Aviation management: Surviving the Economic Crisis

Surviving the Economic Crisis Name Course Date of submission Due to the current economic crisis there is a high possibility that air travel business will be highly affected. The market trends show that that approximately thirty percent of the clients supposed to travel this month will either cancel their trips or not travel at all. This could affect the business of France airlines permanently if the situation is not well dealt with. The time duration for the current economic crisis is uncertain and the company has to take adequate measures to deal with the issue permanently. In the current situation the company will be negatively affected by the crisis and might lead to great loss in the company and possibly failure and eventual closing of the company. A good example of the effect of an economic crisis on air travel companies is the Kingfisher Airlines in India which was forced to close after it was hit hard by the economic crisis. There is therefore need to maximize on the few people travelling. As much as we need to keep our services up to standard we also need to check on the costs that we incur in during the economic crisis. The crisis has led to great inflation I some of the most valuable commodities. The increasing prices of oil has greatly affected the air travel market and increased the costs incurred in every flight. On the on the other hand the fact that most of the travelers also affected by the crisis means that we cannot increase the prices of travelling or we will lose most of them. In order to survive the crisis without negatively affecting the income and quality services incurred we have to stand out in the European air travel business. We have to make wise decisions that will lead to an increase in the number of clients using our airline and minimize the cost of every flight. One of the ways to ensure that we keep the company in good business despite the various challenges there are in the sector is to manage the trips we make. The money made in each trip should cover for the fuel charges and other costs incurred during the flight and leave some money for the profit of the company. During the economic crisis many of the trips are likely to be canceled. This means that many of the routes might not get people to fill the plane to the maximum. If the plane is not filled then the plane might not pay for the cost incurred during the flight leading to losses. One of the ways to adequately deal with this situation is to change the routes used by the planes to include various stop-over before reaching the main point. This will enable the company to accommodate people travelling to various destinations to use one plane which will minimize the cost. This will mean that the planes will be filled by the passengers to various destinations other than the main destinations. This will help in reducing the cost incurred in every plane. The move will minimize the number of unoccupied seats despite the various tickets being canceled thus reduce the losses incurred in each flight. The planes might avoid using the major airports which are usually more crowded and avoid unnecessary delays. Using the smaller airports might give the planes an easier time with the procedures and the time taken in each stop over. (Graham, A. 2008) The advantages of this move are that it gives s the travelers a chance to explore various regions that they didn’t pay for. The travelers using the planes will have to stop over in many regions that they did not really plan to visit thus increasing their tourism of various regions all over the world. This move will also ensure that the company maximizes on its market in various parts of the world. Passengers from other destinations can use the plane to reach their destinations and thus improve the network of the plane. Developing new travelling network will link the company to various parts of the world thus improving the services offered in various parts of the world. The developed network is permanent and therefore will benefit the company even after the economic crisis. Developing new networks gives the travelers an opportunity to experience the different cultures in different parts of the world and therefore develop an incredible experience. For example, a passenger travelling from France to America might have to pass through Canada and experience the Canadian culture before reaching his destination. This move has its disadvantages as well. First the time spent in each trip. The planes will have to take longer because of the various stop-over points in the trips. This might disadvantage some of the clients who want to use the shortest time possible in the planes. The other disadvantage is the legal procedures involved in the stop over points. Different countries have different laws and policies governing air travel in their country. The company has to deal with different authorities in each stop over thus increasing the cost and time spent in each trip (Graham, A. 2008).The routes are longer when there are more stop over points thus meaning that the consumption of fuel by the planes will be higher. Some of the clients might opt for faster options to travel with and therefore use the direct planes. Another way to reduce the cost incurred in each flight is to use the smaller planes which consume less fuel. Using the smaller planes will not only ensure that the cost of fuel is reduced but also will ensure that the seats of each plane are filled. In times when the number of travelers using the plane is low there is need to use the smaller planes. The smaller planes not only save on fuel but on the time used to fill the plane. The smaller planes with fewer engines consume less and are equally capable of travelling to various destinations. The comfort of the travelers is however compromised and some of the passengers may not want to travel using the smaller planes. The number of passangers travelling to various destinations should therefore determine the plane used by the company. Since we expect fewer travelers during the economic crisis we can use smaller planes. Using the smaller planes has various advantages it not only reduces the cost of fuel used in each flight but ensures that the planes carry to capacity during the flight. The smaller planes are easier to control and require a lesser number of staff thus reducing the cost in terms of the services offered in the plane. The smaller planes can cater for both the long and short distance trips thus are more useful in the economic crisis. The disadvantages of this move are that the comfort of the travelers is compromised. The bigger planes have more facilities that ensure that the passengers are more comfortable. Some of the elite travelers want more comfort in a plane and the smaller planes might not offer that comfort. Due to their small size these planes have to make more stop-overs to refill their tanks comp ared to the bigger planes. The smaller planes are also quite slower and take much longer compared to the bigger planes with more engines. In case of a technical itch the bigger planes can deal with the issue more easily compared to the smaller planes this therefore causes more passengers to prefer the bigger planes compared to the smaller ones. The other way to survive the economic crisis is to come up with proper packages that attract more clients. One of the major ways to keep up with the economic crisis is to ensure that we get more clients compared to our competitors. One of the most effective ways to do that is by coming up with the correct packages that favor a wide range of clients. These packages should be set up in a way that the company wins over more clients without having to necessarily to affect the profits of the company. One of the best ways to come up with a correct air travel package is to classify the clients into various groups. There are some frequent travelers who travel for business purposes; there are those clients who are out for vacations and are out to look for adventure; and the other travelers who travel for various reasons and take the flight with the cheapest prices. All classes of clients will get for the most affordable flights. One of the major components of all the packages is their affordability. Low prices attract more clients and therefore should be a major component of all the packages. The other way to create a good package is to consider the interest of a particular group of travelers. The travelers who are travelling for leisure will want their journey to have a unique experience. In order to provide the experience the company should go a mile further and offer more than just travel services. The company should link these travelers to other services even after they reach their destination. These services include affordable and classy hotels and cabs. The company can merger with various companies offering these services in different parts of the world in order to give the travelers a unique travelling experience in different parts of the world. This will get the company a variety of travelers travelling for leisure. The company should also target the regular travelers. The business class of people travels regularly and therefore need consistency. The company should reward or give discounts to travelers who use the airline more than once. This will win their loyalty and get them to use our airlines every time they travel. The move of creati...