About Indian aviation Industry

THE INDIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY Evolution The history of civil aviation in India started with its first co ercial fli!ht on "e#ruary $%& $'$$(It was a )ourney fro Allaha#ad to Naini ade #y a "rench *ilot +onsei!neur ,i!uet coverin! adistance of a#out $- . ( Since then efforts were on to i *rove the health of India/s 0ivilAviation Industry( The first do estic air route #etween 1arachi and Delhi was o*ened inDece #er $'$2 #y the Indian State Air Services in colla#oration with the I *erial Airways& U1as an e3tension of 4ondon51arachi fli!ht of the I *erial Airways(The aviation industry in India !athered o entu after three years with the o*enin! of are!ular air ail service #etween 1arachi and +adras #y the first Indian airline& Tata Sons 4td(However this service failed to receive any #ac.in! fro the Indian 6overn ent(At the ti e of inde*endence nine Air Trans*ort 0o *anies were o*erational in the IndianTerritory( 4ater the nu #er reduced to ei!ht when the Orient Airways shifted its

#ase to,a.istan( The then o*erational airlines were Tata Airlines& Indian National Airways& Air serviceof India& Deccan Airways& A #ica Airways& 7harat Airways and +istry Airways(8ith an atte *t to farther stren!then the #ase of the aviation sector in India& the 6overn entof India to!ether with 9et Airways :earlier Tata Airline; set u* a )oint sector co *any& 9et AirwaysInternational& in early $'<%( 8ith an initial invest ent of Rs( 2 crore and a fleet of three4oc.heed constellation aircrafts& 9et Airways started its )ourney in the Indian aviation sector on9une %& $'<% in +u #ai :7o #ay;54ondon air route("or any years since its ince*tion the Indian Aviation Industry was *la!ued #y ina**ro*riatere!ulatory and o*erational *rocedures resultin! in either e3cessive or no co *etition(Nationali=ation of Indian Airlines :IA; in $'>? #rou!ht the do estic civil aviation sector underthe *urview of Indian 6overn ent( 6overn ent/s intervention in this sector was eant forre ovin! the o*erational li itations arisin! out of e3cess co *etition( In $'>?& the Air0or*oration Act nationali=ed all e3istin! airline assets and esta#lished the Indian Airline0or*oration and 9et Airways International for do estic and

international air services res*ectively(These two co *anies en)oyed ono*oly *ower in the industry until $''$& when *rivate airlines were !iven *er ission to o*erate charter and non scheduled services under the @Air Ta3iA sche e to #oost touris ( These carriers were not allowed at the ti e& to fly scheduled fli!htsor issue air tic.ets to *assen!ers( As a result& a nu #er of *rivate *layers includin! 9et Airways&Air Sahara& +odiluft& Da ania Airways& NE,0 airlines and East 8est Airlines co enceddo estic o*erations( In $''<& followin! the re*eal of the Air 0or*oration Act& *rivate *layers were *er itted to o*erate scheduled services( Ulti ately the carriers with ore efficiento*erations and strate!ies survived and #y $''B& only 9et Airways and Air Sahara ade the cutfro the ori!inal !rou*(The ne3t #i! chan!e in the industry ca e in late 2--? with the e er!ence of IndiaAs first no 5frillairlines& Air Deccan( It revolutioni=ed the industry& offerin! fares as low as INR >-- :USD $-rou!hly;& co *ared with "ull Service fares offered #y the incu #ents& avera!in! a#out INR?--- or ore( Since then& S*ice 9et :restructured Royal Airways and +odiluft;& 6o Airways and1in!fisher Air have

also entered the industry( ,ara ount Airways is another *layer& thou!h it is *ositioned on the other end of the s*ectru & as an @all #usiness classA airline( 8ith the further advent of online tic.et sales throu!h co *anies such as a.e ytri*(co & *rices have crashedand tic.ets are availa#le for as little as INR -(''( In fact& now any airline tic.ets can #e #ou!htfor a *rice co *ara#le to an u**er class railway tic.et for the sa e route(In Dece #er 2--<& Indian scheduled carriers with a ini u of > years of continuouso*erations and a ini u fleet si=e of 2- aircrafts& were *er itted to o*erate scheduledservices to internationals destinations( On 9anuary $$& 2--> the !overn ent desi!nated fourscheduled Indian carriers :9et Airways& Indian Airlines& 9et Airways and Air Sahara; to o*erateinternational services to and fro Sin!a*ore& +alaysia& Thailand& Hon! 1on!& the U1 and theUSA(As a conseCuence today we have& ei!ht *rivate scheduled o*erators vi=(& 9et Airways:India; 4td(&9et 4ite Airlines 4td(& 1in!fisher Airlines& Deccan Aviation :,; 4td(& S*ice)et& ,ara ount Airways,vt( 4td & 6o Airways& and Inter 6lo#e Aviation 4td( :Indi6o; were o*eratin! as Scheduled

