7ps of Airline

LALA LAjpatrai College expression duct INDUSTRY SERVICE SECTOR MANAGEMENT INDEX Table of Content Pg.No Chapter 1 launching 3 Importance 4 Presence Scenario 5 Classification & Types 6 Advantages 8 Chapter 2 cuss Analysis The Indian respiratory tract Industry 10 Five product levels 15 Chapter 3 4 Ps 17 Chapter 4 Ex escapeed merchandising Mix 24 Chapter 5 naval division 29 Chapter 6 Role of Technology 31 Chapter 7 8 Quality Dimension 33 Chapter 8 Conclusion 35 Future 36 Reference 37 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION crinkleline Industry in India is adept of the promptest growing childs play power industries in the world. With the liberalization of the Indian zephyr sector, manner passage exertion in India has underg unmatchable a rapid transformation.From being primarily a disposal-owned application, the Indian skyway fabrication is now dominated by cliquishly owned full portion skyways and low speak to gondola carriers. Private sortlines account for around 75% sh ar of the municipal aviation market. Earlier air rifle was a privilege scarcely a a few(prenominal) could afford, l unitary(prenominal) when today air fail has start show up much cheaper and can be afforded by a coarse progeny of muckle. The origin of Indian complaisant aviation industriousness can be traced back to 1912, when the first off-year air flight between Karachi and Delhi was started by the Indian State product line Services in collaboration with the UK found Imperial occupationways. In 1932, JRD Tata founded Tata seamline, the first Indian airline. railway lineline g overnances can be crime syndicateified into a number of sections depending on the nature and score of proceedss they fork over. Major Indian carriers be pressing their feet on the accelerator to reach an acme of run level by the year 2010 when their fleet strength entrust meet 500 to 550. In the former dickens years much th an 135 aircrafts prevail been introduced to keep up with the increasing number of rider traffic in Indian aerospace. A number of municipal airline groups hand emerged in a reasonably short span of time to moderate the market furiously competitive. IMPORTANCE Growing tourism Due to exploitation in tourism, at that place has been an increase in number of the external and domestic passengers.The estimated growth of domestic passenger segment is at 50% per annum and growth for international passenger segment is 25%. line of barterlines play an all-important(a) role in international tourism. Developing airline wait ons encourages the nation to bullion on tourism as more than 85% of the foreign tourist arrives by air. Improving stem We all know that Indias air catch infrastructure is let on-of-date. In fact the overall situation is critical. A recent report by McKinsey suggests that half of Indias highly qualified graduates atomic number 18 located in cities without int ernational airports. Without massive change, infrastructure pull up stakes not be able to handle growth. We must move quick now. Benefit allthe government, the airport, shippers, passengers, local communities and airlines progeny in great efficiencylower costs Result in better service levels globalization Globalization has improved the lives of more in developing nations. Globalization in of its self is the trading of nigh(a)s and services of a local economy into an integrated global economy. technological parents sustain made this practice more feasible within the last 50 years. The major milest integritys were the training of the internet and increased deportation technology. These two onward motions made the world coined tight and set the stage for higher(prenominal) living standards. PRESENCE SCENARIORevolutionized by privatization along with active participation of the foreign investors, the Indian airline diligence has go through phenomenal transformation o ver the last couple of years. From being a service provide to the pauperisations of the privileged group entirely it is now well within the reach of middle class population. This has been the go of increased competition in the Indian aviation industry due to the presence of a wide variety of private and public airlines with their low price tags. It was upgrade fostered by the entry of ambience Deccan, the first bud contribute off airline in India, go unbelievable tariffs to the nodes. In the financial year 2006-07 there has been a significant 22. 3 percent growth in passenger traffic in the domestic airports while the aircraft movement recorded a growth by 14. 2 percent.In terms of the number of flights kelvin Airways secures the top position with 8,168 flights operating(a) till June 2007. Indian Airlines is in second position with 7,562 flights. Sahara (3,225 flights), Air Deccan (2,889 flights), Spice Jet (483 flights) and Kingfisher Airlines (367 flights) come thereaft er in the list of domestic and national carrier operators. miscellany & TYPES The Indian airline sector can be broadly divided into the quest foring principal(prenominal) categories 1. plan air transport service, which includes domestic and international airlines. 2. Non-schedule air transport service, which includes charter operators and air taxi operators. 3.Air cargo service, which includes air transportation of cargo and mail. Schedu direct air transport service It is an air transport service undertaken between two or more places and operated according to a published timetable. It includes 1. Domestic airlines, which provide scheduled flights within India and to take up international destinations. Air Deccan, Spice Jet, Kingfisher Airline and IndiGo atomic number 18 whatever of the domestic players in the industry. 