Shaheen Air International :

operating as Shaheen Air is a private Pakistani airline with its head office on the grounds
of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
[1]
Shaheen Air, which provides passenger, cargo and
charter services, serves the major cities ofPakistan and the Persian Gulf. It was founded in
December 1993 and was established on 25 October 1994. It was accorded the status of 'Second
National Carrier of Pakistan', by the Government of Pakistan, and focuses much of its routes on
cities in Northern Pakistan, rather than Karachi. The airline's primary hub is the Jinnah
International Airport (KHI), Karachi, with a secondary hub atBenazir Bhutto International
Airport (ISB), Islamabad and at Allama Iqbal International Airport (LHE), Lahore.
Besides serving major domestic routes i.e. Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, D.G.Khan and Peshawar,
Shaheen Air has also been operating flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Al
Ain, Kuwait, Doha and Muscat from almost all the major international gateways of Pakistan.
The Marketing Mix
To market a service, a marketing mix of 7 different variables has to be designed rather than a
usual marketing mix with 4 variables. Hence, the marketing mix in case of airline industry will
be a combination of the following interdependent but quite easily be variably controlled
factors. Product, Price, Place, Promotion, Physical Evidence, People and Process.
1. Product
The core product of shaheen is the passenger transportation. Other associated products of the
national flag bearer are:
Cargo
Courier
Charters
2. Price
To meet the demand and to facilitate different segments, the airline has opted two fare classes
and occasionally introduce low fare packages also.

Business Class
Economy Plus Class
Economy Class
3. Promotion
With a very small presence on the television, the airline has used the print as the main medium
of advertisement. Beside Ads, the airline has emphasized more to promote by doing following
techniques:
4. Place
Being the national flag bearer, the airline intended to position itself to be the best of the lot.
But, its a cruel fact that the airline has not able to place itself in a way that may have earned
the desired position. This might be due to some managerial as well as structural limitations.

5. Process
Starting from the first enquiry about the flight timings and the air fare package to the collection
of the baggage from destination is the complete Airway Travel Process. Unfortunately, the
airline struggles most in this aspect of the mix and the same factor has contributed most in
deteriorating the Positioning.
6. People
For services, the people are the most important part of the marketing mix. They are visible and
their presence makes it confirm that the service is there. Their interactive property makes them
the factor that may simply consolidate the customers perception. Same like the Process,
shaheen has also struggled in this aspect also.
7. Physical Evidence
The biggest airline of the country has its presence in all of the major cities nationwide as well as
globally. With a fleet of about 50 aircrafts, the airline has got enough leverage to support its
portfolio and has given a wide vroom to the management to design a competitive and effective
marketing strategy.
Market Segmentation of shaheen airlines

Demographic Segmentation of shaheen:
Income Segmentation
Occupation Segmentation
Geographic Segmentation
In this segmentation PIA focuses both on segments
Domestic
International

Behavioral Segmentation
Occasion Segmentation.

Hajjs Occasion.
Eids Occasion.
New Years Occasion.

Loyalty Status

Psychographic Segmentation of shaheen
Social Class

Tourists
Religious Travels
Pakistani Expatriates

The existing market segmentation strategy of shaheen is reasonable enough because it covers
all necessary parameters that are to be focused in doing market segmentation for Airline
Company
International routes.

The price for international routes is set by international air travel association (IATA).the IATA
doesnt allow any discount on any international routes. Ticket show the full pries for the route
while air lines charge discounted fare by cutting their share of profit.
However, shaheeen establishes the pricing strategies on different international routes keeping
in view the following points .
Competitor price
Cost of operation
Type of aircraft used
On the other hand PIA has three categories of their pricing as below, they also vary by season
to season and at peak time
Higher prices
Shoulder prices
Low prices

Countries Higher prices Shoulder price Low price
PKR PKR PKR
UK 67450 53750 45500
DUBAI 57650 49550 42500

Promotion
shaheen is not invested much in this area. They just use brochures, news paper& some T.V
commercial when peak season is not there. Agents play an important role in promotion as they
convince traveler to travel through shaheen. Some brochures, are listed below

