Emirates Airline: A Case Study on External and Internal Factors

Student’s Last Name 1
Business Communication of Service Management
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Student’s Last Name 2
Questions
1. Summarize the case in 300 to max 400 words (5 marks)
Emirates airline was established in the early 1980s by the Sheikh of Dubai Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum after Gulf Air cut its flight to Dubai. The airline has grown
formidable to become among the leading passenger transporter along renowned routes of the
world. It has the largest fleet of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777. To maintain its global position,
the airline offers extensive amenities such as showers and bars aboard its aircraft. The
management also emphasizes quality services as the Airline boasts of 18,000 flight attendants
representing 140 nationalities. The growth of the airline is attributed to Sir Tim Clark who has
handled the role of route planning. Tim Clark insisted on the airline procuring additional aircraft
to maximize on the global routes. This facilitated the airline to expand at an astonishing rate. The
airline aimed at providing the best experience to its customers. Consequently, it became the first
airline to offer television viewing at the back of every seat. Emirates together with Qatar
Airways and Etihad Airways transferred the hub of international travel from Europe to the
Middle East. Dubai Airport became the busiest in the world handling over 75 million passengers
each year. This facilitated the construction of the largest terminal in the world at a cost of 4.5
billion US dollars. This was in order to accommodate the 224 Emirate’s aircraft operating in 145
destinations worldwide. However, on March 5, 2015, U.S, stated that Emirates Airline together
with Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways were had received over 42 billion U.S. dollars in
government Subsidies and tax breaks, giving these airlines unfair advantage in the industry. The
US carriers concerns were that they would face a decline in their market share due to competition
with Emirates. The president of Emirates airline, Sir Tim Clark, however, stated that the Airline
has never received any subsidies.

Student’s Last Name 3
Emirates restructured its advertisement campaign, by creating a message that could
develop the brand to the consumers. Strawberry Frog, an advertising agency was contracted by
Emirates and the agency established the phrase “Hello Tomorrow,” that Emirates-based its
advertising strategy on. The advertising campaign was based on creating a customer experience
and setting Emirates apart from other carriers. However, Emirates experienced new challenges of
competition from other carriers who were also enhancing their customer experience.
2. How the external environment might affect Emirates’ strategy? Assess the
political/legal, economic, sociocultural/demographic, technological and global forces. (10marks)
External environment factors involve those factors that the airline has no control over.
These external factors can either provide new opportunities for the airline or threat in their
operations.in the political front, terrorism has hugely impacted the demand for air travel.
Emirates operates in different parts of the world and any change in the stable political
environment may limit the airline flight to the affected area. Additionally, the ban by Trump
regime on Muslim countries passengers may reduce Middle East airlines flight to the US.
Economically, since Emirates accepts multiple currencies, fluctuation in the exchange rate may
affect the firm’s revenue (Klophaus, 2016, pp.128). The decline in the price of oil also provides a
favourable condition for the operation of Emirates. In the socio-cultural front, the ever-growing
world population increases the demand for air travel. Additionally, millennial travellers have
insatiable needs to travel the world and this may give Emirates an emerging market (O’Connell,
2014, pp.343). The advancement of technology and enhanced globalization may provide emirate
opportunities for more passengers. Online booking increases the efficiency of service for the
airline while globalization provides for more needs for business people to travel the world.