PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TOWARDS THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF INTERNAL EVALUATION OF RMRP

ANALYZING THE SERVICES BEING PROVIDED BY JET AIRWAYS …….A COMPARATIVE STUDY

SUBMITTED BY :

GROUP II ROLL NO. A 10 - A 18

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter No. Topic

1.0 Executive Summary

2.0 Critical Review of Literature 2.1 Current scenario of Indian Aviation Industry2.2 Literature Review

3.0 Research Methodology3.1 Research Objective3.2 Problem Definition3.3 Primary and Secondary Data3.4 Research Design3.5 Sample Design

4.0 Jet Airways……..Company Profile

5.0 Jet Airways……...SWOT Analysis

6.0 Industry Profile

7.0 Finding & Analysis7.1 SPSS analysis…..Regression7.2 Pie charts & Bar graphs

8.0 Recommendations

9.0 Case Study

Bibliography & References Annexure ………Questionnaire

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The aim of the project is to comparatively analyze the services being provided by Jet Airways to its customers with other major airlines of Indian Aviation Industry. An exploratory research has been done for the purpose of critically evaluating the various aspects of customer relationships.

The required data has been gathered by a comparative questionnaire based on the services such as reservation on tickets, delay of flight and behaviour of the staff, baggage and handling and about the meal provided in the aircrafts , it is filled by people who have their own experience. Besides that various books, magazines and websites are also consulted. Based on the data SPSS analysis is used for evaluating the regression and drawing graphs. According to the analysis suitable recommendations are given. Further a case study is made on the project topic.

.

INDIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY……CURRENT SCENARIO

India's aviation industry has expanded dramatically in recent years with the entry of a host of new budget carriers. But as losses sustained by many of these airlines are prompting consolidation in the industry.India's biggest budget carrier, Deccan, announced recently that it will merge with Kingfisher Airlines in January to create the country's largest domestic airline. Both airlines are dealing with major losses. They say they hope the merger will improve their profit margins by cutting costsThe Deccan-Kingfisher deal is the latest step toward consolidation of India's fragmented airline industry. Earlier this year, Jet Airways purchased another low cost airline, Air Sahara, and the government decided to merge state-run carriers Air India and Indian Airlines

Even after all that, 2007 was arguably the best growth period for India's civil aviation sector. Passengers carried by domestic airlines increased by 36.47 per cent (to 317.29 lac passengers) in the first three quarters of 2007, against 232.49 lac in the same period last year. Overall aircraft movements also increased by 27.2 per cent in April 2006 – August 2007, as compared to the same period in 2005-06. International movement was up by 12.9 per cent and the domestic, by 31 per cent. Simultaneously, overall passenger traffic increased by 28.5 per cent, while the freight traffic was up by 11.9 per cent. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its latest estimates this year reckons India to be a driving force behind the world's civil aviation business that is globally expected to grow from US$ 5.1 billion to US$ 5.6 billion this year. Air Traffic

India's air passenger travel is expanding at about 25 per cent a year, and at least six discount carriers have started flights in the country of 1.1 billion people. Growth in this sector will outpace the global average until 2025, according to government estimates.

Domestic air traffic is likely to more than double and touch 86.1 million passengers by 2010, up from 32.2 million passengers in 2007, states the market research firm PhoCus. According to data compiled by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), 16.21 million people flew on international routes to and from India during April-October 2007-08. This was a growth of 17.1 per cent over the same period last fiscal. FDI in Aviation

India's liberalisation of the aviation sector has opened up 28 airports for foreign direct investment (FDI) in areas of operation and maintenance of airports. For greenfield airports, FDI up to 100 per cent is permitted through automatic approvals. For existing airports, FDI up to 74 per cent is permitted through automatic approvals and upto 100 per cent through special permission (from FIPB).

Growing at a rate of 18 per cent annually, the Indian civil aviation market holds great promise for potential investors. International no-frills budget carriers, especially Asian low-cost carriers (LCCs) are also making a beeline for India

Airport Infrastructure

Currently, India has 80 fully functional airports – handling scheduled commercial, charter and defence services – and 368 landing strips that function as makeshift airports. India's Civil Aviation Ministry aims at 500 operational airports in the next 12 years, as per a report by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).

