AMITY UNIVERSITY [IN] LONDON

COUNTRY REPORT
ON
AIR INDIA AND BRITISH
AIRWAYS

SUBMITTED BY: RAHEEL BIN REZA

PROGRAM: MBA (GENRAL)

ENROLLMENT NO : A0101918265
 INTRODUCTION
Air India

Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New

Delhi. It is owned by Air India Limited, a government-owned
enterprise, and operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft
serving 94 domestic and international destinations. The airline has
its hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, alongside
several focus cities across India. Air India is the largest
international carrier out of India with an 18.6% market share. Over
60 international destinations are served by Air India across four
continents. The airline became the 27th member of Star
Alliance on 11 July 2014.
The airline was founded by J. R. D. Tata as Tata Airlines in 1932;
Tata himself flew its first single-engine de Havilland Puss Moth,
carrying air mail from Karachi to Bombay's Juhu aerodrome and
later continuing to Madras (currently Chennai). After World War II,
it became a public limited company and was renamed as Air India.
On 21 February 1960, it took delivery of its first Boeing
707 named Gauri Shankar and became the first Asian airline to
induct a jet aircraft in its fleet. In 2000–01, attempts were made to
privatise Air India and from 2006 onwards, it suffered losses after
its merger with Indian Airlines. Air India also operates flights to
domestic and Asian destinations through its subsidiaries Alliance
Air and Air India Express. Air India's mascot
is the Maharajah (Emperor) and the logo consists of a flying swan
with the wheel of Konark inside it.
SWOT ANALYSIS

1. Strengths in the SWOT analysis of  Air India :

 Air India has been the largest air carrier in India in terms of traffic
volume and company assets.

 It owns the most updated fleet and competent repairs and

maintenance expertise.

 Its information systems are advanced and compatible with its

operation and service.

 It has a good reputation in both international and domestic markets,

quality service and the age-old Goodwill that has still kept it alive in
the interests of the rescue operators.

 Has financial backing of the Government

2. Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of  Air India :

 Air India is operating across broad international and domestic

markets competing with world leading giant airlines as well as local
small operators. This lack of clarity on the strategic direction
largely dilutes its capabilities and confuses its brand within
markets.

 Low profitability and utilization of capacity.

 Growing Competitor base and entry of Low-Cost Carriers 

(LCC’s)
 The airline’s high-cost structure and the compulsions of being a
public sector unit are the reasons and it had been making a loss
and shall continue to make losses for some more quarters.

3. Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of  Air India :

 India airline industry is growing faster and will continue to grow as

the GDP increases, and the trend is predicted to continue once the
slowdown recedes.

 Worldwide deregulations make the skies more accessible; the

route agreement is easier to be achieved. The number of foreign
visitors and investors to India is increasing rapidly.

 Complementary industry like tourism will increase demand for

airline service. The Civil Aviation Ministry’s strong regulation and
protection provides opportunities for consolidation and
optimization.

 Customers are getting wealthier, tend to be less price-conscious

and prefer to choose quality service over cost.

 Best time for introducing LCC’s

4. Threats in the SWOT analysis of  Air India :

 Air India faces imminent aggressive competition from world

leading airlines and price wars triggered by domestic players.

 The Indian Railway Ministry has dramatically improved speed and

services in their medium/long distant routes, attracting passengers
away from air service, with prices almost at par with the low cost
carriers .
NEWS

Air India records 11% revenue growth in 2018-19

a. In 2018-19, the airline raked in total revenue of

Rs.22,177.68 crore compared to Rs.20,610.33 crore in the
same period a year ago, as per the annual report.

b. About the carrier’s On-Time Performance (OTP) in the last

fiscal, Kharola said there has been a “marked improvement”
on a year-on-year basis. He was speaking to reporters on the
sidelines of a conference in New Delhi.

c. On March 28, the government came out with the preliminary

information memorandum for the strategic disinvestment of
Air India, wherein it plans to offload 76% as well as cede
management control to private players.

d. In February, the civil aviation ministry said Air India has

been “consistently improving” its overall performance and
more than doubled its operating profit to Rs.298.03 crore in
2018-19.

e. During the same period, the airline’s net loss widened to

Rs.5,765.16 crore. In 2017-18, Air India had an operating
 profit of Rs.105 crore while net loss stood at Rs.3,836.77
crore.

