It's very simple to lose sight of the real competition when you're battling it out for marketplace share. For numerous years, the airline industry was dominated by the large national carriers, who maintained a near monopoly on air travel by the simple expedient of controlling landing rights at main airports.
Governments colluded in this in order to protect their own carriers: foreign aircraft would only be permitted landing rights in exchange for landing rights in their own countries, so that (for instance) British Airways would only be allowed to fly from London to Milan if Alitalia was given rights to fly from Rome to Manchester.
When deregulation of the air began in the 1970s and early 1980s, these businesses had to compete against one another. Nevertheless, focusing on national carriers meant that they nearly (but not quite) failed to notice the advent of low-cost airlines.
One of the crucial benefits of low-cost airlines (apart from price) is that bookings can be produced online. This permits people to book their flights at any time of the day or evening, from any location where they might have internet access. Apart from the lower air fares, this is a key competitive advantage.
Main carriers could compete by allowing online access, but nine of the European majors decided to go one step additional and set up a joint online booking service. Opodo thus became a virtual travel agent, allowing individuals to book flights from anywhere to anyplace on whichever airline ran the route.
Opodo is not limited to bookings on its owners' flights only. This would limit the usefulness of the site for the consumers, so Opodo can book on practically any scheduled airline in the world apart from the low-cost airlines.
Opodo searches more than 400 airlines to find the cheapest flights, but will also allow frequent flyers to specify the airlines they wish to make use of if they want to add to their loyalty points. Opodo is in a position to complete something the low-cost airlines can't match - it can book the whole route, even when this indicates switching airlines.
Identify the key competitive advantage - it is not necessarily cost. If essential, be ready to cooperate with other firms in the exact same industry. Do not limit yourself to selling only your personal services, if you can offer a better package for consumers by selling for other people as well. You'll still make money! Be prepared to learn from competitors, but you don't need to copy everything they do.
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