Submitted by-SUMANA ANANTH Sec: A Roll No: 10QXCMA104 Year: 2011 Course: MBA Subject: Entrepreneurship and New

Venture Creation Assessment type: Individual Internal Assessment Assignment Sub Title: eASYJET

Submitted To- Prof. Ashish J. Shah

ABOUT easyJet
EasyJet Airline Company Limited (styled as easyJet) is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports. The parent company, EasyJet plc, is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: EZJ) and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. As of 30 September 2009, it employed 8,000 people, based throughout Europe but mainly in the UK. EasyJet has seen rapid expansion since its establishment in 1995, having grown through a combination of acquisitions and base openings fuelled by consumer demand for low-cost air travel. The airline, along with subsidiary airline EasyJet Switzerland, now operates over 200 aircraft, mostly Airbus A319. It has 19 bases across Europe, the most important one being Gatwick. In 2010, EasyJet carried 42.4 million passengers and is the second-largest low-cost carrier in Europe, behind Ryanair. EasyJet was featured in the television series Airline broadcast on ITV which followed the airline's operations at London Luton and later at other bases. EasyJet's founder, Sir Stelios HajiIoannou, was featured heavily in the series.

EasyJet's early marketing strategy was based on "making flying as affordable as a pair of jeans" and urged travellers to "cut out the travel agent". Its early advertising consisted of little more than the airline's telephone booking number painted in bright orange on the side of its aircraft. The Airline TV series created by LWT and filmed between 1999 and 2007 made EasyJet a household name in the United Kingdom. The series, while not always portraying EasyJet in a positive light, did much to promote the airline during this time. EasyJet has used a number of slogans since its establishment. Its current slogan is "The Web's Favourite Airline", a reflection on the airline's cheeky and cheerful image. Strategy EasyJet borrows its business model from United States carrier Southwest Airlines. Both airlines have adapted this model for the European market through further cost-cutting measures such

as not selling connecting flights or providing complimentary snacks on board. The key points of this business model are high aircraft utilisation, quick turnaround times, charging for extras (such as priority boarding, hold baggage and food) and keeping operating costs low. One main difference EasyJet and Ryanair have from Southwest is they both fly a young fleet of aircraft. Southwest have a fleet age of 14.1 years whereas EasyJet's fleet age is just 3.6 years. Initially, EasyJet's employment strategy was to maintain control with minimal union involvement. However in recent years, the airline has adopted a more committed approach with a strategy in place to accommodate unions. While the two airlines share a common business idea, EasyJet's strategy differs from Ryanair's in a number of areas. EasyJet flies mainly to primary airports in the cities that it serves, while Ryanair often chooses secondary airports to further reduce costs. For example, EasyJet flies to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris Orly, the primary airports in Paris, while Ryanair flies to the smaller Beauvais-Till Airport, a 75 minute bus journey from Paris. EasyJet also focuses on attracting business passengers by offering convenient services such as the option to transfer on to an earlier flight without charge. Criticism EasyJet has come under criticism in Germany for not observing European Union law on compensation (and assistance to passengers) in cases of denied boarding, delays or cancellations. In the case of cancellation, passengers should be reimbursed within one week. In 2006, EasyJet did not always refund tickets in a timely fashion. Passengers occasionally had to wait longer for reimbursement of their expenses. EasyJet is a major supporter of the plans to replace the air passenger duty (APD) tax in the UK with a new tax that varies depending on distance travelled and aircraft type. In July 2008, the Advertising Standards Authority criticised a press campaign by EasyJet for a misleading environmental claim that its aircraft made 22% less emissions than rival airlines. The figures used were not based on emissions produced by an EasyJet aircraft or emissions produced by EasyJet airline overall as the ad implied, and ASA declared that airline had broken advertising rules. The judgement follows the airline being reprimanded in April 2007 after it made comments that its aircraft created 30% less pollution per passenger than some of its rivals.

