EasyJet Airline Company Limited Essay

liteJet Airline Comp both Limited (easyJet) is a rugged-f ar skyway comp either found at capital of the United Kingdom Luton Airport. easyJet is star of Europes largest diminished-f ar denudatelines and operates domestic and transnational scheduled utilitys. easyJet flies on 307 different routes to 80 different European cities. easyJet has a Type A Operating License from the United landed estate Civil Aviation Authority allowing it to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. (Wikipedia, 2007)EasyJets stemma sit down and parley course of study copys that of the Ameri brook based souwest Airlines which has aided easyJets exploitation all over the stretch forth ten years. asyJet was founded by Stelios Haji-loannou on October 18, 1995 and began operating on November 10, 1995 with devil Boeing737-200 aircraft leased from the Independent Aviation Group Limited. In the beginning easyJet only(prenominal) flew from capital of the United Kingdo m Luton Airport to Glasgow and Edinburgh. In 1998, easyJet purchased a 40% stake in TEA Switzerland. By 1999, easyJet had over three million passengers and was traded on the London Stock Ex reposition in October 2000. In 2002, easyJet acquired Go Fly, a London based air lane, and in December 2003 easyJet opened a natural hub in Berlin, Germany at Schonefeld Airport.In May 2004 easyJet emergenced its service from ii routes to xi routes. In 2004, FL Group began purchasing stock in easyJet and a narrative of a coup detat ensued. However, by 2006 FL Group sold its shares in easyJet and the takeover never occurred. In November 2005, easyJet CEO Ray Webster stepped down and was replaced by Andy Harrison. under the leadership of Andy Harrison, easyJet expanded its fleet to 122 aircrafts, 262 routes, and 74 aerodromes in 21 countries. In 2007, easyJet reported carrying over 37 million passengers. asyJets success bath be attri scarceed in large part due to its website and internet p resence. amongst 1995 and 1997 easyJet reservations could be made only via the telephone. Travel agents would non book easyJet reservations beca employment they would not receive a commission. In 1997, easyJet nonplused a website in enjoin to take reservations, and bookings skyrocketed by over 98% in 7 years. Easy Brand The confabulation theory culture of easyJet begins with the founder, Stelios Haji-loannou. easyJet and the easy brand are devil separate entities. asyJet is owned by EasyJet Airline Company Limited whose largest shareholder is Haji-loannou.Haji-loannou is also the sole owner of the easy. Haji-loannou licenses his easy brand to his airline as intimately as to other easyGroup green goddesss. easyGroup corps pay a fee to Haji-loannou for the intention of the name. However, easyJet does not have to pay to use the easy brand name. This musical arrangement and chat style is important because if a company tries to initiate any character reference of hostile t akeover, the easy brand would be protected.This arrangement displays the type of protection, culture, and loyalty Haji-loannou has in his company. southwestern United States Airlines easyJet has aimed its culture of communicating to mimic that of Ameri fundament based southwestern Airlines. Both easyJet and Southwest Airlines are low-fare airlines. Southwest Airlines is the largest airline in the United States and the second largest airline in the adult male by number of passengers carried (Wikipedia, 2007). Southwest began its operations in 1967 and flew to three cities. In the early 1970s, Southwest face up some financial turmoil.Similar to the issues faced by easyJet, Southwest was searching for a way for consumers to book low fare flights directly with the airline. In 1995, Southwest launched its website allowing consumers to book flights directly without the use of a travel agent. Southwest maintains its personal communication theory with its consumers by only allowing it s tickets to be sold on its website and not through any var. of travel agent or travel site. Southwest also allows customers to change reservations without superfluous addresss, however it does not allow passengers akin day secondary travel on a different flight without paying for an upgrade. opus this may seem harsh to those passengers who need a standby ticket, it drastically reduces the number of passengers who lose their seats due to standby passengers. Another take Southwest offers its passengers is to allow them to bring three pieces of luggage to check in instead of two like most airlines. Even though the aircrafts that Southwest operates are not as comfortable as other airlines, the additional amenities and low-fares have paid off. The United States Department of Transportation class-conscious Southwest Airlines as the number one passenger preferred airline for 2006.Chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher believes its as primary as seeking out exception al employees, treating them with respect, and giving them the latitude and encouragement necessary to do their jobs infract than anyone k crude possible (Stodder, 1997). Excellent communication with customers starts at the executive level and from indoors the corporate culture. If communication is effective within a stack that culture of communication can be transfer down to the customer.Execution of a Communication systemBy chase Southwest Airlines example, easyJet has employed a solid communications dodging with its customers. The majority of businesses in the world today neglect The population Process (Bossidy and Charan 141). In their book, Execution, Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan discuss how to create a schema of execution in order to create a successful business that focuses on the people and having the right people in the right places. A robust people process does three things. It evaluates individuals accurately and in depth.It provides a framework for identifying a nd developing the leadership talent-at all levels and of all kinds-the organization impart need to execute its strategies down the road. And it fills the leadership pipeline thats the prat for a strong succession plan (Bossidy and Charan 141). In order to develop a successful communications establishment, a good leader require to consider the people/employees who get out have to execute this system. easyJet takes reservations directly from its consumers via its website. When hiring employees, easyJet mustiness ensure that these employees have the skills necessary to work within this type of communication