Thomson Airways - Report Example

Thomson Airways Unit Introduction There are many airlines in the world today. Their development has been facilitated by the increased demand in travelling across the world. Tourism and businesses contribute a major stake in the increased demand and hence profitability of airlines. This report puts into perspective one of the major airlines in the world, Thomson Airways, with a keen look at its contribution towards the tourism industry. A Background of Thomson Airways Thomson Airways Limited was formed in 2007 as a merger between First Choice Holidays plc’s First Choice Airways and TUI AG’s Thomsonfly. After the merger, the airline started its operations in November 2008 and it has continued to grow since then. The headquarters of Thomson Airways are in Wigmore House in Bedfordshire, located near the Luton Airport. It is currently recognized as the largest chartered airline in the world. In addition, it provides chartered and scheduled flights from Ireland and UK to different destinations in Africa, North America, Asia, and Europe. The airline is licensed to carry cargo, passengers, and mails as it bears the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating license (Thomson Airway 2014). The airline has been able to improve its facilities and infrastructure including the purchase of the first Boeing 787 in United Kingdom. The airline has a number of scheduled flights, which are mainly done for the tour operators. The flight plays a great role in facilitating tourism by providing direct flights to different holiday destinations across the world. In the UK alone, it operates in about 24 airports. Recent data from the Civil Aviation Authority (2014) shows that the airline has 59 airplanes, consisting of 33 Boeing 737-800, 15 Boeing 757-200, 5 Boeing 767-300ER, and Boeing 787-8. In addition, the airline shareholders have approved the acquisition of 60 Boeing 737 Max (40 Max 8s and 20 Max 9s) (Ski-Morrow 2013). In July 2014, Thomson Airways was named the best leisure airline in the world during the World Airline Awards (Wood 2014, p.1). Scope of Operations The main services provided by Thomson Airways are mainly transportation services with a major concentration in the UK market. In addition, it provides other services that are linked with its major mandate. It plays a significant role in promoting tourism through provision of holiday packages and flights to renowned destinations in Africa, Indian Ocean, Caribbean, and in America. In addition, the airline provides other services such as car hire, airport hotels, travel insurance, airport parking, excursions, and foreign currency. Major Competitors Freedom Air Luxair S.A British Midland Airways Limited International Airline Services Limited Flybe Group Limited Statistics Being the largest charted airline in the world, Thomson Airways is a favorite for many travelers. In 2013, the airline had approximately 10.5 million passengers. This figure made it to be the third largest carrier in UK after Easy Jet and British Airways (CAA 2014). In terms of income, the airline’s profits have lacked stability. In 2009/2010, the airline went at a loss but picked up in 2020/2011 to register a profit of 65.9 million pounds. In 2011/2012, the profitability of the airline rose to 169 million pounds (The Statistics Portal 2013). The airline has 59 aircrafts that serves over 80 destinations. Factors Contributing to quality and Customer Experience Thomson Airways is one of the largest chartered airlines in the world. This has been facilitated by different factors that it has continued to hold dear to it. Timeliness is a factor that is highly considered; the time that the customer booked the flight is the actual time that the aircraft is required to leave the airport. This is an integral part of the airline’s way of operating. In instances when the flights are delayed as a result of unavoidable circumstances, the airline is swift in ensuring that the customers’ interest is put first. The airline is swift to give any updates on its websites concerning any issue that may bring forth adherence to the set guidelines (Thomson Airways 2014). Thomson Airways provides an array of services to its customers hence helping them meet their travelling objectives easily. Apart from offering the transportation facilities, the airline organizes other customer requirements for them in advance. Since it is a chartered airline, most of its customers are groups that share common destinations and interests. Therefore, the airline has been able to offer accommodation, car hire services, food and drink, entertainment facilities, changing foreign currency, airport parking and travel insurance among other services. Largely this brings forth a lot of convenience to the travelers. Through their holiday’s packages, the airline is able to organize people from different backgrounds that are destined to a common place for holidays. In this case, the airline makes their stay easy by providing most of the services that they require. Thomson Airline treasures its people and the society at large. Their employees get to enjoy diverse benefits from the company ranging from good salaries, child protection schemes, and insurance policies among others. On the other hand, the airline has engaged the masses on its operations. Most notable is the naming of one of the Boeing 787 Dreamliners by a member of the public (Airline Industry Information 2012). The company opted to give people a chance to suggest names for the aircraft as a way of making people relate with the brand. Recommendations The airline should consider getting smaller aircrafts, for less than 20 people so that they can be available of smaller groups of people that desire to hire them. Despite the cost of the aircrafts being expensive, there are customers that are in need of travelling without being influenced by the masses on board. Such aircrafts can be destined to specific destinations without having to transport some of the customers on road. This would ensure that convenience is enhanced while at the same time helping promote efficiency. Considering the number of destinations that are served by the airline, it is almost obvious that smaller aircrafts will ensure that customers are destined to where they prefer instead of being influenced by other customers. This would help take care of issues such as a team from a certain organization travelling for official duties to get to their most convenient destination. The airline should develop partnerships directly with the managements of tourism destinations in order to facilitate the customers to tour different locations at affordable costs. This is because some of the customers shy away from visiting their destinations due to the hefty fees that are charged by the tour operators. This connection will individuals that want t save on cost to do so. However, in order to ensure that the airline also attracts profits, economies of scale have to apply. This means that the airline is required to have aircrafts that have a high capacity hence it becomes economically viable when there are many customers on board. This strategy can help promote tourism while ensuring that Thomson Airways attracts people from different social classes. On the other side, the number of visitors in tourism destinations is likely to be improved. Conclusion As a major chartered airline, Thomson Airways has a great potential in promoting tourism across the world. In the current setting, the company has enabled people to transit from one destination to another with much convenience. In addition, it has been able to provide diverse services, which help the customers reach their destinations efficiently. References CAA (2014) G-INFO, retrieved from http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=summary&owner=thomson+airways&pageIndex=1 CAA (2014) UK Airline statistics, retrieved from http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=80&pagetype=88&pageid=1&sglid=1 Ski-Morrow, D. K. (2013) TUI shareholders approve 737 Max order, retrieved from http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/tui-shareholders-approve-737-max-order-388118/ The Statistical Portal (2014) Total profit after tax for Thomson Airways in the United Kingdom (UK) 2006-2012 (fee-based), retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/309083/thomson-airways-uk-profit-after-tax/ Thomson Airways (2014) Latest travel news, retrieved from http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/alerts/thomsonfly-travel-alert.html Thomson airways limited - company capsule. (2013) London: Progressive Media Group, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1559877352?accountid=45049 Thomson airways to name a dreamliner via crowd sourcing, (2012), Airline Industry Information, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1027648987?accountid=45049 Thomsonfly and first choice airways to become Thomson airways, (2008), Airline Industry Information, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/210569588?accountid=45049 Wood, B. (2014) British Airways snubbed again! Not a single UK carrier makes it into world’s top airlines… and just two European companies are mentioned, Daily Mail, retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2694120/British-Airways-fails-make-10-airlines-world.html Read More