Emirates AirlineThe paper involves the analysis of communication strategies employed by the Emirates Airline Company. Firstly, Emirates Airline was a project that set to start in the year 1959 by the government of Dubai. Originally, it was operating from Dubai International Airport that time (Rehman, 2008). It had only five staff members . Although it did not commence at that time, the company was officially launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Mr. Flanagan in the year of 1985. It costed them $10 million.
The Company’s Activities
The company is involved in the transporting passengers from one country to another whereby it operated in Karachi from Dubai. Its operations latter on extended to many cities such as Istanbul, London, Cairo and Damascus. In just a span of 38 months of the company’s operation in business, it had gained popularity and more destinations had been added to its schedule. Its total number of destinations had increased to 23 by the end of the year 1990, the number of passengers being flown to these destinations amounted to 25,000 on a weekly basis. In conjunction to the services it offered, the company added video systems to the planes that it used and it became the first airline company to order for an n expensive Airbus full flight simulator at $20 million (Rehman, 2008). The company advanced further as it expanded its operations to different countries such as France and this expansion has shown it was developing its facilities. The many technological facilities that were introduced during its growth period were telecommunication devices in all of the three classes and the on flight fax service.
In its area of operation, the Emirates Airline Company collaborates with Emirates to open Emirates Flight Training Center for nurturing pilots. This occurrence is dated back to 1995. Its range of activities do not end there, but extends to the sponsoring the Dubai World Cup of horse-racing. The other area of interest that this company has ventured into is the tourism and hotel property market. In brief, the company deals much with travel and tourism, although it has collaborated with many industries that are mainly in the leisure area by sponsoring them. Currently the company boasts of employing more than 65,000 people that work in their various stations and sectors in which they have ventured. The business units are estimated to be 70 all over the world together with operating in more than 200 countries (Rehman, 2008).
Communication Strategy
Since the company has many business units around the world, their communication system has been well developed, updated according to meet the market needs. As observed, their communication strategy has improved and evolved to a more sophisticated one. This is the main reason of the enormous growth in terms of profits and the number of clients and partnerships . The company relies much on sophisticated Information Communication Technologies as the most reliable strategy for its communication purposes with all its stakeholders. Bearing in mind that the company operates in more than 200 countries worldwide, this adoption of the ICTs works in its favor as competitiveness in the tourism, and travel industries is very health. ICTs provide powerful and tactical tools that are necessary for this organization that have been satisfactorily been used to promoting and strengthening their competitive ness. Since Emirates Airline has been using these technologies in the past and even in the present, the corporation has always come out successful despite having few setbacks. The Internet is one of these aspects that has accounted for the successful communication implementation within this company. This is to say the company has taken advantage of the existence of the World Wide Web to become digital and networked, therefore, conducting its activities and offering electronically. This e-commerce has seen the company transforming over the number of years. The customers are able to receive their services in an easy manner through the company’s website and the other social media platforms that do advertise the brands of this corporation.
In addition to the above, these are the main point to address but not limited to them:
Corporate reporting: In the journey of achieving its goals, the company does some other extra activities that are meant to communicate to the entire team of stakeholders of the progress that has been achieved, as well as the setbacks that their empire has suffered with. This communication is done through several channels that are attached to the ICTs communication strategy and they include corporate reporting, capital raising documents, stakeholder collateral, and international communication supporting the employee, the talent brand, and the recruitment collateral ( Eid, 2012).
Integrated marketing communication is another strategy that is employed by Emirates Airline Company on a regular basis. It involves the coordination and integration of marketing communication tools, and sources into a program that ensures the maximization on the consumer impact and the end users of the products of this corporate at a minimal cost ( Eid, 2012). This minimal cost should be formulated in regards to the active competitors in the market. In connection to this point, the Emirates Airline Corporation has divided its services into the following categories:
- Marketing: It comprises of the products the airline company offers, its pricing systems, the distribution systems and the promotional programs the Airline company offers.
