The Strategies Taken by British Airways in Crisis Situations - Essay Example

A brief review of the business performance of British Airways is also intended. This will provide an insight into the robustness of the management techniques of the company. To this effect, the growth in revenue over the last few years will be considered.

The paper is structured with a brief profile of the company as an introduction which is followed by descriptions of each of the crises mentioned above. The individual discussions are followed by an analysis that simultaneously considers the effects of the entire crisis taken together. In the end, a suggestion as to what can probably be the best way for British Airways to overcome this crisis and regain its original grandeur is provided.

British Airways is the United Kingdom’s largest international airline which connects more than five hundred airports across the world. It is one of the premium airlines in the world and truly, Britain’s own pride.

The birth of British Airways dates back to the last days of World War I. On 25th August 1919, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited scheduled the first international flight between London and Paris. The journey started from Hounslow Heath (near to the current Heathrow International Airport) with only one passenger aboard. He was accompanied by cargo that constituted mainly of newspapers and cream. This encouraged two more business groups to start their own air services; Instone started flying to Paris and Handley Page started operating in Brussels. However, there were considerable hurdles in front of these new companies in the form of high fares, low passenger count, and poor technical prowess. The high subsidies enjoyed by rival French and Dutch airlines from their respective government added up the problems. These factors induced the new entrants from Britain to shut down their operations.

In 1924, the UK boasted of four airline companies in the form of Instone, Handley Page, The Daimler Airway, and the British Marine Air Navigation Company. The year 1925 saw the merger of these airlines to form Imperial Airways Limited.