Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 4 Introduction
Airline Industry Analysis
Singapore Airlines
Geographic Location, National Strategies,
Leadership in IT, Competitive Strategies
Southwest Airlines
Aircraft Utilization, Focus on City Pairs, Pointto-Point Route Structure, Corporate Culture,
Cost Savings in Reservation System
American Airlines
Largest airline in the US versus United while
also a contender on the international level.
A premium service airline with a hub and stoke
route structure.
Has consistently been recognized as an industry
leader.
Currently faces the same financial problems as
other major carriers.
Faces challenge of dealing with strong unions.
Bargaining
Power
of Suppliers
Potential
New Entrants
Foreign Carriers
Regional Carrier Start ups
Cargo Carrier Business Strategy Change
Intra-Industry Rivalry
SBU: American Airlines
Rivals: United, Delta, US Air,
Northwest, Southwest
Substitute
Products
and Services
Bargaining
Power of Buyers
Travel Agents
Business Travelers
Federal Government
Pleasure Travelers
Charter Service
U.S. Military
Cargo and Mail
PRODUCT/SERVICES
Charter
Cargo
Services
Mail
Air Express
MARKETS
Europe
North American
Pacific Rim
Latin American
Long Haul
Point to Point
FARE STRATEGY
Modified compared
to the example in
the textbook.
Low Fare
Premium Fare
COMPANY STRUCTURE
Independent
Alliances
Operations
Logistics
Business
Figure 4-1
Convenience to Customers
Reservation System, Request hotels, car.
Knowledge of Customers
Frequent-Flyer Program: AAdvantage.
Pilot Training
Safety Training
Baggage Handling
Training
Agent
Training
Product
Development
Market Research
In-flight
Training
Baggage Tracking
System
Information Technology
Communications
PROCUREMENT
Route Selection
Passenger Service
System
Yield Management
System (Pricing)
Fuel
Flight Scheduling
Crew Scheduling
Facilities Planning
Aircraft Acquisition
Ticket Counter
Operations
Gate Operations
Aircraft
Operations
On-board Service
Baggage Handling
Ticket Offices
Baggage System
Flight
Connections
Rental Car and
Hotel Reservation
System
INBOUND
LOGISTICS
OPERATIONS
OUTBOUND
LOGISTICS
Promotion
Advertising
Advantage
Program
Travel Agent
Programs
Group Sales
MARKETING
AND SALES
SERVICE
Adapted with the permission of Michael E. Porter from Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior
Performance, copyright 1985 by Michael E. Porter.
Figure 4-3
Conclusions
Chapter 4
Porter Competitive Model
and
the Airline Industry
Return to Investors.
Airline Profitability
Profitability = [yield X load factor] - cost
In order to survive and profit in this tough environment,
airlines attempt to manipulate three main variables:
Cost, calculated as total operating expenses divided by
available seat miles (ASM)
Yield, calculated as total operating revenues divided by
the number of revenue passenger miles (RPM)
Load Factor, calculated as the ratio between RPMs and
ASMs, which measures capacity utilization.
Commission Findings
The Airline Industry is more competitive than before
deregulation in 1978.
Travelers and shippers are charged less than in 1978.
The Airline Industry has never made a sustained,
substantial return on investment.
It lost huge amounts of money from 1990 to 1993.
It canceled many aircraft orders shortly after an
unprecedented buying binge.
Its freedom to compete in international markets is
uncertain because of government restrictions.
Commission Conclusions
For the U.S. to prosper in a global marketplace
the airline industry must:
Be efficient and technologically superior.
Have the financial strength to respond to rapid
change and opportunity.
Efficiently move people, products and services
to markets, wherever they exist.
Recommendations
Efficiency: Reinvent the FAA.
Financial Health: Deal with factors that impact
the financial health of the industry.
Access to Foreign Markets: Replace the current
bilateral system with a multi-national regime.
September 11 Impact
An absolute disaster for the industry.
Airline Industry
The shock of September 11th has forced airlines to
face an awkward fact: in some respects, aviation is a
declining industry.
Nov. 22, 2001
The Economist
International Travel
International travel from America has been hit even
harder: the number of Americans flying across the
Atlantic is down by over 30%.
Never mind that more people are killed on America's
roads every three months than have died in the entire
history of commercial aviation.
12
Railroad
530
Passenger Car
20,818
Load Factors
Despite cutting capacity, the big American airlines are still
flying with planes barely 60% fulla figure that would be
much lower were it not for hefty discounts.
Boeing and Airbus, the two manufacturers of large jetliners,
are offering airlines special financing deals to pay for their
purchases in order to stave off outright cancellations.
The last time the airlines were in such straits, during the
Gulf war and recession in 1990-92, it took them four years
to return to profit, even though traffic recovered within a
year.
European Airlines
The situation in Europe is no better.
Two flag carriers, Swissair and Sabena, have
collapsed since the terrorist attacks.
Other big carriers, such as British Airways (BA) and
KLM, are in major financial trouble.
Traffic within Europe fell by over 10% in September
and October 2001, while traffic from Europe to
America and Asia fell by 35% and 17% respectively.
Financial Picture
Although air travel, measured by number of passengerkilometers flown, has long risen faster than economic
growth, airline revenues have lagged world GDP growth
for the past 20 years in real terms,
Revenues and profits per seat have been falling because of
greater competition springing from deregulation, first in
America and then within Europe and across the Atlantic.
Even before the latest slump only a third of mainstream
airlines in Europe, America and Asia earned enough to
cover their cost of capital, which is 8% on average.
European Changes
In Europe, where the failure of Swissair and Sabena has
shown that there is room for only a handful of mainstream
carriers rather than today's 14, a shake-out is already under
way.