NATURE OF AIRINDIA :

Cabin
The Boeing 777-200LR/777-300ER and Boeing 747-400 aircraft
operated on long haul flights are in a three-class configuration. Boeing
787 Dreamliner and Airbus A321 aircraft have a two-class
configuration. Airbus A320 aircraft operated on domestic- and short haul
international flights are in either an all-economy configuration or a two-
class configuration. Airbus A319 aircraft have a full economy
configuration. Air India serves meals on all international flights and on
domestic flights with a flight duration of over 90 minutes.
In-flight entertainment
Air India aircraft are equipped with Thales i3000 in-flight
entertainment system. Passengers can choose from five channels airing
Hindi and English content. Air India's Boeing 777, 747 and 787 aircraft
are also equipped with personal on demand in-flight entertainment
systems on which passengers can choose from available
content. Showtime is the official entertainment guide published by Air
India. Shubh Yatra(meaning Happy Journey) is a bilingual in-flight
magazine published in English and Hindi by Air India
Frequent flyer programme
Flying Returns is Air India's frequent-flyer programme. It is shared by
Air India and its subsidiaries. The points can be redeemed for awards
travel on some other airlines.
Premium lounges
The Maharaja Lounge (English: Emperor's Lounge) is available for the
use of First and Business class passengers. Air India shares lounges with
other international airlines at international airports that do not have a
Maharaja Lounge available. There are eight Maharaja Lounges:
 INTRODUCTION

BRITISH AIRWAYS

British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom,

headquartered at Waterside, Harmondsworth. It is the second largest
airline in the United Kingdom, based on fleet size and passengers carried,
behind easy Jet. The airline is based in Waterside near its
main hub at London Heathrow Airport. In January 2011 BA merged
with Iberia, creating the International Airlines Group (IAG), a holding
company registered in Madrid, Spain. IAG is the world's third-largest
airline group in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest in Europe.
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the FTSE 100 Index.
British Airways Plc is an international airline company,
carrying more than 33million passengers worldwide. The
company is engaged in managing scheduled passenger and cargo
operations and other related services. The airline company has two
operating bases, namely, London’s two major airports -
Heathrow and Gatwick. BA was created a merger between
BOAC and BEA in 1974.
Sinceitwas   cr eat ed   th e   com pa ny   bec om es   one   of   the  
world’ s   largest   inter nat ional p a s s e n g e r   a i r l i n e s ,  
operating 
f r o m   o n e   o f   t h e   w o r l d ’ s   b u s i e s t   a i r p o r t   t h e Hea
throw. BA has also become one of the successful airlines.
But, the  company has not always  been quite  success f
ul. In se venti es th ecompany performance has become
disappointing. In 1980, BA has recorded significant loses .
But BA has suc cessf ully overcome many difficultie s 
by bring ing significa ntchanges.
It has made changes in its customer service polices. It
has changes its employee recruitment and their performance
evaluation.
Now,BAhas a unique customer service police an
d   i t   i s   n o t   e a s i l y   b e e n duplicated

NATURE OF BRITISH AIRWAYS :

BENEFITS

The benefits of booking with British Airways include:

• A family of flexible fares, price points and cabins to suit customers'
needs
• Complimentary food and drinks on all long-haul flights
• Free seat selection within 24 hours of departure
• No charge to pay for bookings by debit or credit card
• No charge to check-in
• Flights to primary airports, at the destinations customers want to travel
to
• A generous free baggage allowance, or, on European routes and some
international routes, customers can choose to book a hand baggage only
fare
• Day trip return fares to popular European destinations
• A choice of cabins on all our flights (A business class cabin on every
flight)
 • Collecting Avios on every flight

SWOT ANALAYSIS
British Airways SWOT Analysis :

