For the purposes of this report I have chosen Flybe as my main focus of discussion in the UK and European airline industry. Flybe is Europe’s largest regional airline with 162 routes, operating from a total of 53 departure points. In this report I will analyse why it has made sense for Flybe to build on their strengths of being a regional operator and how they have managed to find a niche in the crowded airline marketplace. I will also discuss their strategy for future growth and how they have chosen their battleground carefully. I will discuss in detail how Flybe is attempting to fulfil its mission statements of “Low Cost, But not at any cost” and “To give you safe, efficient and friendly service”(Flybe, 2008).
Eye For Travel (2008) reports that Flybe’s financial reports for the year-ending 31 March 2008 show 46% increase in turnover to £535.9m. There was also a profit before tax of £53.4m. Flybe’s competitors such as EasyJet, Ryaniar and BMI Baby have not had such positive figures in these tough economic conditions. I have included in this report the capability analysis of Flybe, the stakeholders analysis and how Flybe can utilise its resources to gain competitive advantage. Relevant appendices and a bibliography are included at the end of the report.
STRATEGIC CAPABILITY ANALYSIS FOR FLYBE
Effectiveness of strategies used 2002-2008
The period 2002-2008 was significant for Flybe. It coincided with a major shift in strategy in response to market conditions. Flybe adopted the LCC business strategy in 2002 (Done, 2003). The author’s aim is to identify the strategies using the Bowman’s Strategy Clock (1995). Evaluation of strategies will be done using the TOWS matrix (see Appendix 1 for Flybe’s strengths and weaknesses).
Low Cost No Frills Strategy
The adoption of the LCC business model by Flybe as a strategy can arguably be described as the positioning approach. This strategy could not have been planned but was rather an emergent one
References: Barney, J.B. (2001) “Is the resource based ‘view’ a useful perspective for Strategic management research? Yes.” Academy of Management Review 21, 41-56 Bized (2008) http://www.bized.co.uk/current/leisure Done, K. (2003) Companies UK: Flybe negotiates to join the big league [online] Financial times. London: Available from: http://ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=flybe&page=&y=6&drillDown=%2Bgaco. [Accessed 17 November 2007] Done, K Done, K. (2006) BA sells regional unit to Flybe [online] FT.com site. London. Available from: http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=flybe&page=11&y=b&drillDown=%2Bgaco [Accessed 17 November 2007] Done, K Done, K. (2007) Flybe flies into loss [online] FT.com site. London. Available from: http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=flybe=&y6&drillDown=%2Bgaco [Accessed 17 November 2007] Done, K. (2007) Ryanair orders 27 Boeing jets. FT.com site [online] Available from: http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=flybe=&y6&drillDown=%2Baco [Accessed26 November 2007] Flybe (2008) Flybe official website Foss, N.J. and Kaudsen, T. (2003) “The resource-based tangle towards a sustainable explanation of competitive advantage.” Managerial and Decision Economics 24, 291-207. George, B Grant, R.M. (2005) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. 5th ed. Blackwell Publishing. Australia. Hatch, M.J and Schult, M (2003) Bringing the Corporation into corporate branding. European Journal of Marketing. 37 (7/8), 1041-1064. Johnson, G; Scholes, K; Whittington, R (2006) Exploring Corporate Strategy – Texts and Cases, 7th edition. Prentice Hall, London Leavy, B Lynch, R (2003) Corporate Strategy. 3rd Edn. Prentice Hall, London. Parnell, J.A. (2006) Generic strategies after two decades: a re-conceptualisation of competitive strategy. Management Decision. 44 (8), 1139-1154. Pegels, C.C. and Yang, B. (2000) The impact of managerial characteristics on strategic assets, management capabilities. Team Performance management: An Introduction Journal , 6 (5/6), 97-106. Reuters (2008) Flybe – Another new horizon for Flybe: NON-REG. http://www.reuters.com/article Skyscanner (2008) Flybe goes from strength to strength This is Exeter (2008) Flybe unveils plans for a 160-bedroom hotel at city airport. http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/business/Flybe-unveils-plans-160-bedroom-hotel Tudway, R and A.M Transport Research Laboratory (2004) Airline Performance Indicators. Transport Research Laboratory, Wokingham. London.