SWOT analysis of Cathay Pacific
Using SWOT analysis, Cathay Pacific aspires to be a leader and will help to share future policies that affect the aviation industry by working with government and its partners as the strength. Cathay Pacific also identifies leveraging its brand and demonstrating that it is a company that can be trusted is its next target. A key part of the corporate reputation for the future points to the communication with its staff and getting them involved in delivering a more sustainable growth path (Flattoau, Matthews and Lott, 2006).
A key strength is through its dynamic team, the highest quality service could be provided hence making the customers happy with their choice. Further, Cathay Pacific is also committed to Hong Kong and its people that is why through its organisation and management style, various conditions are created to make it possible to deliver campaigns that in part a substantial investment to developing the industry and enhancing the company’s position as a regional transportation hub (Cathay Pacific online; Beckford, 1998, p. 185).
As such, the service is renowned because of the people who are always willing to go the extra mile to make the passenger feel special. The people use their training and intuition to provide all those little things that passengers may want even before they start asking for them so passengers can enjoy an exceptional travel experience.
One of the most evident marketing capabilities of Cathay Pacific is its affiliation with ‘oneworld’ alliance as Cathay Pacific’s other strength. Oneworld enables its members to offer customers more services and benefits than any airline could provide alone. Through the world renowned global airline alliance, Cathay Pacific was able to be a flight of choice since it can provide greater convenience of being able to choose flights on more days, or more flights on any given day. Customer satisfaction is what Cathay Pacific is after through providing the customers more flight choices, smooth transfers, access to other airport lounges and enhanced benefits.
Another strength apparent on Cathay Pacific’s operation is that it invests heavily on loyalty programmes as part of its customer relationship approach. There are two loyalty programmes for Cathay Pacific and one among this is the Marco Polo Club, which is a frequent flyer program. The Club is one of the most well-established schemes for Cathay Pacific and Oneworld alliance. The programme is so holistic that it is treated another brand inside Cathay Pacific especially since it is immediately adjacent to first class where passengers paying full economy fares enjoy improved service and facilities (Chan 2000).
Cathay Pacific’s weakness would be on its organisational structure that has become inefficient as the company become more complex. This could hinder Cathay Pacific’s ability to manage its international network of subsidiaries and other alliances. Prior to acquisition of Dragonair, Cathay Pacific has lost its competitive advantage which resulted in declining sales because of intensifying competition. During the 2000s, Cathay Pacific realised that there is the need to overcome the challenges of competition thus acquiring Dragonair. Future challenges of additional competition brings if Cathay Pacific will not resolve in strategic option (Page, 2007).
An opportunity and a threat, what Cathay Pacific and Dragonair can do to remain competitive in the regional and global airline industries is to strongly disprove the open skies in Hong Kong. Major routes of Cathay Pacific are also being served by five foreign airlines hence passengers have wide choices of carriers as well as schedules and fares of flights. Open skies therefore could threaten the operation of Cathay Pacific and Dragonair. This is to protect the financial stability of Hong Kong as well as that of the two carriers. Cathay Pacific and Dragonair have crucial roles in maintaining the interests of the entire aviation industry particularly in the Asia Pacific region (HKTDC, 2000).
References
Beckford, J 1998, Quality: an introduction, Routledge, London.
Cathay Pacific information, retrieved on 22 February 2010, from http://www.cathaypacific.com.
Chan, D 2000, ‘Air wars in Asia: competitive and collaborative strategies and tactics in action,’ Journal of Management Development, vol. 19. no. 6.
Flattoau, J, Matthews, N & Lott, S 2006, ‘Big Deal?’ Aviation Week & Space Technology, vol. 164, no. 5, pp. 41-42.
Page, S 2007, Tourism management: managing for change, 2nd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann.
The Reality of Open Skies and Its Relevance for Hong Kong, 2000, HKTDC, retrieved on 22 February 2010, from http://info.hktdc.com/message/404.htm.
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