1. Strengths of British Airways – Internal Strategic Factors :

As one of the leading firms in its industry, British Airways has numerous
strengths that help it to thrive in the market place. These strengths not
only help it to protect the market share in existing markets but also help
in penetrating new markets. Based on Fern Fort University extensive
research – some of the strengths of British Airways are –
 Good Returns on Capital Expenditure – British Airways is
relatively successful at execution of new projects and generated good
returns on capital expenditure by building new revenue streams.
 Automation of activities brought consistency of quality to British
Airways products and has enabled the company to scale up and scale
down based on the demand conditions in the market.
 Highly skilled workforce through successful training and learning
programs. British Airways is investing huge resources in training and
development of its employees resulting in a workforce that is not only
highly skilled but also motivated to achieve more.
 Strong distribution network – Over the years British Airways has
built a reliable distribution network that can reach majority of its potential
market.
 Reliable suppliers – It has a strong base of reliable supplier of raw
material thus enabling the company to overcome any supply chain
bottlenecks.
 Strong Brand Portfolio – Over the years British Airways has
invested in building a strong brand portfolio. The SWOT analysis of
British Airways just underlines this fact. This brand portfolio can be
extremely useful if the organization wants to expand into new product
categories.
 Strong dealer community – It has built a culture among distributor
& dealers where the dealers not only promote company’s products but
also invest in training the sales team to explain to the customer how
he/she can extract the maximum benefits out of the products.
 High level of customer satisfaction – the company with its
dedicated customer relationship management department has able to
achieve a high level of customer satisfaction among present customers
and good brand equity among the potential customers.

2. Weakness of British Airways – Internal Strategic Factors :

Weakness are the areas where British Airways can improve upon.
Strategy is about making choices and weakness are the areas where a firm
can improve using SWOT analysis and build on its competitive
advantage and strategic positioning.

 Need more investment in new technologies. Given the scale of

expansion and different geographies the company is planning to expand
into, British Airways needs to put more money in technology to integrate
the processes across the board. Right now the investment in technologies
is not at par with the vision of the company.
 Limited success outside core business – Even though British
Airways is one of the leading organizations in its industry it has faced
challenges in moving to other product segments with its present culture.
 Investment in Research and Development is below the fastest
growing players in the industry. Even though British Airways is spending
above the industry average on Research and Development, it has not been
able to compete with the leading players in the industry in terms of
 innovation. It has come across as a mature firm looking forward to bring
out products based on tested features in the market.
 The company has not being able to tackle the challenges present by
the new entrants in the segment and has lost small market share in the
niche categories. British Airways has to build internal feedback
mechanism directly from sales team on ground to counter these
challenges.
 Not very good at product demand forecasting leading to higher rate
of missed opportunities compare to its competitors. One of the reason
why the days inventory is high compare to its competitors is that British
Airways is not very good at demand forecasting thus end up keeping
higher inventory both in-house and in channel.
 Not highly successful at integrating firms with different work
culture. As mentioned earlier even though British Airways is successful
at integrating small companies it has its share of failure to merge firms
that have different work culture.
 High attrition rate in work force – compare to other organizations
in the industry British Airways has a higher attrition rate and have to
spend a lot more compare to its competitors on training and development
of its employees.

3. Opportunities for British Airways – External Strategic

Factors :

 Opening up of new markets because of government agreement –

the adoption of new technology standard and government free trade
agreement has provided British Airways an opportunity to enter a new
emerging market.
 The market development will lead to dilution of competitor’s
advantage and enable British Airways to increase its competitiveness
compare to the other competitors.
 New customers from online channel – Over the past few years the
company has invested vast sum of money into the online platform. This
investment has opened new sales channel for British Airways. In the next
 few years the company can leverage this opportunity by knowing its
customer better and serving their needs using big data analytics.
 Stable free cash flow provides opportunities to invest in adjacent
product segments. With more cash in bank the company can invest in
new technologies as well as in new products segments. This should open
a window of opportunity for British Airways in other product categories.
 Economic uptick and increase in customer spending, after years of
recession and slow growth rate in the industry, is an opportunity for
British Airways to capture new customers and increase its market share.
 Government green drive also opens an opportunity for procurement
of British Airways products by the state as well as federal government
contractors.
 New environmental policies – The new opportunities will create a
level playing field for all the players in the industry. It represent a great
opportunity for British Airways to drive home its advantage in new
technology and gain market share in the new product category.
 Lower inflation rate – The low inflation rate bring more stability in
the market, enable credit at lower interest rate to the customers of British
Airways.