culture.Every easyJet employee postulate to be aware of the communication culture and schema maintained by the mass in order to deliver that same style of communication to the customer. Rewards and Recognitions Due to easyJets communication culture and scheme it is one of the most frequently cited examples of a mainstream company which has exploited the skid from multi -layer distribution to direct business to consumer transactions. easyJet is a forward thinking corporation and as such launched its direct to consumer website prior to the mass adoption of the Internet.This market outline catapulted easyJet into a top market position in its industry. In June 2006, easyJets website was awarded the Best Airline Website Award by TravelMole Web Awards beat out rivals including British Airways. The judges stated that the website was user-friendly and pleasing to the eye. aim and Future Growth Even though the airline industry has experient a decline, low-fare airlines have created a new growth market. easyJet has an extensive fortune to deal growing within this growth market.There are quaternity main types of changes for growth markets Disruptive innovation, application innovation, product innovation, and plat get innovation (Moore 74) In order for easyJet to maintain its market position, it must introduce one of these methods of innovation or i t will fail to keep up with the endure of the industry. Disruptive Innovation correlates with the early market figure of the technology-adoption life daily round (Moore 74). The low-fare airline industry has been around for a long time, but new technologies and global affairs have paved the way for a new type of market within this industry.There are two types of riotous innovations one that favors complex-systems models and one that favors volume operations (Moore 75). Like its American mentor, Southwest Airlines, easyJet should focus on economizing on every process and function of trail a successful airline. Southwest Airlines redesigned its corporation and earningsed market capitalization that is able to the sum of all of its competitors combined (Moore 80). easyJet needs to analyze its employee compensation, pricing, reservation procedures, equipment, and airport selection to ensure that it can keep up with future changes and growth within its market. asyJet has already st arted the process of innovation by hiring Site authority to monitor its website.According to an article published by M2 Presswire in kinfolk 2006 The 24/7 monitoring service will ensure that easyJet customers can book tickets without the threat of downtime, outages or slow download speeds. This new system has produced results for easyJet. According to Airline Industry Information easyJet reported an 11. 2% increase in passenger numbers for November 2006 as compared to November 2005. Obstacles easyJet Has Had to Overcome asyJet faced an barrier in 2006 by not abiding by EU-Law 261/2004 which states that passengers had the right to be reimbursed for the price of their tickets within one week due to airline cancellation. easyJet had trouble refunding the tickets within the one week period. Effective communication by easyJet unploughed passengers at ease in the long run, and the passenger numbers move to climb despite this obstacle. easyJet, although not the first gear low-fare a irline or the first largest low-fare airline in Europe, paved the way for the boom in low-fare air travel at the turn of the century.Due to this luxuriously stake in market share, easyJet has been accused of contributing to global warming through the high carbon emissions of their aircrafts. The European Low Fares Airline Association has teamed with easyJet and other low fare airlines to argue that these airlines operate more fuel- businesslike aircraft than most full service airlines, and that the point to point services offered by these low-fare airlines also use little fuel. However, the low-fares offered by these airlines have caused an increase in air traffic which has resulted in a negative effect on the milieu. asyJet and other low-fare airlines have a policy of only operating new aircraft that produce lower emissions and are more environmentally friendly (with the exception of easyJets initial two aircraft).In order to overcome this obstacle, easyJet has been communicatin g with aircraft manufacturers to design more eco-friendly aircraft, and has level(p) unveiled their own eco-friendly aircraft design. Future Eco-Friendly Aircrafts Across the globe nations are concern with developing renewable energy sources that are more environmentally friendly. easyJet is no exception.As easyJet work outs ahead into the new millennium, it will face having to replace or redesign its catamenia fleet to be eco-friendly. According to Flight day-after-day News, Harrison is continuing to push Airbus and Boeing to produce eco-friendly aircrafts. easyJet has unveiled its own design for an eco-friendly aircraft that utilizes vivacious technologies that could halve carbon dioxide emissions and produce 75% less NOx by 2015. Biofuel technology has been proposed as a current solution, but Harrison expressed his doubts near the use of biofuel technology at the World Low Cost Airlines intercourse (Kaminski-Morrow, 2007).The Alternative Fuels And Biofuels for Aircraft De velopment (Alfa-bird) project will investigate the economical mental process and industrial consequences of switching from todays kerosene-based fuels to biofuels and other alternatives. Based on the results a strategy for these fuels will be defined along with an writ of execution plan. Due to issues with biomass supply for biofuels, synthetic fuels are probably a better solution, the consortiums proposal papers state.Current jet engine fuel efficiency is viewed as near-optimal, while air traffic is change magnitude at a rate of 4% a year, leading to any future efficiency-related fuel savings being consumed by the growth, the consortium says (Coppinger, 2007). Harrison agrees that biofuels are not an optimal alternative at this point, but did state that he is not against biofuel technology (Kaminski-Morrow, 2007). Developing eco-friendly aircrafts will be an obstacle that easyJet will have to overcome, as well as trying to replace their current fleet.EasyJet needs to work in c onjunction with Alfa-bird in order to develop these new technologies and maintain their market position in the future. However, during this initial phase of development, easyJet and Harrison need to remember to utilize the communication style they utilize with their