,rivateAirlines( In addition to these *rivate airlines& two ore airlines na ely Alliance Air& su#sidiary of Indian Airlines and 9et Airways E3*ress& su#sidiary of 9et Airways also co enced their o*erations in$''D 5'B and 2-->5-D res*ectively( 9et Airways& 9et Airways E3*ress& 9et Airways and 9et 4ite Airlines4td as the desi!nated airlines of the 6overn ent of India under various #ilateral air servicesa!ree ents have #een authori=ed to o*erate lon! and ediu haul scheduled international airservices( Recently 1in!fisher too have started international fli!hts( INTRODUCTION

9ET AIR8AYS
is a +u #ai #ased airline *ro oted #y +r( Naresh 6oyal& is the second lar!estairline in the country after the !overn ent owned 9et Airways and the ar.et leader in thedo estic airways( It o*erates ore than <-- daily fli!hts to D> destinations worldwide( 8ith 9et1onnect and 9et 4ite :for erly Air Sahara;& it caters to all cate!ories( Strategies

Started as 9etair *rivate li ited& #y leasin! < 7oein! B?B5?-- it received scheduled airlinesstatus in $''>( It went for inor!anic !rowth #y the acCuisition of Air Sahara for $<(> #illionru*ees on A*ril $2& 2--B and rena ed it 9et 4ite( It also hel*ed in ar.et *enetration as 9et 4itewas directed to serve lower class se! ents( Today it has %< aircraft under its service( The airlineruns on hu# and s*o.e odel(9et started o*erations in International routes since +arch 2--< when it had its firstinternational fli!ht #etween 0hennai and 0olo #o( 0urrently 9et Airways serves 2$ destinationsin $B countries across Asia& Euro*e and North A erica(Durin! the recent recession in 2--% the co *any !ot into alliance with 1in!fisher Airlines&a!reed u*on code sharin! on #oth do estic and international fli!hts& )oint fuel ana!e ent toreduce e3*enses& co on !round handlin!& )oint utili=ation of crew and sharin! of si ilarfreCuent flier *ro!ra s( Codeshare agreements It has code share a!ree ent with a nu #er of airlines li.e Air 0anada& All Ni**on Airways&A erican Airlines& 7russel Airlines& Etihad Airways& 9et 4ite& +alaysia Airlines&

Eantas and Vir!inAtlantic( Si ilarly it has ar.etin! a!ree ents with a nu #er of airlines( Services The *re iere class shown here on the left is availa#le on Internationalfli!hts confi!ured in herrin!#one *attern and is eCui**ed with $>(< inchflat screen 40D TV( US7 *orts and la*to* char!ers are availa#le( On thedo estic arena the #usiness class seats have the assa!er(The "irst class service :see the *icture on ri!ht; availa#le in the airlines has#een recently rated #y S.ytra3 as the $<th #est in the world( These are thefirst fully enclosed suite *rovided #y any Indian airline( They are eCui**edwith 2$ inch 40D screen and AVOD #esides all the features of *re iereclass( They have received ? star ratin! for its service #y s.ytra3(The Econo y class is *rovided with $-(> inch 40D and AVOD( All the three classes feature +ood4i!htin! that ad)usts itself to the ti e of the day The 9et 4ite division has withdrawn the co *li entary food serviceand has i *le ented #uy on #oard( Unli.e the *arent airline 9et

litehas its hu# at New Delhi( The airline is also into charter fli!hts andhelico*ter service(9et 1onnect airways is the other low cost no frill airline #y the 9et airways !rou*( Toco *le ent the 9et 4ite service it focuses ore on southern states( In Flight Entertainment All the 9et Airways fli!ht *rovide& F9et ScreenG &which offers audio5video on de and*ro!ra in!( It has over $-- ovies& %TV *ro!ra es& $$ audio channels and a 0D li#rary of $2> titles( The syste o*erates via individual touch screen onitors at each seat& and isavaila#le in all classes(

