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I. INTRODUCTION

From a very humble beginning to a Leading African Aviation Group, Ethiopian Airlines has
come along 70 plus years of successful journey. Of course, Ethiopian is aging beautifully.
Throughout the past seven decades, the airline has established itself as adept in all facets of the
aviation industry: technology leadership, network expansion and aviation mentoring.

Ethiopian started operation with the first 5 C-47 aircraft, scraps of 2nd World War, back in 1946
during its debut flight to Cairo via Asmara. Ever since, Ethiopian has been growing in leaps and
bounds and has kept on introducing new aviation technology and systems, with so many firsts in
the history of African aviation as an aircraft technology leader; providing the first jet service in
the continent, availing the first African B767, the first African B777 200LR in 2010 and the first
African and second only to Japan B 787 Dream liner in 2012. In a continuation of that tradition,
Ethiopian was the first in Africa to acquire Airbus A350 XWB, introducing the extra effect to the
African continent. Leading the way once again, Ethiopian was the first African Airline to
operate the latest Boeing 787-9 in 2017. Below the industry average, Ethiopian currently
operates 96 of the young and most modern fleet, with less than five years of age, and has 62 fleet
on order.

Living its motto of Bringing Africa Together and Beyond, Ethiopian has created a missing link
through its vast African network to 58 cities and more than 100 international passenger and
cargo destinations, with daily and more flights, with a minimum layover in Addis Ababa. As a
veteran African carrier, Ethiopian has positioned vast Intra-Africa network better than any
Airline.

Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it
become the leading airline group in Africa with seven strategic business units. Ethiopian joined
Star Alliance, the world’s largest Airline network, in December 2011. Ethiopian is a multi-award
winning airline including: SKYTRAX Best Airline Staff Service in 2013 & 2016, ‘Best African
Airline’ in 2017, and Four Star Airline Certification in 2017. Ethiopian has been registering an
average growth of 25% per annum for the past seven years.

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Ethiopians airlines company profile

Vision

To become the most competitive and leading aviation group in Africa by providing safe, market
driven and customer focused passenger and cargo transport, aviation training, flight catering,
MRO and ground services by 2025.

Mission

 To become the leading Aviation group in Africa by providing safe and reliable passenger
and cargo air transport, Aviation Training, Flight Catering, MRO and Ground Services
whose quality and price “value proposition” is always better than its competitors,
 To ensure being an airline of choice to its customers, employer of choice to its employees
and an investment of choice to its Owner,
 To contribute positively to socio economic development of Ethiopia in particular and the
countries to which it operates in general by undertaking its corporate social
responsibilities and providing vital global air connectivity

Values

 as an airline, safety is our first priority,

 Ethiopian is a high performance and learning organization with continuous improve
an airline, safety is our first priority,
 Ethiopian is a high performance and learning organization with continuous
improvements, innovation and knowledge-sharing. We accept change for the growth
opportunity it brings and always seek for and apply the best ideas regardless of their
source,
 We recognize and reward employees for their performance and demonstrate
integrity, respect to others, candor and team work, 
 Act in an open fashion and be result-oriented, creative and innovative,
 Adopt Zero tolerance to indifference, inefficiency and bureaucracy,
 Encourage 360° free flow and sharing of information,

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  Treat our customers the same way we would like to be treated and always look for
ways to make it easier for customers to do business with us

organizational objectives
Organizational objectives for Ethiopian Airlines Bringing Africa Together are the short to
medium term targets and goals that the organization sets to achieve the bigger strategic goals set
for the long term. The organizational objectives are important in shaping resource allocation
within Ethiopian Airlines Bringing Africa Together as well as in determining the policies,
schedules and processes that are implemented in Ethiopian Airlines Bringing Africa Together.

Components of objectives
Specific

All objectives set by Ethiopian Airlines Bringing Africa Together are specific and clear. This
helps employees, as well as managers, manage and maintain focus on the targets and the end
results that need to be achieved. At the same time, specific objectives help managers determine
skill development and training needs within their departments as well.

Measurable

Objectives at Ethiopian Airlines Bringing Africa Together are also measurable. This means that
all objectives can be tracked for progress. This is important for Ethiopian Airlines Bringing
Africa Together as it helps in meeting deadlines. The element of measurability is added in
objectives by adding quantifiable criteria for determining progress and objective achievement.

Attainable

The goal should be attainable that even in stretching the abilities of the employees and
challenging them, it should remain possible to achieve. The objectives at Ethiopian Airlines
Bringing Africa Together are attainable in that they push the employees out of their comfort
zones but remain possible to achieve.

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Realistic

Objectives at Ethiopian Airlines Bringing Africa Together are also attainable in that they are
realistic. This means that Ethiopian Airlines Bringing Africa Together sets objectives keeping in
view the organizational resources and constraints to be able to achieve objectives effectively and
within time.

