Shuttle America
Case Analysis 1. Which strategy- cost leadership, differentiation, or focus- is Shuttle America following? Explain.
We think Shuttle America maintained its focus. Even though they had lots of competitors in the United States, they never took their eye of the prize. They remained focused even though looking for their startup capital was hard to produce in the first place. And in order to care for their patronizing customers, they kept their mechanics internally, meaning, they never hired outside subcontractors to maintain the planes because they were harder to monitor. For the planes themselves, Shuttle America purchased cheaper planes than the regular jet planes which bigger airways companies used. As a whole, we think Schriber, Aretakis, and Hackett did a good job in starting Shuttle America for middle-class people of the United States. 2. Perform a SWOT analysis for Shuttle America. a. Strengths * No outside subcontractors to maintain planes * Fuel doesn’t cost as expensive as of the big airline companies * More efficient and low-cost airplanes * Well-trained pilots
b. Weaknesses * Starting was difficult * Providing a start-up capital took long * Whenever the words “airlines” and “start-up” were used, investors would usually hang up on them
c. Opportunities * There are people who want to ride the airlines but cannot afford big airline companies, thus, taking Shuttle America’s services. * Small cities, such as Buffalo, NY, Hartford, CT, are only passed by big airline companies. Shuttle America passes by these cities.
d. Threats * Competition with big airline companies can affect their customers. * Being a small airline company, passengers may be worried of their safety. 3. On a scale of 0 to 100, how would you asses Shuttle America’s chances of business success? Explain.
We would say about 80%. We said so because Shuttle America
We think Shuttle America maintained its focus. Even though they had lots of competitors in the United States, they never took their eye of the prize. They remained focused even though looking for their startup capital was hard to produce in the first place. And in order to care for their patronizing customers, they kept their mechanics internally, meaning, they never hired outside subcontractors to maintain the planes because they were harder to monitor. For the planes themselves, Shuttle America purchased cheaper planes than the regular jet planes which bigger airways companies used. As a whole, we think Schriber, Aretakis, and Hackett did a good job in starting Shuttle America for middle-class people of the United States. 2. Perform a SWOT analysis for Shuttle America. a. Strengths * No outside subcontractors to maintain planes * Fuel doesn’t cost as expensive as of the big airline companies * More efficient and low-cost airplanes * Well-trained pilots
b. Weaknesses * Starting was difficult * Providing a start-up capital took long * Whenever the words “airlines” and “start-up” were used, investors would usually hang up on them
c. Opportunities * There are people who want to ride the airlines but cannot afford big airline companies, thus, taking Shuttle America’s services. * Small cities, such as Buffalo, NY, Hartford, CT, are only passed by big airline companies. Shuttle America passes by these cities.
d. Threats * Competition with big airline companies can affect their customers. * Being a small airline company, passengers may be worried of their safety. 3. On a scale of 0 to 100, how would you asses Shuttle America’s chances of business success? Explain.
We would say about 80%. We said so because Shuttle America