2. International airlines, which operate scheduled international air services to and from India. Non-scheduled air transport service It is an air transport se rvice early(a) than the scheduled one and whitethorn be on charter basis and/or non-scheduled basis.The operator is not permitted to publish time schedule and issue tickets to passengers. Air cargo services It is an air transportation of cargo and mail. It may be on scheduled or non-scheduled basis. These operations are to destinations within India. For operation outside India, the operator has to take specific permission of directorate General of Civil Aviation demonstrating his capacity for conducting such an operation. At present, there are 2 scheduled private airlines (Jet Airways and Air Sahara), which provide regular domestic air services along with Indian Airlines. In addition there are 47 non-scheduled operators providing air-taxi/non-scheduled air transport services.Apart from this, the players in airline industry can be categorized in common chord groups open players Private players Start up players. at that place are three public players Air India, Indian Airline s and in alliance Air. The private players include Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Kingfisher Airlines, Spice Jet, Air Deccan and many more. The startup players are those planning to enter the markets. al c resortly of them are zed Air, Magic Air, Premier Star Air and MDLR Airlines ADVANTAGES 1. Foreign equity allowed Foreign equity up to 49 per cent and NRI (Non-Resident Indian) investment up to 100 per cent is permissible in domestic airlines without any government approval.However, the government policy bars foreign airlines from taking a stake in a domestic airline company. 2. Low entry barriers Nowadays, venture capital of $10 trillion or less(prenominal) is rich to launch an airline. Private airlines are known to hire foreign pilots, get expatriates or retired personnel from the Air Force or PSU airlines in senior circumspection positions. Further, they outsource such functions as ground handling, check-in, backlog, aircraft criminal maintenance, catering, training, receipts accounting, IT infrastructure, loyalty and programme management. Airlines are known to take on contract lockees such as cabin crew, ticketing and check-in agents. 3.Attraction of foreign shores Jet and Sahara have gone international by starting operations, first to SAARC countries, and then to South-East Asia, the UK, and the US. afterward five years of domestic operations, many domestic airlines too entrust be entitled to fly overseas by using unutilised bilateral entitlements to Indian carriers. 4. Rising income levels and demographic profile Though Indias GDP (per capita) at $3,100 is still actually low as compared to the developed rude standards, India is shining, at least in metro cities and urban centres, where IT and BPO industries have made the young generation prosperous. Demographically, India has the highest per centum of pile in age group of 20-50 among its 50 million robust middle class, with high earning potential. wholly this contributes for the boost in dome stic air travel, particularly from a low base of 18 million passengers. 5. Untapped potential of Indias tourism Currently India attracts 3. 2 million tourists e rattling year, while China gets 10 times the number. Tourist arrivals in India are judge to grow exponentially, especially due to the open dispose policy between India and the SAARC countries and the increase in bilateral entitlements with European countries, and US. 6. Glamor of the airlines No industry otherwise than film-making industry is as glamorous as the airlines. Airline tycoons from the last century, like J. R. D. Tata and Howard Hughes, and Sir Richard Branson and Dr. Vijaya Mallya today, have been idolized.Airlines have an anchor ring of glamour around them, and high net worth individuals can always toy with the idea of owning an airline. All the above factors seem to have resulted in a me too rush to launch domestic airlines in India. CHAPTER TWO PEST Analysis The Indian Airline Industry A PEST digest is a n abbreviation of the external macro- surroundings that affects all firms. P. E. S. T. is an acronym for the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors usually are beyond the firms function and somewhattimes present themselves as threats. For this reason, some say that pest is an appropriate term for these factors. Let us look at the PEST analysis of the Indian aviation sector Political FactorsIn India, one can never over-look the governmental factors which influence each and ein truth industry existing in the country. kindred it or not, the political interference has to be present everywhere. Given below are a few of the political factors with discover to the airline industry The airline industry is very susceptible to changes in the political environment as it has a great bearing on the travel habits of its clients. An unstable political environment causes uncertainty in the intellects of the air traveller s, regarding travelling to a particular country. Overall Indias recent political environment has been largely unstable due to international yetts & detaind tension with Pakistan.The Gujarat riots & the governments unfitness to control the situation have in any case led to an increase in the instability of the political arena. The approximately significant political event however has been