Business Strategy & Competitive Advantage of Easy Jet Plc

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Easy Jet Plc's business strategy, employing PESTLE, SWOT, and Porter's Five Forces frameworks to evaluate the company's macro and micro environments. The PESTLE analysis identifies the impact of political factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war, economic factors like inflation, social trends in travel, technological advancements, legal regulations, and environmental concerns on Easy Jet's operations. The SWOT analysis highlights Easy Jet's strengths (strong capital base, extensive destinations), weaknesses (refund issues, limited global reach), opportunities (academic partnerships, European expansion), and threats (competition, reduced trade relations). Porter's Five Forces model assesses the threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, the threat of substitutes, and rivalry among existing competitors. The report concludes with a strategic management plan, relevant theories, and recommendations for improving Easy Jet's competitive edge through innovation and enhanced customer service, emphasizing the importance of adapting to the changing business environment and technological advancements. This resource, along with other solved assignments and past papers, is available on Desklib to support students' academic endeavors.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
TASK-1............................................................................................................................................3
PESTLE analysis of Easy Jet plc.................................................................................................3
Critical analysis of the macro environment.................................................................................4
SWOT analysis of Easy Jet Plc ...................................................................................................5
Critical evaluation of the internal environment...........................................................................6
TASK-2............................................................................................................................................6
Applying Porter five forces model to evaluate competitive forces..............................................6
Appropriate strategies for improving the competitive edge of Easy Jet Plc ...............................8
Critical interpretation of the competitive analysis.......................................................................8
TASK-3............................................................................................................................................8
Strategic Management Plan ........................................................................................................8
Relevant theories with respect to strategic direction.................................................................10
Justification and recommendation of the strategic direction for the Easy jet plc......................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy can be defined as an amalgamation of different types decisions taken
by an organization for the purpose of achieving all the goals and objectives in order to gain a
competitive edge over other brands in the market. The present report is based on the study of
Easy Jet plc which is headquartered in Luton, England, UK. The Easy Jet plc was founded in the
year 1995 by Stelios Haji-loannou . Currently, it has four subsidiaries which are named as, Easy
Jet UK, Easy Jet Europe, Easy Jet Switzerland and Easy Jet Holidays. The present report aims to
conduct a PESTLE analysis and a SWOT analysis for the Easy Jet UK in order to determine the
strengths and weaknesses of the company. It will also include an analysis based on the Porter's 5
forces model in order to determine the level of competition within the market. The present study
represents a strategic management plan for the Easy Jet plc and formulate certain strategies and
objectives which are to be achieved by the organization.
MAIN BODY
TASK-1
PESTLE analysis of Easy Jet plc
The PESTLE analysis is a framework used by organizations in order to determine the
macro environmental factors affecting the business operations of an enterprise. The same has
been conducted for the Easy Jet Plc.
Political factors
One of the major factors which might hamper the growth of Easy Jet Plc while expanding
its operations into different locations include the Ukrainian war. It has been determined that the
relation between the Russia and the United Kingdom are economically good, and they have
several trade links and relations between them (Dawes, 2018). This might not work in the favour
of the Easy Jet plc. Therefore, Russia's invasion of Ukraine can affect the operations of the Easy
Jet plc negatively and restrict the airlines from entering the Ukraine region.
Economic factors
The United Kingdom is connected with Russia for a number of reasons and therefore the
Russia – Ukraine war has affected the economy of United Kingdom. The Ukrainian war has led
to an increase in the inflation rate within the boundaries of United Kingdom. As a result of which
the Easy Jet plc has to increase the price charged by the company from their customers. This

affects the operations and the profitability of the Easy Jet plc as consumers resist travelling
because of high charges.
Social factors
In today's world, there is a slight shift in the mindset of the people as they plan their
weekends and holidays as soon as they get an opportunity and plan their holidays either within
the country or to another nation. This has increased the opportunities for the airline sector as well
as the Easy Jet plc to expand their business within the boundaries of the united Kingdom as well
as extend its operations to various other nations too.
Technological factors
It has been identified that Ukraine was a major provider of technological services all over
the world. There are around 70,000 to 1,00,000 highly qualified workers specifically from the IT
sector (Matrix, and Ansoff, ). However, due to the Russia Ukraine war, the services will be
disrupted. It will affect the technological advancement with respect to the Easy jet plc and will
affect the changes that they have been wanting to implement within their airlines in order to
improve the customer experience and plan to enhance the operating efficiency of the company.
Legal factors
The rules and regulations applicable on the Easy Jet plc changes with a change in the
nation in which it is providing its services. As the Easy jet plc plans to expand its operations
within the outside the European boundaries, the company needs to abide by several rules and
regulations relating to health and safety, employment law, copyrights, patents, consumer
protection and many more legalities (Cleberg, 2019.). This affects the functioning of the business
operations of the Easy Jet plc.
Environment factors
In the recent scenario, the consumers are well aware of the harmful impacts of business
operations on the environment. Therefore, it is important for the Easy Jet plc to keep in mind
certain guidelines before proceeding with growth and expansion strategies in order to attract new
customers and retain the existing ones with the brand.
Critical analysis of the macro environment
 While planing for growth and development of Easy jet plc, one of the major factor that
will hamper the process of growth will be the Russia-Ukraine war. It has been determined

