Business Problems Faced by British Airways due to Covid-19

This report discusses the business problems faced by British Airways due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including job cuts and retirement of jumbo jets. It explores potential solutions and their impact on the company.

Company and Business Problem
British Airways
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Summary..........................................................................................................................................3
Exploration ......................................................................................................................................3
Impact of potential solutions............................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6
Reflection report..............................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
There are various business problem that are faced by companies due to Covid pandemic.
In this report, focus is upon problems that are confronted by British Airways. This report will
focus upon identifying issues arose due to Covid pandemic and an in depth study of that
problem (Akbar and Kisilowski, 2020). Further, suitable solutions are designed in order to
address these issues. Impact of these solutions is studied in long term as well as in short term.
Summary
This research report point out different issues faced by British airways due to current
pandemic of Covid-19. It is the flag carrier airline registered in United Kingdoms. Airways is
facing mainly two major problems. One is that they need to cut off a heavy amount of jobs and
second relates to retirement of their jumbo jets due to hazardous effect of Covid pandemic.
Former problem is confronted by whole airline industry as they are having serious impact on
their operations. Recent changes in quarantine laws that travellers returning to Britain from Spain
will have to undergo isolation period of 14 days make the significant market of British Airways
almost dead. Second problem is due to financial impact on company. These jets are known for
their classic looks and stylish engineering but now they will be broken down in spares as there is
a serious lack of funds required for their operations. This report makes an in depth study of
above mentioned problems and also advocates for suitable solutions.
Exploration
This part of report makes a detailed statement for the issues faced by British airways.
First discussion is about problem of lay off or cutting of jobs in a huge quantity. This problem is
faced by almost every airline company. This is due to the fear that travellers are having and due
to this fear they are not liking to travel much. Another obstacle related to BA is new quarantine
rule of 14 days for travellers coming from Spain. This travelling range from Britain to Spain and
vice versa forms a large part of market of BA. This further leads to heavy loss of revenues and
which further created problem of lack of financial support to operations of jumbo jets of airways.
These jets were a significant segment of company, but now had to go under disposal. These both
problems together creates heavy consequences for company (Albers and Rundshagen, 2020).
Lay off plans invites serious confrontation from Trade union Unite which represents BA
cabin crew. They have strong plans to defend their members by moving towards industrial
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action. Company has given a statement mentioning about wiping out effect of coronavirus
pandemic, which will take years to recover. The company is under allegations that BA is seeking
to fire candidates and also looking rehire some employees on less favourable contracts. This
strategy will help them to continue their operations that too on less cost. Though, company has
yet not reacted to this allegation and also there are no consultations between union and company.
Expected recovery is also not yet to be seen in coming times as increasing consumer worries
have made it even more tougher (Amankwah-Amoah, 2020).
Next problem relates with retirement of jumbo jets following impact of COVID-19.
These jets were described as “Queen of skies” due to their classic looks and engineering. This is
due to serious financial impact of the pandemic on airlines. These jets will be broken down for
spares. This will be a serious affair for the company as they were an important part of
organisation. These jets will be replaced by new aircraft that will have 25% better furl efficiency.
This will result in cost saving and better revenue generations for company.
Impact of potential solutions
There is a possibility of adopting various possible solutions by airways in order to
address above mentioned problems. These solutions can have a lasting impact and also prove to
be beneficial for company. Some of the recommended solutions are listed below:
 can go for selling of some shares in order to gain some financial support which can be
used to save essential operations of company. This solution will impact in a positive way
as now company need not to opt for disposal of jumbo jets which is an important part of
history of airways.
 Another solution that is advocated for is crew Covid testing. This will lead to feeling of
safety in both staff members and passengers and in a way can lead to increase of revenue.
The main problem that persists is financial issue which can be solved by this method.
 Next possible solution relates to thereat from Trade union Unite which is in against of
laying off process. Company can opt for furlough employees which means granting
leaves to employees till this pandemic continues (Mayhew and Anand, 2020). After that,
they will be reinstated on same contract terms. This will lead to having satisfaction of
employees that at least they did not lost their jobs. The condition will again come back to
normal when demand and revenues will be reinstate in normal position.
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 Antimicrobial treatment for cabin surfaces can be adopted in order to make aircraft free
from any infection. This will ease travelling and will also make journey fearless. This
disinfectant process in airlines will lead to increased revenues and will also solve other
financial issues (Bas and Sivaprasad, 2020).
 Pro-active engagement of customers can offer a increased revenue source. For example,
offerings like booking overseas vacation of a family in advance for highest value visitors
on site. This will at least provide a promise for future generation of revenue.
 The company can also opt for restructuring scheme which will enable firm to loosen their
debt burden and can go for saving their funds for taking their operations in a better way
during this tough time.
 Adoption of transformational leadership theory can help in inspiring employees to
cooperate with company in this tough time. This will help in satisfaction of employee and
airlines both.
Conclusion
There are several problems faced by British Airways but they are adopting solutions for
these issues those brings a common solution for employee and employer as well. In the given
report, solutions for major problem of lay off and disposal of jumbo jets has been discussed.
Associated possible solutions along with their impact on organisation are discussed in this report.
It is clearly visible from this report that coronavirus have a lasting impact on aviation industry
and its revenues but these can be addressed by adoption of advocated solutions. It is clearly
stated by BA that company may take some years to come out of this hazard. These problems can
only be addressed by good coordination between employees and airways.
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References
Books and Journals
Akbar, Y.H. and Kisilowski, M., 2020. To bargain or not to bargain: Airlines, legitimacy and
nonmarket strategy in a COVID-19 world. Journal of air transport management. 88.
p.101867.
Albers, S. and Rundshagen, V., 2020. European airlines′ strategic responses to the COVID-19
pandemic (January-May, 2020). Journal of air transport management. 87. p.101863.