September 11. The events occurring on September had special significance for the airline industry since aeroplanes were involved. The immediate results were a huge overleap in air traffic due to sentry duty & certificate concerns of the people. International airlines are greatly affected by pot relations that their country has with others. Unless governments of the two countries trade with each other, there could be restrictions of flying into particular area leading to a sacking of potential air traffic (e. g. Pakistan & India)Another aspect is that in countries with high corruption levels like India, bribes have to be paid for every permit & license required. Therefore constant liasoning with the minister & other government formalised is necessary. The body politic owned airlines suffer the maximum from this problem. These airlines have to make several special considerations with respect to selection of routes, free seat to ministers, and so onwhich a privately owned airline need not do. The state owned airlines withal suffers from archaic laws applying only to them such as the retirement age of the pursers & hostesses, the labour regulations which make the management less flexible in taking decision due to the presence of a strong union, & the heavy control of the government.This affects the quality of the service delivery & therefore these airlines have to think of innovative service merchandise ideas to circumvent their problems & compete with the private operators. Economic Factors Business cycles have a wide reach impact on the airline industry. During r ecession, airline is considered a luxury & therefore spending on air travel is cut which leads to reduce prices. During prosperity phase people indulge themselves in travel & prices increase. After the September 11 incidents, the world economy plunged into global recession due to the depressed sentiment of consumers. In India, even a company like Citibank was forced to cut costs to increase profits for which even the top level managers were given first class railway tickets instead of plane tickets.The loss of income for airlines led to higher operational costs not only due to low demand but also due to higher insurance costs, which increased after the WTC bombing. This prompted the industry to lay off employees, which further fuelled the recession as spending decreased due to the cosmetic surgery in unemployment. stock-still the SARS irruption in the Far East was a major cause for slump in the airline industry. Even the Indian carriers like Air India was deeply affected as many flights were cancelled due to inbred (employee relations) as well as external problems, which has been discussed later. Social Factors The changing travel habits of people have very wide implications for the airline industry. In a country like India, there are people from varied income groups.The airlines have to recognize these individuals and should serve them accordingly. Air India needfully to focus on their clientele which are generally low income clients & their habits in order to keep them satisfied. The destination, kind of food etc.all has to be chosen cautiously in accordance with the tastes of their major clientele. Especially, since India is a land of extremes there are people from various religions and castes and every individual travelling by the airline would expect customization to the greatest possible extent. For e. g. A Jain would be satisfied with the service only if he is served jain food and it should be kept in wit that the customers next to him are also Jain or at least vegetarian.Another sizeable cause would be the case of South West Airlines which occupies a solid position in the minds of the US air travelers as a reliable and convenient, fun, low fare, and no frills airline. The major element of its success was the increase selling mix which it utilise very effectively. What South West did was it made the environment inside the plane very consumer friendly. The crew neither has any uniform nor does it serve any lavish foods, which indirectly reduces the costs and makes the consumers retrieve puff of airable. Technological Factors The increasing use of the Internet has provided many opportunities to airlines. For e. g. Air Sahara has introduced a service, by the internet wherein the lazy seats are auctioned one week prior to the departure.Air India also provides many internet based services to its customer such as online ticket mesh, updated flight selective information & handling of customer complaints. USTDA (US tr ade & development association) is funding a feasibility study and workshops for the airports Authority of India as part of a semipermanent effort to promote Indian aviation infrastructure. The Authority is developing modern talk, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management systems for Indias aviation sector that will help the country meet the expected growth and demand for air passenger and cargo service over the next decade. A proposal for restructuring the existing airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata through long-term lease to make them world class is under consideration.This will help in attracting investments in improving the infrastructure and services at these airports. Setting up of naked international airports at Bangalore, Hydera braggy and Goa with private sector participation is also envisaged. A good example of the impact of technology would be that of AAI, wherein with the help of technology it has converted its obsolete and unused hangars into pr ofit