Based on the book when there are competitive markets such as airlines, a company certainly needs to look at costs and revenue very closely. (Brickley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009, p. 180) In this case I believe that the flights from San Francisco t Washington DC should be discontinued. Even though United Airlines is a large company and profitable if they continue these flights in the long run they will lose money. The other option that they would have would be to increase the fares to cover those costs, but since the airline industry is a competitive market people are more likely to go with a lower cost airline. The first thing the airline must do is look at the firm supply.
High cost of entry into industry Potential Competitors: Low - Rivalry among existing firms is intense, which affect the profits to be low. It¡¦s unattractive to the potential competitors. - High initial investments and fixed costs such as lease a fleet of safe and reliable aircraft, negotiate reasonable gate access and landing fees as well as high labor and fuel costs. - There are the price competitions in the airline industry, which some major airlines offer the low-price fares that is very difficult for new entrants to gain enough profit to cover the investment and fix cost in this industry. Rivalry among Existing Firms: High - Currently, there are many major airlines such as Delta, United and American that exist in the same market as Jet Blue.
They don’t have efficient control system that can oversee from designing and planning to manufacturing along with suppliers. For example, Dreamliner was aimed to reduce the financial risks involved in a $10 billion-plus project for designing and developing a new aircraft and reduce the new product development cycle time. But with the trouble getting enough permanent titanium fasteners, Boeing has to highly dependent on a few suppliers. This will inevitably increase cost. With bad communication, various manufacturers can’t design a proper software program for test the nose
Based on the summary table provided in the text book – the first thing that jumps out is how disproportionate the labor volume/number of employees is to the number of aircraft that the company has. The company has to make some tough decisions in streamlining the labor force to reduce the cost of labor and make itself more competitive with its peers in an industry where competition is stiff at the least. In addition to this the idea that they will be using more regional jets e.g. Mesa Air in medium markets may help alleviate operating costs that are also currently very high. US Airways may also want to look into the option of merging/working with one of the more successful low cost carriers as a strategic partnership 2.
In JetBlue case, the current economy situation creates high market entry barriers, which consists extremely high fixed cost and numerous capital requirement. Moreover, the potential and existing competitors affect the industry has a low profit margin, and it is difficult for new entrances to differentiate their products and services from competitors. The bargaining power of supplier is high. The key inputs for the airline industry are the fuel and aircrafts. Boeing and Airbus dominate the aircraft manufacturing industry.
Making travel to these areas much more expensive than what is really necessary. Quite possibly making the cost to these areas for travelers so much more expensive than most would be willing to pay. This could just be a ploy for the airline to stop this flight service from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. because they are in fact not making enough to cover the fuel and crew costs for these flights. Rather than announce the cancellation of this service themselves, they could be feeding information to the WSJ to help get the word out that they plan to stop this service in the near future. And this article is helping them to plant that seed.
SWOT analysis: Toucon Collection’s strength is that consumer can trust their products. To avoid being cheated by amateurs and fly-by-night sellers, consumers desire to find a big company which could ensure them a quality, authentic products. Toucon Collection has supply problems recent years in collecting certain volume of replica products. The reason is both the rapidly increased competition and the strict governments not allowing exportation of certain artifacts because of their “national significance”. SWOT Matrix for Toucon Collection Inc. Case Selected Internal Factors Representative Selected External Factors Representative Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats Management Experienced and observant sales manager Lack of management depth Competition Toucon has Long history and provide high quality products Amateurs and fly to night competitors Marketing Target is strong Highly limited distribution Consumer trends customers need a company they can trust Lack of products to satisfy consumers’ demand Manufacturing
Highly competitive industry 2. Unsuccessful implantation of growth strategy 3. The hiring of competent staff who maintain the culture of JetBlue JetBlue’s strategy of maintain customer excellence and providing needed low cost service is a definite way to stay up above the competition, customers want a low cost airline that gives them what they need in terms of pricing as well as destination. JetBlue, will be in a position of failure if a growth strategy is not in place to increase capital and foresee methods in which to cover debt and make a profit “ Achieving our growth strategy is critical in order for our business to achieve economies of scale and to sustain or increase our profitability” (JetBlue,2004) Gating is an important issue that must be looked at, due to the fact it could limit their sales “We will also need to obtain additional gates at some of our existing destinations. Any condition that would deny, limit or delay our access to airports we seek to serve in the future will constrain our ability to grow” (JetBlue, 2004).
Should Britain expand its airports to meet the needs of a Globalised World? In a globalised world, cross-cultural travel has become an apparent trend amongst individuals from all over the world whether for business purposes or for leisure. However, if there is one certainty it is that airplanes have become the number one transportation option for many who wish to travel from country to country. Nevertheless, in this essay it will be argued that Britain should not expand it’s airports to meet the needs of a globalised world because of the destruction it would cause to the environment; only corporations benefit from it; Finally, Britain’s main priority should be it’s citizens. The aircraft option for travelling is one of the most popular forms of transportation available in Britain, with cheap holiday packages indulging many locals, as well as Heathrow Airport being a stopping ground for over 32.8 million overseas visitors in 2007.
Recent debates and news concerning air travel has created a deep-seated fear of this mode of transport, and more and more people are being made aware of the consequences of having firm airport security. Busy and popular airports and international airlines try to come up with the best measures to make sure that air travel is safe and reliable as well as quick and convenient, but people still have solid reservations and opinions about this modern day concern. There was a time when security checks at airports were merely a formality. Metal detecting equipment and body searches were minimal and people didn’t need to worry about their right to privacy, and more specifically, being asked to take their clothes of during their travels. Airports were not security-free but at the same time they did not feel like entrances to maximum security prisons.