Timely

Objectives at Ethiopian Airlines Bringing Africa Together are also time-bound in that they have
a specified start and finish date. The timeliness of the objective helps Ethiopian Airlines
Bringing Africa Together maintain a sense of urgency in employees, and keep them motivated
towards achieving the objective.

Background information

 Ethiopian Background Information Founded on December 21, 1945

 Starting date of operation on April 08, 1946
 Ownership Government of Ethiopia (100% )
 Head Office Bole International Airport,
 P. O .Box 1755 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
 Fax: (+ 251)11661 1474
 Reservations E Tel: (+251) 11 665 6666
 Website
http://www.ethiopianairlines.com
 Group Chief Executive Officer Mr. Tewolde Gebre Mariam

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Analysis of Management Information System of Ethiopian Air Lines

MIS in Airline Industry

Management Information System is the use of information technology, people, and business
processes to record, store and process data to produce information that decision makers can use
to make day to day decisions.

With advancements in technology, we can observe use of MIS in every industry and business
whether it’s to simply keep a record, collect data or process and analyses it to make decisions. In
this article, we’ll understand how it contributes to a smooth flow of process in the airline
industry.

With advancements in technology, we can observe use of MIS in every industry and business
whether it’s to simply keep a record, collect data or process and analyses it to make decisions.

In this article, we’ll understand how it contributes to a smooth flow of process in the airline
industry. Flying is nowadays one of the fastest and easiest ways to cover large distances. It saves
a lot of travelling time compared to other means of transport. For employees, this is a huge bonus
as the business can be carried out at a faster speed as they can reach their destinations in a matter
of hours. The 4 basic factors that the airline industry has to carefully tackle are as follows:

Efficiency
Speed
Safety
Comfort

Every year more and more people are resorting to airlines as a mode of transportation and hence
constant innovation and establishing a unique relationship with the passengers is the need of the
hour. Hence, the importance of the technology of integrated systems has become clearer and
unavoidable in the airlines for the future as well.

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Need for MIS in the Airline industry

Airlines exist to connect people to distant locations very efficiently and safely while making
profit for the shareholders. There has to be a trade-off between the three aspects. Thus, the
designing of information system is very essential and its management helps them reach the
organization’s purpose.

The 4 basic factors that the airline industry has to carefully tackle are: Safety, Comfort, Speed,
and Efficiency. Hence, the

Importance of the technology of integrated systems has become clearer and unavoidable in the
airlines for the future as well.

Airline companies use cutting edge IT Infrastructure and application to support services
including employee transition, data centre operations, help desk support and storage operations,
internet security services, network management, airport operations, direct distribution and
frequent flier programs and various other operating systems.

A good information system in practice can ensure that the operation is able to run efficiently with
clear focus on customers. By incorporating better and better technology systems, airline
companies can reach out to demands of more customers and also strengthen vital features like
security, avoiding delays, reducing the cost of travel.

Role of MIS in the Airline Industry

To store basic data like passenger information, flight details, traffic flow between towns
and cities, record of add-on services and fares, flight schedules etc. (Flight Operation
System)
To maintain and interpret important data like market share and profit margins to make
decision making process easier. (Pricing and Revenue Management System)
To have records of revenues and cost to compare performance with the competitors or
with past years performance and find deviations. (Pricing and Revenue Management
System)
To have records of all flights and their schedules for effective air traffic controlling.
(Flight Communication System)

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 To have a record of all the employees (pilots, air hostesses, transport and luggage, security
guards etc). (HR management System)
To keep track of luggage and belongings of the customers flying with the airline.
(Baggage Handling Systems)
To keep track of boarding, check ins and landing of each customer in each flight and
coordinating the same to give maximum customer satisfaction. (Airport Management
System)
To maintain all records of recent fares and discounts allowed to come up with marketing
and pricing strategies to survive in the competitive industry with strong competitors.
(CRM System)
To keep a record of all the funds and their sources and their allocation and ensure
optimum utilization. (Finance System)
To keep a track of expenses and ensure availability of resources like fuel, food, water, life
jackets etc whenever needed. (Flight Operation System).

Role of information and technology

It is true that in the current world information technology is a necessity and not a luxury
(Burgess 2002, p. 279). The use of advanced information technology can lead to a company’s
success. The use of IT has become cheaper and easier with the arrival of internet. For instance,
the use of fiber optic cable for internet distribution has made sharing of information easy and
quick.

A customer can access numerous services through a click a button. Collection of business
information such as opportunities, customer feedbacks, online selling, purchasing, advertising,
and marketing of products has become easier with the adoption of information technology.
Actually, information plays a major role in the success of an organization.

