Basic Introduction• Transport relates to the physical movement of raw material

goods and men from one place to another.

• The social, economic and commercial progress of a nation largely depends on the transportation system.

• Transportation can be classified as under :

What is an Airline

• That mode of transportation provides air transport services for passengers or freight, generally with a recognized operating certificate or license.

• Vary from those with a single airplane carrying mail or cargo, through full-service international airlines operating hundreds

of airplanes. • Airlines can be classified as :

+ Domestic

+ International

+ Inter-Continental

+ Intra-Continental

Invention of the World’s First Aircraft Invented by the Wright Brothers who were:

Orville Wright (1871-1948) and Wilbur Wright (1867-1912)

World’s First Aircraft

Introduction to the Airline Industry• Exists in an intensely competitive market.

• Airline industry are partly government owned.

• But, most in the US, most of the airlines are privately owned.

• Airline Industry can be separated into 4 categories:

+ International

(130 plus seats and an annual revenue of $1Billion or more)

+ National

(100-130 seats and an annual revenue between $100Million and

$1Billion)

+ Regional

(Companies with revenues less than $100Million)

+ Cargo

(Transportation of goods)

The 2 main major manufacturers of Aircraft

Introduction to the Indian Airline Sector

• Indian aviation market is booming.

• Estimated growth of domestic passenger segment : 50% per annum.

• Growth for international passenger segment : 25% per annum.

• International cargo is likely to grow at a rate of 12%.

• According to Ministry of Civil Aviation, India will need 1500 to 2000 passenger planes in next 10 years.

• By 2010, India’s fleet strength will stand at 500-550.

• By 2020, Indian airports are estimated to handle 100 million passengers, including 60 million domestic passengers. The amount of cargo handled will fall in the range of 3.4 million tones per annum.

Classification of Indian Airline Sector

• The Indian Aviation Sector can be classified into three main categories :

1. Scheduled Air Transport Service

2. Non-Scheduled Air Transport Service

3. Air Cargo Service

Scheduled Air transport service: It undertakes between two or more places and operates

according to the published time table. It includes:• Domestic Airlines which provides scheduled flights within

India. Examples for domestic airlines are Jet Airways, Spice Jet,

Kingfisher Airlines etc. • International Airlines which operates scheduled international

air services to and from India. Examples for international airlines are Air India, Cathay Pacific,

Emirates etc.

Non-scheduled air transport service:• It is an air transport service other than the scheduled one and

may be on charter basis and/or non-scheduled basis.

• The operator is not permitted to publish time schedule and issue tickets to the passengers.

Air cargo services:• It is the air transportation of cargo and mail.

• May be on scheduled or non-scheduled basis.

• These operations are to destinations within India.

• For operations outside India, the operator has to take a specific permission of Directorate General of Civil Aviation demonstrating his capacity for conducting such an operation.

Apart from the above, there are many sub-sectors in Airline industry which can be categorized with the help of the following groups :

Public Sector :

• These are those aircrafts that are owned by the Government.

Examples: Air India, Indian airlines.

Private Sector:

• These are those aircrafts that are privately owned by entrepreneurs.

Examples: Jet airways, Air Sahara, Kingfisher airlines, Spice Jet, Air Deccan and many more.

SWOT Analysis Strengths:-

1.Growing tourism: Growth in tourism, has lead to an increase in number of

the international and domestic passengers.

2.Rising income levels: Due to the rise in the income levels, the disposable

income is also higher which are expected to enhance the number of flyers.

Weakness:-

1.Under penetrated market:

The total passenger traffic was only 50 million as on 31st Dec 2005 amounting to only 0.05 trips per annum as compared to developed nations like United States have 2.02 trips per annum.

2.Infrastructural constraints:

The infrastructure development has not kept pace with the growth in aviation services sector leading to a bottleneck. Huge investment are required for physical infrastructure for airports.

Oppurtunities:-

1.Expected investments:

Investment of about US $ 30 billion will be made.

2.Expected market size:

Average growth of Airline sector is about 25% to 30% and the expected market size is projected to grow upto 100 million by 2010.

Threats:-

1.Shortage of trained pilots: There is a shortage of trained pilots, co-pilots and

ground staff which is severely limiting growth prospects.

2.Shortage of airports: There is a shortage of airport facilities, parking bays, air

traffic control facilities, takeoff and landing slots.

3.High prices: Though enough number of low cost carriers already

exists in the industry, majority of the population is still not able to fly to other destinations.

Challenges for the Airline Industry The growth in the Airline Sector and the capacity expansion

by carriers have posed challenges to the airline industry on several fronts.

The challenges to the Airline Industry are as follows:

1. Employee Shortage

2. Regional Connectivity

3. Rising fuel prices

4. Gaps in inrastructure

5. High input cost

Introduction in brief• Founded 1993

• Founder Naresh Goyal

• Company Tag Line “The Joy of Living”

• Headquarters Mumbai, India.

