Spirit Airlines has long been considered an unorthodox airline. They, of course, address all four P’s in their marketing strategy; however, they focus a large amount of their effort on price and promotion. They focus on cutting price through “unbundling”. They focus on promotion through taking advantage of social issues and breaking news. Many advertisements and deals promoted by Spirit have given the public a definite shock-factor. Spirit has made two objectives very clear: they are furious at getting the customer the lowest fare possible by any means necessary, and they will similarly use any means necessary to get those potential customers to notice those fares. Such a blatant marketing strategy works. Even going up against some big competition, Spirit finds ways to be competitive and successful in flagrant fashion.
Spirit addresses “price” by attempting to get the lowest possible fair for their potential customers. They have instituted their “unbundling” strategy that essentially removes all the conveniences that other airlines afford. Fees for checked bags, fees for flight changes, and no complementary in-flight beverages are just a few of the cost-trimming techniques employed. This strategy allows Spirit to come up with impossibly low fares. It also conforms to customers who just want to get from point A to point B without paying extra for services they don’t use. This strategy, coupled with an in-your-face “promotion” ploy, has made Spirit Airlines “the most profitable airline in the U.S.” (Nicas, 2012).
In July of 2013, the Anthony Weiner scandal hit the newsstands for the second time. Not long later, Spirit unleashed the unabashed ad of a hotdog and the description, “Carlos Danger, In a Spirit Airlines Production, The Weiner Rises Again" (Costello, 2013). This ad is one of many that ride on the waves of social media hype to get the attention of the customer. Just a few weeks ago when the Miami Dolphins suspended a player for bullying, Spirit released this ad: don’t be bullied by high fares, fly incognito out of Florida (Wilson, 2013). Both advertisements were linked to low-fare promotions and garnered waves of attention. Other unsubtle Spirit ads seem to approach, if not completely tackle, the unprofessional. One of those ads features a man in bed with his friend’s mother. The tag-line totes, “You think that’s low? Spirit Airlines fares are even lower” (Segal, 2009).
If the short haul passenger was the backbone of Southwest Airlines success, then their 737s were the lifelines that supported it. By choosing the 737 as the airplane for all of Southwest's flights, the company saved time and resources in training its employees. The crew could be easily substituted for one another due to the extensive training on the 737. Low costs and, therefore, low fares are an enormous competitive advantage, when combined with their high-quality and loyal workforce. A very unique culture was found at Southwest Airlines among all of its employees.
The airline industry is very competitive, amongst them lies Spirit Airlines. They were born in 1964, originally as a trucking company named Clippert Trucking Company, which was a corporation based in Michigan. They actually didn’t begin their air operations until 1990, which is when it was renamed to Spirit Airlines Inc. Later in 1999, Spirit moved their headquarters to the orange state - Florida. Spirit Airlines provides competition by promoting low fares and making it very affordable to travel. Spirit offers around 300 flights to 56 destinations all over the Americas (“TDAmeritrade” 2015). Their business model permits them to compete mainly by offering customers their “Bare Fares” (“Spirit Airlines Annual Report” 2015), which are costs that offer
Even though Southwest offers no-frills, there is still a high degree of customer satisfaction that continuously builds customer loyalty for the company. As mentioned, Southwest offers low prices on their airplane tickets. Also, Southwest is renowned in the airline industry for its short turnaround time on arrivals and departures. And since people's biggest concern nowadays is money and time, having low price airline tickets to cater their traveling needs in a shorter period of time will surely satisfy them. Moreover, aside from the low prices offered, what attracts to customers is Southwest’s way in dealing with them. The employees of the airline treat their customers well and really listen to their needs.
This is a representation that shows competitive markets of airlines. They differ in many different ways and they have been placed on the framework to contrast and compare each of the companies 4P’s : Product by Price by Promotion by Place as compared to Delta
Vivid, bold words and images draw in the curious readers who are searching for a company to take them on their next adventure. But is this the only thing that draws them in? When searching for an airline, people like to research the best deal. They want to know if there is a special membership they could obtain if they have flown with the company multiple times, or if the airline offers them a discount fare. They also might be curious if the airline flies internationally to exotic locales. These are the things that draw in flyers, that persuade them to choose one company over another, and which companies like Southwest and United are specifically aware of resulting in effective campaigns that convince potential flyers to purchase with them.
