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Swot Analysis Of United Airlines

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Introduction

The airline industry has been a major factor in the globalization of the world economy. It connects the sellers and the buyers as well as transports goods across countries. It also breaks the time and distance barriers. In the past, air travel was considered a luxury but it is now a common necessity.

The “ Battle Of The Air” has been used to describe current situation in the airline industry. The emergence of “ No Frills “ discount carriers such as Air Asia, Mahlindo, Firefly have threatened the survival of the traditional giants such as MAS, SIA, Thai Airways in the APAC regions and even the Big Boys across the continents such as United, Delta, Continental, Luftansa, Emirates and US Airway ( Myron J.Smith, 2012 ) face competition …show more content…

Based on these factors, we can conclude that with the strict safety and operational rules and regulations imposed by the regulators in current political environment, stiff competition from the budget “ No Frills” carriers, the evolution of the passenger profile and airline accidents ( missing planes / air plane crashes and environmental progresses have affected the viability and profitability of the global airline industry.

B ) Environmental Scanning Using SWOT Analysis

United Airlines Inc ( United ) is ranked as the world’s largest airline based on the number of destinations flown. United is represented by “ Fly The Friendly Skies” slogan and the “ Rhapsody In Blue” theme song. ( Berryman, Marvin E, 2014 ).

A SWOT analysis of United will enable us to be able to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of this airline. We will start by identifying the business objectives of this airlines and then identifying the internal / external factors which are favourable as well as unfavourable towards achieving these objectives.

The goals have always been very consistent throughout the years :

• Customer Centricity
• Country Strategic Resources
• Stakeholders ( ROI )

United’s business approach is “ Focus On Five”, referring to a very comprehensive set of priorities based on the core basics of managing a good airline :
• On time arrival …show more content…

Weaknesses

( i ) High Dependency On Third Party Providers

United depends strongly on third party providers to ensure smooth operations. Many integral functions comprising of the maintenance, repair, fuelling of the aircraft as well as call centres are outsourced. This increases the company’s expenses and decreases the revenue.
The company’s reputation will be at stake if these third party providers fail to perform or to live up to expectations.

( ii ) Strong Unions

A strong majority of the United’s employees are part of professional unions as per the following :
• Flight attendants : AFA
• Pilots : ALPA
• Engineers : IFPTE
• Dispatchers : PAFCA
More than 5,000 flights were cancelled as a result of pilots going on strike ( Washington Post, 2000 ). United’s schedule was on standstill for 29 days when their pilots went on strike in 1985 resulting in severe losses and a downward plunge in customer confidence ( www.alpa.org, 1985

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