Amankwah-Amoah, J., 2020. Stepping up and stepping out of COVID-19: New challenges for
environmental sustainability policies in the global airline industry. Journal of Cleaner
Production. 271. p.123000
Bas, T. and Sivaprasad, S., 2020. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis on the Travel
and Tourism Sector: UK Evidence. Available at SSRN 3623404..
Mayhew, K. and Anand, P., 2020. COVID-19 and the UK Labour Market. Oxford Review of
Economic Policy. 36(Supplement_1). pp. S215-S224.
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Reflection report
I feel very overwhelmed that I got a chance to evaluate my initial project on a very
crucial topic in today's competitive environment i.e. business communication. During this study,
I came to know about my strengths and weaknesses relating to subject matter. During this study,
I realised that I possess some of the skills that are actual requirement of good communication and
there are also certain weaknesses in me that I can overcome by working on them in an efficient
manner. My whole study was divided into four weeks.
During first week, my level of learning and feel towards what I learnt was also on
average level. During my studies, I was feeling stressed but at the same time, I was very curious
as I was confronting about new theories everyday. I felt enthusiastic when I started learning
about new lessons. During this week, I learnt about how to present about a topic. Another lesson
of this week relates to exchange of ideas. During this lesson, I understood that for better learning,
I need to frequently visit library so that I can be pro actively prepared for the next project. To
learn about business communication, it is necessary that I m more involved in class and also
mark my presence. I m curious about what I will study in next week and hope that next session
will be more attractive and interactive.
In second week, my learning level was quite good in comparison to last week. My
experience was almost same as last week. During this week, as I was able to well understand the
lessons, therefore, I became more interested and relaxed. I was feeling happy as I was able to
overcome my weaknesses in communication part after learning concepts in this subject. During
this week, I learnt how to prepare a VARK and Belbin questionnaire. I also learnt how to work in
a team with full co operation and coordination. I stimulated these questionnaire on myself to test
their efficiency and effectiveness. I found that I lack quality of blending myself into a social
environment and therefore, for this purpose I need to be more interactive and be more involved
in my team. I try to overcome this weakness of mine by interacting more into group and taking
up intense interactive sessions during this research. I was very happy to be a part of this lesson
and I also learnt many things about myself and skills those I can learn to overcome my
weaknesses. I learnt about different type of questionnaires and also where they will be suitable to
apply. I m very curious to know about leaning objectives of next leaning lessons.
In third week, my leaning level and experience both were on a good level as compared to
last lessons. In this period, I was very engaged in lessons and also involved myself to learn
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better about the concepts. I felt very impressed to know about the effectiveness of business
communication and its effectiveness in business. In this lesson, I learnt how to prepare a personal
action plan and also how to implement it in a effective manner. I understood the technique of
writing reflective report and also its usefulness in a research report. I understood two major
methods of reflective writing and they are Kolb's reflective cycle and Gibbs reflective cycle.
They both are important in reflecting what is actually learnt while doing research. Usefulness of
SWOT and PESTEL analysis was understood and its suitability in evaluating business
environment (internal and external both). I plan to understand and practice reflective writing in
next week so that I can understand its concept in a better way.
In this research, I learnt how to apply SWOT analysis in a case study so that
recommendations for future actions can be made to management of organisation. As next lesson
will be the concluding lesson for this subject, therefore my objective for next week will be to
listen properly an absorb all important instruction carefully. In third period of this subject, I had a
recall of all earlier concept. I made an attempt in learning all concepts in a efficient manner so
that I can perform well in this semester. During this week, I developed a very important skill of
problem solving that I was lacking earlier. This is very important as it helps in identifying and
also planning for solving that problem in an efficient manner.
From the fourth week observation, I come to develop new skills and also come to
improve my existing skills. While conducting this project I come to improve my communication
skills that is I noticed that I can interact with other people in more efficient manner that is able to
understand their viewpoints. I find that communication is the most important factor while
performing operations that is effective communication results in better performance. While
conducting project I sometime feel stressed due to load of work as working in team is difficult
because every person has different point of views and functions in different way. So many time I
get confused regarding work because of different methods and strategies of people that exactly
what I need to do and in which way.
Moreover I get nervous at few points specially at the time of numeric calculations as I am
week in calculations. While doing calculations I get nervous regarding, is I am doing all the
things correctly and I am quite slow in this process due to which other teammates get frustrated.
Moreover I can not take part in the budget related problems and decisions as I requires
time to understand the things and due to that decisions may get delayed. Many time I get
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enthusiastic regarding the ICT operations and how they are implemented in the project work. I
am quite strong in ICT operations that is having good knowledge and understanding of ICT
applications. So, at the time of its implementation I get enthusiastic as I am quite good and
skilled in its operations. Along with all this I come to understand many things that is on the bases
of my observations and operations my experience of learning is quite good and satisfactory.
I get the positive feeling and if I rate myself on the scale from 1-5, I will give myself 5.
And regarding my overall feeling about the studies in general they are quite satisfactory and I get
positive vibes and enjoyed the studies. It didn't feel like it is a burden on me or either I am doing
it forcefully. From the project I come to learn that how to work in team effectively and
efficiently. I get to know and understand how to conduct research and what's the role of research
in the projects and other operations. Moreover I come to learn the presentations that is how to
make good and effective presentation and what key factors need to be consider while making
presentations.
From the study I also get to know that I need to take corrective actions and need to work
hard in order to improve my speech skills as I am good at communication but I get little nervous
when there are many people. Moreover I need to focus on my research skills in order to improve
my performance. And need to get more involved in the decisions process and strategies. From
this study I get to develop and enhance my skills and abilities for my future betterment.
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