Without information technology, the company will face steep competition from rival businesses
(Visscher 2001, p. 4). For this reason, the Ethiopian airlines have embraced information
technology with an aim of improving the company’s competitiveness and profitability.

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The information management system makes the work of the Ethiopian airlines crew easy, since
all the data and records of customers, staff and flight are available in a database.

Marketing information system of Ethiopian Air Lines

Ethiopian Airlines and SAP (Systems, Applications and Products) have signed a contract for the
acquisition and implementation of corporate-wide back office Information System and Master
Systems Integration (MSI) services on October 09, 2009 at Ethiopian headquarters.

The project, valued at $8.5 million, is part of the Ethiopian business transformation program
designed to enhance customer satisfaction and increase employee productivity through end-to-
end IT enablement and best practice business process adoption. Mr. Girma Wake, CEO of
Ethiopian Airlines, and Mr. Pfungwa Serima, Managing Director of SAP Africa, signed the
contract at Ethiopian headquarters in Addis Ababa.

This project, which takes effect immediately, includes financial systems, human capital
management system, supply chain management system and Corporate Portal, Data
warehouse/Business Intelligence systems including Middleware system integration services.
These systems when fully implemented enable faster, convenient and efficient services to
Ethiopian customers.

The level of development that Ethiopian has managed to achieve and its growth strategy
challenged Ethiopian’s ICT to be strategic and transform itself to a World Class Airline ICT
capability. Ethiopian recognizes the vital role of ICT in meeting its vision and growth strategy
and has embarked on a major investment to transform its ICT to enable and drive the business.
ICT capability is one of the differentiating factors of airlines. The best led airlines use advanced
information and communications technology together with the best practices and standards that
add value to the operation. So, the ICT Business Transformation Programme is a very crucial
component in enabling Ethiopian Airlines to make a quantum leap in its business. The ICT
Business Transformation Programme is expected to take two years to implement with an
investment of US$ 30 million. Due to the significance of the project and the investment
involved, Ethiopian decided to engage Systems Integration & Implementation partner (SIIP).
Satyam Computer Services and Ernst & Young, working in the capacity of a System
Implementation and Integration Partners (SIIP) have been selected as of 11 April, 2008. In this

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programme , Ethiopian will adopt a new generation of ICT solutions and upgrade its overall
operations to achieve a new level of business efficiency and scalability.

Customer Relationship Management of Ethiopian Air Lines

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is methodology used to learn more about
customers’ needs in order to develop stronger relationships with them. CRM has always been a
matter of great concern for airlines aspiring to improve relationships with the customers.

Airlines that can effectively target, attract, serve and hold the best customers will definitely
experience significant benefits. The better the bonding the airline holds with these customers, the
more opportunities will be open for selling additional products and services.

However, as the ‘e-business’ is evolving, the hurdles of establishing customer relationships have
become even greater. Airlines must be completely responsible for a customer’s satisfaction
whilst the “want it, buy it and use it” experience.

Advantage of CRM in Sales and Marketing

CRM defines marketing processes and satisfy customer requirements using functionality to
improve management of resources, segments and lists, campaigns, trade promotions, and
marketing analytics. It also enables management of accounts, product configuration,
opportunities, quotations, orders, contacts, activities pricing, billing, and contracts.

Make smart business decisions with improved customer relations.

Speedy access to databases so faster marketing.

Improve visibility of your entire marketing process
Increase returns on investments.
Grow profitable relationships
Maintain focus on productive activity

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 Eliminate barriers to productivity
Improve sales efficiency Service
Transform service into a profitable line of business
Increase customer loyalty
Reduce costs of customer service and field service

Environmental analysis: The organization's environment is an important point to be considered

by managers because environmental factors can significantly influence organizational operations.
Good managers must be aware of their organization's environment and know how any changes
may affect the organization and their organization's available resources. (Robson 1997).

Marketing environment Ethiopian Air lines

General Profile of the Airline Industry Today it is definitely the airline industry which is
booming to be the most spirited and emerging industries in the world leading to not only
economic growth, international investment, but also tourism. In the last decade, airline industry
has urbanized powerfully by 7% annually for both business as well as relaxation needs. This
industry is one among the best ever growing sectors with growth rates increasing on average of
3.2 times greater than the GDP rates

Human resource staff of Ethiopian Air lines

Ethiopian Airline is one of the rapidly growing industries in the country with the advancements
of information technology. Ethiopian Airlines has been using SAP to manage human resource
since 2013. SAP is one of the most famous, HRIS software programs that was introduced in
1972 by three German programmers to assist companies in their daily business and human
resource activities irrespective of the size of the organization Khoualdi & Basahel, (2014). HRIS
is part of an organizational wide information system referred to as an ERP (enterprise resource
planning systems) which is an integrated application package that enables transaction oriented
data and business processes for the entire organization (Skoumpopoulou & NguyenNewby,
2015). Dennis(2015)Human resource management systems encompass: Payroll, Time and

