The presentation attempts to analyse UK airline industry and the situation in which British Airways, the flagship national carrier, is in, and suggest strategic direction for the brand.
Several strategic models are employed including PEST, SWOT, Ansoff, Keller's CBBE model.
3. BRITISH AIRWAYS
● UK largest airline
● Based in Heathrow (Terminal 5)
● British heritage
● Trusted brand
Range of services
- First/Business/Economy Class
- Hotel and flight combination
- Car hire
Source: British Airways, 2015; Smithers, 2015
4. PEST: MARKET TREND
Political
Fear of terrorism (Massey, 2015)
⇒ Tighter Security
⇒ Arising cost (adapting to procedures)
Economical
Drop in oil price (Carlson, 2015)
Reduce operational expense
⇒ Budget travel
⇒ Rise in interest rate
Social
25-39: 2% increase (ONS, 2015)
Holiday/Leisure travellers (Mintel, 2015)
⇒ Leisure/Package offers
⇒ Competitive pricing
Technological
73% of mobile phone and digital users
(Mintel, 2015)
⇒ Use of various online media
⇒ Upgrade service
5. COMPETITORS ANALYSIS HIGHLIGHT
Strength Weakness
Positive Brand Image Lack of engaging Marcoms
Brand Extension Poor in-flight experience
Lower cost / High coverage Poor brand image
Innovative Lack of brand awareness
In-flight Wi-Fi Using Cheap workforce
6. COMPETITORS ANALYSIS HIGHLIGHT
Target Audience Marcoms
25-39 Travel Package
18-24 Sky News Snow Report
25-39 Low Fares
25-44
ITV Wales Weather
Social Media
25-38 New Years Deals
Source: YouGov, 2015
9. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS - PROFIT
Ryanair drop fares to
encourage customers
BA made loss
due to strike, high
cost
BA sponsored
London Olympics
Norwegian’s
expansion
10. SWOT MATRIX
- Strong brand image, large fleet ⇒
penetrate budget travel
- Cooperation with hospitality
service ⇒ meet demand of leisure
travellers
- Higher price for much more premium
service ⇒ money-value
- Online platform ⇒ create
communication with more interactive,
feelings and positive image
- Nation-image, high budget invest
in safety ⇒ gain trust, reinforce
decision
- Heritage image, reputation ⇒ gain
preference over budget airlines
- Perceived as premium brand ⇒
lose segment of budget airline
- Conservative and slow respond to
market
11. ANSOFF MATRIX
Current BA position
● Premium airline
Product Development
● In-flight Wi-Fi service
● Improve passenger flight
experience
Market Development
● Expand Budget airline market
● Growth in budget travellers*
● Increased travellers within EU*
Source: Statista (2015)
16. SMARTER WAY FOR TRAVEL
● Benefits:
○ Great Value
○ Uncompromised Quality
○ Easy Access To Airports
○ Emphasise Stress-free experience
17.
18.
19. References
British Airways. (2015). History and heritage. British Airways. Available from http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-
ba/history-and-heritage [Accessed 15 December 2015].
Carlson, D. (2015). Airlines – but not passengers see benefits as crude oil as prices drop. The Guardian. Available from http://www.
theguardian.com/business/2015/mar/15/airlines-passengers-crude-oil-prices-drop [Accessed 7 December 2015].
Creative Club. (2014). British Airways Advertisement. Creative Club. Available from https://www.creativeclub.co.uk/fs.aspx [Accessed
14 December 2015].
Keller, L, K. Aperia, T. and Georgson, M. (2012). Strategic Brand Management: A European Perspective. 2nd Edition. England:
Pearson Education.
Mintel. (2015). The premium budget vs traveller –UK – February 2015. Mintel. Available from http://academic.mintel.
com/display/715892/ [Accessed 6 December 2015].
Mintel. (2015). Digital trends – UK – March 2015. Available from http://academic.mintel.com/display/732273/?highlight#hit1 [Accessed
6 December 2015].
Massey, R. Simons, W, J. and Marsden, R. (2015). European aviation chiefs force British Airways to carry an extra person in the
cockpit at all times – but experts fear it may make planes more vulnerable to terrorism. Daily Mail. Available from http://www.dailymail.
co.uk/news/article-3014474/EasyJet-Virgin-Atlantic-making-planes-vulnerable-terror-attacks-knee-jerk-new-safety-measures-wake-
Germanwings-tragedy-say-air-safety-experts.html [Accessed 7 December 2015].
20. References
ONS Population Size. (2015). C4.3 2014-based Numbers surviving at exact age. Available from http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-
and-tables/index.html?pageSize=50&sortBy=none&sortDirection=none&newquery=surviving&content-type=Reference+table&content-
type=Dataset [Accessed 14 December 2015].
Smithers, R. (2015). British Airways Named UK’s Most Popular Brand. The Guardian. Available from http://www.theguardian.
com/business/2015/mar/02/british-airways-named-uks-most-popular-brand [Accessed 5 December 2015].
Statista. (2013). Amid the Euro Crisis, Europeans turn to low-cost Airlines. Statista. Available from http://www.statista.
com/chart/1571/amid-the-euro-crisis-europeans-turn-to-low-cost-airlines/ [Accessed 13 December 2015].
YouGov. (2015). YouGov Brand Profiles. Available from https://yougov.co.uk/profileslite#/ [Accessed 7 December 2015].