centers. AAI is now leasing these hangars to international airlines and is earning huge profits out of it. AAI has also tried to utilize space that was previously wasted installing a lamination machine to laminate the luggage of travelers. This activity earns AAI a lot of revenue.These technological changes in the environment have an impact on Air India as well. Better airport infrastructure, means better handling of airplanes, which can help reduce maintenance cost. It also facilitates more flights to such destinations. FIVE PRODUCT LEVELS The Core Service The core service of the airlines industry is to transport goods and services to various destinations. As the needs of the people increased the entire system became more organized and formal. After this stage comes the various supplementary services. The Supplementary Services The airline industry has many players they had a brand name like Air India, Jet Airways, British Airways.All of them had some ordinary services to of fer like connecting flights, through check-in, tele check in, food on board, and complementary gifts etc. diametric classes like economy class, craft class were introduced. Air concessions are given to school students, old people etc. Singapore airlines were the first to introduce small 8 television screen for every passenger. The freebies are actually win-win deals between airlines and other services. Sahara, for example, offers its passengers a business-plan on two-way economy class ticket, which includes a shadows stay with breakfast, STD facility for 3 minutes and boardroom facility at the Park Hotel, stark naked Delhi.To Delhi based fliers to Mumbai, it offers a nights stay with breakfast, airport transfers and VIP amenities at The Orchid, Mumbai. For business class, the plan includes a stay at The Leela, with buffet breakfast and late checkout. All these added service helps the customer to decide upon which airlines he wants to travel. As competition increased and the cust omers wanted more the next phase evolved and that is the augmented service. The Augmented Service This phase is where the customers expectations are met the service providers kept working on new methods to meet the ever-changing customers demands. The players introduced online booking, which was very convenient for the service users. British Airways business class has showers its more spacious and comfortable.Sahara airlines offer its passengers six contrasting types of cuisine like vegetarian, fat free, diabetic etc. They also have auction going on board. Virgin airlines have gambling on board, they also have body massage to offer to their passengers. Air Emirates has something called cab service, they have customized pick up and drop cab service. This phase is the more or less crucial one with increased competition service will mystify the net incompatibleiation. Future Service As mentioned above the customer needs keep changing, the future is unknown. The customers may be lo oking in for more frequent inexpensive air travel, something like air taxis, ultrasonic speed. This decreases the time thus reducing the cost.CHAPTER THREE 4 Ps Product The airline industry is a service that satisfies customer needs for travelling. In the airline industry the customers can be divided into two segments, business and leisure. While the airline industry started out as a luxury item, business travel has changed this industry to a necessity. As we further capture a global economy and communication between international companies intensifies, travel needs continue to increase. The leisure traveller has always had the need for the airline industry. Satisfying the customer needs today involves competitive rates, convenient booking of flights and benefits with those flights. most of the problems with this industry are personally experienced by the customers. The airlines have a difficult time being punctual and this has become the norm in the industry, although some compani es try to avoid it. The industry is highly susceptible to situations that result in declines in air travel, such as political instability, regional hostilities, recession, fuel price escalation, inflation, adverse support conditions, consumer preferences, labour instability or regulatory oversight. Airlines are now in the commodity business as the public demands low-priced transportation. It has moved from elite to a common form of transportation.Todays travellers know how to surf the clear for bargains through a myriad of sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire, and Cheaptickets. As a commodity, airlines cannot increase prices to increase profits, so their only choice is to cut operating costs such as labour costs. Amid the competition, airlines have refocused their help on the customers. The industry still heavily targets frequent flyers, as members can earn miles through travelling, car rentals, hotels, and credit card use. On overseas flights, business class seats convert to real flat beds. Soon passengers will have internet access during flights. Airlines are also catering to the consumer by offering mostly organic menus, while others are offering repasts-to-go in front boarding.For travellers pressed for time, many airlines offer fast check-in, online at home before leaving for the airport or self-service check-in kiosks where passengers identify themselves with a credit card, print their own boarding pass, change their seat, and purchase meal coupons. Price The following are the pricing strategies Premium Pricing The airlines may set prices above the market price