Introduction
The government of Dubai set up The Emirates Airline Company in 1985 by the Dubai government. German Airline, its founder, supported the company (“The Emirates Story” 1).The company has been recognized in several ways. For instance, in 2007, it was noted to be the number eight company in size within the world market in regard with the international passengers transported.
It is also recognized as the number five company within the airline industry in terms of “the scheduled international passenger-kilometers flown” (“Leadership analysis: Emirates Airlines” 1). The company is also recognized for being among the five airline companies, which carry out their operations in the whole “wide-body aircraft feel” (“Leadership analysis: Emirates Airlines” 1). Beginning from the time the Emirates began operating, they have been in a position of gaining a competitive advantage within the market.
The current leaders in this company are regarded as being very influential and important people in the organization and this is for the reason that they are the people who ensure objectives are realized in the company. Moreover, this company’s success is attributed to their business as well as marketing strategies that enable the company to stay ahead of the competition in the industry (“Leadership analysis: Emirates Airlines” 1).
In the present day, every business organization is making an effort to employ strategies, which would boost or sustain their competitive advantage within the market and Emirate is one of them.
In this regard, a company’s management as well as its corporate strategies give description of leading and directing operations in the organization by “exhausting their available resources extensively in order to attain the organizational objectives” (“Leadership analysis: Emirates Airlines” 1). The key competitors for this company include British Airways, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air Company, Deutsche Lufthansa, and Air France-KLM S.A.
These companies are a big threat to Emirates Airline (Safi 21). This paper is going to analyze Emirates Airline’s business excellence and quality management strategy. The aviation industry is also going to be looked at and in addition, the paper is going to consider competencies and potential sources of competitive advantage for Emirates Airline. The last section is going to present a summary of the discussion and recommendations.
The Aviation Industry
The world aviation industry experienced calamities in the course of the financial crises, with “more than a score of airline bankruptcies, shrinkage in airline networks and service levels and IATA adjusted its estimates for 2009 net losses from US$11 billion” (Safi 7). Within the entire aviation sector, airlines underwent contraction, serious price cuts; lose of employment by workers in the sector.
As on one hand oil prices had been found to control the initial half of the year 2008; on the other hand, the second half of the same year was marked with recession and it brought in a bleak depiction for the financial year 2009/2010 planners. The decreasing demand, devastated consumer confidence and revenues of the airlines reduced.
A reduction of fifteen percent within the world market witnessed altered business patterns and this in turn implied that there was cutting down of the travelling budgets. Basing on the information provided by Emirates Airline; the world aviation industry, confronted with the need to carry out an investment of about one trillion dollars in “new, fuel-efficient aircraft, was confronted with a baking industry reluctant to lend after the new collapse of the finance sector” (Safi 7).
Emirates Airline’s Key Capabilities and Resources, its Competencies and Potential Sources of Competitive Advantage
Emirates Airline undertakes its operations of a business model of its own kind, marked by flexibility. Following this, this company has been able to engage in bringing reasonably priced pioneering products to the market that are exceptional. Flexibility in the company’s operations has made it possible for the management of the organization to come up with the means of dealing with the economic crisis.
Emirates’ business model “supports long haul flights and the firm aims at connecting two points of the globe via its twenty four hours Dubai terminal” (“The Emirates Airline” 1). The model does not boost costly short haul that usually reduces the companies’ earnings. In relative terms, the “long haul” flights are less expensive and this is because of the fewer stopovers, which aircrafts make on their destinations. In addition, the “long haul flights” have been bringing in more profits to the company (“The Emirates Airline” 1).
The rate of recurrence of the long haul flights has caused the company to turn out to gain more and following this, the company has seen it to be pointless to raise the level of fares. In whatever company, pricing defines the competitive advantage of that company. This implies that the success attained by Emirates Airline results from low cost flights.
Moreover, the company has a large number of advisors and innovative and creative managers who undertake their activities “for the best interest of the airline” (“The Emirates Airline” 1). The greatly inventive managers as well assist in producing competitive products, which mostly compete in a successful way with those offered by the rival companies.
The company has also adopted the newest technology, which they use in booking of flights. This has enabled them to increase the level of customer service. The level of client contentment has increased and this is a result of bringing in internet booking as well as improved communication with their clients before they take up flights. A large number of the clients have been in a position of moving from other airline companies such as Singapore Airlines to the now well-known Emirates Airline.
The Emirates Airline Company has as well been fitted with “top-of-the-range flat screens to give the passengers an exotic feel whilst flying aboard the Emirates Airline” (“The Emirates Airline” 1). Advanced technology has been utilized greatly in all aircrafts that Emirate Airlines operates.
The travelers are satisfied with this and are ready to travel in the aircrafts of this company because they will have to enjoy the interesting experience while they are travelling. Furthermore, the company utilizes the U.S. dollar as the regular legal tender. The dollar’s steadiness against other foreign currencies makes sure that this company retains increased gains. In addition, the United States dollar is suitable for all the travelers not considering the nations they come from (“The Emirates Airline” 1).
The company has also various types of airlines, which it operates. This offers its clients an advantage because they make a choice easily about which airline to travel in. Every year, Emirates Airline buys new aircrafts and this makes their airlines “to be relatively new and able to meet the requirements by the Air safety bodies” (“The Emirates Airline” 1).
The company’s aircrafts have not been involved in accidents recently. This contributes greatly towards restoring the passengers’ confidence in the company and this makes the passengers to continue preferring this airlines (“The Emirates Airline” 1).
Considering environmental concerns, Emirates Airline has set up efficiency engines in all of its aircrafts and this ensures that minimal amounts of carbon oxides are released into the atmosphere. This move makes the company’s flights to be environmental friendly. The aircrafts that this company operates can move for one hundred kilometers on just four liters and this makes them to be considered as great fuel savers (“The Emirates Airline” 1).