that due to the Ukraine war, the inflation within the United Kingdom has rose which
leads to an increase in the prices charged by the airlines.
 Similarly, the Ukraine war has affected the availability of high skill technological
professionals which could help the company in implementing advanced technology
within their system to enhance their growth and development (Pérez-Lara, and et.al
2020).
 These factors will hep the Easy Jet in determining the areas in which they need
supervision as well as back up in order to carry out further process of growth.
SWOT analysis of Easy Jet Plc
SWOT analysis is a framework which helps organizations in determining their own
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis with regard to Easy Jet plc
is as follows:
Strengths
 The Easy Jet plc is a strong airline company which has a capital base of around 4 billion
pounds.
 The Easy Jet plc is currently providing its services to around 136 destinations and has
expanded its operations to a huge extend (Huderek-Glapska, 2020.).
 The Easy Jet plc has a comparatively low cost of training and development as it uses
single model of aircraft.
Weaknesses
 The Easy Jet plc has faced allegations in relation to refund issues in case of cancelled
flights.
 There are a huge number of airline companies which are providing their services in more
countries as compared to Easy Jet plc.
Opportunities
 The Easy Jet plc can increase their income by introducing academic institutions with
respect to airline training.
 In order to increase the revenue, the Easy Jet plc can expand its operations within Europe.
 With the use of enhanced technology, the customer experience can be improved.
Threats
 Faces tough competition from other airline companies.

 Reduced trade relations within Ukraine due to Ukraine Russia war (Knight, Moen, and
Madsen, 2020.).
Critical evaluation of the internal environment
 The Easy Jet plc can utilize its strong capital base in order to expand its operations
outside the European region excluding Ukraine.
 The allegation on the brand related to the late payment of the refund amount can affect
the brand image of the Easy jet plc in other nations.
TASK-2
Applying Porter five forces model to evaluate competitive forces
Porter five forces model is used to analyse competitive environment of any company
and thus for the Easy jet Plc it is been described as follows:
Threat of new entrants:
In the current times when people are interested in travelling to different places and are
curious in finding new ways of doing things, Easy jet plc has been able to cover the market and
reduce the threat of new entrants through adopting the low cost pricing strategy, reducing the
unnecessary cost of operations and providing the new ways of providing services to the
customers (Mhlanga, 2018). Thus, through all these efforts easy jet does not face much
difficulties while operating in airline sectors. However, if threat of new entrants is higher at
some point of time than firm should try to overcome it through focusing on innovation.
Moreover, it should build economies of scale through finding the new areas of operation
especially after the current Ukrainian war scenario.
Bargaining power of buyers:
All the companies that are operating the business of the travel and leisure are getting the
raw materials from number of suppliers (Easyjet Plc Porter Five Forces Analysis, 2022). Also,
the suppliers of the easy jet are in dominant position and have the power of extracting the higher
prices from the airline. Thus, such type of power reduces the overall profitability of the firm .
However, building the good brand image the firm has the lot of options from the suppliers that
it might avail services form . Hence , through building the efficient supply chain especially in
times like war the firm might be able to maintain the profits as well as dependency of the
suppliers to be part of the airline for longer time period.
Bargaining power of suppliers

It is seen that buyers are usually very demanding and have various needs and wants.
Thus, it is responsibility of the quoted airline to meet the demands so that there is no major
impact on the sales of the business. Furthermore, having the small and powerful customer base
of easy jet means that bargaining power of the customers are higher and they are more
interested in availing various discounts and offers (Isabelle and et.al., 2020). Thus, it creates the
pressure on the airline especially during the times like war where chances of earning profits are
very less. Also, the quoted firm would find difficulties in maintaining the customer loyalty as
there are lot of other airline options that are available in the market.
Threat of substitute
When any new product or service is launched in the market that has the ability to meet
the customers needs in similar way than others than chances are there people would drive at that
product or service. Also, in context of the easy jet plc this factor is medium to high as there
might be cases where any substitute is offering services that has ability of adding additional
attribute to the exiting services that is available in the market (Nataraja and Grantham, 2020).
Furthermore, such type of threats might be overcome by the easy jet plc through focusing on
both product and the service. Also, recently the number of substitutes in the airlines have
increased in the market on large scale as the people interest in travelling have been
increased . Also, customers are keen to spend less on services and avail the best benefits in form
of comfort in the airlines. Thus, monitoring the substitutes operating in the market it would
allow easy jet plc to develop the strategies that are essential or the growth of the business and
sustaining in the market
Rivalry among the existing competitors
There are various big rivalries that are operating airline sector for long period of time.
Moreover, the existence of such rivalries in the market have forced various airline to cut down
the cost and improve the quality of services so that customer loyalty might be maintained for
longer time period (Pavlivna, Yuriiovych and Pavlivna, 2021.). Also, the easy jet operates in
very competitive environment and in situations like war the competition might decrease the
profits of the firm on large scale. Moreover, such rivalries in the existing market are
unpredictable as the new airlines might be able to cover the large market within the short span of
time. Thus, it is essential or the firm to update the current policies of the business so that it
might work according to the changing business environment for longer time.