either to rebound the image of quality or the unique status of the product. The product features are not shared by its antagonists or the company itself may enjoy a strong reputation that the brand image alone is able to merit a premium price. Value for Money PricingThe intention here is to charge the just price for the product and emphasize that it represents excellent valu e for money at this price. This enables the airline to achieve good levels of profit on the basis of established reputation. Cheap Value Pricing The objective here is to undercut the competition and price is used to trigger the purchase immediately. Unit profits are low, but overall profits are achieved. Air India and Indian Airlines have slashed their prices to meet the competition of private airlines so that they can consolidate their position in the market. Airlines usually practice differential pricing. There are three classes The First Class, The Executive or Business Class and The Economy Class.Fares for each class are different since the facilities provided and the comfort and luxury level is different in each class. Seasonal fares are also fixed, fares rise during the peak holiday times. Low-cost Pricing With the advent of the low-cost airlines in the Indian aviation industry, a different low-cost flying concept has come up. Since these low-cost airlines are trying to woo t he customers by providing air travel in exceptionally low prices, a price-band kind of pricing has to be designed. In low-pricing strategies, the airlines provide very low prices for the flight tickets. Also, they prices are made cheaper by booking the tickets long before the flight date. APEX FaresIn this scheme, people are given very cheap rates only if tickets are booked at least before the specified time period. But the draw-back here is that if the booking is cancelled, a substantial amount of money is not returned. Promotion Integrated Marketing Communication A successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a service can be communicated clearly to the target market. An organisations promotional mix can consist of ? Advertising ? Public Relations ? Sales Promotion ? Personal Selling ? Direct Mail ? Internet / E-commerce In airline industry all the above methods are use for promotion purpose. The aims of promotion fall into three main categories to inform , to remind, & to persuade.It will always be necessary to inform prospective consumers or so new products & services, but other issue may also need this type of communication to consumers new uses, price changes, information to create consumer confidence & to reduce fears, full description of service offering, image building. Similarly consumers may need to get reminded or so all these types of issues, especially in the off-peak season. It is vitally important to recognize that promotion, or marketing communications generally, may not always be aimed at potential consumer or end user of service. In many business areas, it is to design promotions aimed at channel customers to complement end user promotion. For e. g. Airlines will need to promote their services to tour operators as well as end user. Distribution (Also known as the place variable in the marketing mix, or the 4 Ps) In Airlines, they utilise more than one method of distribution. For e. g. hey sell tickets through trav el agents & sell seats on flights to tour operators, whilst also operating direct marketing. Whichever distribution strategy is selected, channel management plays a key role. For channels to be effective they need reliable updated information. For these reason, I. T has been widely adopted such as on-line booking system. canal structures vary somewhat by the nature of the service ? Internet booking system ? Telephone reservation system. CHAPTER FOUR Extended Marketing Mix Marketers suggest that the unique requirements of selling services require the organization attend to three redundant Ps. These are people, animal(prenominal) evidence and process. PeopleThe people section of the Marketing Mix is the most important section of the extended Marketing Mix. It is broken up into three sections Employees, Consumers and the Company. Do we have enough employees to provide a good service? Do they have the necessary personal and professional skills? , Do they understand the brand-values? , Are they enough motivated or too tired? Those are questions that airlines companies have to ask themselves, and which answers are going to have important consequences in the type of service provided. The analysis of the buyer behaviour is really interesting in this sector. Every individual have different needs and expectations in this market, so segmentation and positioning will be also fundamental.Furthermore, its normally an industry where, the user follows all the steps of the buyer behaviour in the selection and purchase of the service. Special wideness have the Information Search by the customer (which is normally more complete than in other purchases) and beliefs and attitudes, which are the most important challenges of this analysis because normally have an important weight in the final decision of the customer. In a market as competitive as this one, a personal bad experience or just a non favourable belief or attitude can correct the users choice forever. Thats why the Brand Image is also fundamental for this kind of Companies. For e. g.A Jain would be satisfied with the service only if he is served Jain food and it should be kept in mind that the customers next to him are also Jain or at least