Umrah made easier.
shaheen offers more flights to Jeddah in may, june and julyforumra.
These additional flights will not only provide more travel option to umra pilgrims but
also enable more people to perform the holy ritual
Pilgrims can enjoy comfortable & luxurious journey in Boeing_777s
shaheen budget flight enjoy up to 39% discount on regular fares.
shaheen introduced Budget Flight between Karachi, Lahore&Islamabad.
Fly shaheen:s new ATR
Up to 10kg hand baggage allowed
No checked in baggage
Condition apply

shaheen flexible fare_ plan ahead & pay less
Book international or domestic flights as early as possible because the earlier you buy,
the cheaper you fly.
A variety of discount in Business, Economy Plus& Economy Classes.
The benefit of even lower fares in the lean travel period.
Flexible fares are applicable on sectors where revenue management is implemented.
Condition applies.




Targeting Strategy of shaheen:
Shaheens Existing Target Audience
From the Demographic Segmentation, shaheen is targeting the income and occupation
oriented people. The classification of both categories is as follow.
Income Segmentation

From income segmentation of shaheen, those who falls under the category of upper class and
upper middle class.
Occupation Segmentation

From occupation Segmentation that shaheen is taking in to account, there are two main sub
heads of working class and business class. The working class includes all those who are working
as an employee inside and outside the country. In business class all those people are included
who are having business.
From the Geographic Segmentation of shaheen. All the audience from the domestic and
international regions are included. In domestic people within the country are included and
people residing outside Pakistan.
Goal:
To reach on top by excelling at what we do.
Mission Statement:
"We exist to deliver the world's best in-flight experience."
Vission Statement:
To make civil aviation safe, leading and sustainable.
Objectives:

Tangible objectives pertaining to the goals are :
1. Retain and improve frequent business class travelers
market share.
2. Increase market share 40% to 55% by end of 2009
3. Tap low cost carriers market to achieve companys return on investment.
4. Promote Dubais Tourism activities and introduce
Dubai to the world.
Positioning Statement:
The Finest in the Sky
AIR BLUE airlines:
Airblue is a private Pakistani airline based at Jinnah International Airport Karachi. It
started its operations on May 24, 2004. It was the first private carrier of Pakistan to
operate the Airbus A320 when it initially started. Airblue has been expanding rapidly
despite experiencing competition from the other three airline operators in Pakistan.
The airline mainly flies on domestic routes plus internationally to Dubai International
Airport and also has plans to fly to the Gulf, UK, and USA.
Mission Statement
Airblue will be recognized as the most progressive enterprise in the transportation
business. We will offer our customers cost effective transportation service within
geographical areas and market segments that can benefit from our services and will
insure a return on investment and growth rate consistent with current management
guidelines.
Vision Statement
Our vision is to make Airblue the most admired airline in the world.
* Ensuring safety comes first
* Providing Service Straight From the Heart
* Encouraging product leadership
* Delivering superior financial returns
* Providing rewarding career opportunities
The SWOT analysis is the process of analyzing organizations and their environments based on
their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This includes the environmental
analysis, the process of scanning the business environment for threats and opportunities, which
is considered as external factors, and the organizational analysis, the process of analyzing a
firms strengths and weaknesses as internal factors.
SWOT analysis was carried out for AirBlue and the results are
summarized as follows:
Strengths

1. Second largest air-carrier of Pakistan, enjoying almost 30 percent market share on domestic
routes.
2. Airblue is a Low-cost carrier (LCC). The reason behind air blues low fares is that it uses
Dynamic Pricing Model. Airblue puts its entire ticket inventory on the Net and direct internet
booking accounts for 15% of its sales. It begins selling tickets at a 40% discount to full service
carriers (FSCs), but closer to the date of your travel, you may end up paying up to 30% premium
over the price charged by FSCs.
3. 98% punctuality of on-time flight departures.
4. Innovative e-ticketing and wireless check-in technologies.
5. Operational efficiency.
6. Airblue is using latest technology for the airline's advantage and its valued customers. Many
corporate entities tried to create a paperless work environment, in order to minimize its costs
and maximize its efficiency, but only Airblue had been successful to the extent that its
management does not need offices to function.
7. The airblue aircraft are the latest fly-by-wire technology Airbus A320's and A321's. This
allows the airline more flexibility and scales of economy in crew planning and maintenance
capability, adding directly to bottom-line profitability.
8. Lesser workforce because of extensive technology usage.
9. AirBlue is the first among public and private sector airlines in South-Asia and second after
Emirates in the region to introduce latest self check-in system at Karachi airport. The self check-
in system will facilitate the passengers carrying

