Strategic Marketing Plan of Emirates Airlines: Analysis Report

This report presents a strategic marketing plan for Emirates Airlines, evaluating its market position and performance through internal and external analyses. The PESTLE framework and Porter's Five Forces model are used to assess the external environment, while a SWOT analysis integrates both internal and external factors. The report outlines strategic decisions and marketing tactics to address challenges, considering the airline's mission, vision, and competitive landscape. It covers aspects such as the aviation industry's global impact, Emirates's operational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and includes assumptions, objectives, strategic directions, tactics, budget considerations, and implementation strategies. Finally, the report concludes with recommendations for the airline's future marketing endeavors and growth.

Running Head: STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
Executive Summary
The project report outlines the strategic marketing plan for Emirates Airlines. It aims at
analysing the position and performance of the company through external and internal analysis.
The PESTLE Framework is used to analyse the external environment. Porter's five forces model
is also used for environmental analysis. SWOT analysis is formulated using both the internal as
well as external factors. The strategic decisions are discussed along with several marketing
tactics to overcome the challenges faced by the company.

2STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussions......................................................................................................................................4
Audit............................................................................................................................................4
PESTLE Analysis:...................................................................................................................4
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis:.................................................................................................5
SWOT Analysis:......................................................................................................................7
Assumptions................................................................................................................................8
Objectives....................................................................................................................................8
Strategic Direction.......................................................................................................................9
Tactics........................................................................................................................................11
Budget........................................................................................................................................12
Implementation..........................................................................................................................13
Summary....................................................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
Reference:......................................................................................................................................16

3STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
Introduction
The project aims to include the strategic marketing plan of Emirates Airlines in three
years. The report states the external and internal environment in which the company is operating
in the current scenario. It uses the PESTLE analysis to determine the factors that have an impact
on the external environment of the aviation industry as a whole. The Poster’s Five Forces Model
defines real competition within the aviation industry. SWOT Analysis is formulated using
environmental analysis. The report states the marketing mix tool used to evaluate the marketing
objectives in the target market. It highlights the mission and vision of the company to take the
strategic direction. It includes the marketing tactics along with the potential risks and the budget
for the implementation of the strategic plan. The challenges faced along with some
recommendations are also discussed in the report.
Today, the Aviation industry is considered as the essential industries in the world because
it helps in supporting the globalisation and internationalisation for many businesses and
industries spread across the globe. Emirates is the fourth largest airline in the world situated in
Garhoud Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the subsidiary holding of The Emirates Group, a
wholly owned corporation of the government. It was founded in the year 1985. Tim Clark is the
president, and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum is the chairperson and the chief executive
officer of Emirates Airline. The airline has a strong presence in the Middle East region with 3600
flights operating weekly in 85 countries with 161 destinations across six continents from its
airline hub in Dubai (Maceda 2018). The fleet size of Emirate is 254 which consists of the
Airbus A380, Airbus A330neo, Boeing 777 and Boeing 777X (Marvel 2019). Emirates
SkyCargo undertakes cargo activities. Emirates Airline is the fourth largest in terms of carrying
international passengers and the second largest in kilometres flown for freight. It is the fourth

4STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
largest in terms of scheduled revenue flown by the passenger (Airliners.net 2018). The different
countries in which the airline operates the most are the United States, India, the United Kingdom,
Australia and Pakistan. The income generated by this airline was US$ 62 million in 2018 (Lucky
2018).
Discussions
Audit
PESTLE Analysis:
The PESTLE framework helps in accessing the actual performance of the company in the
external environment at a particular time and working strategically for taking quick decision.
These factors are as follows:
a. Political: The aviation industry is easily affected by political changes. Situations such as
the wars or the economic circumstances prevailing in the country. Emirates Airlines is
abode by the rules and regulations of the UAE government and signed agreements with
several countries (Matias 2016). Emergencies such as wars and terrorism may affect the
service not only in the home country but also in the whole world.
b. Environmental: The environmental changes are the primary concern for the airlines'
industry. The sudden change in weather and the climatic conditions affect the service
credibility of the airlines (Do 2017). Hence, strategies need to be followed for excellence
in service. These issues might affect the operations of the airline business. The climatic
conditions in the UAE are warm and dry, so the airlines do not face any environmental
problems in the home country.

5STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
c. Social: The social factors include the taste and demand of the people. These changes will
encourage particular threats and affect the company's service. The different factors
mainly include changes that occur demographically (age, regions. statics of working
employees) and changes in the number of population. Increase in population will lead to
increased airline profits as there will increase the number of people travelling to other
countries (IMF 2018).
d. Technological: Advanced technological innovation is well recognised and widely used
by Airlines. The continuous change in the products and services will help in competing
with other airlines. The latest innovation and trends will attract people, and it will
encourage passengers to use technology integrated services. The security system at the
airport uses the powerful and advanced technology (Sabre.com 2017).
e. Legal: The legal factors include the rules and regulations of the country. The
modification in the statutory factors affects the company's revenue. These airline
regulations and policies will allow the company to be cautious in the local as well as the
international dealings (Shaw 2016). The legal environment will ensure that the journey is
safe and secure for the passengers. It varies from country to country depending on their
laws and policy.
f. Economical: The economic factors affect the demand forecast, capital availability and
the profit margin. The favourable economic condition will help in the growth and
investment in the business for earning the profit. Money is considered an essential source
for the development of modern airports along with the best and well-equipped airports
(Holloway 2017). The UAE government is investing a massive amount of money for the
development of the two main airports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

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Porter’s Five Forces Analysis:
Michael Porter develops Porter's five forces model. It helps in evaluating the market
situation and financial performance of the company and shows whether it is profitable to invest
in the concerned company or not. It is designed to analyse the strategic approach followed by the
competitors in the present scenario. The five forces are as follows:
a. Bargaining Power of Buyers: It ultimately, depends on the price offered for the
services. The buyers wanted to avail the best offerings at the lowest price available
(Arshed and Pancholi 2016). Today, there is a massive competition in the aviation
industry worldwide, and therefore, the consumers have several options to choose from
national or international routes. Therefore, if the requirements such as price and quality
standards of the buyers are not fulfilled, they can easily switch to other aviation services.
Hence, it is high.
b. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: It is high in this airline sector. The aircraft is the main
product of the aviation industry, and only two major companies are manufacturing the
aircraft Airbus and Boeing. For Emirates, they are the prime suppliers and faces high
competition among themselves.
c. The threat of New Entrants: It is low in this airline sector as the entry barriers are high.
It requires a considerable capital investment to purchase the aircraft and enter the airline
sector (Hellgren 2018). Thus, it is difficult for any new players to enter the market and
gain a competitive advantage.
d. The threat of Substitutes: It is high since there are two segments offered by the airline
industry in the travel category such as luxury and economy. There is a considerable price
difference between them, and thus, passengers prefer the economy classes for travelling a

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shorter distance. As a result, this lowers the profit of Emirates, which offers luxury
flights.
e. Competitive Rivalry: It is very high, as there is a large number of flights operating on
the same routes from different airlines. There is competition in the price, services offered
and several offers to increase sales (Doğan, Dilan and Aydın 2019). There are around 37
competing airlines flying in and from Dubai.
SWOT Analysis:
The performance of Emirates Airlines is identified both by internal as well as external
environmental factors. The Strength and the Weakness are the internal factors of the company
whereas the Opportunities and the Threats are the external factors. They are discussed below:
Strength: Thesubstantialg financial help is provided by the Dubai government for increasing the
capital of the Emirates. The strong airline hub in Dubai provides access across Asia and Europe
to Emirates Airlines. Theabundanth presence of oil within the Gulf States, there is a minimum
hassle forthehaircraftt too retrieve oil. It has a strong workforce network of 64,768 employees as
of 2017 withan extensivee presence over 161 destinations in 85 countries (Emirates, 2017).
Weakness: Emirates Airlinesfaces competition withhaa limited share in the global market. The
airlines rely massively on the onward moving traffic internationally (O’Connell and Bueno 2018)
.Thebenchmarkk set for the maintenance of the Emirates Aircrafts is very high due to regular
skills upgrading and continuous innovation.
Opportunities: Airlines should look for opportunities to increase its revenue by operating flights
in new aswell ass anemergingg market in the international routes. By continuous innovation and
in-built advanced technology in the aircraft will enhance consumer awareness about the airline

8STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
(McKenna 2018). It should focus on sourcing new businesses groups and industrial zones to tie-
up for the flight service.
Threats: Therise inn thepricee of the fuel will have an impact on the profit of the airline. There
are competitors such as Fly DubaiWhosee operating cost carrier is low as compared to Emirates
Airlines. The modification in the government rules and regulations can hinder the operations of
the airline (Redpath, O'Connell and Warnock-Smith 2017).
Assumptions
Economic and Political: Assumptions to bemade thattthee economy i sstably as wel las
thepoliticall environment .Theairlines's rules and regulations must be abiding by the government
of the UAE (Wall and Parasie 2018) .Thefavourablee economic condition to forecast demand,
capital availability and profit margin will help in the growth and investment in the business.
Technological: Assumptions to be made oftechnicall feasibility or its rate of success in the
market. Continuous innovation will improve the services in relations to other airlines. Follow the
latest trends to attract the people that will encourage passengers to adopt the new technical
services integrated.
Competitive Factors: Realistic as well as conservative assumptions to be made regarding the
stability of price. Take theamounte that is suitable both for competing and gain profit out of it in
the market.
Customer: Assumptions about the customers’ tastes, preferences, perceptions, needsand
purchasinggbehaviourr requires attention by conducting a survey using the social media
presence. The company has formulated a global marketing strategy for representing itscustomers
attaa global level.

9STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
Resources: Assumptions regarding the availability and engagement of thecriticaly talents of the
airline sector to build healthy relations with the customers should be taken care of.
McKinsey 7S
McKinsey 7S model is being used as an effective tool for managing the organizational
designing process (Mitchell, Fredendall and Cantrell 2015). In the year 1980, the 7s Model was
developed as the popular strategic planning tool that promotes the human resources for driving
the positive organizational performance. Based on the 7 key elements the strategic model has
been introduced in which structure, strategy, skill, staff, systems, style and values are included.
In case of facilitating the organizational changes the7s model plays an important role by bringing
the new strategies (Ravanfar 2015). On the other hand, in case of ensuring the sustainability as
well as positive growth in the company. Analyzing the organizational structure in Emirates, it
has been identified that the company follows hierarchical structure for maintaining its
operational standard. In case of comparing with others organization, it can be said that leadership
practices in the workplace can be considered as the important strength of its infrastructure.
Analyzing the corporate strategy adopted by Emirates, it can be said that the company mainly
focus on targeting the premium customers in the market, however by expanding its target market
cost effective packages have also been provided by the company. In terms of ensuring the
standard quality of services for gaining competitive advantage, highly efficient employees have
been appointed in the company (Cox, Pinfield and Rutter 2019). On the other hand, reducing
turnover rate the company maintains the employment standard policies. Analyzing the
operational system adopted by the company, it cannot be denied that through the rapid
innovation and creativity, the company aims to enhance its customer base. Effective leadership
practices are being considered as the important element in case of ensuring the positive

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organizational culture. In case of Emirates Airline, it can be said that the motivating the
employees in the workplace friendly environment is being maintained in the company.
Examining the value of Emirates, it has been identified that the company aims to provide
standard quality of service to the customers for sharing the wonderful flying experience.
Objectives
1st year strategic plan
 To expand its market by starting flights on new destinations in different countries
2nd year strategic plan
 To ensure the standard quality of service for increasing the sales revenue 5%
 To achieve the return on investment on the market by introducing the low cost carriers
for increasing the market share 3%
3rd year strategic plan
 To bring the innovation and creativity by developing the IT operations for evaluating
customer satisfaction
Strategic Direction
The Emirates Airline is the largest airline in the middle east operating across six
continents (Odeh, Nair and Katz, 2018). The marketing strategy of the airline is explained with
the help of Marketing Mix Model 4P's (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). It tells the different
approaches used by the company that defines its brand image.

11STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN OF EMIRATES AIRLINES
1. Product: The product portfolio of the Emirates airlines comprises of a mixed fleet of
such as the Airbuses and the wide-body aircraft, Boeing. For maintaining its competitive
standards and operational legacy, the company always have the eaeroplaness of the most
significant size. Excellent and consistent services have contributed to the fast
development and income. It caters to its customers both personally and professionally by
providing services at three different level sthatincludes the first class, the business class
and the economy class. The premium level comforts are offered in the first class such as
the adjustable seats can be converted to flat beds, minibars, a storage facility for privacy
as well as a security concern. It is the first airline that provides shower on the flights and
the private suites. It offers separate USB as wel lsaa point for laptop charging. It includes
entertainment option sandaa variety of food items. Itprovidess the housing facilities and
healthcare services to its representatives and staffs (Devasia et al. 2016). Hence, inthis
waya,y it tries to keep both the customers and the representatives satisfied with its
service.
2. Price: The Emirates serves the tickets at the lower costtoo have a competitive advantage
over other airlines, as Dubai is theprimaryr hub between east and west. The pricing
strategy varies in the marketing mix of this airline. I thasassistedtaa reasonable price for
the shorter distance without the layover. With the effective low pricing strategy for direct
and shorter routes, the airline hires staff sataa lower cost that helps in reducing the price
of its fares. The airline also adopts the dynamic pricing for attaining the flexible pricing
strategy for the seats by imposing the highest price for each seat and the gain the
maximum profits out of it. The customer need is identified with several otherneeds