Weakness: Cost overruns, Frequent delays and Program defeats:
Even though Boeing has done many works to reduce cost, there are some overcosted programs that is being a drag on Boeing. Although Boeing 767 jetliner provide a platform for KC-46 Tanker programs to save parts of cost, but the cost still overruns. The original budget for KC-46 is $536 million, but the actual cost is $835 million. And the KC-46 has been delayed for several times. The reason is a mislabeled chemical was inaccurately loaded into the aircraft’s refueling line before testing. “This was not the first time first flight has been delayed. The event was initially slated for 2014, then pushed back to April, then postponed again to later this summer.” (defensenews, 2015) Boeing
The new trend in airline industry to use fuel efficient, high -tech aircraft is of a major concern for Air Canada. It has been under immense pressure to replace its fleet aircraft with more efficient Boeing 777 aircraft. However, the airline has purchased some Boeing777 aircraft, but these new purchases are used only for more profitable international routes depriving Air Canada’s domestic consumers of the facility. Furthermore, the varied fuel price has affected pricing policy significantly as its promotional policies are more price point based as compare to consumer based.
Executive Summary A key factor in determining a project's viability is its cost of capital [WACC]. The estimation of Boeing's WACC must be consistent with the overall valuation approach and the definition of cash flows to be discounted. Note that this process is a forward-looking focus and is laden with uncertainty. It is how the assumptions are modeled that many costly mistakes can be made.
Having a low cost of operations is one of the contributing factors to Southwest Airlines’ financial success. Such low cost model of the corporation is brought about by an effective strategy. Southwest uses only one type of aircraft – the fuel-efficient Boeing 737. This tactic keeps training and maintenance costs down. Moreover, the no-frills approach to customer service contributed to the low cost of operations for Southwest.
Right now these are just small threats to Boeing. But as things advance, there is no telling what the new market trends will be and what new directions a company like Boeing must take. It is important to continually perform SWOT analysis and stay nimble. Overall, the Boeing Company has stayed strong in the aircraft field and with record profits for the past two years it looks like they are achieving their goals. Boeing has had to change their business direction over the past 100 years in order to stay on top of the aircraft industry.
Many elements of Delta Airlines are described in detail, within this paper. There is a breakdown of the external and internal factors, using external and internal analysis. Porter’s Five forces are used to create the external analysis, and the key factors for Delta are power of buyers, and rivalry. Delta’s competitive advantages are identified as customer service, sustainability, brand image, strong strategic alliances, and corporate travel. Delta’s main issues are the low expansion in international markets, continuous changing of incentive program, and glitches within technology. Delta should expand more into the Chinese and African markets in order to gain market share within the airline industry.
Boeing/Airbus Case Analysis Competition in the Commercial Aircraft Business. With only a few large companies across the globe (Boeing, MD, and Airbus), the commercial aircraft industry essentially exhibits the qualities of an oligopolistic competition with intense rivalry. Here is an analysis of competition in the commercial aircraft business using Porter’s Five Forces. Figure 1: Porter’s Five Forces Applied to Aircraft Industry. Barrier to entry: - High barriers to entry, to a certain extent, help understand the risks involved in operating in the aircraft industry.
Maintenance cost- Maintaining the old aircrafts is the biggest weakness for the airlines as they have to spend a huge amount on their maintenance by which their additional overhead cost raises.
Continental also looked to keep costs low. In 1994, Continental was renowned as a cost cutting airline. “We were stuck in our mold of being a cost cutting airline, and if you weren’t talking about cutting costs, nobody at the top wanted to hear you” (Bethune, 1998, p10) The problem Continental experienced were that they cut costs to such an extent that it became the culture of the company. When Gordon ...
Several weaknesses in airline operations were identified as the causes of the RM1.3 billion loss. These included esclating fuel prices, increased maintenance and repair costs, staff costs, low yield per available seat kilometer ("ASK") via poor yield management and an inefficient route network.
Not only does this affect the cost of transporting materials, but has a knock on effect affecting supplier negotiations. Due to very little opportunity to reduce costs of fuel, most cost saving is pursued in getting the best price from suppliers. In pursuing this objective, negotiations can become heated and unfriendly. This puts strain on the relationship with the supplier. This strain can result in negotiations ceasing forcing WHBO to go to an alternate supplier who has a worse price.
Product Strategy of the British Airways 1.1 Introduction to product strategy Product is the most important component in an organization. Without a product there is no place, no price, no promotion, and no business. Product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a want or a need. It is the core ingredient of the marketing mix and is everything favorable and unfavorable, tangible and intangible received in the exchange of an idea, service or good (Kotler 11th edition, 2003). British Airways is a business offering service products, flights across destinations, in the transportation industry.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner was first announced to the public in January 2003 with approximated costs of five billion dollars , since the sales of the aircraft were high it was supposed to enter commercial service during 2008 but the building up of aircraft seemed more anticipated than expected , since the management decided to use composite materials as an alternative for traditional metals as composite materials are lighter , stronger , cheaper and also resistance to wild variety of chemical agents including acid rain and salt spray as these are the conditions under which metals suffer , Boeing also shared their views in development of air craft with suppliers which effected in a project significantly more anticipated than expected . More than three years later after the project exceeded the estimated budget at last 787 entered commercial service in September 2011.
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.
Summary William Boeing founded the Boeing airplane company in the early 20th century. After strings of acquisitions and mergers, this company grew and became the largest global aerospace industry. Followed by previous reorganizations in the 1990s, this company decided to start its branding campaign in May 2001. This campaign consisted of lots of effort and structural changes for the first time in corporate history. The media was showing the initial success of this campaign just after its beginning.
The 777 would be manufactured differently than previous Boeing aircraft. Various efforts would be undertaken to increase demand and reduce manufacturing costs of the 777 in an attempt to create positive cash flows sooner. To increase demand, the 777 would be the first fly-by-wire Boeing aircraft, a feature Boeing’s competitors already added to their aircraft. Boeing also made an effort to get their large customers involved in the design process from the beginning in an effort to increase its competitive advantage and long-term demand for the 777. As a cost saving measure, the design and manufacturing teams would work together to create a detailed simulation of the manufacturing process that would reduce the cost of “improvements” that were often made during manufacturing thereby reducing the overall manufacturing cost. Furthermore, Boeing would invest in more training for its engineers on the new CAD system. This new manufacturing process would lead to large capital outflows in the short-run. The challenge for Mr. Shrontz is determining whether these capital investments will lead to an increased return on equity for Boeing.