Emirates Airline’s Business Excellence and Quality Management Strategy
Emirates Airline, as a great organization, “are spanning a portfolio of more than 50 brands and employing over 50,000 employees for over 150 countries”(Safi 13). The commitment that the company has to non-stop improvement in the product is accomplished by the continuing compulsion to undertake implementation of higher efficiencies in all the technical areas.
Efficiencies transform into “cost savings” and operations that are more environmental friendly indicates the company’s business excellence (Safi 13). It is reported that to support the increasing Emirates fleet, the company made plans in 2010 to open “a Technical Facility for maintenance” costing more than five hundred and forty five million dollars (Safi 13).
It was also planned that a paint shop be set up in order to be utilized in repainting the aircraft by applying the latest technology paints which are able to reduce “in-flight drag” (Safi 13). Fresh indicator received was witnessed in the course of the year in, “1000th GE90 engine for Boeing 777 fleet, and 6000th Airbus production aircraft in A 380” (Safi 1313).
Such support makes Emirate to the podium of their own for “securing their future in an efficient way from partnerships such as Boeing, Airbus, and Rolls Royce, it describes the key excellence of the company for the coming challenges” (Safi 13). Moreover, the fresh plan that was put in place to open terminal 3 within the third quarter of the year 2012 for the Dubai International Airport proves to be another fresh level of business excellence (Safi 13).
Safi reports that each year and each month, Emirates have astonishing news regarding their fleet but the company continues setting up this remarkable asset and they put it in track (Safi 8). In the course of the financial year 2009/2010, Emirates “took delivery of eleven Boeing 777s and four Airbus A380s” (Safi 8). This move made their fleet to increase to one hundred and fifty two and one hundred and ninety four “aircraft on order” (Safi 8). The company planned to “take delivery of new aircraft at an average of one per month” (Safi 8).
The company also goes on negotiating with aircraft producers to have more aircrafts. The Airbus A380 is the final symbol of this company’s pioneering character they refer to as ‘superjumbo’. The A380 goes on being the banner on any fresh airport across the globe and these include “Jeddah, Bangkok, Seoul, Toronto, and Paris” (Safi 8). There was addition of these regions to the A380 network, which already encompassed Heathrow, Auckland, and Sydney (Safi 8).
It is also clear that the initiative taken by Emirates, based on “the Oracle E-Business Suite, has integrated the accounting, human resources, procurement, and order management functions across the entire group” (“Emirates Airline set to soar with Oracle” 1).This has made it possible for over nine thousand employees to have access to the main business applications as well as information through the internet.
The company anticipates many measurable business gains from the e-business project it has set up, within and for its “client-and-partnership” departments (“Emirates Airline set to soar with Oracle” 1). All the company’s important information is currently centralized in a single location. This has enabled the company to deal with cross-sectional issues concerning business. The management of the Emirates will have one and full view of the whole company. This will enable the process of making decisions to be fact-based and timely.
Centralization and higher efficiency in the company’s basic business functions is expected to bring about reduced costs of operation leading to higher profitability. Moreover, the new business processes that are streamlined basing on the “Oracle E-Business Suite” are anticipated to bring about higher levels of efficiencies in the entire organization (“Emirates Airline set to soar with Oracle”).
It is pointed out that “the optimization of customer focus, reliability, and efficiency are three of the overarching objectives in the diverse businesses of Emirates Group” (“Emirates Airline set to soar with Oracle” 1). To realize these objectives while managing the company’s fast growth of profitability, the company needed strong technological bases, which are supplied by “Oracle E-Business Suite” in a unique way.
The travel as well as aviation industries are among industries that are most competitive across the globe, and the Emirates Airline has depended for a long time on the greatly advanced technology to assist in operating at the highest service levels (“Emirates Airline set to soar with Oracle” 1).
Among the very important elements in the project was to make sure that the entire company’s Information Technology systems as well as applications would bring and operate together “right out of the box” (“Emirates Airline set to soar with Oracle” 1).
With the fresh e-business infrastructure, this company has the most current and all-inclusive view of several components including the logistical, financial and human components of a variety of its functional units. The information makes it possible for the company to make a response to the fresh opportunities and challenges promptly, and came up with the fresh and improved ways to serve its clients and partners.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The Emirates Airline is a very successful company in the industry. Its success is attributed to the effective strategies that the company has put in place. The company has been effectively capitalizing on available opportunities to with the competition. The company has very high business excellence.
Emirates Airline undertakes its operation of business model of its own kind, marked by flexibility. Following this, this company has been able engage in bringing reasonably priced innovative products to the market, which are exceptional. It has put in place an effective quality management strategy. Although the company is relatively young within the industry as compared to the competitors, its innovative power and good leadership, it has released high growth since its inception.
Since competition in the market is increasing with each coming minute, there is need to keep up with changes and challenges that are continuously occurring in the market. Emirates Airlines need to continue capitalizing on the innovative power it has and also to reach new markets. This will enable it to remain ahead of the competition. The company needs to improve on its total quality management strategy.
So far, the company has done well but it needs to do more. The company needs to put in place very strong technological bases. This will assist the company to realize optimal customer focus, increased dependability, and efficiency of information within the organization. This will eventually lead to a greater competitive advantage for the company.
Works Cited
Emirates Airline set to soar with Oracle E-Business Suite, 2012. Web.
Leadership analysis: Emirates Airlines, 2007. Web.
Safi, Abedelazez. Analysis of luxury airlines Emirates Airways and Competitors, 2011. Web.
The Emirates Airline, 2012. Web.
The Emirates Story, 2012. Web.