Song Airlines Case
Song airline was a low cost carrier subsidiary of Delta airlines that started in 2003. It was formed to compete with JetBlue and other low cost airlines for the Florida market. The market environment at the time of the case was extremely difficult with the rising costs of fuel, increasing security requirements after 9/11 and customers' expectations of lower fares. It has forced many big players in the airline industry into bankruptcy. The operational costs which include gate fees, ground operational costs etc. were increasing causing even more problems for the airlines. The fares in the Florida route were decreasing while the costs were ever increasing making it difficult to remain operational in that space.
The
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7. Used novel techniques by opening concept stores in Boston and New York to attract customers.
Song Airlines spent a lot of time analyzing the past data and did a lot of market research to come up these various strategy points. And I think, it clearly shows that they used experience curve techniques to analyze and use the data like gate utilization, flight attendant working times, seat usage, and flight route scheduling etc. to optimize the operational aspects of running the overall operations. It was stated that based on these initiatives they achieved 20 25% lower operational costs in running the airline as compared to running it in a Delta configuration. By using the various main concepts like low fares, great services and targeted marketing they were able to achieve good success. By focusing on the main strategy aspects simultaneously like lowering operational costs, optimizing logistics, increasing the service level and perceive value by portraying a high end service, Song was able to integrate these various aspects nicely.
Some of the key opportunities in the current market environment for airline industry are:
1. Increasing Customer service levels. Consumers are generally expecting more fro airlines and Song has already addressed this in original strategy which was very customer satisfaction based.
2. Understanding the responding to changing consumer behavior patterns. This is something
Over 35 years ago, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher decided to create a different type of airline. They began with the simple notion: If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time and at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. They were right (Southwest Airlines, 2004)!
2. The London based Airline could have verified their passenger list and should have identified Prof. McPherson as a Gold card member and a loyal customer and should have taken any one of these actions based on the situation:
American Airlines (American) made four fundamental changes to its rates. First, it moved to a four-tier rate structure; American offered first-class rates and three tiers of coach: full-fare, 21-day advance purchase and 7-day advance purchase. Overall, it expected to reduce coach fares by 38% and first-class fares by 20% to 50%. Though full fare coach prices dropped by about 38%, advance-purchase fares dropped by 6% when compared to the advance purchase tickets already being offered. Through this fare structure, American also eliminated deep discount tickets. Second, American eliminated the negotiated discount contracts of many large
Over the years Air Canada’s business strategy has changed and has been reconstructed a number of times. Air Canada’s mission has always remained the same, “connecting Canada and world” (Air Canada, 2016), but their visions and goals, have transformed.
The pricing strategy does not really differentiate it from the competitors as value-based service is not provided by the airlines. The low-cost structure and revenue strategy of Spirit Airlines give it a sustainable competitive
Jerome Simelane, the airline's Commercial GM, “By using what we have learned over the years about international airline best practice‚ we have also created a cost structure which allows us to offer competitive fares without cutting any corners on quality‚ safety and reliability."
Piedmont Airlines recently invested over $1 million in state of the art equipment and employee development in order to forecast and analyze the appropriate amount of discounted fares to offer per flight. The company discovered that by offering several discounted flights to consumers willing to book their travel well in advance of their departure date left many options available for the business traveler who needed to book much closer to the actual departure date. The analysis was the task of the Revenue Enhancement Department (RED) managed by Marilyn Hoppe. While this state of the art equipment was a step in the right direction, Marilyn believed that there were still a lot of subjective decisions being made and
Airborne Express the current underdog in the express mail business has been able to compete with market leaders due to innovation and optimization strategy. The company built on cutting cost and emphasizing reliability now faces pressure from the leaders UPS and FedEx to change their pricing strategy. This change from standard rate pricing to distance-based pricing puts Airborne in a dilemma in which they must choose to match the competition which will make them lose what sets them apart in the market or stay with the current strategy. Changing will increase their flexibility and could open them up to new consumers while staying the same
JetBlue Airways, the latest entrant in the airlines industry has gone through the initial stages (entrepreneurial and collectivity) of the organizational life cycle rapidly under the successful leadership of David Neelman. JetBlue Airways is currently in the formalization stage of the life cycle where in it needs to create procedures and control systems to effectively manage its growth. Also as it proceeds to grow further to reach the elaboration stage, JetBlue needs to continue to align itself with the environment in order to maintain its sustained growth.
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.
using their own core competencies to turn the airline around. By applying their own strategies,
Scandinavian Airlines serves 32 million people and is the largest airline in Scandinavia. It has been a first-mover in many areas and has built a positive reputation for corporate responsibility. Having decided to update its fleet with 55 Boeing 737s, SAS now has to decide whether to purchase DAC green engines.
Southwest was one of the most fuel sophistry airlines, but the continuing uprising fuel costs made the airline improve the fuel efficiency of its fleet by purchasing new Boeing 737-700s. They chose to purchase instead of rent to improve cash reserves and have less debt to total capitalization compared to other
With the JetBlue Airways experience, passengers enjoyed free amenities such as watching live satellite TV, listening to XM satellite radio, brand name snacks, coffee and drink. Passengers can also experience paperless ticketing, assigned seating with more legroom. These experiences have helped to streamline JetBlue’s business strategy as being the best customer service in the airline industry.
Upon review on a profile of a successful company we see Southwest Airlines as a prime example. Their ability to recognize weakness in their management system and adjust strategies has allowed them to emerge as a leader in the US airline industry. Southwest is the largest US low fare carrier with low fare rates, no additional fees and excellent customer service. Southwest Airlines currently has one of the most innovative management practices in the US to date. A review of the critical elements of Southwest Airlines proves to be effective and innovative.