Appropriate strategies for improving the competitive edge of Easy Jet Plc
Innovation
In order to gain competitive edge and enhance the market position of the easy jet plc, it is
necessary for them to enhance their services by bringing in a touch of innovation in the
technology used and the services provided by the company.
Customer relationship
In order to retain the existing customers with the brand and also attract a range of new customers,
it is essential for the Easy Jet plc to develop strong relations with their customers by providing
them with customized features. This will help the company in attracting new clients.
Acquisition
The Easy Jet plc has the opportunity to expand their operations by using the strategy of
acquisitions in countries which have airlines that are comparatively weaker than the Easy Jet plc.
Critical interpretation of the competitive analysis
 Since, the Easy Jet plc do not face much competition on the grounds of new entrants,
however, with the use of technological innovation, the organization can formulate
strategies to implement innovative change within the operations and the application
provided the company (Stevenson, and Marintseva, 2019). The innovative features can
help the Easy Jet plc in attracting new customers.
 It has been identified that the Easy Jet plc have to spend huge amounts for the purpose of
availing the materials required for carrying out their operational activities. For the same
reasons, the Easy Jet plc should look for other suppliers existing within the country which
can help the airline company in saving their cost and thus, increasing the profitability.
TASK-3
Strategic Management Plan
Aim
To increase the revenue by 30% by implementing certain changes within the Easy Jet plc
and achieve the growth and development within next 3 years.
Objectives
 To increase the revenue by 30% within next three years.
 To bring technological advancement within the airlines.
 To expand the operations of Easy Jet plc globally.

Situational Analysis
With the help of PESTLE analysis, it has been identified that the scenario of Russia
Ukraine war has affected the business operations of the Easy Jet plc within the United kingdom.
The Ukraine war has affected the political environment within the United Kingdom as the Russia
had great political and trade relations with the United Kingdom. This has impacted the Easy Jet
plc by increasing the inflation within the economy of United Kingdom which in turn lead to an
increase in prices charged by the airlines (Tran, 2019.). This increase in the prices has affected
the revenue of the company negatively and also disrupted the implementation of technology
within the organization. This is so, because, Ukraine is one of the leading provider of highly
skilled individuals working in the Information Technology sector. Due to the Ukraine war, it will
be hard for the Easy Jet plc. to avail technology from Ukraine. Moreover, with the help of
SWOT analysis, it has been examined that the Easy Jet plc has strong capital base which can be
used to expand its operations globally and thus, increase the profitability of the Easy Jet Plc.
Strategies
In order to achieve the set objectives, the Easy Jet plc needs to implement certain
strategies, they are as follows:
 In order to increase the revenue of the Easy jet plc, the airline company needs to expand
its operations globally. This will help the company in attracting new customers towards
the brand (Anwar, and et.al , 2022). For the same reasons, the Easy jet plc. Can opt for
acquisition in several nations. With the help of acquisition, the Easy Jet plc will not need
to initiate its business from zero level. They can directly acquire a company that is
already well-established within that region.
 Another strategy that can help the Easy Jet plc in increasing their revenue will be the
implementation of innovation. The Easy Jet plc should try to bring innovation in their
services provided by them. They should influence the minds of customers by using the
tactics of personalized email marketing, launch advertisements which are captivating and
catches the eyes of the customers. Also, the Easy Jet plc should develop certain specific
features onto their applications which attracts the customers and also provide them with
innovative deals. This will help the Easy Jet in achieving their objectives.
Monitoring and evaluation

