Organisation Systems Analysis - Virgin Australia - Case Study Example

Organizational system analysis Name Institution Introduction The system that will be discussed at length is the ticketing and reservation system of Virgin Blue airlines. Two aircrafts, 200 personnel and one route: this description perfectly fit Virgin Blue in 2000, when it first took to the skies. Now, more than a decade later, the airline has grown immensely. It has also undergone transformation. From a low-cost, no frills carrier to a dynamic, contemporary world class airline. It has dropped the blue from virgin, and now dons the Virgin Australia label. Even after the transformation, Virgin Australia retained the attributes always associated with Virgin Blue. The authentic friendly service, can-do attitude and competitive pricing still remain the hallmark of Virgin Australia (Thomas, 2011). I would like to be an air hostess one day, and a Virgin Australia airline is the best environment to achieve this career goal. From a two-plane airline, Jet Blue has risen to become a leading brand in the airline industry (Virgin Australia, 2012). It enjoyed a near-monopoly status in the low cost airline industry (Knibb, 2011). Years later, competition has only become stiffer and Virgin Blue has had to undergo transformation in order to survive. The expansion of its services and market target has ensured Virgin’s continued existence. From no-frills service to a full service carrier, Virgin has come a long way. Its transformation, however, did not rob Virgin of its traditional attributes. It has managed to maintain its friendly, personalized and genuine service. Virgin Australia upgraded its ticketing and reservation system in order to be able to serve the many customers that they began to have. The preciously available manual system was slow, cumbersome to retrieve records and inefficient. It could not meet the demands of all the customers of the airline. The new system is highly mechanized and mostly automated as will be discussed. Type of System Air ticketing and reservation system of Virgin Australia airline is easy and complex at the same time. It does not have so many components. The structure of this system can easily be understood and interpreted by both system engineers and users at large. This system requires a user friendly graphical user interface that can be easily and conveniently accessed by the customers. The best way to provide this is a web interface. Its design is in the form of a website that customers can use to access flight information and share it with possible tourists. Virgin Australia’s ticketing and reservation system has many advantages over the previously cumbersome manual system. These include speed. The new system can be used by clients within a split of a second to find, view and book flights. All that the clients need is an internet connection and a computer to use in accessing the system database. The ticketing and reservation system is also accurate. This is attributed to the fact that the information is stored in a database that can be accessed at will. This is because there are security measures in place to avoid theft of data and vandalism. All the transactions and operations within the system are accurate because of the high level of security that the system is designed with. Another advantage of the system is that reservations and cancellations may be done at various locations worldwide as long as there is an internet connection. System Structure Fig 1.0 Diagram illustrating the main components of the ticket reservation system System employment opportunity Virgin Australia offers unique students internship to students studying aviation management. This is an underway initiative offered to undergraduate students in various universities in Australia. From 2002 to date, Virgin Australia has approached Queensland University of Technology, Grifith University, Swinburn University among others with proposals that gives students exceptional industrial training experience. The airline closely liased with the participating students from these universities by giving them projects that touch directly on their day to day work experience. The then Virgin Australia’s compliance and business systems manager, James Yatras asserted, “The new internship is a win-win for everyone as it provides students with a hands-on understanding of an active airline operation, while allowing Virgin Blue the chance to identify up and coming potential recruits” (par. 4). Virgin Australia acknowledges that current aviation and management students are the future’s leaders in this always changing industry. The notable areas that the airline offer students learning opportunities include and are not limited jobs as Guest Service Agents, Pit Crew, Flight Crew, In flight Catering department, Crew controller, Aircraft Engineering etc. Virgin blue has incorporated key personnel from the airline’s management into the board of these Universities as a way of keeping up with the changing trends in the aviation industry. They do not want the students to be taught stuff that are out of date in their respective institutions. Within the airline’s ticketing and reservation system, the jobs that are available for students are Crew controller, Flight Crew, and catering crew. The system is therefore sufficient to help students get an opportunity to learn, gain experience and earn part time cash in the internship program. They get first hand information, updated and relevant learning material that help them in their career choice. Conclusion In summary, Virgin Australia’s ticketing and reservation system is an area in the flight’s operation that is very important. With the ease in reservations and convenience in getting and cancelling tickets, customers get satisfied with the airline’s initiatives to improve their services. They have reliable, efficient, prompt and convenient services as far as ticket reservation and cancellation is concerned. This gives them comfort and contentment in the new system. This system uses a highly secured web graphical interface that can be accessed from all parts of the world. Tourists can at their convenience, access flight information, reserve and book or cancel their flights without having to be at the physical location of the airline. The ticketing and reservation system is also instrumental in helping students within the Universities of Australia in learning and gaining experience in their respective fields of study. It is like the airline is giving back to the society and shaping up the society at the same time. References Bawari, S. (2011). Project on System Reservation System, PDF File. Retrieved on 14 May 2012, from http://home.basu.ac.ir/~bashiri/files/ressys.pdf Virgin Australia. (2010). Virgin Blue Internship Gives Aviation Students A Flying Start. Retrieved 14 May 2012 from http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/about-us/media/2003/D_019784/ Shaw, S. (2011). Airline Marketing and Management. Retrieved on 14 May 2012 from http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=2IqEhwQQExUC&dq=Virgin+blue&source=gbs_navlinks_s Stafford, M., Reilley, T., Grove, S. & Carlson S. (2011). The Evolution of Services Advertising in a Services-Driven National Economy: An Analysis of Progress and Missed Opportunities, Journal of Advertising Research, 51(1): pp. 136-152. Bogomolova, S. (2011). Service Quality Perceptions of Solely Loyal Customers, International Journal of Market Research, 53(6): pp. 793-810. Knibb, D. (2011). Moving on Up. Airline Business, 27(8): pp. 20-24 Thomas, G. (2011). From Blue to New, Retrieved 2 May 2012 from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=34e056ab-bc2b-43d9-8a02-3febc00b4208%40sessionmgr104&vid=20&hid=115 Virgin Australia. (2012). Experience, Retrieved 2 May 2012 from http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/experience/on-board-the-flight/cabin-classes/business Read More