The Virgin Atlantic Global Marketing Analysis - Essay Example

The Virgin Atlantic Global Marketing Analysis The Virgin Atlantic is one of the British Airlines that covers the Atlantic region including UK, North America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Australia. The bases are located in London Heathrow and London Gatwick while another important base is located in the Manchester Airport. The main focus of the study conducted is to be able to present the global environment and the other activities of Virgin Atlantic. Included in the global environment are the factors such as tourism global trends and the company’s role, competitive and key market drivers, and other accomplishments undertaken through the course of the company’s operation. The Global Environment In the operation of airline companies, there are different factors that are considered. One of the said factors evolves in the trends related to tourism in the international community. Basically, when it comes to tourism, the ways of traveling specifically by air can be considered almost a necessity. Due to the continuous development of the both the economy and the culture towards globalization, the global travel is tightly knitted to the trends in tourism (Conrady and Buck, 2007; Duval, 2007). There are different trends in tourism that can be considered to dictate the trends in the aviation technology. One is the economy of a country or a destination. For example, for areas wherein there is increasing demands for employment, there is an increase in both business and luxury travels. Other factors that can affect the trends in the aviation companies and their operation are the continuous development of the technologies that are involved in both flying and business (Conrady and Buck, 2007). Based on the different global trends that dictate the operation techniques and programs of participants in the tourism industry, there are different market drivers. Included in such factors are the prices or fares, the amenities and facilities, the coverage of airline companies and other innovations in the facilities, services or marketing strategies (Duval, 2007). Virgin Atlantic, being one of the major participants in the air travel industry, is the focus of the study. Based on the different key market drivers, the performance of the company had been commended on the basis of relatively shorter tome compared to other major companies. Since 1984, the Virgin Atlantic had been recognized as the second largest carrier, thus, involved in the competitive market specifically in the Atlantic region. Basically, the said performance of the company can be attributed to the combination of marketing, administrative and operational strategies that are continuously being innovated (Virgin Atlantic, 2008a). The innovations that are initiated by the Virgin Atlantic can be considered as the reason behind their competitive advantage. One of the said innovations that increased the profits and the popularity of the company in the airline industry is the Upper Class service offered in 1989 which can be considered as the first in the field. The said innovation is an improvement of the product in the business class fares. One of the features of the said innovation is the larger seat pitch which is specifically 55 inches as compared to 38 to 42 inches in other long-haul carriers. To complement such feature, a cabin service is also offered which can only be experienced in the first class of other airlines. The said innovation became one of the major causes of the fast rise of the company to be one of the major players in the airline industry. This can be attributed to the fact that the said move resulted to the trend in the improvement of the business class that caters to the business travelers. Included in the major competitors of the Virgin Atlantic are the British Airways, the Air France and the Lufthansa (Doganis, 2002). Other services that can be considered of importance are the facilities for kids and infants and the presence of a specific department that can answer to the special travel needs of the passengers which is referred to as the Special Assistance department that covers special meals and mobility services in the airport. On the other hand the mileage and rewards in frequent flying are achieved through the flying club. The participation of the marketing department of the company can be considered as one of the major reasons for success. The marketing is composed of communication and sales department who work hand in hand through promotions. The popularity and the clientele are achieved through different forms of strategies. One of the said methods is online interface even for booking services. Other methods involve the creative services, charity projects, sponsorship, internal communications and assimilation, different events, encouragement of loyalty through the flying club and the partner liaison, continuous research and development and participation to surveys and studies conducted by authorities in the industry such as the International Air Travellers Association or IATA, Transatlantic Passenger Survey or TPAS and the Survey of Passengers on Europe Asia Routes or SPEAR (Virgin Atlantic, 2008b). Global Activities Based on the study of the data and information related to Virgin Atlantic, it can be considered that the company targets global participation on the basis of the number of destinations that it covers through different regions and continents around the globe. Specifically, the routes include 10 destinations in US, 6 in Asia Pacific, 4 in Africa, 1 in the Indian Ocean, 1 to the Middle East and 8 in the Caribbean region (Virgin Atlantic, 2008a). In terms of the foreign market being served, it can be considered that the major innovations of the company created a niche that is distinct to Virgin Atlantic. For that matter, people all over the world who are interested in the particular service can be expected to seek the company, thus, the particular market can be considered as the company’s own. One of the examples is the Upper Class service which is still their best feature specifically considered as having the largest seat offering (Doganis, 2002). In addition, it can be considered that one of the major clientele of the company is composed of the people from the Atlantic region specifically from UK. The Upper Class targets the passengers who travel for business. In the Premium Economy on the other hand, travelers mainly fly due to either business or leisure. Lastly, the Economy passengers can be perceived as the most diverse group composed of people of different status and different reasons for traveling (Virgin Atlantic, 2008b). The company’s vision and mission aim for a service-oriented, people-oriented and even environmental-oriented operation. For that matter it can be considered as relatively commendable company. The innovations and the presence of different features and services for the passengers can be considered as the methods for the achievement of the service-oriented goals. On the other hand, the benefits given to the employees specifically since one of the visions is related to practicing a career an employee loves is related to the people-oriented objectives. The environmental-oriented objectives are exhibited by the different policies such as recycling, cost-effective measures, participation with the Ministry of Agriculture (Virgin Atlantic, 2008b). Conclusion Virgin Atlantic is one of the major participants of the airline industry in UK and the Atlantic. Although the operation of the company only started in 1984 which can be considered as considerably shorter than the history of operation of its competitors, the marketing strategies and innovative techniques placed the Virgin Atlantic in the second rank in the UK airline industry. References: Conrady, R. and Buck, M. (2007) Trends and Issues in Global Tourism 2007. Springer. Doganis, R. (2002) Flying Off Course: The Economics of International Airlines. Routledge. Duval, D. T. (2007) Tourism and Transport: Modes, Networks, and Flows. Channel View Publications. Virgin Atlantic. (2008a) Fact Sheet [online]. Available from: . [Accessed 20 October 2008]. Virgin Atlantic. (2008b) Student Information Pack [online]. Available from: . [Accessed 20 October 2008]. Read More