4. Threats British Airways Facing - External Strategic

Factors :

 New environment regulations under Paris agreement (2016)

could be a threat to certain existing product categories .
 No regular supply of innovative products – Over the years
the company has developed numerous products but those are
often response to the development by other players.
Secondly the supply of new products is not regular thus
leading to high and low swings in the sales number over
period of time.
 Growing strengths of local distributors also presents a threat
in some markets as the competition is paying higher margins
to the local distributors.
  Shortage of skilled workforce in certain global market
represents a threat to steady growth of profits for British
Airways   in those markets.
 Intense competition – Stable profitability has increased the
number of players in the industry over last two years which
has put downward pressure on not only profitability but also
on overall sales.
 As the company is operating in numerous countries it is
exposed to currency fluctuations especially given the volatile
political climate in number of markets across the world.
 The company can face lawsuits in various markets given -
different laws and continuous fluctuations regarding product
standards in those markets.
 Increasing trend toward isolationism in the American
economy can lead to similar reaction from other government
thus negatively impacting the international sales.

IMPORTANCE OF BRITISH AIRWAYS :

LOYALTY SCHEME :
British Airways' loyalty scheme, the British Airways Executive Club is
industry leading, awarding members Avios on every flight, which can be
spent on flights, upgrades, seat selection, car hire, hotel accommodation
and excursions. Gold and Silver Executive Club members have access to
British Airways global network of premium lounges (more than any other
European airline), fast-track security and priority boarding.  
 
PUNCTUALITY :
British Airways has the best punctuality record on flights departing from
London of all the large short-haul carriers in the UK. The airline knows
how important punctuality is to customers, and is focused on driving
further improvements through digital technology.
 
PEOPLE :
British Airways employs the most experienced crews in the air and on the
ground. It currently has approximately 45,000 employees, including
16,500 cabin crew and 3,900 pilots. Pilots and cabin crew have an
average of 15 years' experience. The airline's 4,700 engineers have an
average of 19 years' experience each.
British Airways also offers opportunities for graduates and has more than
145 places for apprentices every year. Find out more about a career with
the airline here.
 KEY NOTE:
100 YEARS OF FLYING
British Airways will celebrate its 100th anniversary on 25 August, 2019.
The airline can trace its origins back to the birth of civil aviation. Since
the world's first schedule air service on August 25, 1919, air travel has
changed beyond all recognition.
The British Airways Heritage collection is an extensive document archive
recording the formation, development and operations of British Airways
and its predecessor companies as well as memorabilia and artefacts. More
than 130 uniforms from the 1930s to the present day are preserved, as
well as a large collection of aircraft models and pictures.
 MAJOR COMPETITORS

1. Singapore Airlines
2. Air china
3. Qantas
4. Qatar Airways
5. Virgin Australia
6. Emirates
7. All Nippon Airways
8. EVA Air
9. Cathay Pacific
10.Japan Airlines
 CONCLUSION

At last after my deep observation I came to a comparison

that both the airines are good but as compare to British
Airways our airline should do more hardwork with the
facilities they provide so that we can also reach to the
same hights were the British Airways is now but in one
think we are better it is the food quality that we get in the
Air India is far good than the which we get in the British
Airways . both the airlines are having a tough competition
so that they can be number one .
 REFERENCES

www.scribd.com/document/56831757/British-Airways

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericrosen/2018/11/16/the-
2019-list-of-the-worlds-best-airlines-is-out-
now/#27b3bc4d470f

https://www.scribd.com/doc/272726952/British-Airways-
Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning