Airline Industry: British Airways SWOT & Competitive Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of British Airways, a leading airline in the United Kingdom, examining its background, target customers, core markets, key competitors, and main sources of competitive advantage. The report includes a SWOT analysis, identifying the company's strengths, such as its wide market presence and strong brand image, and weaknesses, including its over-dependency on the UK market and employee union issues. Opportunities for British Airways include developing new routes in emerging economies and enhancing demand through alliances and code sharing. The report also addresses threats such as increasing competition, rising fuel costs, and changing government regulations. The analysis uses references to support its findings and provides a detailed overview of British Airways' strategic position in the airline industry.

British Airways

British Airways
Table of Contents
BRITISH AIRWAYS BACKGROUND.....................................................................................................2
SWOT ANAYSIS OF BRITISH AIRWAYS..............................................................................................2
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British Airways
BRITISH AIRWAYS BACKGROUND
British Airways is the second biggest company in the United Kingdom. Headquarter of the
company is near Heathrow Airport in London. The Mission statement of the company is “One
destination seeks to ensure our customers to fly confident together and we take care of the world
in which we live”. British Airways was established on 1st September 1974 in United Kingdom. It
was formed by the merger of the four airlines which were British Oversea Airlines Corporation,
British European Airways, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines. It has been observed that
British Airways target the customers of high and middle class group (British Airways, 2019).
The competitors of the company are Easy-Jet, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Airlines, United Airlines
and American Airlines. The main aim of the company is to offer “Quality flights to the
individuals”. The company provides the services in more than 133 countries and their core
markets are Asia and UK. It has been seen that the competitive advantage is maintained by
offering quality services at low price in the highly competitive market. The services quality
which is offered by the company focuses on boosting the satisfaction level of the customers so
that it could be easy to grab the large market share. The tagline of the company is “The motto to
Fly”. In the present scenario, the company focuses on offering low price services to the
customers so that it could be easy to attain growth in the highly competitive market. The
subsidiaries of the company are Comair, BA City Flyer, Open Skies and IAG Cargo. The parent
company is International Airlines Group and also the hubs of the company are situated in
Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport (British Airways, 2019).
The British Airways Heritage collection is present since the formation of the British Airways. It
is created to preserve the data of the British Airways predecessor organizations such as BOAC,
BEA, BSAA and also the pre war imperial Airways limited. The British Airways heritage center
is located in the Waterside corporate which in which the volunteers who dedication level is high
have built the collection (British Airways, 2019).
SWOT ANAYSIS OF BRITISH AIRWAYS
SWOT ANALYSIS is one of the strategic analytical tools that help to facilitate the overall
analysis in relation to strength, weakness, opportunities and threats.
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British Airways
(SOURCE: ICON, 2019).
 STRENGTH
It has been examined that BRITISH AIRWAYS flies in more than 400 destinations and one of
the strength is related with the wide market presence on the global platform. The airline also has
the strong brand image in the market. In 2016, the company was awarded as the consumer super
brands. In 2015, the company was declared as the short haul and long haul airline by THE
SUNDAY TIMES and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. The company has a good image among the
customers through which it is now easy for the company to attain the large market share. The the
company is considered as biggest international scheduled airline and it is the world’s leading
global premium airlines on the global platform. So, it can be stated that the company has
established itself as the brand on which the customers can easily trust and also they have faith
towards the activities offered by the company (Bhasin, 2017).
 Weakness
The weakness that is analyzed in context to BRITISH AIRWAYS is over dependency on the UK
market. It is examined that half of the revenue is generated in UK and 81% of the revenues are
generated in UK and US. So, in the present scenario the company can be considered as highly
vulnerable in relation to the market slowdown. The next weakness related with BRITISH
AIRWAYS is employee unions (Mayer, Ryley and Gillingwater, 2015). The company has a
large unionized workforce. On the basis of that the collective bargaining is considered on the
regular basis and the break down in the process of bargaining can impact the activities of the
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British Airways
company in a negative way. So, it can be said that the continuous focuses on the employment
costs has enhanced the risk in the particular area. Although company has a global presence in the
market with the help of their subsidiaries but there are under penetration in the globalized market
such as in China and India. The reason behind it is related with the high potential market that
enhances the disposable income and also affects the changing lifestyles of the individuals
(British Airways, 2019).
 Opportunities
In the emerging economies the airline industry has the opportunity to develop the new routes
which will help to boost the market share of the company in the competitive market. Also, the
company can enhance the demand of the services as the company has the opportunity to
emphasize on travelers and consumer groups. The demand can be enhanced as HEATHROW
TERMINAL is a major hub of the company and the BRITISH AIRWAYS has a presence in the
market, so they have the opportunity to enhance their activities to the newer territories and
regions. Alliance and code sharing can help to boost the market share of the company. This can
help in building the customer relations and also the company can grab the large
market(Catherwood, Finlay and McLaughlin, 2016).
 Threats
One of the major threats is related with the increasing competition in the European market and it
is affecting the market share of the company in the competitive market. The competitors are Air
India, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Air France and Etihad Airways. There are also some
competitors who have the cost structures that are less as compared to the British Airline targeting
budget for the travelling segment. Also the rise in the fuel cost can minimize the profits margins
of the company with the rise in the labor costs. The threat is also due to the changing regulations
of the government which is affecting the long term strategy of the company. So, it is important
for the British Airways to minimize the threats so that growth can be attained in the highly
competitive market (Karami, 2017).
References
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Bhasin,.H, 2017.SWOT ANALYSIS. [Online] Available at: https://www.marketing91.com/swot-
analysis-of-british-airways/ [Accessed 15 March 2019].
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.
ICON, 2019. Goal Setting, S.M.A.R.T Principles & SWOT Analysis. [Online] Available at:
https://www.iconnutrition.com/blog/goal-setting-s-m-a-r-t-principles-swot-analysis/ [Accessed
15 March 2019].
Karami, A., 2017. Corporate strategy: evidence from British Airways plc. In The Changing
Patterns of Human Resource Management (pp. 46-64). Routledge.
Mayer, R., Ryley, T. and Gillingwater, D., 2015. Eco-positioning of airlines: Perception versus
actual performance. Journal of Air Transport Management, 44, pp.82-89.
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