Airline Marketing Strategies

This assignment delves into the marketing strategies employed by Emirates Airline. It examines their competitive advantages, factors contributing to their success, and the impact they have had on the global airline landscape. The analysis draws upon various academic sources and industry reports to provide a comprehensive understanding of Emirates' position in the market.

Running Head: MARKETING 1
Airline Group Strategy: Emirates Airlines
Table of Contents

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Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Factors behind Emirates’ Success...................................................................................................3
Branding.......................................................................................................................................3
Finances.......................................................................................................................................4
Customer Service.........................................................................................................................4
Role of Dubai in Success of Emirates.............................................................................................5
Government Support....................................................................................................................5
Location capability and capacity..................................................................................................6
Environmental and climate factors..............................................................................................6
Increased Tourism........................................................................................................................6
SWOT Analysis...............................................................................................................................6
Strengths.......................................................................................................................................7
Weaknesses..................................................................................................................................7
Opportunities................................................................................................................................7
Threats..........................................................................................................................................8
Is Emirates Airlines still a Success Story........................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Emirates Airline is one of the major airlines in the aviation industry that is based in Dubai and
fully owned by the Government of Dubai. The business operations of this airline are growing at a
better rate, as it is going through business expansion all over the world. Emirates Airline is
expanding its business throughout all the continentals. In the year 1985, Emirates Airline was
founded in Dubai and by the year 2013, this has attained a considerable growth and currently it
has become third largest commercial airline in the world. The given case study, i.e. named as
“Emirates Airline: Connecting the Unconnected” includes the technology, business strategy, how
this airline selects its new routes, tools and equipment and manages its marketing, branding and
human resources. In addition, it is effectively managing the relationships with country’s
government. The airline forms an internal strategy as it increases the opportunities in
geographical markets. Now, the company has become one of the top and leading airlines in the
world, with highest number of domestic and international passengers. This report answers the
questions given along with the case study. It includes the factors behind the success of Emirates
in Dubai. Furthermore, it describes the role of Dubai and location in the success of airline.
Moreover, it includes the SWOT analysis of Dubai-based hub-and-spoke model of Emirates
airline.
Factors behind Emirates’ Success
There are various factors behind the success of Emirates Airlines. There are some reasons why
this airline has grown as a biggest commercial name under the civil aviation sector. While it can
be recognized to various factors, below are some of the most important factors, which contribute
to the success of Emirates Airlines.
Branding
The most important factor among airline investors can allow an organization to some of better
choice selections for developing its global image and reputation. The company has a better brand
image in the aviation industry. It is increasing its customer base by enhancing its services. To
improve in-flight experience, airline has transformed a number of seats into premium classes and
enhanced its luxury facilities and included new flights, which provided modern facilities.

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Emirates Airlines had won the World Travel Award in the travel industry for best service three
times (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker and Brennan, 2015).
Finances
Emirates Airline is owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, so it has no shortage of
support, whether it is about the logistics or complete amount of cash, which is needed to
eliminate the barrier behind entering in more extensive marketplace. The airline is having a
strong financial support from government of Dubai. Furthermore, dependence of Dubai on
tourism makes sure Investment Corporation of Dubai considers this brand seriously (Abeyratne,
2013). As an outcome of this, a huge amount of money was forced in before when the Emirates
airline turned its profit.
Operations
Operations of Emirates Airlines are very effective and major contributor to its success. Having
selected to run outside the purview of alliances between different airlines Emirates organization
selects to attain growth of its own accord without being restricted by the market limitations,
which are posed by these strategic alliances. It not only give all the revenues and incomes for the
company alone but also offers it considerable power in the market that is defined by the airlines
if strategic alliances (Belobaba, Odoni and Barnhart, 2015). In addition, Emirates Airline is
implementing hub and spoke model. This model is the major contributor to the success of this
airline. The company has operated this model all over the world that consists of a single hub,
which is based on several arrival banks, which are followed by departures that enables the
travellers to connect through this hub among different points. This model assists this airline to
make its operations smoother. The operations of Emirates Airline are the major factors, which
drive the organization towards gaining competitive advantage against its competitors, like; Qatar
Airways, British Airways, Turkish Airlines etc.
Customer Service
Customer service is also one of the major factors for success of this airline company. The
organization is providing creative and customer focused services and has reliability in airline
services. Meanwhile, the services to customers are as significant as fuel in flights. So, the
constant growth and innovation in products is very important for the organization. Moreover,

