his organization was misunderstood and undervalued by so called experts. The organization culture at Virgin was also at risk in this new arrangement and he seized the opportunity presented by the 1987 stock market crash to buy out external shareholders.

Virgin Atlantic Airways is one of the leading airlines in Europe introduced by Virgin Group collection of branded companies in 1984. Virgin Atlantic is centralized with UK operating 30 destinations all over the world with the 40 Aircrafts in operation. It is also extending its operation via code

After the Deregulation Act of 1978 in the United States, the airline industry was forced to adapt to the rapidly changing environment (Goetz & Vowles, 2009). At the time, the nominally regulated air transporting environment permitted the airlines to begin services on any desired route, giving them a great deal of liberty in the market. Although things were going well for those involved in the aviation industry, several factors began to have a negative impact on the industry. For instance, as the competition started to escalate, airlines began to take a competitive stance against one another, fighting for their share of the market. Moreover, the World Trade Center tragedy in 2001 had an adverse impact on the entire airline industry (Coy, 2005). Adding to the predicament, the recent financial crisis of 2008 and the current inflation in fuel prices have caused the US airline industry to regroup the fleet formation, making it the most competitive airline industry in the world (Ryerson & Kim, 2014). The whole airline industry now found itself struggling to survive.

The purpose of this report is to examine Virgin Blue’s external environment followed by its impacts to the organization as well as how management functions could help overcome the external environment for the organization to compete properly in the domestic airline market.

When we analysed Virgin Atlantic we saw that they were putting forward a luxurious brand identity with a price point to match. They are regarded as an expensive and high-service choice for people who are willing to spend a little bit more money in order to have a higher quality of customer service on their flight. This put them in the high-price, high-service quadrant along with many other competitors including British Airways.

To achieve the results desired for Virgin Airlines, the company must concentrate on expansion in domestic niche markets by adding aircraft and destinations. By focusing on expansion within the United States, Virgin America can expand in their specialty market without losing their touch as one of the best customer service airlines in the world. In order to achieve this, several alternatives must be considered to bring about the desired result by emphasizing the driving forces, and lessening the resistant ones.

The threat of new entrants in the airline industry is very low for Virgin Atlantic, this is because the barrier for both high entry and exit barrier is very high. These barriers can stop new airlines not to enter into the industry. The entry and exit can be difficult for Virgin because there are a number of regulatory factors. For new airlines to enter, there must be large capital investment human resources that are skilled

The airline business is a highly competitive industry. According to Morningstar article Southwest Airlines Co Analyst Report, the airline industry has many barriers to entry, which creates an intense industry rivalry. This claim is backed up by the text Attention All Passengers by William J. McGee, which states “Air travel has become a commodity, and the airlines themselves an oligopoly.” (McGee) Therefore, a sustainable cost advantage is the only way to survive in this cutthroat industry. (Dihora) Furthermore, the same Morningstar article claims that the airline industry is not growing. This is because the top four airline carriers control approximately 80% of the domestic market in 2015. This can be compared with results from the year 2000, when around 9 carriers controlled as much. (Dihora) This statistic shows that the number of organizations in the market is in fact

The primary purpose of this report is to demonstrate the decision-making process for the chosen aviation company Virgin Atlantic Airline owned by Sir Richard Branson, which was established in 1984 and how they influence their customers to purchase their products and use their services. Virgin Atlantic offers many services such as

1) What are Virgin Group’s distinctive resources/capabilities?The Virgin BrandFirstly, the Virgin brand is valuable in the form of brand equity, where ‘Virgin’ is one of the most recognised brand names in the UK, and is also well-known in other important markets including Europe and the U.S.A. Based on 1990s research, the Virgin brand was recognised by 96% of UK consumers (Case, p.685). Secondly, it is rare for a brand to have such positive consumer perceptions; which include value-for-money, fun, innovation, success, and trust across a range of Virgin businesses (Case, p.685). Thirdly, Virgin has built up their excellent reputation over time, and is therefore path dependent and difficult for competitors to imitate. Lastly, competitors