• Parent Company Tailwinds Limited

Hubs:• Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Primary Hub)

• Indira Gandhi International Airport (Secondary Hub)

• Chennai International Airport (Secondary Hub)

• Brussels Airport (International Hub)

Focus Cities:

• Ahmedabad

• Bangalore

• Hyderabad

• Kolkata

• Pune

International Operations

Following are some of the International Operations of Jet Airways as they to when and to which destinations it started :

• March, 2004 - Chennai to Colombo

• 23rd May, 2005 - Delhi to London

• 4th August, 2006 - Amritsar to London

• 3rd April, 2007 - Ahmedabad to London

• 5th August, 2007 - Mumbai-Brussels-New Ark

• 5th September, 2007 - Delhi-Brussels-Toronto

• 6th December, 2007 - Chennai-Brussels-New York

• 5th May, 2008 - Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco

• 31st October,2008 - Bangalore to Brussels

Jet Airways consists of flights that are manufactured by Boeing as well as Airbus. Some of them are as follows :

Service Trinity of Jet Airways

Service Mix with regards to Jet Airways

PRODUCT:

• Airlines consists of both Tangible as well as Intangible products.

• ‘Transportation’ that is ‘From the point of Departure to the Point of Arrival’ is the main product of an Airline Industry. For instance Bombay to London is a product.

• The airline product is quite a complex one since it comprises of a service of certain tangible products also.

• It includes two types of services:

+ On ground services

+ In-flight services.

Diagrammatically, the Product of an Airline Industry can be represented as follows:

Product of Jet Airways

• With reference to the above Service Mix, Jet Airways also consists of both Tangible as well as Intangible products.

• Starting with the intangible products, they are mainly the ;

+ On-ground Services

+ In-flight Services.

On-ground Services :

1. Airport Lounge

2. Coach Services

3. Special Services ( Infant and child care, wheel chair assistance,

unaccompanied minors, medical emergencies etc. )

In-flight Services :

The in-flight services vary according to the different levels of classes in the aircraft.

All seats can be converted to fully flat bed similar to Singapore Airlines suites. All seats have a 15 inch widescreen LCD monitor with Audio-Video On Demand (AVOD), in seat power supply, USB ports etc.

• Première Class (Business Class) in Jet Airways has a fully flat bed with AVOD entertainment.

• Seats are configured in 1-2-1 pattern on Boeing 777 and 1-1-1 pattern on Airbus A330 with each seat offering direct access to the aisle.

• USB ports and in-seat laptop power are provided.• Mood Lighting is installed on the Airbus A330 and Boeing

777 with light schemes corresponding to the time of day. • All seats are standard recliner business class seats.

• The Economy Class in Jet Airways has a 32 inch seat pitch.

• All Boeing 777, Airbus A330 and Boeing 737 aircrafts have a touch screen AVOD system.

• The cabin is configured in 3-3-3 pattern on Boeing 777, 2-4-2 pattern on Airbus A330 and 3-3 on Boeing 737.

Going to the intangible products, they can be as follows :-

The varieties of food available in Jet Airways:

Price:• In managing the business of air transport pricing decisions play a

decisive role. • The concept of ‘fair price’ is very important. • Pricing can be classified in three ways: 1. Cheap Value Pricingu: This method of pricing is used to undercut the competition and

trigger immediate purchases. Though the unit of profits are low, the overall profits are achieved

2. Value for Money Pricing : In this method, the average price is charged for the product and is

emphasized that it represents excellent value for money at this prize. This enables the airlines to achieve a good level of profit.

3. Premium Pricing : In this method, the prices are set above the market price either to

reflect the image of quality or the unique status of the product.

Pricing of Jet Airways

• The level of class in Jet Airways that is the First Class, the Business Class and the Economy Class influences the pricing strategy of Jet Airways.

• This means higher the rate for the best class and lower the rate for a good class.

• The classification of prices as per the 3 classes are as follows with reference to Bombay – London journey.

First Class Bombay > London London > Bombay Rs. 3,21,628 (2,64,670 + 56,958 taxes)Business Class Bombay > London London > Bombay Rs. 1,13,184 (80,000 + 33,184 taxes) Economy Class Bombay > London London > Bombay Rs. 48,582 (28,900 + 19,682 taxes)

• Other than the above 3 classes another factor that influences the prices is the season in which one buys a ticket.

• For instance, if you book a ticket from London during Christmas season, the price of the ticket will be high as compared to the other seasons.

Promotion :

• In airlines service, there is intense price competition and the solution to this is to develop a differentiated offer, delivery and image.

• A company that innovates regularly may help to retain its customers. Services are intangible product and to be successfully promoted, they have to be personalized.

• Travel agencies play a key role in promoting airline services.

• Word-of-mouth is the best form of publicity and it has a significant role to play in promoting airline services.

• There are many other different ways to promote airlines. For instance, media is the best example that is through mainly the television and other modes.

Promotion of Jet Airways

Jet Airways launches New in-flight Lifestyle Promotion

• It give its Club Premiere passengers travelling on domestic routes within India the opportunity to own some of the world’s most respected brands.

• The first offering from the new service named “Jet Good Life” is an original masterpiece by the renowned Master of Art, M.F Hussain, in association with ABM AMRO Van Gogh Preferred Banking.