Over the next five years, AAI has planned a massive investment of US$ 3.07 billion – 43 per cent of which will be for the three metro airports in Kolkata, Chennai and Trivandrum, and the rest will go into upgrading other non-metro airports and modernising the existing aeronautical facilities. India's

largest and most well-known airports – Mumbai and New Delhi – were privatized recently.

Given the unprecedented 40 per cent growth in the domestic air traffic during the first nine months of 2007, 100 more airports will be operational by 2008, with at least 500 small and big airports created across India.

The government has envisioned an investment of close to US$ 9 billion – with the private sector contributing about US$ 5.92 billion and AAI to pitch in with US$ 2.96 billion in a bid to develop about 100 greenfield airports during the 11th Plan period (2007-2012).

Several improvements are envisaged to sustain this tremendous growth in the civil aviation sector:

India's largest engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) won a US$ 1.36 billion contract to build a brand new integrated terminal for international and domestic passengers at Mumbai airport, likely to be operational by 2012, will handle 40 million passengers annually, compared to 21 million handled by the existing terminal

The IGI Airport joined the select club of Asian airports to have conducted a special study known as the PAC study to improve runway lighting systems to global standards.

Flight into the future

CAPA has predicted that India’s domestic traffic will grow at 25 per cent to 30 per cent a year until 2010 – and international traffic by 15 per cent – taking the overall market to more than 100 million passengers by the end of the decade. Indian carriers have 480 aircraft on order for delivery by 2012, which compares with a fleet size of 310 aircraft operating in the country presently.

IATA, in its latest estimates, reckons India to be a driving force behind the world's civil aviation business that is globally expected to grow from US$ 5.1 billion to US$ 5.6 billion in 2008.

Kapil Kaul, CEO India & Middle East, CAPA, says, 'India's civil aviation passenger growth, at 20 per cent, is among the highest in the world. The sector is slated to cruise far ahead of other Asian giants like China or even strong economies like France and Australia. The number of passengers who will be airborne by 2020 is a whopping 400 million.’

LITERATURE REVIEW

In the 1970’s the Civil Aeronautics Board (Douglas & Miller, 1974; Jordan, 1970) developed the initial tools of service quality measurement in the airline industry in the U.S.A. These studies were based on economic variables, and pre-deregulation, developed as service quality assessments from the perspective of the airline consumer.

Kearney (1986) was the first one to conduct service quality assessments from the perspective of the airline consumer in his doctoral dissertation work, which examined service quality from the perspective of industry-based economic and marketing measures.

Many researchers and marketers have focused their attention on customerevaluations of services in an effort to find ways to improve service quality (Fisk, Brown, & Bitner, 1993). Extensive research has been conducted in the field of service quality. Parasuraman et al. (Parasuraman,Berry, & Zeithaml, 1991; Parasuraman,Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985, 1988) developed a service quality measure, called SERVQUAL, which states that the customer’s assessment of overall service quality is determined by the degree and direction of the gap between their expectations and perceptions of actualperformance levels. They also identified five essentials for service quality:

(1) Tangibles(2) Reliability(3) Responsiveness(4) Assurance(5) Empathy.

They proposed that perceived service quality could be estimated by calculating the difference between expectations and perceptions of actual service performance. The SERVQUAL scale has been criticized for its validity and reliability. Buttle (1996) pointed out that including all 44 items (22 items of service expectations and a duplicate of 22 items ofservice performance) in one study often makes the survey task too difficult for respondents. Cronin and Taylor (1992,1994) have empirically proved that the measures of service performance or SERVPERF, is more effective

than SERVQUAL, which includes expectations as well as performance. SERVPERF is now widely used in measuring customer evaluations of service quality(Cunningham and Young, 2004). Cunningham and Young (2004) used SERVPERF in measuring the airline service quality. Their literature review suggests that initial publications on airline service quality appeared in 1988 (Gourdin, 1988).