vegetarian. Therefore, management faces a unspeakable challenge in selecting and training all of these people to do their jobs well, and, perhaps even more important, in motivating them to care about doing their jobs well, and to make an extra effort to serve their customers. After all, these employees must retrieve in what they are doing and enjoy their work before they can, in turn, provide good service to customers. The people component of the service marketing mix also includes the management of the firms customer mix.Because services are a good deal experienced at the providers facilities, other customers who are being served there can also influence ones satisfaction with a service. For e. g. crying children in a nearby seat on an airplane or ill mannered customer are all examples of unpleasant service conditions caused by a firms other patrons. Physical Evidence The service is in tactile because unlike a product it cant be experienced before it is delivered. It is the ability and environment in which a service is delivered. Because it is intangible customers are at greater risk when deciding whether to use a service, so to reduce this risk, and improve success, potential customer are offered the chance to see what the service would be like with the use of testimonials, demonstrations etc.Physical layout is not only relevant to its promotional materials, but also to the layout and structure of the organization, and websites. customers have far higher expectations and therefore they select the particular service which they know will satisfy their want. Promotional materials and written correspondence provide tangible reassurance they can be incorporated into the firms marketing communications to help reduce customer anxiety about committing to the purchase. Service firms should design these items with extreme care, since they will play a major role in influencing a customers impression of the firm. In particular, all physical evidence must be designed to be self-consistent with the personality that the firm wishes to project in the marketplace.They can offer to the consumer more than a fly additional services, and so they focus their promotional efforts in communicating that to the potential user. Process The customer service discussion section of any airline company deal with a number of processes involved in making marketing effective in an organisation e. g. processes for handling customer complaints, processes for identifying customer needs and requirements, processes for handling requirement etc. Example of Jet (Entire Process) Purchasing process According to epinions. com, travelers overall purchasing experiences with Jet have been very positive. People like how uncomplicated it is to choose f rom the different one-way fares online to make up a round-trip reservation.Some travelers prefer to use Jettelephone reservation agents for purchasing their tickets. Overall, these reservation agents have been described as very obliging and helpful. Destination Choices We found many negative reviews on epinions. com when it came to Jet destination offerings. Several people complained that Jet doesnt offer service (either non-stop or connecting) to enough destinations. Some complained about Jet operating out of smaller, less convenient airports (like Poona and Nasik). People also complained that Jet only offers limited flights per day to some destinations, making travel less convenient for some. Overall Customer ServiceBased on our findings at epinions. com, Jet customer service is very highly regarded. Although some people have had unpleasant experiences, almost everyone who gave an opinion raved about the service from Jet flight attendants, gate agents, ticketing/reservation agent s, and even the pilots. The 7 Ps price, product, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence comprise the modern marketing mix that is particularly relevant in service industry, but is also relevant to any form of business where meeting the needs of customers is given priority. CHAPTER FIVE part Segmentation involves finding out what kinds of consumers with different needs exist.In the airline industry, for example, some consumers look for only price, while others are much more concerned about other features and services provided. In general, it holds on-key that You cant be all things to all people, and experience has demonstrated that firms that specialize in meeting the needs of one group of consumers over another tend to be more profitable. Generically, there are three onward motiones to marketing In the undifferentiated strategy, all consumers are treated as the same, with firms not making any specific efforts to satisfy particular groups. This may work when the product is a standard one where one competitor really cant offer much that another one cant. Usually, this is the case only for commodities.In the concentrated strategy, one firm chooses to focus on one of several segments that exist while leaving other segments to competitors. For example, Deccan Airlines focuses on price sensitive consumers who will forego meals and assigned seating for low prices. In contrast, most airlines follow the differentiated strategy They offer high priced tickets to those who are inflexible in that they cannot tell in advance when they need to fly and find it impractical to stay over a Saturday. These travellers usually business travellers make high fares but can only fill the planes up partially. The same airlines then sell some of the remaining seats to more price sensitive customers who can buy two weeks in