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other critical success factors competitiveness and sustainable growth (Bamber, et al, 2009). It can
be ensured that Emirates Airlines is excellent in offering customer services and expanding its
business operations in international market. The company has been endeavoring to maintain its
growth with staying competitive in aviation market by implementing cost effective and
differentiation strategy in the market. It assists the organization in increasing its customer base
and gaining more competitive advantage over its competitors in the industry (Dudley, 2016).
Moreover, the success of Emirates airline can be entitled to the government of Dubai.
Role of Dubai in Success of Emirates
Selecting an appropriate location for business is one of the major decisions for an organization. It
is a key component to the success of an organization. If a firm chooses wrong location, then it
can have sufficient access to workers, customers, materials and other transportation services. So,
location generally plays a vital role in the revenues and overall success of the company. Location
strategy framework is a plan for finding an optimal location for the business by recognizing its
objectives and needs and looking for the location with products and services, which are well-
suited with these objectives and goals (Grimme, 2011). The company uses different criteria to
find out an appropriate location for its business and company establishment.
In the given case, Dubai is playing an important role in the success of Emirates Airline. The
organization is having various strategic advantages from this location. There are so many
components of location strategy framework, which are supporting the growth and success of
Emirates in Dubai (Hazledine, 2011). The company has established its business in the country by
considering some specific factors. The location strategy framework is stated below;
Government Support
When an organization establishes its business in a location, it may confront various barriers and
restrictions from government. So, there will be need of examining the governmental and cultural
issues in the area when creating its location strategy. In Dubai, this airline is owned by
government of Dubai and government is supporting Emirates in every way. When the company
has developed its hub-and-spoke model, it required both access to new destinations and a
powerful hub airport (Homsombat, Lei and Fu, 2014). The government of country has supported
Emirates by providing funds. It has maintained its strong financial relationships with Emirates

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Airline via its holding company, i.e. Investment Corporation of Dubai. The government of is the
major reason behind strong growth and success of Emirates Airline in country.
Location capability and capacity
Emirates Airline is practicing a hub type model in this country, which is not new in the aviation
sector. By looking at the capacity and capability, Emirates has effectively capitalized on its
chosen location, i.e. Dubai, a small state that is located to approach 75% of the population of the
world in a flight in eight hours to develop a profitable and growing hub based operational model.
This model has proven beneficial on longer routes needing refueling, like; by grounding itself in
different locations that is central to West and Sub Saharan Africa and Asia (Jarach, 2017). By
this, the organization does not have fear to lose out to its leading competitors by holding in
Dubai. Thus, the choice of Dubai is a major contribution to the success of Emirates Airlines.
Environmental and climate factors
For the organizations in airline industry, it is very important to consider climate and
environmental factors while making decision regarding location. The climate and environmental
factors of Dubai are beneficial for Emirates Airlines. The airline was benefitted from
comparatively good weather condition, aside from heat and occasional fog, the operations of
airline stayed free of rain and snow falls, which delay in American and European airspaces
(Kapferer, 2008).
Increased Tourism
The percentage of tourism in Dubai is increasing continuously with a significant growth rate.
The government of Dubai enabled the incoming tourist flows by removing major requirements of
visa and introducing marketing and promotional campaigns. In the year 2012, receipts from
tourism is totaled approximately $10.4 billion that is more than other countries in Middle East.
So, the selection of Dubai is beneficial for Emirates to get success in aviation industry
(Kleymann and Seristö, 2017). In the country, most of the tourists are travelling and departing
via the flights of Emirates Airlines. This is one of the significant components under the location
strategy framework for Emirates while making decision regarding Dubai. Thus, Dubai is playing
an important role in the success of Emirates Airlines.

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SWOT Analysis
In order to attain growth in Dubai, Emirates Airline has adopted and implemented a hub and
spoke model, which is proven very beneficial for the organization and its operations in the
country. The SWOT analysis of this hub and spoke model is stated below by considering
different factors, i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Lawton, 2017).
Strengths
Most of the passengers of Emirates are simply connecting through DXB and organizational
model of the company at its home airport is geared to serving to these flows of passengers of
linking traffic. The company runs its hub and spoke model, under which it has established a
single hub that is grounded on different arrival banks, i.e. followed by departures. It allows
travelers to connect through a single hub among different points. This is enhancing the
operations of airline, as all the operations are managed from one point. When it is about the
success of Emirates Airlines, its business and operational model is always considered. This
model at Emirates has resulted in the significant growth of airline over past few years
(O'Connell, 2006). It is very beneficial for longer routes flights, which are managed from a
single hub, i.e. Dubai. There are two major operational factors, which play an important role in
this model, are hub of Emirates and its aircraft fleet. Hub and spoke model of Emirates Airlines
is supporting the organization in attaining higher competitive advantages over its competitors.
Weaknesses
The hub and spoke model is used by Emirates airlines all over the world, but this includes
various weaknesses and issues, like; uneven utilization of human resources at Dubai hub and
airport overcrowding during peak and seasonal times. These are the major weaknesses, which
may impact the growth of Emirates in Dubai (O’Connell, 2011).
Opportunities
This business model of the company has been offering several opportunities to Emirates Airlines
in this competitive business environment. This model will assist in the development of Dubai as
an airline and tourism hub. It is assisting the organization in connecting to all over the world. In
addition, it will aid the organization in managing their operations in better way and enhancing its
capacity and capability. The company may get various economic advantages by adopting this
model. It assists the nation where the hub is situated and since the transit duration is generally

