Airlines Aim for Merger, Essay Example

British Airways has been successful in part due to its communication strategies. According to a publication by the company describing what they have been able to achieve greatness, they reported that “colleagues are kept well informed about our Company, customers and industry by using comprehensive internal communications” (British Airways, 2008). Above all, they emphasize face-to-face communications when necessary and try to ensure that members of the company are able to meet the other members of the personnel because knowing more about one another will help them to achieve their common goal. Interestingly, the company emphasizes their pride and encourages employees to contribute their ideas to the development team. It appears that the structure of communication promoted among British Airways employees encourages them to become motivated and dedicated to their mission.

Communication was an integral part in the success of British Airways, beginning with the formation of the company as a union of British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways in additional to several smaller airlines (British Airways, n.d.). This feat would not have been as financially successful if the founders of this corporation were unable to coordinate the many differences that existed between these component organizations. As a consequence of this success, it is not surprising that British Airways has become the national airline for England.

Although British Airways was very successful in its initial stages due to an ability to unite many public and private airlines that had been operating in the United Kingdom, its success continued with additional acquisitions in the 1990’s. In 1992, the company acquired Dan-Air, which helped it to become the dominant airline at Gatwick airport, and in 1993, the company formed British Asia Airways, a subsidiary company, which helped it expand its market. Most significantly, however, in 1998 British Airways formed the Oneworld airline alliance with many other successful airlines around the world and became the third largest airline alliance in the world (BBC News, 2000).

It is very likely that British Airways will continue to negotiate mergers and partnerships in the future due to its unique ability to strike bargains and arrangements that appear to benefit all parties involved. Even though the company initially began by only travelling to locations including Bahrain, New York City, and Singapore, the airline now travels to over 160 destinations across the world (Smith, 2009).

Customers continue to choose British Airways for their flight needs due to their excellent customer service, the many flight destinations available, and their marketing campaigns. In 1989, the company started calling themselves “The World’s Favourite Airline”. Even though this slogan was later dropped because one of their competitor airlines started receiving more business, this reputation stuck and British Airways still remained a popular flight choice. Through their marketing campaigns, it is clear that the company’s communication skills have increased their popularity. In particular, British Airways has reached out to target groups through sporting events such as the Wimbledon Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Even though British Airways is no longer the world’s most popular airline, it and its subsidiaries will likely remain in at least the top 20 category due to their unique ability to communicate with each other and their customer base. It is also likely that the company will continue to grow and may one day again achieve its status as the best.

References

BBC News. (2000). Airlines Aim for Merger. Retrieved from  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/832102.stm

British Airways. (n.d.). Explore Our Past. Retrieved from http://www.britishairways.com/travel/history-1970-1979/public/en_gb#

British Airways. (2008). Annual Report and Accounts. Retrieved from  http://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/microsites/ba_reports0809/pdfs/Workplace.pdf

Smith P. (2009). Ask the Pilot: Welcome to the Six Continent Club! Retrieved from  http://www.salon.com/writer/technology/