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attendance, Performance appraisal, Benefits administration, HR management information
system, Recruiting/Learning management, Performance record, Employee self-service,
Scheduling,

absence management and analytics. Singh(2011), the deployment of Human Resource

Information Systems (HRIS) ,this study concluded that HRIS covers wide range of HR activities
and has a very wide scope in developing countries. It is applied in HR planning, recruitment,
career planning, negotiations, personnel administration.HR functions are concerned with the
management and development of people in organizations. They are involved in the development
and implementation of HR strategies, policies and people management activities: organization
development, human resource planning, talent management, knowledge management,
recruitment and selection, learning and development, reward management, employee relations,
health and safety, welfare, HR administration, fulfillment of statutory requirements, equal
opportunity and diversity issues, and any other matters related to the employment
relationship(Armstrong, 2006)

PESTLE analysis

PESTLE analysis is a common and useful tool to analyze a company’s environment. PESTLE
stands for Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors.
Henry states that PESLTE analysis “can be used to help detect trends in the external environment
that will ultimately find their way into the competitive environment” (Henry 2008, p. 51).

Political: The political environment is the most important factor including areas such as policy
of tax, law of labor, law of environment, restrictions of trade, tariffs, and political stability.
Emirates follow different policy based on the countries they are flying.

E.g. The September 11th attack dropped the number of passengers who travel, because people
were afraid of being attacked by terrorists.

Economic: Economical factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates, and
inflation rates. These factors have major impacts on how businesses operate and make decisions.
For example, interest rates affect Ethiopia airline service cost of capital and therefore to what

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extent its business grows and expands. Exchange rates affect the costs of exporting goods and the
supply and price of imported service in an economy.

One example of the economical factor which gets affected is due to increase in oil prices which
shatters the profit of the global airline industry.

Social: As a global airline the social factors are the most important factors which include the
cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career
attitudes and emphasis on safety. An Ethiopian airline is located in many different countries and
its airplanes have an impact on the society they fly to.

Technological: As a modern airline Emirates uses wonderful technology. It includes

technological aspects such as R&D activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of
technological change. They are able to determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production
level and influence outsourcing decisions and Emirates is able to maintain all technological
aspect. For example, the teleconferencing reduced the necessity for face to face business
meetings. This reduced the number of businessmen traveling and hence the purchase of business
tickets

Legal: In order to offer proper service and increase popularity, Ethiopian airline maintains legal
factors such as discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and
safety laws etc. As it operates in many different countries it needs to follow many different laws
and makes it strategies and approaches very difficult.

Environmental: As a global airline, Ethiopian airline follows the environmental factors which
include ecological and environmental aspects such as weather, climate, and climate change.
Which may especially affect industries such as tourism, farming, and insurance, likewise,
growing awareness of the potential impacts of climate change Ethiopian airlines tries to create
new markets.

Competitors Overview and Situation analysis: The airline industry is in its prime of life,
hence there is a tough competition in the market and the rate of sales growing faster before
beginning to stabilize gradually. In this stage advertising and promoting sales makes it obvious
that the competition is getting more aggressive. Furthermore to find best services required in

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gaining the attention of customers, many competitors have increased their research and
development (R&D) budgets. In view of this, many companies have now started on focusing to
differentiate their products and services from their competitors in order to capture their
customers 'brand loyalty.

Positioning (Ranking) of Ethiopian airlines

Ethiopian Airlines has ranked 22nd among the best airlines around the world by the most famous
airlines ranking website called “Air help”.

The ranking was made after a serious assessment in three areas: on-time performance, quality of
service and how well they resolve flight delay compensation claims, according to a statement
sent to Dire Tube from Ethiopian Airlines.

Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Etihad Airways ranked one up to three respectively, and South
African Airways is the only African airlines ranked before Ethiopian.

Ethiopian airline IT system

Engineering IT systems: Ethiopian airline engineering operates an organization-wide,

standardized technical environment, which is managed and maintained by the Engineering IT
Systems section. It provides information systems and enables function integration, resource
optimization and improvements in

Ethiopian airline Software: Travelers will be able to add hotel rooms, car rentals and
destination activities to their flights when booking online at www.emirates.com, or they can use
the website to book standalone hotel rooms and car rentals. The entire itinerary, whether booked
individually or in a shopping cart with Ethiopian airlines flights, will be available through the
"Manage a Booking" tab on the airline's homepage.

