Important Aspects of Australian Airlines-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Competitive Positions of Qantas and Virgin Australia. Answer: Introduction The topic is based on the marketing and innovation managed by the two most popular airlines companies in Australia named Qantas and Virgin Australia. The price and non-price competition strategies followed by these companies and impact of innovation and technology have been demonstrated here (Ngo and O'Cass 2012). Price competition strategies The price competition strategies or competitive pricing strategy has allowed the organizations Qantas and Virgin Australia to lower the prices of services according to the prices that have been charged by its competitors in business (Lertpachin, Wingwon and Noithonglek 2013). The service attributes remain same and in order to create sustainability and bring something new to enter new market, these two companies have followed the competitive pricing strategy. The profitability margin for Virgin Australia has increased from 1.5 % to 5.6 %. The cost of services is reduced with improved yields, thereby making VA earn profit, which is much more than Qantas (virginaustralia.com 2017). The price competition strategies followed by these two airlines companies have helped in enabling the products and services delivered to compete in the immensely competitive marketplace. The competitive pricing allows the customers to judge the two similar kinds of products based on the pricing and then prefer that one, which is cost effective and reliable. The increasing competition arises while entering new market segments and expanding services (Lertpachin, Wingwon and Noithonglek 2013). The need for capital in high and prevent other new airlines to enter. The cost of switching for customers is low and thus it is essential for the companies within the airlines sector to set proper prices of products and services delivered and ensure satisfaction of customers, thereby gaining a competitive edge over its competitors too (virginaustralia.com 2017). Non-price competition strategies Non-price competition strategy has helped in distinguishing the products and services of the company from similar services offered by other companies in Australia. The design, brand name and workmanship are essential components, which can ensure differentiation of products with ease (Qantas.com 2017). On example showed that due to the immense popularity and services available at lower prices, Virgin Australia and Qantas as well managed to sell more services than the generic counterparts despite being expensive. Virgin Australia has gained 30 percent share of Government and corporate travel market, because of the enhanced capability to pay attention to services and maintain an aggressive campaign to handle the Qantas Frequent Flyers to Velocity program (Ngo and O'Cass 2012). On the other hand, Qantas provides comfort based features like large lunges, in-flight meals, drinks and other in-flight entertainment services, which has attracted customer and fulfilled their needs too (virginaustralia.com 2017). Market share Virgin Australia used to have a good market share but with time, there have been many competitors in business. The company did not lose market share to its rivals such as Qantas despite the soft trading activities. The airlines company has made new features available for attracting more customers though the shares have fallen 1.5 per cent to 19 cents (virginaustralia.com 2017). On the other hand, Qantas has an average of 28 percent passenger share within the global markets. The company loosest a good amount of market share and the international traffic has also increased largely. The domestic market share though has experienced a dip below 40 percent and from various evidences, it can be seen that the average load factors annually was below 7 percent (Qantas.com 2017). Technology and innovation Technology and innovation has brought enormous changes and improvements within the airlines industry of Australia. There has been introduction of intelligent personal assistant which can allow customers to gain help and support and even make in-flight payments by using transit smart cards. Economy sleeper class had been introduced along with other features, which had sped up the boarding of passengers in the flight (Lertpachin, Wingwon and Noithonglek 2013). Technology and innovation has brought up newer ways of travelling and created convenience for passengers and ensure that all their needs and preferences are fulfilled (virginaustralia.com 2017). Conclusion The topic discussed all the important aspects of Australian airlines industry including the marketing strategies, price competition strategies and impact of technology on the business functioning and deriving good outcomes too. The effective strategies and technological procedures have helped the two companies to maintain a competitive position and sustain within the marketplace. References Lertpachin, C., Wingwon, B. and Noithonglek, T., 2013. The effect of marketing focus, innovation and learning organization on the building of competitive advantages: empirical evidence from ISO 9000 certified companies.Journal of Strategic Marketing,21(4), pp.323-331. Ngo, L.V. and O'Cass, A., 2012. In search of innovation and customer?related performance superiority: The role of market orientation, marketing capability, and innovation capability interactions.Journal of Product Innovation Management,29(5), pp.861-877. Qantas.com. (2017). Flights to Australia, New Zealand and Dubai | Qantas UK. [online] Available at: https://www.qantas.com [Accessed 17 Aug. 2017]. virginaustralia.com. (2017). Virgin Australia | Book flights holidays with Virgin Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.virginaustralia.com [Accessed 17 Aug. 2017].