Marketing plan for british airways short haul flights - Coursework Example

This highlights the need for business organizations to induce greater efficiency in their business process. The present study would focus upon the marketing strategies of British Airways with regards to short haul flights. The choice of the topic assumes significance considering that short haul flights constitute an important part of the business areas for the organization. The following sections would conduct an analysis of the marketing strategies of the firm that would help it to achieve success in the particular business segment.

Market Analysis The recent economic crisis had imposed a very crucial blow to the business prospects of the participants of the airline industry. The dip in the levels of disposable income coupled with cost cutting measures taken by business organizations had a heavy impact on the revenue and profit margins of the participants of the airline industry in UK. A report published by the House of Commons in UK states that an approximate 225 million individual passengers and 2 million tonnes worth of goods used the aerial route for transportation.

The report also shows comeback signs for the industry as it expect the industry to grow by approximately twice its present market value by 2030. The report also foresees plans for expansion of airports including the construction of a third runway at London Heathrow airport. The report also states the domestic passengers in UK are increasingly resorting to air travel due to the falling fares of the airlines (House of Commons, 2010, p.3). Low cost airlines are also emerging as a threat to British airways by virtue of their competitive pricing strategy.

Customer Analysis Customers are the most important stakeholders for an organization. This is particularly more evident for organizations like British Airways whose business market is flooded with competitors. This makes it essential to formulate strategies so as to gain market advantage. In case of airline industry the consumer purchase decision is based on aspects like pricing which is one of the most important aspects that are considered by customers for making a purchase decision. In addition to this some other factors to be considered by the customers include loyalty programs, effective schedule of timings, comfort and ambience, safety and security, type of aircraft etc (refer annexure 1 for details) (Williams, 2008, p.19). Low cost carriers have become a major market player for the short haul segment, which is mostly because of the low fares offered by the airlines.

However the low cost carriers score low on their ability to efficiently handle the operations. This represents a gap in the product offering and customer desires which could be effectively tapped by full time carriers like British Airways to gain market advantage. Marketing Objectives The marketing strategy of British Airways for a three year period would be based on the following objectives. These objectives would encompass customers, employees, performance, partnerships and service excellence.

The main objective of the firm would be to gain market share by providing extremely high levels of service quality and ensuring greater efficiency in operations. The focus of the firm with regards to short haul flights