Ethical issues in usage of IT: One of the main concerns about the information technology is
Internet. Internet has been changed the way people used to live. Nowadays people shop through

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internet, buy ticket online, communicate with friends, family, college in the other side of the
word, and that means traditional business such as travel agents have lost their customers to the
new competitor which called internet.

Marketing mix elements of Ethiopian air lines

i. Product of Ethiopian Airlines

One of the main highlights of the Ethiopian Airlines is that their product portfolios have a mixed
fleet like the Airbuses and the Boeing wide-body aircraft. The company has ordered the
delivery of biggest airplanes until date because of the ability of the company to maintain a
highly competitive streak. Consistent and excellent services of their products have paved the
way for fast development and income. Ethiopian airlines aircrafts has kept up both expert and
individual methodology towards its clients so as to render qualitative services. It turned to be the
to supply customized videos in all the classes of the aircrafts. Business class services and
Economic class services are some of the passenger services which the company provides. Other
facilities provided for the business class includes a reading light and an overhead light at
every seat and entertainment options are also available on ICE system. Partitions for
privacy purposes, winged headrest, sockets for laptops and USB Ports are the main
facilities which the seats in the business class are comprised of. The Economy class is proper
for all the travelers. The seats are of standard size with option of entertainment, power outlets for
laptops and adjustable headrests. Other than the clients, the airlines likewise give
administrations like better housing and healthcare services advantages to its staff and
representatives, in this way keeping the inward clients happy.

Ethiopian, four stars Airline with Two Class Services Cloud Nine: Combined services of First
and Business Classes.  Cloud Nine has the space, comfort and style that make flying with
Ethiopian a pleasure.

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Business Studios are available on the Air bus A- 350 and 787 Dream liners, focused on
providing a luxurious experience. “Cloud Nine" is the name of Ethiopian Airlines' Business
Class fare

Business Class Facilities

In-flight, relax with personal mood-lighting and a massage function, all provided at the touch of
a button. Wi-Fi connectivity is provided, as well as touch screen/high definition TV’s, with noise
cancelling headphones, and a Dine Anytime menu. The amenity kit includes two exclusive
Colonia products. The A380 Upper Deck also provides a boutique hotel inspired Lobby space.

Business Class Seating

The Business Studios have a unique design, with forward and rear facing seats, aimed at offering
increased personal space. There are two seating options available, depending on the airplane
body. On narrow body aircraft, Business Seats offer a generous reclines as well as ample
legroom. On wide-bodied aircraft, Business flatbed seats recline into a fully-flat bed, with full
size comforters and pillows, back support and adjustable headrest and cushion firmness!

Economy Class:  Passengers are offered different category of audio channels with access to a
video library of 16 Blockbuster Hollywood films, 26 Hollywood classics including 10
Hollywood kid’s classics, 49 international films & 82 TV shows including destination guides.

Frequent Flyer Program: Sheba Miles awards Ethiopian frequent flyers with award tickets,
upgrades to business class, access to all Star Alliance member airline executive lounges,
additional free baggage allowance and many other privileges for their accumulated mileages.

A new Platinum tier level has been introduced as of January 2017 in addition to the Gold,
Silver and Blue tier. The Platinum tier level offers extra benefits to frequent flyers that accrue

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 75,000 status miles or 60 qualifying segments within one calendar year, Jan 1st –Dec 31st within
the validity period of two years, in addition to the remaining months in the qualification year

Fleet Summary as of March 2018

Aircraft Inventory: 96 Fleet on order: 62

Average age of aircraft: 5years
Passenger Airbus - A350-900 7 Airbus-a350- 17
aircraft 900
Boeing 787-9 2 Boeing-787-9 6
Boeing 787-8 19 Boeing-777- 14
200LRF
(CARGO)
Boeing 777-300ER 4 Q-400 3
bombardier
Boeing 777-200LR 6 Boeing-737- 2
800F
Boeing 767-300ER 6 Boeing 737max 30
8’S
Boeing 737-800W 16
Boeing 737-700NG 8
Bombardier Q400 20
Freighters Boeing 777F 6
Boeing 757-200F 2

ii. Price
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The Company has been able to serve low cost tickets to its clients in correlation with the other
airlines, as Addis Ababa is the major link between continent. The Company has taken the
assistance of shortest available routes .It has offered its clients direct flights to numerous
destinations and that too at very reasonable rates. It has been able to maintain an effective
pricing policy due to its direct flights and the customers are able to save due to undue stop
over’s. Ethiopian airlines have automatically been able to cut the costing on its fares because of
its ability to hire low cost labors. They have a strong advantage over their competitors in certain
routes due to their low cost pricing strategy. It also helps in generating revenues because of the
volume of passengers. The strategy of dynamic pricing is the main strategy that Emirates has
adopted. In order to get the highest available price for every seat and to get flexible prices for the
seats, the strategy of dynamic pricing helps in the management of seat capacity on every
airplane. The pricing policy of the company caters to the needs of different sections of the
society and is diversified to suit. It also uses the premium pricing policy for its distinguished
customers who demand luxurious, high-class and exclusive services.