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some hours, so travelers will do shopping there at duty free thus enhancing its domestic
revenues. In this way, it has positive impact and opportunities on economy of nation (Pearson
and Merkert, 2014).
Threats
There are some threats, which impact the growth and operations of the Emirates Airlines. If there
will be disruption in the flights, it may delay the entire hub. It can take many days in
smoothening of these delays. So, effective operational management is an important process for
managing the hub. There may be the issues related to connectivity, so that the people may feel
disgruntled. It can challenge the brand image and reputation of Emirates Airlines in Dubai and
around the world.
Is Emirates Airlines still a Success Story
Yes, Emirates Airlines is still a success story. The continuous growth and success of Emirates
Airlines is making competitive pressure on its competitors all over the globe, like; Quantas,
Qatar Airways etc. There are various factors at Emirates Airline, which are the reasons behind its
continuous growth and success. These factors are like; location, culture, operations, leadership,
internal strategic decision making etc. Emirates Airline recorded 2016 as another year of success
and considerable growth around all the scales of networks in sense of development of route,
growth of fleet and increased number of travelers (Riva, 2013). In this year, the president of
company was very much satisfied with its growth. The below-given graph indicates the fleet
growth of Emirates Airlines between the duration of 2000-2015. It is continuously its fleets and
introducing new flights to increase its business operations to all over the world.

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The organization is implementing an organic growth strategy and it will continuously use this
strategy and make development in commerce and tourism in Dubai. The major focus of the
company is on offering excellent services and experiences to its customers and passengers. The
company also had a significant year in customer operations. In the year 2016, it was awarded as
World’s best airlines by Skytrax. Now, it is adding to the online and digital business (Shaw,
2016). By this, it was able to connect with more than 8.8 million travelers and send 1.7 million
messages. The facts and figures of current year indicate that company is experiencing a
significant growth in the number of passengers and in terms of revenues.
It is flying biggest fleets in the world, i.e. Boeing 777 and Airbus A380, which offer its
customers comforts of the modern and very efficient aircraft in the skies. Now, the company has
the command on up to 39% of the market share in the aviation industry (Riva, 2016). In the
Asian airlines market, the company has seen most significant growth over other airlines.
Emirates Airlines is principally successful due to its pricing strategies, which are very
competitive and it utilizes them against its competitors. Thus, it can be analyzed that Emirates
Airlines is experiencing a considerable growth and success in aviation industry in Dubai. Dubai
is the best place for Emirates to operate its business in aviation sector. The facts and figures
show that company is still a success story and will continue to remain in the future.

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Conclusion
Thus, the above report concludes that Emirates Airline is a well-established and well-known
airline in Dubai. There are various effective factors, which are driving the growth and success to
the organization. These factors are such as; branding, finances, operations and customer services.
It is adopting a hub and spoke model as its operational business model. This model is beneficial
for the growth and success of Emirates. From the above case report, it can be analyzed that
Emirates is the airline organization, which is experiencing continuous growth and success in
competitive business environment.
References
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Pearson Education.
Abeyratne R. (2013). Regulation of Air Transport: The Slumbering Sentinels. Montreal: Springer
Belobaba, P., Odoni, A. and Barnhart, C. eds. (2015). The global airline industry. John Wiley &
Sons.
Bamber, G.J., Gittell, J.H., Kochan, T.A. & von Nordenflytch, A. (2009). Up in the Air: How
Airlines Can Improve Performance by Engaging their Employees. Cornell University
Press.

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Dudley, D. (2016). Is the Emirates Airlines Growth Story at the End? Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2016/11/11/is-the-emirates-airline-growth-
story-at-an-end/#64b8d11e66d6.
Grimme, W. (2011). The growth of Arabian airlines from a German perspective–A study of the
impacts of new air services to Asia. Journal of Air Transport Management, 17(6), 333-
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Hazledine, T. (2011). Legacy carriers fight back: Pricing and product differentiation in modern
airline marketing. Journal of Air Transport Management, 17(2), 130-135.
Homsombat, W., Lei, Z. and Fu, X. (2014). Competitive effects of the airlines-within-airlines
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Transportation Review, 63, pp.1-16.
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Routledge.
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Equity Long Term. London: Kogan Page
Kleymann, B. and Seristö, H. (2017). Managing strategic airline alliances. Routledge.
Lawton, T.C. (2017). Cleared for take-off: structure and strategy in the low fare airline business.
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East. Journal of Air Transport Management, 38, pp.21-26.

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Riva A. (2013). Emirates Airline is eating all other airlines’ lunch but is it here to stay?
Available from: http://www.ibtimes.com/emirates-airline-eating-all-other-airlineslunch-
it-here-stay-1472912.
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