As stated in the case study, the aviation industry is a dynamic and rapidly growing sector. Although they are very profitable, profits are difficult to achieve in the long term. Despite this, the airline industry has doubled its revenue over the past decade, as reported by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This growth is largely due to low-cost carrier LCCs owning 25% of the global market, through entry into emerging markets. Furthermore, the case study states that growth came from consistent and stable profits. By all accounts, the aviation industry appears flawless and extremely profitable, however, it is riddled with numerous challenges that stifle the success and survival of the industry. This essay aims to discuss the challenges faced by the aviation industry and answer the question whether localization strategy is feasible in this industry. First, the issues suffered in this sector will be discussed and then classified as external and internal challenges. Furthermore, this essay will define localization, its importance and whether it is a viable strategic plan for the industry or not. Finally, in summary, this essay will indicate whether it agrees with the common strategy of the airline industries and any recommendations for the industry. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay According to the case study, one of the major challenges facing the aviation industry is breaking even, which is an external challenge. Challenges external to an industry or company are those issues over which companies in the industry have no control and as such can only react to them. This struggle arises from the high levels of regulation imposed on this sector by the relevant authorities. Mhlanga (2017, cited in Bailey & Panzar, 1981), infers that regulation makes markets uncontestable, meaning that market entry is not only costly but difficult. Furthermore, this implies that sunk costs are higher than they should be and that entry risks are inadequate to prevent competing incumbents from entering the market. Furthermore, the government competing for customers with private airlines causes a major conflict of interest, as the governing body is now forced to be both judge and competitor in the marketplace. Legislation by government authorities poses a crucial danger to the airline industry due to the costly nature of complying with the rules set by the authorities. Henceforth, some forms of regulation exist to protect national airlines over LCCs and as such they pose a threat and thus make the airline industry unprofitable. According to Walulik (2018), “current international regulation is still fragmented and prevents the emergence of truly global businesses, markets and competition known from other sectors.” The regulations imposed on the aviation industry not only hinder the profits that can be achieved, but go against the very nature of this particular transport sector, aviation. Furthermore, as the case study states, external challenges such as pricing pressure influence the average price of a ticket. When average prices fall, airlines struggle to make adequate profits while keeping up with the rising costs associated with this industry, thus failing to break even in every period. As stated in the case study, the airline industry is extremely profitable but suffers from low profits, partly due to increased consumer demand that is not sufficiently met. To continuously attract customers, the companyAir Force should improve its aircraft and all other relevant technologies. This is very expensive because a machinery upgrade could easily cost the company millions. These millions could very well be used to develop other aspects of the business such as consumer desires. For example, an airline that already has operating planes may want to purchase Boeing's newest plane to attract fliers, but this expense is not necessary since there are other options for success. The airline could use the millions to purchase a new plane while improving marketing, advertising and the overall image of the airline. This would promote the image of the brand that wants to reach its customers personally and not just try to impress them with new aircraft. According to the case study, the aviation industry faces expensive fuel and rising operating costs. This is due to high fuel prices across the board. Running an airline is becoming much more expensive because fuel prices are constantly changing and increasing. Nowadays it is more efficient to own a fuel efficient aircraft which will save the airline millions in fuel expenses. Singh, Sharma, and Srivastava, (2018), state that getting a brand new aircraft leads to an improvement in the airline's skills. Maintaining the aircraft well over a period of time will significantly reduce fuel and maintenance costs. From now on, increase profits by reducing costs and inefficiency. The only problem with purchasing these efficient planes is that they are much more expensive than regular planes. Therefore the airline must be ready to face the high maintenance and procurement costs to drastically reduce expenses in the long term. Singh et al (2018), assume that costly measures by airlines to subsequently reduce costs, i.e. the introduction of new aircraft, will cause the main delay problem. As new technology is continually developed, the airline will constantly be one step behind innovation in an attempt to keep up. The airline should decide whether to grow through the acquisition of new technologies or internally promote its organization's customer-focused initiative in order to increase profits. From the case study, it is noted that costs can be saved and minimized through the implementation of organizational structure, improvement of production costs and changes to the operational plan. As noted in the case study, older airlines are observed to have complex systems that are more expensive to operate than smaller airlines. Older airlines, as well as domestic ones, should try to speed up the operational process so that it is quick and economical and not complicated and expensive. In the case study, it is observed that LCCs attempting to enter established markets may not be successful. This is due to existing customer loyalty that is difficult to shift. Furthermore, the difficulties faced by LCCs can be attributed to their inability to adequately understand the market in which they operate and the expensive nature of the business. In line with the case study, the issues faced by the aviation industry are many and complex. In light of this, the case study recommended that airlines must relentlessly pay attention to the innovative growth of their products to avoid continuing to receive diminishing profits in the long run. The case study also recommends that airlines make customer needs an important factor in thesuccess of this sector. (Hout, Porter, & Rudden, 1982, p.98). For these reasons, airlines should view their strategic plan as a guide to improving the products and services they offer. Most airlines (or LCCs) use global management strategies as they operate in the global market with the intention of increasing sales and making profits across nations (Iftikhar, 2018). One overall strategy that the airline may want to use is the localization strategy. Localization strategy focuses on creating customized products for a company to satisfy the wants and needs of consumers in that particular environment and make profits (Nzonzo, 2019). Localization aims to increase local customer responses in their indigenous area. This is done by ensuring that the products are tailor-made, that the marketing plan is innovative and well thought out. Furthermore, the localization strategy must be fully integrated into the national environment to attract local people to the product, thus making profits. Through research and development (R&D) of new products and innovations, the airline industry would be able to create customized or special products and services suited to the desires of local customers (Barrosoa, Giarratanab & Pasquini, p.13. 2019). For example, an airline that does not consider the cultural, religious or economic viewpoints of its passengers risks making serious mistakes regarding product creation, marketing and management of production systems for that particular region. Localization implies that products satisfy consumer desires by producing innovative and profitable products. Therefore, consumers must be able to see the value in the new specialized product offered to increase sales. Other disadvantages of this strategy would be that product customization sometimes limits the sharing of information and expertise that traditional airlines have compared to their smaller counterparts. This results in wasted capital and increased costs. As stated by the case study, the airline industry is expensive to operate in and suffers from poor customer responsiveness to help better understand the company. For this reason it has low profit margins. To be profitable, the airline industry should adopt the transnational strategy. It is a strategy that simultaneously aims to minimize costs by differentiating product offerings in various markets and adopting a flexible, skill-sharing approach across the company's global subsidiaries, as discussed previously ((Nzonzo, 2019) . The transnational strategy takes advantage of the emptiness of the world, allowing brands and companies to extend their impression globally within the scope of their product and service offerings. This is done by taking into account the social disparities that shape customers in that particular environment local. A transnational strategy is advantageous because it allows sharing of resources between countries, allows for less limited coordination, and ultimately helps a company increase its revenue by entering new markets, thus expanding its customer base (Meyer and Su, 2014). it can lead to management conflicts between different companies. It is also extremely difficult to implement let alone succeed. For example, if a Malaysian airline merged with a French airline it might want to enter the South African market, however it would have to do so. consider how well their products will adapt to the South African market, how to promote and market them to a new group of customers. With the transnational strategy, a company must be fully prepared to enter the industry with all the
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