Pricing strategies

Since the 1980s airlines have introduced dynamic pricing strategies which Emirates adopted as
well. This model allows airlines to manage the seat capacity of each airplane while obtaining the
highest price for each seat. Dynamic pricing is a complex methodology based on availability,
customer demand and competitor pricing. As a result, pricing of individual seats is constantly in
flux (Tuttle 2012).

Some of the price from on line ticket e –booking on the date of August 08,2019 are listed below.

Some Indicative Price Range in (Ethiopian birr)

Destination price in birr

 From Addis Ababa to Stockholm, Arlanda 23,794birr

 From Addis Ababa to London England 11,871 birr
 From Addis Ababa to Paris , France 32,072birr
 From Addis Ababa to Frankfurt ,Germany 29,097birr

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  From Addis Ababa to Istanbul ,turkey 9,839 birr
 From Addis Ababa to Washington, America 35,620birr
 From Addis Ababa to rio digenerio , brazil 33,723birr
 From Addis Ababa to Dubai, U,A.E 7,573birr
 From Addis Ababa to Bahir dar 4886birr
 From Addis Ababa to Mekelle 4695birr
 From Addis Ababa to Awassa 3,831birr
 From Addis Ababa to Cairo ,Egypt 9,186 birr
 From Addis Ababa to Johannesburg 6,466 birr
 From Addis Ababa to Lagos, Nigeria 8,777 birr

iii. Promotion

Ethiopian airline has a promotional strategy that is very competitive. Their slogan “the new
spirit of Africa” is very attractive and note-worthy. The services provided are among the best and
continued attempts are being made to improve it. The pricing strategy is highly dependent on the
season, thus off-seasons flights have a lower fare. Both traditional and modern marketing
techniques are used to cater to their wide and unique customer base. To reach their target market
effectively advertisements are placed in magazines, billboards, radios and websites in English
languages. Ethiopian airline is also known for big sponsorships for local entertainments Medias,
Now Ethiopian airline is the top preference for many African countries. Along with this they
have various short route flights which have benefitted them and the passengers significantly.

The price depends on various seasons. the highest seasons in pricing are June, July, august and
January because most of the passengers are travelling for vacation and tourism

The lowest price seasons are September, May and October are relatively lacking much travelers
than other months

iv. Place

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Ethiopian airlines operates in 5 continents, The airline flies to 20 domestic and 105
international and 44 cargo destinations It has More than 58 Destinations in Africa

Africa - 61 Cities

Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Addis Ababa, Antananarivo ,Asmara ,Bahir dar, Bamako, Blantyre,
Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Cairo, Cape Town,Comoros, Conakry, Cotonou, Dakar, DarEs-Salaam,
Dire dawa, Djibouti, Douala, Durban, Entebbe, Enugu, Gaborone, Goma, Harare,
Hargeisa,Johannesburg, Juba, Kaduna,Kano, Khartoum, Kigali, Kilimanjaro,
Kinshasa ,Kisangani ,Lagos, Libreville, Lilongwe, Lomé, Luanda, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, Malabo,
Maputo,  Mbuji-Mayi,  Mekele, Mombasa, N’Djamena, Nairobi, Ndola, Niamey, Nosy Be
Ouagadougou, Pointe-Noire, Seychelles, Victoria Falls, Windhoek, Yaoundé, Zanzibar.

Europe, North and South America - 20 Cities 

Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Manchester, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm,
Vienna, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Newark, Canada, Buenos Aires, Rio De
Janeiro.

Gulf, Middle East & Asia - 25 Cities 

Bahrain, Bangkok, Beijing, Beirut, Chengdu, Dammam, Delhi, Doha, Dubai, Guangzhou, Hong
Kong, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Manila, Moscow, Mumbai, Muscat, Riyadh,
Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tel Aviv, Tokyo.

Ethiopian airlines are also well known for having some of the longest non- stop flights. One of
the factors which add to the popularity of Ethiopian airline is the situation of its hub. Addis
Ababa acts as a connector for various flights to different countries. Along with this they
have various short route flights which have benefitted them and the passengers significantly.

Brand of Ethiopian airlines

Africa’s largest airline group, Ethiopian Airlines, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded
Africa Best Employer Brand and Business Leadership Excellence Awards at the 3rd Edition of

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AFRICA BEST EMPLOYER BRAND AWARDS ceremony held in Mauritius on December 06,
2016.