baggage with them, to get boarding card through the new touch screen system without
reporting at the counter.
10. Package for students and special children.
11. Good food, good entertainment, spacious seats, most exciting hospitality, elegant and
charming hostesses.
12. Year 2006 witnessed exceptional performance in the short term financing which was
reduced from Rs 206 million to Rs 48 million, showing a decrease of 330 percent.
13. Airblue showed a record operating profit of over Rs 150 million for year 2006 while
providing a high quality product to the consumers.
14. Airblue outsources most of its secondary tasks to third parties. It helps airline to cut costs.
Weaknesses

1. Difficulty in developing brand-awareness as a startup company.
2. Engaged only in passenger service, whereas its competitor PIA is also providing cargo services
(SPEEDEX).
3. Not having its own repair and maintenance facilities.
4. Doing less on the advertising and promotion of air line.
5. Not operating flights for Hajj Pilgrims, which could be a major source of income.
6. Small fleet of air crafts.
7. Two aircrafts are acquired on dry lease and one on wet lease.
8. It connects only seven cities in Pakistan.
9. Very tight schedule of flights, which puts extra burden on pilots, cabin crew and hostesses

Opportunities

1. Year 2007 is being celebrated as Visit Pakistan Year. So, the number of foreign visitors is
likely to increase and complimentary tourism industry will increase demand for airline service.
2. Agreement with Airbus Industries for the purchase of eight airbus A320-200 and two airbus
A330-200 aircrafts for an estimated cost of $ 790 million. New aircrafts will be used for
additional frequencies and destinations on domestic and regional routes.
3. Low fares enable market share growth.
4. Introducing new domestic and international routes like Gulf, UK, Jordan, India etc.
5. Stable economy and growing GDP.
6. The air transport sector of Pakistan would also get a boost from newly developed Port of
Gwadar in the Balochistan province. The development of the Gwadar Port, the third deep sea
port of the country and the first of Balochistan, would serve as a link with the Central Asian
States. The government is upgrading the Gwadar International Airport at a cost of 480 million
rupees. Once upgraded, the airport will be able to handle wide-body aircraft such as Airbus and
Boeing 747 aircraft.
7. Poor performance & red tapism in PIA.
8. Worldwide deregulation makes the skies more accessible, Open Skies.
9. Excellent credit rating allows Air Blue to purchase its expansion strategy.

Threats

1. Escalating jet fuel prices.
2. Low-cost Chinese airlines planning to enter into Pakistans domestic air market.
3. Cutthroat price war among airlines.
4. Buses business continuously improving speed in service in mid and long distant routes,
attracting passengers away from air service.
5. PIA is also procuring 10 new Boeing planes.
6. Threat of terrorism.
7. No level-playing field for private airlines, as government always rescues PIA from risks.
8. Incapability of national airport runways to handle big crafts.
9. Competition is heating up as four new local airlines are going to start their operations very
soon.
10. High insurance costs for aircrafts and passengers.
The Marketing Mix
To market a service, a marketing mix of 7 different variables has to be designed rather than a
usual marketing mix with 4 variables. Hence, the marketing mix in case of airline industry will
be a combination of the following interdependent but quite easily be variably controlled
factors. Product, Price, Place, Promotion, Physical Evidence, People and Process.
1. Product
The core product of PIA is the passenger transportation. Other associated products of the
national flag bearer are:
Cargo
Courier
Charters
2. Price
To meet the demand and to facilitate different segments, the airline has opted two fare classes
and occasionally introduce low fare packages also.
Business Class
Economy Plus Class
Economy Class
3. Promotion
With a very small presence on the television, the airline has used the print as the main medium
of advertisement. Beside Ads, the airline has emphasized more to promote by doing following
techniques
4. Place
Being the national flag bearer, the airline intended to position itself to be the best of the lot.
But, its a cruel fact that the airline has not able to place itself in a way that may have earned
the desired position. This might be due to some managerial as well as structural limitations.