For the purpose of monitoring and evaluation, the Easy Jet plc needs to implement the
strategy of benchmark index. It is important for the Easy Jet plc to set a baseline. This means
they need to know the position of their brand before implementation of the strategic management
plan (Doyran, 2020). The company needs to constantly review the strategies implemented and
what is the result of implementing those strategies on a monthly basis. If it identified that the
success rate of the plan is low, the management should change the strategies implemented in
order to achieve the set objectives by the company.
Relevant theories with respect to strategic direction
1. Horizontal integration and vertical integration
The horizontal and vertical integration are both a kind of expansion strategies used by
several kinds of organizations in order to achieve growth and development.
Horizontal integration is a type of corporate growth strategy in which organizations opt for
acquisition of other related businesses in order to expand their business operations (Sabar,
Anuar, and Abdullah, 2018). On the other hand, the vertical integration strategy of expansion
involves the Acquiring a vendor, a producer, distributor or any other related firm falling under
the same category.
2. Ansoff matrix
The ansoff matrix can be explained as a tactical tool which provides the organizations
with four different kinds of strategic directions. The organization needs to choose the directions
which they want to take in order to successfully grow their business organization. The four
strategies of ansoff matrix are as follows:
Market penetration
The market penetration strategy refers to selling of existing products to the existing
markets. It is one of the least risky strategy of expansion (Lee, Hoehn‐Weiss, and Karim,
2021.). Under this strategy, the organization tries to influence the existing customers with the use
of advertisements and discounts. The organizations also try to pull the customers away from its
competitors and lastly, the organizations try to convert the potential customers into the actual
customers.
Market development
The strategy of market development involves selling of existing products to the new
markets. The new markets that the organization is planning to explore can be domestic or

foreign. Before proceeding with the process of expansion into new markets, the organization
must conduct a market research including the macro environment, market segment, customer
profile, the size of the market, the level of competition and the ways available for distribution in
order to be successful in the new markets.
Product development
The product development strategy involves selling of new products within the existing
market (Mohandoss, and Muthuraman, 2019). Before proceeding with the introduction of new
product, it is important to conduct research in order to determine the needs of the consumers.
This minimizes the risk of failure.
Diversification
The diversification strategy involves selling of new products to new markets. The is one
of the most risky approach to expansion.
3. Porter's Generic Model
According to the Porter's Generic Model, they are four strategies of growth and
development. They have been mentioned below:
Cost leadership strategy
The strategy of cost leadership focuses on the cost-cutting of the company in order to
achieve the desired growth and development for the organization. It includes a proper analysis of
how the company is going to avail the product as a reduced price, how will the quality of the
service will be maintained, and how the profits will be used for further growth.
Differentiation strategy
The differentiation strategy has its focus on providing those products and services to its
customers which are different from what is offered by its competitors.
Cost focus strategy
The cost focus strategy is an advanced version of the cost leadership strategy. This
strategy focuses on reducing the cost of the company and mastering the brand position in the
particular industry.
Differentiation focus strategy
The differentiation focus strategy is an evolved version of the differentiation strategy in
which an organization wants to be recognized and receive competitive advantage by providing
the customers with diversification.

Justification and recommendation of the strategic direction for the Easy jet plc.
 The most suitable strategy from horizontal and vertical integration for the purpose of
expanding the business operations of Easy Jet plc would be the strategy of horizontal
integration. It will help the Easy jet plc in expanding its business operations, creating
economies of scale, reducing competition, expansion of market and an increase in the
market share of the company (Gupta, Gupta, and Gupta, 2019). The Easy Jet plc can
acquire airlines within the European region as well as outside the boundaries of the
Kingdom. However, the Easy Jet plc. Will find it difficult to plan expansion in certain
countries due to scenario of Ukrainian war.
 By analysing the ansoff matrix, it can be stated that the best suited approach for the
growth and expansion of the Easy Jet plc would be the strategy of product development
and market development. The strategy of product development can help the Easy Jet
plc in introducing Educational Institution of Airlines within the existing market and the
strategy of market development can help the company in introducing the existing services
into the new markets. This will help the company in expanding its business operations
and increasing its profitability too. However, introducing new products in the existing
market and introducing the same product in the new market requires a huge capital and
investment. Therefore, the Easy Jet plc. Will need to plan the resources before proceeding
with expansion.
 According to the Porter's Generic Model, Easy Jet plc should opt for the strategy of cost
leadership for the purpose of its growth and development (Islami, Mustafa, and
Topuzovska Latkovikj, 2020. ). The cost-cutting will help the company in determining
those areas which are increasing the cost of the company and will influence the
organization to minimize it as much as possible. The Easy Jet can increase the
profitability by minimizing the use of human resource and implement the use of
technology and automation for most of the business processes.
CONCLUSION
The present report is based on the development of strategies which could help the Easy
Jet plc to expand its operations globally for the purpose of achieving growth and development.
The study includes a PESTLE analysis and a SWOT analysis in order to determine the macro
environment of the Easy jet plc. The current study also discusses various strategies available to