advance and stay over. Note that segmentation calls for some tough choices.There may be a large number of variables that can be used to different iate consumers of a given product category yet, in practice, it becomes impossibly cumbersome to work with more than a few at a time. Thus, we need to plant which variables will be most useful in distinguishing different groups of consumers. We might thus decide, for example, that the variables that are most relevant in separating different kinds of airlines consumers are (1) Preference for price, (2) Preference for combination of price and other features, (3) Consumers not worried at all about price Looking for privacy or luxury (4) Willingness to pay for brand names We now put these variables together to arrive at various combinations. Several different kinds of variables can be used for segmentation.Demographic variables essentially refer to personal statistics such as income, gender, education, muddle (rural vs. urban, East vs. West), ethnicity, and family size. Jet Airways for instance, has found that people from western region (India) on the average prefer vegetarian meal wh ereas people from east prefer non-vegetarian meal. Taking this a step farther, it is also possible to segment on lifestyle and values. Some consumers want to be seen as similar to others, while a different segment wants to stand apart from the crowd. Another basis for segmentation is behaviour. Some consumers are brand loyal i. e. , they tend to stick with their preferred brands even when a competing one is on sale. CHAPTER SIX ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY utmost(prenominal) competition in Indian Aviation Industry has made the role of technology very important for domestic airline companies. Technology can help in making travel comfortable, allow easy access to tickets and reduce time to check-in. A considerable amount of money is also saved by automation. Following points highlight the increasing use of Technology by different Airlines Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines is planning to install a landscape camera at the bottom of the aircraft that will enable passengers get a view of th e take-off and set down of their airplane when flying on domestic routes. They are also going to allow GSM phones to be used on board for the first time.They are already providing live TV as part of our high-end In-Flight fun (IFE) initiatives. Kingfisher Airlines has announced the launch of two world-class technological intromissions to enhance node convenience. The first cutting-edge innovation is the introduction of the Roving Agent at the airport. Now guests with hand baggage need not have to wait at the check-in counter to collect their boarding pass, instead they can directly approach the Kingfisher Airlines Roving Agents deployed outside the security check-in area who will book them on their choice of seats. Also launched is the facility of Web Check-in. Now Kingfisher Airlines guests can sit in the comfort of their homes or offices and print their boarding passes.All a guest has to do is log on to the official website of Kingfisher Airlines, www. flykingfisher. com, and click on the link web check-in. Fill-in your reservation details and the screen will vaunt the choice of seats available onboard that particular flight. Once booked, the guest can conveniently print out the boarding pass and carry it along with him/her on the day of the flight and proceed straight to the security check counter at the airport. The Airbus A380, the worlds largest and most advanced passenger airplane, which is widely regarded as the future of aviation, marks a momentous milestone in the history of civil aviation in India.Kingfisher Airlines, Indias fastest-growing airline, has engaged saber Airline Solutions, the global leader of software and services for the airline industry from planning to execution, to provide a full suite of more than 20 enterprise applications to enhance its guest processing functions, as the airline continues its rapid expansion of its operations. Kingfisher Airlines is also leveraging other technology from Sabre Airline Solutions to help ana lyze the market and determine the lift out approaches to maximize revenue. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and Dish TV have joined hands to provide live in-flight entertainment on Kingfisher aircraft. The in-flight entertainment system is one of the best in the world. The increasing use of the Internet has provided many opportunities to airlines. For e. g.Kingfisher has introduced a service through the internet, wherein the unoccupied seats are auctioned one week prior to the departure. Public sector airline Air-India is exploring the possibility of launching an information technology (IT) subsidiary to handle its automation activities. Jet Airways has launched an Interactive Voice Response (IVR)-based payment and ticketing services. The service will allow passengers to complete their reservation with credit cards through a secure doorway and instantly receive their e-tickets via email. Low-cost carriers such as Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo are currently allowing a web-check apa rt from online booking. CHAPTER SEVEN QUALITY DIMENSION IN CONTEXT WITH AIRLINE INDUSTRY Reliability is most important to customers.Reliability is performing promised service dependably and accurately. If you dont deliver on your promise you can lose customers and your credibility will be damaged. It takes a long time for a company to build up a reputation for