Air ort !ounges

9et Airways 4oun!es are offered to "irst and ,re iHre 0lass *assen!ers& alon! with 9et ,rivile!e,latinu & 6old or Silver card e #ers( The international loun!e at 7russels has showers&#usiness centre& entertain ent facilities and children/s *lay areas( 4oun!es are located in7an!alore& 0hennai& 1ol.ata& Delhi& Hydera#ad& 9ai*ur& +u #ai( "ar#eting Strategies Fre$uent Flier %rogramme

1nown as 9et,rivile!e it hel*s to redee *oints earn for iles traversed( &et "all This is the uniCue all *rovided #y the 9et Airways to sho* souvenirs at ?---- feet( &et 'ings 9et 8in!s is the infli!ht &et Travel 9et has alliance with a nu #er of hotels Such as 4eela and Ta) where the *assen!ers can !etdiscounts if they are *rivile!e e #ers of the 9et(They *rovide s*ecial service for infants& olds& edical e er!encies& e3*ectant others andani als( 0hec. in can #e done #y S+S& on Net& and 1ios.s( Their 8e#site has the o*tion tochoose fro a *lethora of lan!ua!e to cater to understandin! of *eo*le fro different *arts of world( a!a=ines(

S'OT analysis o( &et Air)ays

Strengths o( &et Air)ays 9et Airways has #een the lar!est air carrier in India in ter s of traffic volu e and co *any assets( It owns the ost u*dated fleet and co *etent re*airs and aintenance e3*ertise( Its infor ation syste s are advanced and co *ati#le with its o*eration and service( It has a !ood re*utation in #oth international and do estic ar.ets& Cuality service and the a!e5old 6oodwill that has still .e*t it alive in the interests of the rescue o*erators( Has financial #ac.in! of the 6overn ent

'ea#nesses o( &et Air)ays 9et Airways is o*eratin! across #road international and do estic ar.ets co *etin! with world leadin! !iant airlines as well as local s all

o*erators( This lac. of clarity on the strate!ic direction lar!ely dilutes its ca*a#ilities and confuses its #rand within ar.ets( 4ow *rofita#ility and utili=ation of ca*acity( 6rowin! 0o *etitor #ase and entry of 4ow5 0ost 0arriers :400As; The airlineAs hi!h5cost structure and the co *ulsions of #ein! a *u#lic sector unit are the reasons and it had #een a.in! a loss and shall continue to a.e losses for so e ore Cuarters(

ortunities o( &et Air)ays India airline industry is !rowin! faster and will continue to !row as the 6D, increases& and the trend is *redicted to continue once the slowdown recedes( 8orldwide dere!ulations a.e the s.ies ore accessi#leI the route a!ree ent is easier to #e achieved( The nu #er of forei!n visitors and investors to India is increasin! ra*idly(

0o *le entary industry li.e touris will increase de and for airline service( The 0ivil Aviation +inistryAs stron! re!ulation and *rotection *rovides o**ortunities for consolidation and o*ti i=ation( 0usto ers are !ettin! wealthier& tend to #e less *rice5conscious and *refer to choose Cuality service over cost( 7est ti e for introducin! 400As

Threats (or &et Air)ays 9et Airways faces i inent a!!ressive co *etition fro world leadin! airlines and *rice wars tri!!ered #y do estic *layers( The Indian Railway +inistry has dra atically i *roved s*eed and services in their ediu Jlon! distant routes& attractin! *assen!ers away fro air service& with *rices al ost at *ar with the low cost carriers

%ositioning Strategy

ositionin! strate!ies can #e conceived and develo*ed in a variety of ways( It can #e derived fro the o#)ect attri#utes& co *etition& a**lication& the ty*es of consu ers involved& or the characteristics of the *roduct class( All these attri#utes re*resent a different a**roach in develo*in! *ositionin! strate!ies& even thou!h all of the have the co on o#)ective of *ro)ectin! a favora#le i a!e in the inds of the consu ers or audience( There are seven a**roaches to *ositionin! strate!iesK :$; Using %roduct characteristics or Customer *ene(its as a ositioning strategy This strate!y #asically focuses u*on the characteristics of the *roduct or custo er #enefits( "or e3a *le if I say I *orted ite s it #asically tell or illustrate a variety of *roduct characteristics such as dura#ility& econo y or relia#ility etc( 4ets ta.e an e3a *le of otor#i.es so e are e *hasi=in! on fuel econo y& so e on *ower& loo.s and others stress on their dura#ility( Hero 0ycles 4td( *ositions first& e *hasi=in! dura#ility and style for its cycle( At ti e even you would have noticed that a