• Jet Airways has for the past three years been rewarding its customers under “Jet Elite Surprises” umbrella where prices worth Rs. 3 crores have been given away in association with the several key sponsor brands such as Sony, IBM, Rolex, Tissot, Ford, Toyota etc.

Jet Airways in collaboration with Citibank offers a Visa Card also known as Platinum and Business Card for its Jet Privilege members who are the regular flyers with Jet.

Shah Rukh Khan is a member of Jet Airways and therefore he has

appeared in their TV Commercials.

PLACE :

• The air transport organization has to make sure that the prospects don’t face any difficulty while buying tickets and make necessary arrangements for the confirmation of the bookings.

• Another dimension of the place is related to the location and management of the offices of airways, travel agents, tour operators, transport operators etc.

• Easy accessibility should be the main criteria in selecting the place.

Place of Jet Airways

• Jet Airways must see to it that it has an office nearby to the airport.

• This makes the reservations, confirmations and other flight details to be checked easy and quick.

• Even if it doesn’t have an office nearby, it should atleast leave the telephone numbers of its concerned department with the customers.

• The electrifying ambience of the offices puts a good impression about the company on the customers.

• There is a Jet Airways office in the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport which helps the passengers in making it easy to approach the office in case of an emergency.

PEOPLE :

• In the service industry the service provider comes in direct contact with the user in the course of production and consumption of services.

• The service provider should be competent, have a caring attitude, be responsive, take the initiative and have the ability to solve problems.

• While delivering the service, the airline should ensure that the service is delivered as promised.

• The people involved in the airline industry can be referred to as the ‘Airline Personnel’.

• The Airline Personnel consists of the Flight Crew Members and the Ground Crew Members.

People of Jet Airways

‘People’ of the Airline Sector are the service providers who come in direct contact with the customers.

For instance, Jet Airways ticketing agents come in direct contact with the customers while booking the ticket. They come under the Ground Crew Members.

Customers of Jet Airways booking and confirming their ticket who are coming in direct contact wit the Ground Crew Members.

In the aircraft, the Air Hostess and other Cabin Crew comein direct contact with the passengers who are the customersof Jet Airways.Thus, these people who render the in-flight services to the customers are termed as Flight Crew Members.

PROCESS :

• The actual procedures, machinations and flow of activities by which the service is delivered is known as process.

• The airline delivers the service by informing, guiding and helping the customers.

• The airlines are constantly making every effort to redefine the procedures in order to enhance the level of service satisfaction.

Process of Jet Airways• With reference to Jet Airways, it constantly helps its customers by

informing them about the flight details in order to acquire customer satisfaction.

• They are striving hard to enhance the level of satisfaction of the customers that is from being good to become the best.

• One of the main service that Jet Airways renders in ‘Process’ is the check-in options in order to make the flight procedures easy and comfortable.

• Jet Airways has numerous check-in options for you to choose from.

Physical Evidence :

• The environment in which the service is to be delivered and where the Service Industry and the customers interact is known as ‘Physical Evidence’.

• The aircrafts must be given good exteriors and must be well maintained.

• It must have elegant interiors and well-designed seats.

Physical Evidence of Jet Airways • Jet Airways has been striving continuously to deliver quality

service to its customers.

• Jet Airways has given its aircrafts a good exterior and the flights have been maintained in an excellent manner.

• The interiors have also been made in a manner which is pleasant to the passengers so that they feel comfortable and enjoy the flight.

The following images display the passengers in three different classes who are satisfied of the services provided to them by Jet Airways:

Awards and Achievements of Jet Airways

• Nice Customer Service by Freddie Awards 2007• India's Popular Domestic Airline at the SATTE 2006 Awards• Best Single In-Flight Audio Program at the Avion Awards 2006• India’s Best Airline at the World Travel Awards, 2006• Best Technical Despatch Reliability by Beaver 2002• Customer and Brand Loyalty Award in the Commercial Airlines

Sector (Domestic), at the second Goyal Awards• Service Excellence Award at Global Managers in Jurassic Park,

Sudan.• India’s Most Respected Company in the Travel and Food

Sector by Businessworld 2003• World's Thirty second airline to introduce private First

Class Suites in the air on their Boeing 777-300ER.• Best Business Class & Best Economy Class at Business Traveller

Awards

Conclusion• Thus, in this way we can say that an Airline Industry can have a

tremendous growth in the market provided it mainly uses its Marketing Mix in an effective way.

• With reference to Jet Airways, this particular airline company has clearly understood the needs and requirements of the customers and have applied the 7 P’s of Marketing in an effective way in order to ensure optimum customer satisfaction.

• One can also say that Jet Airways is the most preferred domestic airline in India and it has earned a brand name for itself by achieving a pre-eminent position by offering a high quality of service and reliable, comfortable and efficient operations.

• Jet Airways has also upgraded the concept of domestic airline travel to be a world class domestic airline.

• Therefore, last but not the least, Jet Airways has been achieving its objectives whilst simultaneously ensuring consistent profitability, achieving healthy, long-term returns for the investors and providing its employees with an environment for excellence and growth.