- Promotions: The investment of this corporation is also conveyed through advertisements, holding of sale promotions in the various using different platforms; social media, use of personnel in the different countries worldwide.
- Integrated marketing communication: It is the most paramount of all these categories as it involves, direct marketing, the formulation and scheduling of public relations programs, the sponsorship and not forgetting the Internet marketing ( Eid, 2012).
Emirates Airline has ventured into this communication plan in order to present a unified message of efficiency, productivity, quality and excellence as their motto. In the corporate reporting, the company does provide each stakeholder with annual reports that are available on its website. These reports can be printed once updated. Since the use of the Internet is accessible to many people, Emirates Airline has taken a step of digitalizing its reports for members and the public for auditing. Therefore, the access will become easy and whoever has interest in the use of its services uses the relevant sites that are recommended by this company. In addition to the printable online reports, the other reports availed by their communication and marketing department on the online sites are the integrated repots, the scheduled messaging and theming workshops that are marketing and awareness strategies(Lawton, 2007). The sustainability reports, the staging of annual general meetings, as well as, reviews and profiles that are associated to the corporation are certainly on their website for easy access and fast communication. This strategy is a product of the resolutions for the challenges that do face this company. For instance, this airline has developed an innovation with the version of Emirates.com. It is optimally used in smartphones as passengers interact with Emirates while they travel. The web-site isavailable from anywhere in the world (Lawton, 2007). ICT developments has seen the corporation access sources of funds for its expansion and sponsorship programs since the scheme booklets, the prospectuses, rights offers and the IPO advertisings have been used as capital generating platforms.
Recommendations
After examining the airline corporation’s operations extensively, one is obliged to provide a communication strategy plan that well suits this company. The recommended plan major aim lies in the improvment of the traditional marketing communications, branding content of this airline company for digital platforms, changing of the routinely values, safety measures and supporting the implementation of a new business plan (Collins, 2002). In doing so the airline will be addressing employees’ grievances, capitalizing on the pitfalls that the other companies that offer the same products or venture into the same market experience.
Basing on the fact that global economies do differ, Emirates Airline should have access to the economic and political situation in the states that they have invested to have an amicable resolutions that face the corporation. As mentioned above, the strategies should be shifted in favor of the stakeholders, especially the end-users of the brands of this corporation to avoid crises of users opting for other companies that offer these services. This is possible through harnessing the emerging technologies, such as use of Internet-enabled gadgets by the end users to access the company’s services to access; customer care serves on a 24-hour basis. This the point at which innovations are crucial(Collins, 2002). This strategy involves the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn that are the a few phone buttons away. The company should invest much into this strategic plan of customers shopping for the best value flights, checking flight status, hotel booking to have fast and accurate information as the airline and its employees. The other services that should be included in the airline’s list of strategies to implement are included below.
During booking, the customer should also be presented with the varieties of food that is offered for early communication. A code for verification upon boarding the plane at the airport should be sent to customer’s phone during booking (Collins, 2002). It is recommended that the code should be identified electronically to avoid consuming time on manual checking. As observed from their website, improvements are required in the section of accommodation of various mobile devices footprints. The acceptance of these footprints should be extended to smaller displays, as well as, all font sizes in order to optimize the customer base. Instead of only accepting some phone, smartphones, it should improve in a manner that those with simple phones to also access the same services. The messages sent to customers should automated but specific to the customer’s request as possible. Therefore, it needs that customers are having access to unique profiles to avoid providing irrelevant information to clients.
References Collins, V. R. (2002). Careers in airlines and airports. London: Kogan Page.
Eid, R. (2012). Successful customer relationship management programs and technologies: Issues and trends. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference
Lawton, T. C. (2007). Strategic management in aviation: Critical essays. Burlington, VT: Ashgate
Rehman, A. A. (2008). Dubai & Co: Global strategies for doing business in the Gulf states. New York: McGraw-Hill.