*roduct is *ositioned alon! two or ore *roduct characteristics at the sa e ti e( You would have seen this in the case of tooth*aste ar.et& ost tooth*aste insists on @freshnessA and @cavity fi!hterA as the *roduct characteristics( It is always te *tin! to try to *osition alon! several *roduct characteristics& as it is frustratin! to have so e !ood characteristics that are not co unicated( :2; %ricing as a ositioning strategy 5 Euality A**roach or ,ositionin! #y ,rice5 Euality L 4ets ta.e an e3a *le and understand this a**roach )ust su**ose you have to !o and #uy a *air of)eans& as soon as you enter in the sho* you will find different *rice ra!e )eans in the showroo say *rice ran!in! fro ?>- ru*ees to 2--- ru*ees( As soon as loo. at the )eans of ?>- Ru*ees you say that it is not !ood in Cuality( 8hyM 7asically #ecause of *erce*tion& as ost of us *erceive that if a *roduct is e3*ensive will #e a Cuality *roduct where as *roduct that is chea* is lower in Cuality( If we loo. at this ,rice L Cuality a**roach it is i *ortant and is lar!ely used in *roduct *ositionin!( In any *roduct cate!ories& there are #rands that

deli#erately atte *t to offer ore in ter s of service& features or *erfor ance( They char!e ore& *artly to cover hi!her costs and *artly to let the consu ers #elieve that the *roduct is& certainly of hi!her Cuality( :?; %ositioning strategy based on Use or A lication L 4ets understand this with the hel* of an e3a *le li.e Nescafe 0offee for any years *ositioned it self as a winter *roduct and advertised ainly in winter #ut the introduction of cold coffee has develo*ed a *ositionin! strate!y for the su er onths also( 7asically this ty*e of *ositionin!5#y5 use re*resents a second or third *osition for the #rand& such ty*e of *ositionin! is done deli#erately to e3*and the #randAs ar.et( If you are introducin! new uses of the *roduct that will auto atically e3*and the #randAs ar.et( :<; %ositioning strategy based on %roduct %rocess L Another *ositionin! a**roach is to associate the *roduct with its users or a class of users( +a.es of casual clothin! li.e )eans have introduced @desi!ner la#elsA to develo* a fashion i a!e( In this case the e3*ectation is that the odel or *ersonality will influence the *roductAs i a!e #y

reflectin! the characteristics and i a!e of the odel or *ersonality co unicated as a *roduct user( 4ets not for!et that 9ohnson and 9ohnson re*ositioned its sha *oo fro one used for #a#ies to one used #y *eo*le who wash their hair freCuently and therefore need a ild *eo*le who wash their hair freCuently and therefore need a ild sha *oo( This re*ositionin! resulted in a ar.et share( :>; %ositioning strategy based on %roduct Class 5 In so e *roduct class we have to a.e sure critical *ositionin! decisions "or e3a *le& free=e dried coffee needed to *ositions itself with res*ect to re!ular and instant coffee and si ilarly in case of dried il. a.ers ca e out with instant #rea.fast *ositioned as a #rea.fast su#stitute and virtually identical *roduct *ositioned as a dietary eal su#stitute( :D; %ositioning strategy based on Cultural Symbols 5 In todayAs world any advertisers are usin! dee*ly entrenched cultural sy #ols to differentiate their #rands fro that of co *etitors( The essential tas. is to identify so ethin! that is very eanin!ful to *eo*le that other co *etitors are not usin! and associate this #rand with that sy #ol(

9et Airways uses ahara)a as its lo!o& #y this they are tryin! to show that we welco e !uest and !ive the royal treat ent with lot of res*ect and it also hi!hli!hts Indian tradition( Usin! and *o*ulari=in! trade ar.s !enerally follow this ty*e of *ositionin!( :B; %ositioning strategy based on Com etitors 5 In this ty*e of *ositionin! strate!ies& an i *licit or e3*licit fra e of reference is one or ore co *etitors( In so e cases& reference co *etitor:s; can #e the do inant as*ect of the *ositionin! strate!ies of the fir & the fir either uses the sa e of si ilar *ositionin! strate!ies as used #y the co *etitors or the advertiser uses a new strate!y ta.in! the co *etitorsA strate!y as the #ase( A !ood e3a *le of this would #e 0ol!ate and ,e*sodent( 0ol!ate when entered into the ar.et focused on to fa ily *rotection #ut when ,e*sodent entered into the ar.et with focus on 2< hour *rotection and #asically for .ids& 0ol!ate chan!ed its focus fro fa ily *rotection to .ids teeth *rotection which was a *ositionin! strate!y ado*ted #ecause of co *etition(