Segments Air Arabia Company Is Targeting - Case Study Example

Introduction Air Arabia is a public company founded in 2003 with its main hub located in Sharjah (CAPA, nd). Air Arabia is a company which has taken time to implement technological advancements in its operations. More so, the company has employed various marketing strategies to gain competitive advantage in the airline industry. Main Ways that Air Arabia Segment the Market using Demographic, Geographic, Psychographic and Behavioural Variables. Air Arabia operates in more than 52 countries globally. The company’s market segments are Indian subcontinents, Europe, Central and South Asia, Africa and Middle East. Air Arabia is the cheapest and largest low-cost carrier operating in North Africa and the Middle East. Air Arabia has won many best low-cost carrier airline awards which explains their slogan Air Arabia, Pay Less Fly More. Segments Air Arabia are Targeting. Air Arabia targets low budget airline segment which even led to their slogan statement of pay les, fly more. However, the first-class carriers target the niche market segment for those clients who prefer luxurious mode of life. Their low budget airline segment has given their clients the chance to make informed and affordable travel choices. This means that, through the air Arabia airline, people who could not afford to travel by air have the ability to do so, while those who travelled by air can do so more frequently as long as they chose Air Arabia as their partner; that means the segment satisfies both the clients leisure needs and the company business. Air Arabia has segmented its services into two airline industries 1. Travel industry which is meant to help passengers who are interested in travelling to other countries for various reasons 2. Tourism industry which help tourists from their operating companies with hotel reservations Air Arabia main clientele targets are the low-income earners who likes travelling in other countries for leisure or personal official reasons. It targets those people who find it hard to afford air travel services (Hanlon, 2007). How air Arabia is Positioned in the Market against their Main Direct and Indirect Competitors. The main competitors of Air Arabia in its region include Jazeera Airways Etihad Airways, Emirates Airlines, Gulf Air and Air India Express. Emirates airlines enjoyed its competitive advantage when it came to service offering and good brand image. It had the biggest market share when air Arabia was formed because it was established earlier. Gulf air also proved to be a worthy competitor though the fact that it was not an official UAE airline, it did not pose much treat as compared to other competitors. Despite all the competitors’ ability to enjoy the biggest market share, Air Arabia managed to get to the peak due to its ability to offer cheap and affordable flights. Generally, low price strategy of Air Arabia has been their brand element. Above all, Air Arabia employs different pricing methods unlike their competitors who uses flat rate; Air Arabia has off peak and on peak flight charges. More so, Air Arabia offers discounts to customers who book their tickets on their online platform. Other booking services which have earned Air Arabia competitive advantage include point to point air services and products and internet and telephone bookings and telephone reservations systems. Air Arabia has also dealt with their direct competitors by enhancing promotion and social responsibility campaigns. To sum up, Air Arabia has always kept itself ahead of its competitors in all aspects. Above all, Air Arabia enjoys a good and large clientele pool because of its cheap prices and quality services. More so, its ability to embrace technology advancement has played a major role towards its competitive advantage. Marketing Mix Product The Air Arabia segment allows them to offer a lot of services to their customers. Their tourism and travel segments allow them to offer and diverse range of services at one place, an element which earn their clients a high level of satisfaction (Yoo, 2000). The company offers online booking services which makes booking services easier and cheaper since their clients do not need to waste time, money and resources going to travel agents. More so, they offer hotel reservation services to their clients which reduces their time and hustle to look for good places and hotels to stay. On top of the reservations, Air Arabia recommends the best and affordable option for the customers depending on their budget which makes their customers feel a sense of belonging thus promoting customer loyalty. Price Air Arabia employs the low-cost strategy for their services and products. This means that they offer lower prices compared to their regional competitors (Constantinides, 2006)). This strategy is aimed at targeting the low-income earners but end up attracting both the low and the high-income earners. Place The main operation avenue of Air Arabia is Sharjah in UAE. The company has more hubs in other countries which makes it easier for their clients to seek for their services no matter the country they are located. Promotion Air Arabia advertises its services and offers in all national dailies in their countries of operations to keep all their customers informed. Its website serves a very big purpose as far as its promotion is concerned. More so, Air Arabia employs social media to promote its services. The msn massager and the gulf newspapers has played a major role in publicizing its social media pages. Other marketing mix strategies include tariffs and off peak offers which attract a lot of clients. Recommendation Air Arabia is a flight company which has strived to improve and diversify the airline business at a very big degree. With excellent marketing strategies I would recommend the company to pay a close attention in upgrading the planes technology. In other words, as much as they would love to offer cheap services, it is good they buy new planes often. Conclusion Air Arabia has grown to one of the best travel and tour airline company in the world because of its ability to offer quality and affordable services in every route of their operation. it has made flights available to every person who wants to travel via air because of their low prices. More so, they have made booking of flights easier and cheaper by eliminating agencies with their online platform. References CAPA. (nd). Retrieved from CAPA centre for aviation: https://centreforaviation.com/data/profiles/airlines/air-arabia-g9 Constantinides, E. (2006). The marketing mix revisited: towards the 21st century marketing. Journal of marketing management, 22(3-4), 407-438. Retrieved from https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/the-marketing-mix-revisited-towards-the-21st-century-marketing Hanlon, J. P. (2007). Global airlines: competition in a transnational industry. Routledge. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=e5k_ruQTO50C&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=low+cost+air+arabia+airlines&ots=IeRQSC3Tru&sig=CntBhb-wxLGZQqg9HYsUClQI9iA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=low%20cost%20air%20arabia%20airlines&f=false Yoo, B. D. (2000). An examination of selected marketing mix elements and brand equity. Journal of the academy of marketing science, 28(2), 195-211. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Naveen_Donthu/publication/245335276_An_Examination_of_Selected_Marketing_Mix_Elements_and_Brand_Equity/links/0a85e53035a5398b37000000/An-Examination-of-Selected-Marketing-Mix-Elements-and-Brand-Equity.pdf Read More