HC1082 Marketing Group Report: British Airways Environmental Analysis

This report provides an analysis of the macro and micro environmental factors affecting British Airways. The macro environmental factors discussed are social factors, focusing on customer price consciousness and the influence of competitor services and discounts, and political factors, highlighting the impact of political stability, bureaucracy, and corruption on airline operations, referencing the Brussels airport terrorist attacks and the Heathrow airport runway debate. The micro environmental factors include competitors, such as Emirates, Etihad, and Singapore Airlines, and their impact on market share and profitability, and customers, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a strong customer base and the impact on the company's goodwill. The report references British Airways' own publications and academic research to support its findings.

British Airways

British Airways
Macro Environmental factors
The two macro environmental factors are:
 Social factor: It has been observed that the major role is played by the people or the
customers who avail the services of the airline sector. The customers are more conscious
about the prices and this factor affect the operations of British airways. In the airline
sector, the customers have the wide choice to select from the different services offered by
the competitors. On the other hand, the customers also look for the value of money that
would help them to offer high quality service and standards at less cost, so they get
attracted towards the other airlines services that provide good value for money. The
customers also get attracted towards the websites that offer higher discounts (British
Airways, 2019). So, by considering all these factors it can be said that it directly impacts
the operations and profits of British Airways as customers have wide choice to select and
there are many competitors present in the market. Political factor: British Airways is one of the largest international airlines that fly in
more than 400 destinations on the global platform. Political stability is considered as
essential aspect that affects the company. The example of British Airways in relation to
this can be of terrorist attacks at Brussels airport in March 2016, which has resulted in the
decline of IAG share price. Presently, the company has also been involved in the political
debate for demanding a third runway at Heathrow airport from the government of UK. ,
In relation to political stability it has been examined that factors such as level of
bureaucracy and corruption impact the airline operations (Catherwood, Finlay and
McLaughlin, 2016).
Micro Environmental factors
The two micro environmental factors are:
 Competitors: The Company has the major threat from the competitors as it is enhancing
in the European market and due to this, the direct impact can be seen on the market share
of the organization in the competitive business world. The competitors are Emirates,
Etihad and Singapore Airlines. In relation to these competitors, some have the low cost
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British Airways
structure in comparison with the British airlines that only target the travelling segment
(British Airways, 2019). So, it can be stated that the competitors are the major factor that
directly affect the overall demand of the services and also impact the profitability of the
organization in the market.
 Customers: In relation to this factor, it can be said that the customers are the assets of the
company and if company fails to maintain large customer’s base then it would be difficult
for the company to attain success. The same applies with British Airlines in which the
customers have the wide choice to select from the range of services offered by other
companies. They have the choice to select the best service at low cost (Karami, 2017).
Therefore, through this the direct affect can be analyzed on the customer’s base of the
company. This also affects the goodwill of the company in the airline sector.
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British Airways
References
British Airways, 2019. About British Airways. [Online] Available at:
https://www.britishairways.com/en-in/information/about-ba?source=BOT_about_ba [Accessed
15 March 2019].
British Airways, 2019. History and heritage. [Online] Available at:
https://www.britishairways.com/en-in/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage [Accessed 15
March 2019].
Catherwood, P.A., Finlay, D.D. and McLaughlin, J.A.D., 2016. Intelligent subcutaneous body
area networks: anticipating implantable devices. IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, 35(3),
pp.73-80.
Karami, A., 2017. Corporate strategy: evidence from British Airways plc. In The Changing
Patterns of Human Resource Management (pp. 46-64). Routledge.
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