Corrective Actions
U.S. airlines have axed more than 70,000 jobs. In addition,
some unions representing many of the industry's employees
have made a commitment to work with management to help the
carriers compete more effectively with low-cost rivals.
It will take much more than concessions by labor for major
U.S. airlines to solve their financial problems.
The financial problems carriers are suffering could actually
worsen in coming months if the U.S. goes to war with Iraq. The
U.S. airline industry cannot take another major hit. A brief war
doesn't qualify but a messy, extended war or another significant
domestic terrorist attack does.
A Sobering Fact
Before September 11, 2001, the global industry was
showing a net loss on international services of
around $3 billion.
Corrective Actions
Reduced capacity.
Older aircraft may never return to service.
Reduced wage pressures.
Continued joint agreements.
Discounted tickets and more travel packages.
American Airlines
American Airlines asked its employees to come to the aid of
the carrier, saying they have no time to waste if they want to
keep the financially strapped airline in business.
The plea comes as two major unions at the world's largest
carrier consider a company request to freeze their wages and
another union is trying to hammer out a new contract.
Company management says carriers that have reduced costs
through bankruptcy protection have put even more pressure
on AMR.
American Airlines
American asked union leaders to start holding weekly
meetings, as early as next, week with company management
in a collaborative process.
The move comes as United Airlines is trying to squeeze large
wage cuts from its employees as it undergoes restructuring
under bankruptcy protection.
About a month ago, American asked its employees to forgo
pay increases. The union that represents flight attendants at
American said it is taking a close look at the company's
finances and may decide at the end of this month whether to
forgo pay increases scheduled for this year.
Continuing Concerns
1. Fuel costs
2. Decisions regarding passenger services like
whether to charge for food, the need for more
electronic capabilities.
3. Upgrading aircraft.
4. Route strategies.
5. Union relations.
6. Relations with travel agents.
Bargaining
Power
of Suppliers
Potential
New Entrants
Foreign Carriers
Regional Carrier Start ups
Cargo Carrier Business Strategy Change
Intra-Industry Rivalry
SBU: American Airlines
Rivals: United, Delta, US Air,
Northwest, Southwest
Substitute
Products
and Services
Bargaining
Power of Buyers
Travel Agents
Business Travelers
Federal Government
Pleasure Travelers
Charter Service
U.S. Military
Cargo and Mail
Figure 4-2
PRODUCT/SERVICES
Charter
Cargo
Services
Mail
Air Express
MARKETS
Europe
North American
Pacific Rim
Latin American
Long Haul
Point to Point
FARE STRATEGY
Modified compared
to the example in
the textbook.
Low Fare
Premium Fare
COMPANY STRUCTURE
Independent
Alliances
Operations
Logistics
Business
Figure 4-1
Pilot Training
Safety Training
Baggage Handling
Training
Agent
Training
Product
Development
Market Research
In-flight
Training
Baggage Tracking
System
Information Technology
Communications
PROCUREMENT
Route Selection
Passenger Service
System
Yield Management
System (Pricing)
Fuel
Flight Scheduling
Crew Scheduling
Facilities Planning
Aircraft Acquisition
Ticket Counter
Operations
Gate Operations
Aircraft
Operations
On-board Service
Baggage Handling
Ticket Offices
Baggage System
Flight
Connections
Rental Car and
Hotel Reservation
System
INBOUND
LOGISTICS
OPERATIONS
OUTBOUND
LOGISTICS
Promotion
Advertising
Advantage
Program
Travel Agent
Programs
Group Sales
MARKETING
AND SALES
SERVICE
Adapted with the permission of Michael E. Porter from Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior
Performance, copyright 1985 by Michael E. Porter.
Figure 4-3
Benefits of Information
Systems
to American Airlines
1. Convenience to Customers.
2. Knowledge of Customers.
3. Providing a foundation for other
systems.
4. Building a base for other businesses.
Singapore Airlines
Southwest Airlines
A Strength of Southwest
Airlines
1. Focus.
2. Focus.
3. Focus
Singapore Airlines
Swiss Air
Cathay Pacific
Midwest Express **
Japan Airlines
Quantas
ANA
Virgin Atlantic
Lufthansa
KLM-Royal Dutch
11. Finnair
12. British Airways
13. Alaska
14. Air France
15. Varig
16. Aer Lingus
17. Kiwi
18. Air Canada
19. American **
20. Delta**
Source: Zagat Survey of Frequent Flyers
Safety factors.
Impact on constituents.
International routes.
Airline Alliances
The Star Alliance is the largest of the major groupings.
Consisting of 15 airlines led by United Air Lines and
Lufthansa. Star serves about 815 destinations in more than
130 countries.
Oneworld, which is eclipsed by only Star among the major
airline alliances, is led by British and American Airlines.
Eight airlines offer service to 550 destinations in more than
130 countries.
SkyTeam is quickly becoming a major alliance player by
serving more than 450 destinations in nearly 100 countries.
Led by Air France and Delta, SkyTeam has also consolidated
cargo services.
Boeing Corp.
Barriers to Entry
Access to airports continues to be impeded
by:
(1) Federal limits on takeoff and landing
slots
at the major airports in Chicago, New York,
and Washington
(2) Long-term, exclusive-use gate leases
(3) Perimeter Rules prohibiting flights at
New Yorks LaGuardia and Washingtons
National airports that exceed a certain
US Industry Strength
Fifteen major US carriers represent the following
significance in the world-wide airline industry:
29% of the aircraft
46% of the employees
32.5% of the the 2000 passenger miles
Based on a number of years of operating in a deregulated
environment within the US that forced them to compete in
a very tough market.