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  • Essay / Integrated Cost Leadership and Differentiation Strategy at Airasia

    Running an airline business is inevitably expensive. To cover these expenses, airlines are forced to increase their airfares. However, AirAsia defied the norms and tried to offer the lowest prices compared to other airlines. AirAsia has successfully positioned itself in customers' minds as a low-cost carrier and this has become one of its comparative advantages. Low fare concept established by AirAsia not only for launch promotion purposes but also for regular offering. AirAsia's intention in applying the low cost concept is to capture more customers who were previously unable to afford airline fares and gain a greater market share. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Moreover, for companies that operate under a cost leadership strategy, controlling cost factors is essentially important. Compared to other airlines in this industry, AirAsia operates on a no-frills approach, where it minimizes all non-essential features to keep the airfare as low as possible from time to time. Low prices are their main key to being competitive in this highly competitive industry. Apart from that, at AirAsia, there are no reserved meals and seats were offered. Seating on flights is based on a first-come, first-served basis. Although AirAsia offers passengers the option to pre-select their seats, they generally will not purchase as they have to pay extra. Therefore, AirAsia considers this as its strategy to attract passengers to arrive at the boarding gate on time and at the same time their flight can take off online. This could enable more routes to be served every day and increase commercial performance. In turn, more profits can be generated through an effective and efficient operation. AirAsia targets different customer segments using a different strategy. They offer unique and distinctive functionality to customers willing to pay a premium price. For example, AirAsia has enabled its passengers with additional options to personalize their in-flight experience. Passengers can pay more for a comfortable and enlarged seat cushion, on-board WiFi service by subscribing to the Rokki plan, upgraded neck pillow and blanket. However, passengers who are not interested in these premium features can continue to enjoy low fares without affecting their choice of preferences. AirAsia applies a strategy of differentiation in its operations by rewarding its customers through the “Big Loyalty” program. Through this program, members are allowed to earn points for every penny spent on their products and services. For example, passengers can earn points for spending on airline tickets and travelers can get rewards for spending on booking accommodation through the AirAsia Go program. In addition, AirAsia also enjoys advantages as the first player to introduce electronic booking and self-verification through its website. All these strategies are capable of creating value for AirAsia customers and building loyalty towards AirAsia. Through cost leadership strategy alone, AirAsia will only be able to capture price-sensitive customers by offering the lowest airfares compared to its competitors. But this..