In the early 1980s, transportation - rather than customer care - appeared to be the top priority of the airline industry. When Virgin Atlantic burst on to the scene offering not only better service and lower costs for passengers but a commitment to put the customer first, the effects were radical.
Spirit Airlines obtains a name that has deceived many people and did not just stop there. It stands as the cheapest airline with tickets priced at just a little over 100 dollars, but only holds a two star rating from Skytrax, a very popular World Airline and Airport Star Ranking website. No one ever has to worry about a delayed flight for hours with no explanation or lost luggage because “it fell out of the luggage cart” with any other airline like people do with Spirit. In 1964, Spirit started as Clipper Trucking Company and was later founded in 1980 as an airline service. Spirit currently travels to 57 destinations throughout the United States, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Spirit Airlines equivalent to that one theater
Ryanair was founded with the intent of breaking up the air travel duopoly held by British Airways and Aer Lingus at the time (Ryanair, 2013). There isn’t a doubt that the goal was accomplished and continues to evolve. However, a new competitor has entered the market and threatens their “lowest fare anywhere” motto. EasyJet, founded in 1995 (Spotlight falls on, 2013) has emerged as another low cost carrier (Wensveen, 2011) and is keeping competition fierce as they try to exceed Ryanair customer service by providing “speedy boarding”, more flexible fares, guaranteed seats and better food service (Low cost airlines, 2013).
“A Tale of Two Airlines” by Christopher Elliott brings good versus evil to a whole new level. It depicts Southwest Airlines as a hero, who only cares about the well-being of its customers. On the other hand you have the “villain,” Spirit Airlines. Spirit attempts to deceive its customers by advertising the lowest possible price, however underneath that cover is hidden fees. The purpose of this essay is to analyze “A Tale of Two Airlines” to see if Elliott can pull passengers out of Spirit’s evil grasp and back into the trusty hands of Southwest Airlines.
The mission of Southwest Airlines is a dedication to the highest quality of service delivered with warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit (Mission…, 2007). The company also provides opportunities for learning and personal growth to each employee. Creativity and innovation is very important and highly encouraged, for the purposes of improving effectiveness. Employees are to be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that the employees are expected to share with the customer. Southwest Airlines was initially created to be a low-cost alternative to high price of intra-Texas air carriers (Freiberg, 1996). Southwest’s fares were originally supposed to compete with car and bus transportation. It was a little airline, and it would withstand the test of time. As a discount, no-frills airline, it would provide stiff competition for larger airlines. Their strategy was to operate at low cost, offering no food, no movies, no first class, and no reserved seats. They created their own market and provided increased turnaround times at the gate, by avoiding hub-and-spoke airports and opting for short-haul, direct flights. Through this market approach, Southwest has a majority of market share in the markets they serve.
Malighetti, P., Paleari, S., Redondi, R., 2009. Pricing Strategies of low-cost airlines: The Ryanair case study. Journal of Air Transport Management, 15, 195-203.
My name is Megan Bousquet and I am a hired marketing consultant for United Airlines. I have done my research into how customers feel about this company and what they feel the pros and cons are. United Airlines has many pros and cons as many other airlines and I am here to report my findings and then make a recommendation for a new marketing campaign. I will be focusing on the positives I have found through my research and briefly
Relating to the economic environment, competition among airlines has become fierce, which has hurt the operating margins of Southwest. Because margins are so low, Southwest employs several tactics that are designed to ensure profitability. For example, most of their flights are statistically guaranteed to be booked, and they overbook these flights to compensate for customer cancellations. However, in recent events, overbooking flights has
Within the airline industry currently the airlines can be divided into low cost airlines and full service airlines. The low cost airlines targets customers that are seeking no frills connectivity between cities at low ticket prices. The full service airlines provide several add-ons like free meals, on plane entertainment, and communication facilities. The target market for full service airlines are customers who are willing to spend extra for the services that the airlines provides.
The complex nature of commercial aviation creates immense gaps and obstacles for organizations, like United Airlines, to address. Given that demands for lower travel cost have caused “since the 1950s, airline yields (defined as the average fare paid by a passenger per kilometer) [to] consistently [drop]” companies have had to search out alternatives to continue to operations (Clayton, 2014). Thus, creating throughout the industry a growing pressure to reduce costs and improve