British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the UK. The headquarters of the company is located at Heathrow Airport, London. Four individual companies BOAC, BEA (London air passenger carriers), Cambrian Airways, Cardiff, Northeast Airlines, and New Castle founded the company together in 1974. The company became private in 1987. The company bought British Caledonian and Gatwick carriers and in this way, it expanded itself. They provided their primary and bulk order of A320 airplanes. The company is at present the largest purchaser of Boeing aircraft. They gave their second-biggest order to begin long-distance flights in 2007.
So, due to this amazing growth of the company, we are going to understand the marketing strategies and aims of the company. We also learn about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of British Airways with the help of SWOT analysis.
Marketing Technique Of British Airways
Marketing technique helps to meet marketing goals. The marketing strategy of British Airways is as follows:
Product
Product plays a very important role in marketing. We can not understand what marketing plan we have to make and for what without a product. Product is the best way to grab the attention of the consumers. On the other hand, British Airways gets authorized 4 stars ratings for delivering the best quality derivatives and assistance to consumers.
Price
As per the marketing strategy, British Airways kept the prices of their products very low at the time of Covid-19 pandemic. They allowed customers to buy online tickets from BA.com at reasonable prices. In case other companies can give services to the customers at lower prices than British Airways, the company guarantees that it will give all the additional prices back no matter whether the consumer has booked the tickets online.
Promotion
The company is famous for delivering various kinds of coupons and vouchers to provide discounts to consumers. They concentrate on offering discounted coupons along with codes on them for the consumers no matter whether they are part of the company’s members or not. They just have to register themselves once to come to be a club associate. They also give exceptional bonuses so that the consumers get the best long-term advantages.
Furthermore, the company has kept a few instant holiday packages in its digital marketing strategy. The offer is not only provided on inexpensive flights but also for rented cars to make the consumers delighted and improve dependency on them. The consumers have to transit and run away in their airplane and obtain the BA mile points to obtain vouchers and special rewards. The customers can also gather points by running away with the member airlines and staying in the assigned inns. The points will be included and finally, the consumers will get a huge advantage and rewards.
Place
The company has a wide market all over the world and provides services in six important continents which contain nearly 371 destinations. But the primary junction of British Airways is situated at Heathrow in London which operates most of its flights at London Gatwick Airport. But the headquarters of the company was located in the Manchester Airport before. After that, it was shifted to London Heathrow.
The Target Market of British Airways
The target market of British Airways refers to two things: first of all high revenue and households. For this, businessmen are pondering about financing a company that would be the fairest consumers of British Airways. Secondly, considering their target market visitors who can easily access industry sites would also be the target market of the company.
Manager category trip is a decent instance of grabbing customers by highlighting fads and the latest principles the contest was unable to identify at the time of marketing their ideals with dirty kinds and ways or symbolism. General causes behind loss of air are bad weather, domestic stress on reasonable easy return fares for vacations by those travelling quick distances may drive up taxations on roads like London- Newcastle, Southampton – Stansted frequently to times taller than those in the first-class service.
Current travellers may also get points by using their miles no matter whether they were needed on the hotel or flight ticket. White Airways introduced a winter derivative in 1912 under the White Label Group with unlimited flights between London and Bahamas’ capital Nassau for a US$435 round trip (containing surcharges).
SWOT Analysis Of British Airways
SWOT analysis is a way of calculating the company and its atmosphere both inner as well as outer. It is utilized as the initial phase of planning which enables marketers to concentrate on the main topics that a company requires to encounter.
The full form of SWOT is strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strength and weakness generally depict the internal atmosphere of the firm and the other two depict external atmospheres including direct and indirect effects on the business.
Strength
The primary strength of the company is the brand British Airways. The brand is now the new speedy airline. They guarantee the passengers to give them a relaxing travelling experience and they apply unique techniques to make their services more suitable to the consumers so that they always consider the company as the ultimate choice. They give respect to the complaints and feedback of consumers. That is why they are more professional than other opponents and they are capable enough to provide the best quality services to their consumers.
Furthermore, British Airways declares that they possess the best analytical skills based on the experience of the consumers that are dealt with by the company members and this is one of the most important strengths in the entire airline industry.
Weakness
People always criticize British Airlines for their impoverished marketing strategies. That is why this is one of their alarming weaknesses and sets a great effect on consumer satisfaction. Despite its outstanding infrastructure British Airways has to apply better marketing strategies to grab the attention of more consumers. If they give a competitive package that will surely make a great distinction and make the present service more alluring and trustworthy. Furthermore, the company compromises with the skills of software simulation and its growth which is also a poor shortcoming of British Airways.
Opportunities
Companies have to evolve with the rapidly changing technology. Moreover, they have to innovate their products and services which is not so easy to accomplish. But it helps a company to obtain a competitive benefit. British Airways admires this and takes them as a prospect to develop their services more.
Threats
There can be internal and external threats in a company. The management system of a company can cause threats to a company. A company may face threats due to poor decision-making. The worldwide issues also cause threats if the company avoids those problems. Globalization can be a strength and opportunity but on the other hand, it can also be a threat if the company fails to handle it. Moreover, the rapid modifications of the technology can also be a threat if a company can not evolve with it.
The “Old” British Airways
The International Airlines Passengers’ Association (IAPA) demonstrated in 1980 that passengers should avoid British Airways because the business strategy of the company was miserable and tough. The prevailing situations impacted the requirements of the staff and that is why it caused staff dissatisfaction. A lot of customers were not happy with the services provided by the company. The business strategy, customer services, and staff relations of the company were not perfect.
Impediments to Change
British Airways was not able to enforce new changes for various reasons. For example, the parent companies of the business sustained a rigorous culture that was not so easy to change. Though the organizations conducted properly, the efficiency level was not up to the mark. But the leaders were not happy with the performance. As a result, the managers were not able to enforce significant modifications.
Remaking British Airways:
Crucial Factors
The primary facet that stimulated the modification was the same time as John King. The experience of the chairman authorized him to enforce a drastic change procedure. The new Chief Finance Officer, Dunlop Gordon altered the image of the airline by including different services. Moreover, Colin Marshall used string policies to provide outstanding services. The Putting People First program was another important factor that authorized workers to interact simply and help the requirements of consumers.
Remaking Themselves
The stakeholders of British Airways detected different phases and series to change the company. The chairman enforced a strong plan by using a few steps. The first one was to cut down the number of employees. Then they froze salary increments. The third step they took was to close sixteen paths.
Conclusion
So, you have learned how British Airways has changed itself to survive in the competitive market. By applying powerful strategies a business can provide significant outcomes. The involvement of various shareholders can change the image of a company and make it more competitive. My Assignment Writing Help is the one-stop solution for any kind of case study help. So, you may feel free to contact them.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- What are the biggest challenges of British Airways?
According to Gellego, there were three main operational challenges: people resourcing, unstable IT systems, and airport capacity constraints.
- What strategy is used by British Airways?
British Airways is a high-quality airline and needless to say that the business strategy of the company must be something unique. The company intends to get a return on capital of a minimum of 15% with an operating profit margin of 12-15%.
- What is British Airways named now?
After the union of British Airways and Iberia in January 2011, the company was renamed International Airlines Group. This is one of the largest airlines in the world.
- How is British Airways inventive?
British Airways is the first airline in the UK that tested the use of biometric technology for international flights allowing consumers participating in the test to travel through the airport easily and they did not have to show their passports.
