Executive summary
JetBlue was founded by David Neeleman in 1998 and is America’s youngest airline flying to over 35 destinations including Caribbean and Atlantic regions.
The key strategies and competitive advantages of JetBlue are the maximisation of its workforce productivity, high quality of service and innovation with affordable prices, low cost ticketing system, and efficient aircraft utilisation.
JetBlue is a low-cost airline with a differentiated approach in regards to the high level of customer service it offers. It thus follows a best-cost provider strategy because it aims to give customers more value for money. As we will see in this report, JetBlue achieves a best-cost position from its ability to incorporate attractive features at a lower cost than its rivals.
This report also investigates the significant factors driving change in the airline industry, and while it may seem unattractive, JetBlue has the capabilities and resources to continue its growth and profitability.
The recommendations for JetBlue’s management is to continue with its best-cost strategy through identifying cost minimising opportunities within its value chain, while at the same time investing aggressively in technology and innovation to differentiate from its rivals.
Table of Contents
1. Strategic vision
2. Functional strategies and key activities
2.1 Customer service
2.2 Human resources
2.3 Policies, practices, and procedures
3. Factors driving change in the airline industry
3.1 Fuel
3.2 Consolidation
3.3 Unionisation
3.4 Economic crisis
4. Future strategies
4.1 Key recommendations/primary focus
4.2 Secondary focus
1. Strategic vision
Neeleman himself is noted for summarising his re...
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The following value chain, which focuses on Spirit Airlines, is representative of most of the firms in the Ultra Low-Cost Airline industry. Spirit is the industry leader in many areas such as operational efficiencies/cost structure, aircraft fleet management, brand/network and growth. The firm, however, trails industry foes in areas such as customer service and operational reliability and recoverability. While most in this segment pursue the cost-leader competitive strategy, Spirit has demonstrated the most effective model to date – whether the model is the most sustainable remains to be seen.
The Airline Industry is a fascinating market. It has been one of the few industries to reach astounding milestones. For example, over 200 airlines have gone out of business since deregulation occurred in 1978. Currently, more than 50% of the airlines in the industry are operating under Chapter 11 regulations. Since 9/11, four of the six large carriers have filed for and are currently under bankruptcy court protection. Since 9/11 the industry has lost over $30 billion dollars, and this loss continues to increase. Despite the fact that the airline industry is in a state of despair, JetBlue has become the golden example, a glimpse of what the industry could be.
...leader. Certainly, it has to take into account the implications of completion from both the direct and the indirect competitors. That is why EasyJet centers on the cost management strategy and the differentiation strategy (Hanlon, 2007). Through an analysis of EasyJet Airplane company strategies and performance, it is clear that they are ambitious and strive for the best. They not only survive in an industry that is intensely competitive, as shown through the analysis by Porter's Five Forces, but also succeed in terms of offering their customers the best that they have to offer in terms of value for money. The advantage this airline gains over its oligopolistic competitors stems from flexible ticketing and complete access to all primary routes. However, in keeping airline industry, there is room for improvement and growth as the analysis using Ansoff Matrix reveals.
In the airline industry, Southwest Airlines is considered a true innovator. By shaking up the rules of flying and improving upon inefficient industry norms, Southwest has quickly grown by leaps and bounds. From the very start, Southwest Airlines' goals were to make a profit, achieve job security for every employee, and make flying affordable for more people (Southwest,2007). Southwest has not strayed from these goals. It does not buy huge aircrafts, fly international routes or try to go head to head with the major carriers; and thanks to a great planning, Southwest airlines has become the most successful airline company in the U.S., if not the world.
For years, Southwest Airlines has been experiencing stable costs, low fares and traffic stimulation. However, the latest changes in the marketplace (See Exhibit 1: SWOT Analysis), including the higher energy costs and the entrance of new low fare/cost carriers are threatening the future of the airline. As a result, LUV needs to decide whether or not to acquire the slots and gates from the bankrupt ATA Airlines at LaGuardia (LGA) terminal in New York City (NYC) in order to expand its capabilities.
Airline and travel industry profitability has been strapped by a series of events starting with a recession in business travel after the dotcom bust, followed by 9/11, the SARS epidemic, the Iraq wars, rising aviation turbine fuel prices, and the challenge from low-cost carriers. (Narayan Pandit, 2005) The fallout from rising fuel prices has been so extreme that any efficiency gains that airlines attempted to make could not make up for structural problems where labor costs remained high and low cost competition had continued to drive down yields or average fares at leading hub airports. In the last decade, US airlines alone had a yearly average of net losses of $9.1 billion (Coombs, 2011).