customers, be available and simple to understand and use. Dismissing any sort of proper communication while developing new technologies can change a corporations communication culture very quickly, even though it does not directly relate to communications with the customer.Developing a Communications Strategy In order to develop a communications strategy that can be integrated into the strategic provision process for the corporation, easyJet must root what type of strategy to use. There are ten different types of strategy development (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, Lampel, 1998)1) The flesh school day 2) The intend cultivate 3) The Positioning School 4) The Entrepreneurial School 5) The Cognitive School 6) The Learning Scho ol 7) The motive School 8) The Cultural School 9) The Environmental School and 10) The Configuration School. asyJet needs build on its current communications strategy by applying principles from the invent School, the mean School, and the Configuration School. The aim School utilizes a step by step model for strategic communications planning. To begin the communications planning process, easyJet must do an internal and foreign judgement in the form of a SWOT Analysis. A SWOT Analysis lists the internal strengths and weaknesses, and the external opportunities and threats of a corporation. Based on the SWOT Analysis, easyJet can determine the corporations distinctive competencies and key success factors.This information is used to build up the communication strategy. The sole architect for the strategic plan, according to the Design School, is the headland Executive Officer (CEO). Harrison must approve the nett communication strategy, but should receive input from the strateg ic planning team. By developing the communication strategy as a team, easyJet will also use aspects of the homework School. The Planning School adopts the majority of the premises from the Design School. The Planning School uses an internal and external audit stage, which consists of a SWOT Analysis.The CEO gives the final approval for the communications strategy however, he is not the sole architect. The Planning School provides for a team of strategists to develop the communications strategy. According to the Design School, in order to evaluate and choose the most effective and efficient communications strategy, the following framework should be used. This framework was developed by Dr. Richard Rumelt, DBA from the Harvard General Management group and professor at UCLA School of Management. The military rank process, according to Rumelt, consists of a series of tests (explained in the form of questions).Is the communications strategy consistent with the goals and policies of the corporation? Does the communications strategy adapt to the external environment? Does the communications strategy provide for a competitive advantage? Does the communications strategy overuse available resources or create unsolvable problems? The last step in the communications strategy planning process, within the Design School, is to experience the plan. Implementation of the communications strategy will include educating the managers intricate as well as the employees of the plans details.The plan should be simple and in stately, just like the process of developing it. Managers and employees should be given up a step by step guide on how to implement the strategy. The Planning School differs from the Design School in that it implements a formal step by step process for executing the plan. easyJet following the Planning School model should schedule each step of implementation by a specific date. In order to develop a communications strategy that can adapt to the global economy easyJet should also incorporate the six main premises of the Configuration School.The key ingredient is for the corporation to sustain stability or at least adaptable strategic change most of the time, but periodically recognize the need for shift and be able to manage that disruptive process without destroying the organization. easyJet must be cautious not to incorporate the Power School into its communications strategy so much so that it allows a political agenda to tump over the main goals and vision of the corporation. Harrison must not allow the communications strategy planning process to become a process of bargaining and agree among conflicting political groups and individuals.Utilizing this school of thought in planning a communications strategy can alienate customers and bring about unsuitable conflict. easyJet must remain cognoscente of the environmental concerns its customers may have regarding its aircraft. However, pushing an unwanted political agenda can drive customers away. Recommendations and Conclusions easyJet started off in the airline industry slow, but by adopting Southwest Airlines model of communication, easyJet was able to become the market leader in low cost air fare in Europe.In order to keep up with technology, easyJet developed a website allowing customers to book reservations directly from the company without having to use a travel agent or pay a commission to a travel agent. To maintain that website easyJet hired European based Site dominance to provide 24/7 support which resulted in an 11. 2% gain in passenger numbers a month later. Each of these strategies has allowed easyJet to forge ahead and stay one step in front of their competition. In order to remain a front runner in the market, easyJet must continue to utilize its communication style with customers, employees, suppliers, and political leaders.When developing a communications strategy for the future, easyJet must complete and internal and external appraisal in order to tailor the plan to the current trends and the desires of its customers. easyJet should develop a strategic planning team to develop a communications strategy and implement an employee educational program. If easyJets employees are unaware of its communication strategy and culture, its customers will also be unaware of its communications strategy and culture. asyJet should continue to invest in research and development for new eco-friendly technologies as well as encourage its aircraft suppliers to follow suit. However, Harrison must remember to utilize the communication culture of the corporation at all times as a representative of easyJet and not let the Power School of planning impose easyJets communications strategy. If easyJet can maintain and improve its current communications strategy then passengers will continue to want to come fell with us.