Stelios Haji-Ioannou The Entrepreneur behind easyJet You start the business as a dream, you make it your passion for a while and then you get experienced managers to run it because its not as much fun as starting. I think theres a lot to be said about starting a business and a lot to be said about running a business when its mature. (Sunday Times 29 October 2000) A graduate of London Business School, in 1995 he started with 5 million borrowed from his father, a Greek shipping tycoon. Only seven years later, in 2002, and still owning 29 per cent of easyJet he realised that he was not suited to managing an established public company and was better suited to being a serial entrepreneur so he resigned as Chairman, aged only 35. Shortly later easyJet took over Go, the low cost airline set up by British Airways and sold off to its management. Newspaper comment at the time suggested Stelios had been blocking such a deal and this might have been one reason for his departure. Stelios still had many other easy ventures to grow. These include easyRental - a car rental business, easyEverything - a chain of internet cafes and cinemas and easyValue - which provides impartial comparisons for on line shopping. He still has everything to play for doing something he enjoys more and possibly does better.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF easyJet

1. Flies to primary airports - Convenience for business travelers on tight schedules

3. Ease of booking flights through internet and phone booking 4. Fast turnaround time of aircrafts eventually leading to increased frequency of flights
5. Highly distinctive branding and marketing strategies 6. Low operational costs 7. Efficient use of aircrafts by increasing the number of seats on an Airbus A319 from 124 to 156 8. Direct point to point flights with no connections increasing the service time while decreasing the costs of maintenance

9. EasyJet actively embrace there environmental responsibilities and continue to keep these factors as a keep priority when developing their future strategies WEAKNESSES

1. High-density seating is cost effective strategy but sometimes a discomfort for

2. Relying solely on price, being a low cost carrier many not be a always an apt
strategy 3. Undifferentiated service in relation to other cheap flight providers such as Ryanair etc 4. Does not offer schemes for customer retention and as a result there is no brand loyalty - customers choose the lowest priced flights 5. As a result of extremely low operating margins, Easyjet puts itself in a sensitive position regarding any additional of taxes or charges that may be imposed on it by the government OPPORTUNITIES

1. Offering of free refreshments on flights with a travel time of over two and a half
hours would offer an extra perk and comfort to passengers 2. Withdrawal of several long-established airlines from the less traffic-intense routes offers an opportunity for expansion 3. Acquire small low budget airlines with different routes to add to its flight timetable 4. Offer additional services such as pods in the airport THREATS 1. Competitors flying the same routes compete very competitively on price forcing pressure on margin on more popular flights and time slots 2. External market forces can have a significant impact 3. Economic downturn may lead to a decrease in casual flyers and corporate travel

In view of the current situation, easyJet can be marketed as a Green Airline and allow consumers to see easyJet as intrinsically associated with green issues which is the need of the hour. Possible free or extended advertising from green groups can be looked for leading to lower cost of operation.

CONCLUSION
EasyJet is not afraid of competition, simply because it has developed a business model that ensures a built-in business advantage. EasyJet is not afraid of competition, simply because it has developed a business model that ensures a built-in business advantage. It hacks away at costs and overheads wherever they occur, which sometimes means taking an unconventional approach. Thus, easyJet maintains its confidence in this approach, based on the real and dramatic growth in Web sales. The fact that this Web-only approach is possible is a reflection of the way that consumer attitudes have developed over the last decade, and the fact that the Internet and mobile telecommunications technology have increasingly become integrated into everyday life. The essential elements of the easyJet business model have always been fast turnarounds, no free lunches and enticingly low fares that rise as flights fill up. Nine of ten easyJet flights are now sold via the Internet, a far higher proportion than for any traditional airline. The airlines cost control is legendary and it squeezes the maximum possible revenue from each flight. The end result is an airline operating on sound and competitive business principles that has simply learned to think 'outside the box'. What makes it really go with a bang, is the way that the Internet has been incorporated into the easyJet business model.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EasyJet http://www.slideshare.net/yltan3/easyjet-analysis www.palgrave.com/uploadedFiles/Stelios%20Haji.pdf http://www.businessteacher.org.uk/business-resources/swot-analysis-database/easyjet-swotanalysis/ http://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/essay-on/Easyjet-Swot-Analysis/28809 http://www.aatl.net/publications/easyjetmodel.htm http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2010/02/essay-on-easyjet.html