AFRICA BEST EMPLOYER BRAND AWARDS recognizes top organizations across Africa,
who have demonstrated excellence in building the Employer Brand, through a distinct identity
that is visible through HR practices; polices & strategy as an Employer of Choice. 

The ‘Business Leadership Excellence Award’ was given to Ethiopian Group CEO in recognition
of his leadership excellence while the ‘African Best Employer Brand Award 2016’ was given in
recognition of the valuable contribution Ethiopian is making to be the most sought after
employer.

Ethiopian Aviation Academy is playing a paramount role in producing and fostering future
leaders of the aviation industry. The company shall continue to invest in training and
empowering our employees with the required skill and knowledge to keep Ethiopian on a fast
growth trajectory.” Investing over USD$ 100 million to revamp the academy, Ethiopian Aviation
Academy is currently the largest and the most advanced center of excellence in developing
skilled workforce not only for Ethiopian Airlines but also the wider African aviation industry. 

Ethiopian has won several prestigious awards including Airline of the Year Award, for the fifth
consecutive year, by African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Sky Trax World Airline Award for
Best Airline Staff in Africa and Passenger Choice Awards for Best Airline in Africa.

Ethiopian airline s and how it’s connected to customers

The best way to invite customers and to distinguish the company from competitors is by
providing the aircraft with the latest technology, such as wide seats, e-ticketing, etc.
Furthermore to find best services required in gaining the attention of customers, many
competitors have increased their research and development (R&D) budgets. In view of this,
many companies have now started on focusing to differentiate their products and services from
their competitors in order to capture their customers 'brand loyalty. For case in point, there are
companies concentrating on cutting the operating cost, the result is that the profit margin will
decrease and so the least efficient companies will have to leave the market so that only the well-
established companies remain. There are many companies which use offensive strategies instead

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of defensive strategies. They achieve this through modifying their market product and marketing
mix to survive and compete during this stage. For instances to modifying the marketing mix, the
Kuwait airways implemented the strategy by launching a low cost carriers with the intention of
increasing its customer base and loyalty and also increasing sales of.

The main marketing issues of Ethiopian air lines

The vision of Ethiopian airlines to build and maintain the market leadership which is looking
beyond conventional track. The leadership is busy to strive and make calculate decisions with
modern ideas. Ethiopian airlines is always trying to maintain the high standards of business
ethics and marketing task is to built a long period of consistent, stable policies and excellent
results regarding its brand.

Marketing challenges of Ethiopian Air lines

Marketing challenge Ethiopian Air line with flight re-timings, flight cancellations, and revised
routings which is affected on aircraft. These adjustments must satisfy maintenance requirements,
station departure curfew restrictions and aircraft balance requirements, particularly at the
beginning and end of the recovery period. Ethiopian airlines needs to push its marketing to
promise its customers that it will take care of these problems and that it will not affect its quality
service.

Another Weakness is that huge investment to purchase air planes and implementing latest
technologies there endures high amount of operational cost. And also Information security
vulnerabilities pose danger to electronic ticket system

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning

To find out customers wants and needs and to provide the optimal service that will satisfy these,
marketing managers often segment the market into different groups with similar needs and wants
which is called market segmentation (Srydom 2007). Market segmentation and targeting are the
most important aspects for developing business performance and achieving goals. If it has been
decided about the target market, a company needs to position itself in order to differentiate itself
from competitors (Sahaf 2008). There are different kinds of market segmentation like:

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Geographic segmentation: These kinds of segmentation such as nation, regions, cities, states,
countries, zip codes, neighborhoods and so on. As can be seen the demand and satisfaction both
are different in area to area. To fill up the geographic segmentation Ethiopian air lines ’s
marketing group is busy to satisfy the much different geographical segmentation in many areas
in the world.

Demographic segmentation: Variables for this segmentation are: age, gender, family size,
income, occupation, education, religion, race and nationality etc. An Ethiopian airline is
addressing its service to all of these categories and tries to offer a comprehensive service that
attracts all differences.

Psychographic Segmentation: It segments the market according to customers’ personality,

values, lifestyle and social class. An Ethiopian airline is a high quality company that delivers a
high standard service. It therefore directs its marketing mainly to customers that have a good
living standard enjoy a luxury lifestyle and belong to a social class that can afford expensive
flights. It also has customers from lower income classes and also tries to deliver a great service to
them.

Behavioral Segmentation: In this segmentation consumers are divided by groups according to

their knowledge of attitude in order to response to a product.

Airline Industry SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis--a review of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats--is a core
requirement of any organization, and essential to understand any industry. The volatile airline
industry is no exception. While individual airlines each analyze and make decisions based on
their own situations, there are overall industry similarities that all airlines face, with each
endeavoring to maximize strengths and opportunities while minimizing weaknesses and threats.