Southwest Airlines strategy of focusing on short haul passenger and providing rates as low as one third of their competitors, they have seen tremendous growth in the last decade. Market share for top city pairs on Southwest's schedule has reached 80% to 85%. Maintaining the largest fleet of 737's in the world and utilizing point-to-point versus the hub-and-spoke method of connection philosophy allowed Southwest to provide their service to more people at a lower cost. By putting the employee first, Southwest has found the key to success in the airline business. A happy worker is a more productive one as well as a better service provider. Southwest will continue to reserve their growth in the future by entering select markets only after careful market research.
It has stayed relevant to the market through its propelled philosophy of relationships to generate profits in the business. Since its establishment in Monroe, Louisiana the once tiny airline has stretched to greater heights serving in 6 continents. It has also established a distinguishable name among its competitors with a reputation of leading customer services. However, even as an established venture, the company needs to maximize its profits in order to stay in business and expand in to new territories beyond its conquered boundaries. A strategic analysis was carried out by our team to establish the company’s current situation. A SWOT analysis was performed to come up with three referenced, strategic alternatives. This alternatives are meant to act as a strategic guidance to the company in order to enhance growth. The strategic recommendation provided will improve and enable the business to cope with the competitors while the implementation of the strategy section will outline the way to go about achieving these alternatives in the business setting. Lastly, we put up a discussion on the evaluation procedures and necessary controls for the
Jet Blue’s strategy to use a combination of cost leadership and differentiation strategies at the same time in an integrated way helps Jet Blue to overcome any major drawbacks and risks associated with any of the standalone individual strategies. The components and enablers for Jet Blue’s low cost strategy and differentiation strategies are complimentary to each other and they mutually reinforce Jet Blue’s overall integrated combined business level strategy. This combination of low cost and differentiation strategies enables Jet Blue to provide a high quality low cost differentiated customer service experience. This helps Jet Blue create a unique value and also provides a unique competitive advantage for Jet Blue to outperform its competition and achieve long term
Jet airways India’s second major airline in terms of market shares after Indigo airlines based at Mumbai known as India’s economic capital in addition to being its India’s widest network with 3000 flights a day with 76 destinations worldwide, main operations are handle from Mumbai but secondary hubs are Delhi (Nation Capital of India) Kolkata and Bangalore, It has an international hub at Brussels Airport, Belgium.
In a dysfunctional time for the airline industry, most airlines, especially major carriers, are adapting the concept of "doing less with more." One low-cost carrier, JetBlue, is changing the domestic aviation landscape in this regard and is defying the odds. Here is a company that has examined each marketing mix elements carefully, has adapted them to its customer’s needs, and is succeeding because of this approach.
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 25-40.
The first initiative that they were able to gain in competitive advantage was the reduction of costs. They have been able to use an online system where consumers can reserve tickets avoiding which avoids using travel agents. Having this systems reduces costs for the company as well because they do not have to hire nearly as many as employees. Along with buying tickets, JetBlue has been able to use other systems to reduce costs which helps them with the maintenance of their planes and organizing information that involves every aspect of their business ranging from their planes to their employees and consumers. The second initiative that JetBlue uses is the creating of new services. By creating their new online services and systems they are able to gain competitive advantage because it allows easier and less expensive accessibility to their services. Not only have they created new services but they are able to differentiate these services from their competitors because of the easiness and quality of the services that they do provide. They not only focus on making their services the best but also the highest level of customer service that they can offer which other airlines struggle to do. Other competitors have realized that JetBlue is beating them in many aspects in the business that they have needed to adjust what they are doing to catch up. Even with the jumps in technology use with the other companies, JetBlue has still been able to enhance their services to continue to gain competitive
There are other ways in which airlines customers are segmented. The airline services are divid...
As Boeing’s CEO, Frank Shrontz promised to increase earnings and return on equity. Boeing had a history of making money when its competitors did not, but Mr. Shrontz wanted higher returns. The airline industry was characterized by large cash outflows for R&D and manufacturing and long payback periods over long life cycles for each new airframe design. Companies had to have deep pockets to keep the operation going while waiting for a return on their investments. If Mr. Shrontz could increase the return on equity for Boeing, it would increase the likelihood of Boeing’s continued success well into the future.