It was in 1919 when the first British airline was established, the Aircraft Transport and Travel. British Airways first scheduled flight was in August 25th 1919, and its route was Le Bourget - Honslow. The airport was the home of the airline. Later two other airlines were established, the Instone and the Handley Page. These companies had to face many difficulties and also had to face the competition of French airlines with lower fares. In 1976, Concorde started flying with British airways, and the company had a big fleet of planes. In the early 80’s, British Airways faced some serious economic problems but measures were taken and in 1987 the airline was privatised. It is Europe’s third- largest Airline. The Porter Five Forces Model says that the structure of an industry and the ability of firms in that industry to act strategically depend upon the relative strengths of five forces. The current competition has been considered under the heading of market structure. Firms in a highly competitive market might be unhappy with the lack of power they have over various factors like pricing. If they are successful there will be a change in the level of current competition and therefore in market structure. British airways current competitors are considered to be; Easyjet, Ryanair, Virgin Express, American airlines British Midlands (BMI), and Royal Dutch airlines (KLM). BA which used to call itself the worlds favourite airline has been out-manoeuvred by smaller airlines in fiercely competitive budget flight sector, and falling passenger numbers have forced it to overhaul its own market strategy. The cut-throat competition has produced low fares that would not have been dreamed of a few years ago, as airlines try desperately to fill their planes. Easyjet, Ryanair, Debonair, Virgin Express and BA’s own “no-frills” service, Go, were all set up during the 1990s to tap into the growing market of budget flights. Threat of new entry is another of
Bibliography: Web sites: htpp://www.britishairways.com htpp://www.news.bbc.co.uk htpp://www.x-rates.com htpp://www.osl-ltd.co.uk/tutor/samples/lesson2002_2.doc Books: The Business Environment Fourth Edition Ian Worthington and Chris Britton.