reliability, and only a short time to be branded as undependable. Security in airline industry is a very important issue. Terrorist threats and narcotics are the main threats in Indian airports. The airlines and the security screening people they contract with have a simple choice employ more supply so as to process their passengers more efficiently, or lay off staff and cause their passengers to spend more time waiting to check in than they actually spend on the flight itself.Tangible Tangibles refers to physical facilities and facilitating goods. Examples of tangibles would be distinctive materials such as brochures and the cleanliness of the facilities. Tangible is what makes you different than competitors. Customer can see for themselves and then decide whether to go for the service or not. Responsiveness Responsiveness is the willingness to help customers right away. Avoid having customers waiting for no apparent reason. Responsiveness is very important because if you provide customers with what they need in a timely fashion they will be satisfied. Nobody likes to wait. Replying to a customer request promptly is a good example of responsiveness.If customers see that the company is willing to help, this will cause loyalty and it will let them know that you are concerned about them. Assurance is the ability to convey trust and confidence. organism polite and showing respect for customers will create trust. Also having professional and knowledgeable staff will create trust and confidence in customers. People enjoy meeting pleasant, knowledgeable people. By being pleasant and knowledgeable to ever yone a business will present the kind of business image that draws new business. Empathy is the ability to be approachable. Empathy involves treating customers as individuals. When a customer has a problem they should not be hunted to ask questions. A company should adapt to the specials needs of a customer.Listening to customers concerns and proving them with a positive resultant role is how you show empathy. CHAPTER EIGHT CONCLUSION Airline industry in India is plagued with several problems. These include high aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, rising labour costs and shortage of skilled labour, rapid fleet expansion, and intense price competition among the players. But one of the major challenges facing Indian aviation industry is infrastructure constraint. Airport infrastructure needs to be upgraded rapidly if Indian aviation industry has to continue its success story. Some steps have been taken in this direction. Two of Indias largest airports-Mumbai and New Delhi-were priva tized recently.Two Greenfield airports are coming up at Bangalore and Hyderabad in southern India. Investments are pouring into almost all aspects of the industry, including aircraft maintenance, pilot training and air cargo services. The future prospects of Indian aviation sector look bright. The Indian aviation industry has witnessed unique growth in recent years, with key drivers being positive economic factors, including high GDP growth, good industrial performance, and corporate profitability and expansion. Other factors include higher disposable incomes, growth in consumer spending, and approachability of low fares. FUTURE PROSPECTS OF INDIAN AIRLINE SECTOR consolidation in the aviation industry Consolidation will ease competition and give pricing power to the dominant players and as a result of higher fares even smaller players like SpiceJet stand to benefit. The air fares for SpiceJet are expected to increase by 7. 4% and 3. 6% during FY08E and FY09E respectively. Due to b ooming economy, it is believed that the growth in the aviation industry will continue in the scenario of increased airfares. Generally it is believed that the aviation sector in any country grows at twice the growth rate of its GDP. In India, the GDP is growing at more than 7-8% per annum, which makes the growth rate in the aviation sector to be in excess of 15%. Aviation industry in India is expected to grow at a much better rate than this because the industry is at a parturient stage with lower base and low penetration. wet passenger growth to boost top-line and profit Strong passenger growth would lead to 86% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) growth in revenues for the next two years. Increased passenger volume would also help in spreading fixed cost over larger passenger base there by bringing down per unit cost. Domestic Passengers In the last three years, the number of passengers travelling by air has more than doubled with industry carrying 34mn passenger during FY07. On b ack of conversion of upper class rail passengers to air travel and the surging tourism industry we expect the number of people travelling by air to increase at a CAGR of 25% to 67mn by FY10E. We expect the revenue passengers for SpiceJet to increase from 2. 8mn in FY07 (12 months) to 6. mn in FY09E, a CAGR of 58%. The expected growth in revenue passenger is on account of aggressive increase in fleet size from 11 aircrafts in FY07 to 23 aircrafts by FY09E. REFRENCE Books and Journals Adrian Palmer (2001), Principles of Services Marketing, third edition, McGraw Hill, London. Kotler (1998) Marketing focus Ninth Edition The Economist, 4th January 2002 A new way to fly Websites Referred www. 4ds. com www. epinions. com www. business. headlinesindia. com www. oppapers. com www. icmrindia. org www. airindia. com www. flyairdeccan. net www. spicejet. com (www. spicejet. com/pdf/BSE_Q2FY08) www. jetairways. com www. flykingfisher. com