Strengths

A major strength of any airline is the product itself--air travel. Despite downturns, over time air
travel continues to grow, not only due to population growth, but also due to an increased
propensity to fly.

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Another strength is the safety record, and the associated public acceptance of air travel as both a
fast and safe way to travel. Both traditional, brand recognized airlines and new low-cost carriers
share this strength.

Airline staff is highly trained and experienced, from pilots and flight attendants to mechanics and
ground staff.

Businesswise, airlines have the ability to segment the market, even on the same routes. This
allows airlines to establish different levels of service and make associated pricing decisions.

Weaknesses
Airlines have a high “spoilage” rate compared to most other industries. Once a flight leaves the
gate, an empty seat is lost and non-revenue producing.

Aircraft is expensive and requires huge capital outlays. The return on investment can be different
than planned.

Large workforces spread over large geographic areas, including international points, require
continual communication and monitoring. This can be exacerbated during operational
irregularities, such as bad weather.

While the business climate can change quickly, airlines have difficulty making quick schedule
and aircraft changes due to leases, staffing commitments and other factors.

Opportunities
Airline market growth offers continual expansion opportunities for both leisure and business
destinations. This is particularly true for international destinations.

Technology advances can result in cost savings, from more fuel-efficient aircraft to more
automated processes on the ground. Technology can also result in increased revenue due to
customer-friendly service enhancements like inflight Internet access and other value-added
products for which a customer will pay extra.

Link-ups with other carriers can greatly increase passenger volumes. By coordinating schedules,
airlines can offer service to destinations via a code share agreement with a partner carrier.

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Threats
A global economic downturn negatively affects leisure, optional travel, as well as business
travel. The price of fuel is now the greatest cost for many airlines. An upward spike can
destabilize the business model. A plague or terrorist attack anywhere in the world can negatively
affect air travel. Government intervention can result in new costly rules or unexpected new
international competition.

Considerations
When reviewing industry SWOT analyses, take note that each airline will approach the analysis
differently. For instance, an airline that “hedged” fuel purchases will find a fuel price increase
much less of a threat than an airline that must purchase fuel on the open market.

Conclusion

Traveling around the world will always remain as a special interest in the hearts of the people.
Hence they are and will be in search for the best for themselves. This will increase the need for
better safety as well. Hence it becomes the responsibility for the airline company to deliver their
best in terms of services & security to their customers. Ethiopian airlines have always been on
top of the airlines list in the Africa. We know Ethiopia is a country with different ethnic groups,
and an Ethiopian airline is the only airline in the country which suits these various cultures. But
today as the number of the airline company is increasing there is immense pressure on Ethiopian
airlines to keep up their fame and glory. A strong strategy has been studied and adopted to put
words into action. Therefore Ethiopian airlines with its emerging qualities, untiring services and
promising strategy will be able to improve in delivering the best efforts within the country and
across the globe having a mixture of different cultures hence keep their motto the spirit of Africa
or connecting Africa. To conclude, in the airline industry, MIS is not only used in the basic
departments like Marketing, Finance, Sales and HR like every organization but also makes the
operations flow smoothly in the different stages of the service like airport checking in, baggage
handling, flight operations, flight communication etc. to ensure that everything is coordinated
and the all stages and parts of the process are carried out smoothly and on time.

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Reference

1. Airline Weekly. 2018. “Independent Worldwide Coverage.” No. 678, 2 July. Amsden

2. EAL. 1988. Bringing Africa Together: The History of an Airline. Addis Ababa.

3. Economist, The. 2018. “Ethiopian Airlines Is Founding New African Flag Carriers.”
https://amp.economist.com/gulliver/2018/09/11/ethiopian-airlines-is-founding-new-african-flag-
carriers. Accessed on January 2022.

4. http: // ETHIOPIAN AIR LINES .COM. Accessed on 04 jan 2022

5. Ngai, E. W. T., Wat, F. K. T. (2004). Human Resource information systems: a review and

Empirical analysis. Personnel Review, 35(3), 297-314

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French, R., 2011. Organizational Behaviour. Hoboken:NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Gilligan, C. & Hird, M., 2012. International Marketing: Strategy and Management.
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Hill, C. & Jones, G., 2007. Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. Boston:
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King, D. & Lawley, S., 2016. Organizational Behaviour. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Kotler, P. & Keller, K., 2009. Marketing Management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Perkins, S. & Arvinen-Muondo, R., 2013. Organizational Behaviour: People, Process,

Work and Human Resource Management. London: Kogan Page Publishers.

Thompson, J. & Martin, F., 2010. Strategic Management: Awareness & Change.
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Witcher, B. J. & Chau, V. S., 2010. Strategic Management: Principles and Practice.
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