5. Process
Starting from the first enquiry about the flight timings and the air fare package to the collection
of the baggage from destination is the complete Airway Travel Process. Unfortunately, the
airline struggles most in this aspect of the mix and the same factor has contributed most in
deteriorating the Positioning.
6. People
For services, the people are the most important part of the marketing mix. They are visible and
their presence makes it confirm that the service is there. Their interactive property makes them
the factor that may simply consolidate the customers perception. Same like the Process, PIA
has also struggled in this aspect also.
7. Physical Evidence
The biggest airline of the country has its presence in all of the major cities nationwide as well as
globally. With a fleet of about 50 aircrafts, the airline has got enough leverage to support its
portfolio and has given a wide vroom to the management to design a competitive and effective
marketing strategy.
Positioning by Product User
airblue positions itself as an ambassador of Pakistan in the world. Pakistani expatriates residing
outside the country feels proud when they see an airline of their own home- country carrying
the national flag. This arises the loyalty factor in the hearts of the expatriates and they prefer to
travel by airblue.

Competitors:
During the time when airblue will reach its maturity stage they will have to face many
competitors. Manyairlines will try to reach their level and it is also expected that new airlines
will be launched here.
PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES:
Developing a product or service involves defining the benefits that it will offer such as, quality,
features,and style and design.

Product quality:

It is the ability of a product to perform its function: it includes the products overall durability,
reliability,precision, ease of operation and repair, and other valued attributes.

Airblue aims to focus on quality and service primarily at fares competitive with the national flag
carrier PIA. It also has plans to offer heavy discounts for the senior citizens and students as
well as operatingnight coach at discounted fares. The Airblue, thus, is looking forward to soon become the
fourth [yetmost popular] airline serving the domestic sector in a market, the bulk of which is served by the PIA
and a
portion is enjoyed by Shaheen Air International and Aero Asia which promotes itself as the country's firstlow
fare airline.

AirBlue has acquired 3 new generation Airbus A-320 aircraft on dry lease each of it has 20
Business Classseats and 126 Economy class seats. The company plans to provide world-class
service to passengers ondomestic flights by making use of latest information technology and introduce
products and services thatwill be the first of their kind in Pakistan.

Product features:

it shows that how many versions a product has? A product can be offered with varying features.

Products style and design:

Another way to add customer value is through distinctive product style and design.Style simply describes
the appearance of a product. Styles can be eye catching or yawn producing.

AirBlue aims to focus passenger comfort at prices that offer value for money and that explains
itsdecision to have leather-upholstered seats in the Business class and offering in-flight
entertainment

Unlike style, design is more than skin deep, it goes to the very heart of a product. Good
designcontributes to a products usefulness as well as to its looks.

AirBlue has introduced the concept of total e-ticketing for the convenience of passenger which wouldalso help
it to eradicate the back-dating system associated with manual ticketing that costs airlines.

Marketing Objectives:

Before setting price the company must decide on its strategy for the product. If the company
hasselected its target market and positioning carefully the price will be fairly simple. At the
same time thecompany may seek additional objectives such as survival, profit maximization,
market share leader shipand product quality leadership.

PROMOTION MIX STRATEGIES
Two types of promotion strategies:


Push Strategy

A promotion strategy that calls for using the sales force and trade promotion to push the productthrough
channels.

Pull Strategy

A promotion strategy that calls for spending a lot on advertising and consumer promotion to build upconsumer
demand, which pulls the product through the channels.

AirBlue is using some combination of both. AirBlue uses a media advertising to pull its products andtrade
promotions to push its products through the channels.

Advertising Objective

A specific communication task to be accomplished with a specific target audience during
a specificperiod of time. There are three types of advertising objectives Informative, Persuasive
and Reminder.

Persuasive Advertising:It is basically used to build brand preference, to encourage switching of brand and to
change customer perceptions of product attributes.

AirBlue is using Persuasive advertising because there are already other airlines established and
AirBlueis convincing its customers to travel in their airline because they are promising best
quality and servicesthat other airlines are not.