Fick & Ritchie and Gourdin & Kloppenborg were the first to apply the service quality gap model to the airline industry in 1991. Fick and Ritchie (1991) used the SERVQUAL scale to measure perceived service quality within several service industries including the airline industry. They found the mean scores of consumer expectation and perception of service performance measures and failed to determine the relative impact of various SERVQUAL items on overall service quality and satisfaction (Cunningham etal 2004). Measurement and management of service quality is the fundamental issue for the survival and growth of airline companies(Cunningham, Young, and Lee 2002). Cunningham, Young, and Lee (2002)conducted studies on perceptions of airline service quality of U.S. and Korean customers based on SERVPERF and industry-based measures, as well as their perceptions of risks involved in the airline choice.

The results suggested that U.S. customers consider service reliability, inflightcomfort, and connections as the key factors determining satisfaction withairline service, whereas Korean passengers generally regard reliability,assurance, and risk factors as predictors of satisfaction. This study conducted by Cunningham, Young, and Lee (2002) is interesting as it has measured service quality based on SERVPERF which is a set of multi-dimensional measures of customer evaluations of service quality (Cunningham, Young, and Lee 2002). Wen Li and Chen (1998) studied the quality evaluation of domestic airline industry using modified Taguchi loss function with different weights and target values. By using Taguchi loss function one can quantify quality and thus compare service quality objectively.

According to Wen Li and Chen (1998), the process of travelling a domestic airline can bedescribed as follows:Ticket— Check –in—boarding—departure—flying—arrival—baggageclaim

Three quality categories with ten identified variables are proposed by WenLi and Chen (1998) and service quality of domestic airline is quantified accordingly. Taguchi loss function requires industry measures to measure airline service quality. America’s budget airlines have started to increase service quality inspite of the low fare offers. Southwest and Jet Blue have strong brand presence and offer well defined service rather than just low prices (Economist, 2004). On the other hand, airline service quality across theworld have reached new heights where in international airlines such as Virgin Atlantic Airways have introduced double suites, in-flight beauty therapy treatments and massages, free limousines to and from the airport and many more. As a result of low fares, there is an expected increase in the volume of domestic airline travelers in India which has accelerated competition in the air travel market. While certain segments inchoosing an airline, consider price advantages, service quality cannot beabsent.

According to Zeithaml and Bitner (1996), the concept of satisfaction is influenced by five variables viz. 1) service quality 2) product quality 3) price 4)situation and 5) personality.

Natalisa and Subroto ( 2003) combine the variables of product quality and service quality into variable of service quality and studied the customers’ perception of service quality in the domestic airline services of Indonesia.In short, service quality of airlines have been studied based on industry measures, SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, Taguchi loss function and Zeithaml and Bitner Model. Our study attempts to examine the satisfaction level of service quality of domestic airline travelers in India across fourteen airline travel process variables suggested by Wen Li and Chen (1998) which are modified to suit the Indian standards. Some of these variables can also be included as the reliability and responsiveness variables of SERVPERF.The flying experience has been divided into preflight, on flight and post flight experiences.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

OBJECTIVE

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

To study the customer satisfaction level for the various services provided by Jet Airways.

To find out the effectiveness of the services provided by Jet Airways in respect of other airlines like Kingfisher, Air India etc.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE

To find the preferences of customers of airlines.

To find out the services in which the customers want improvement

PROBLEM DEFINITION

“ Even though being the largest private airline in India, why Jet Airways is still not considered as the best airline in terms of customer services”

DATA

Primary : Primary data has been gathered by a comparative questionnaire based on the services such as reservation on tickets, delay of flight and behaviour of the staff, baggage and handling and about the meal provided in the aircrafts.

Secondary : Secondary data has been gathered by the help of various books, magazines and websites.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The Research design which is used in this project is of Exploratory or Formulative nature. The problem with Jet Airways is that even being the largest private airways in India, it can not be stated as the most customer favourite airline. The problem has been formulated on the basis of various articles on magazines and websites. After that by means of questionnaire we have considered different aspects regarding the problem. As of exploratory in nature , the flexibility of research is of prime importance so for that all aspects of customer satisfaction in relation to airlines have been evaluated.

SAMPLE DESIGN

A proper questionnaire has been prepared based on various issues related to customer satisfaction. This questionnaires have been filled by customers, who have their own experiences with various airlines. The size of sample is taken as 20. On the basis of these questionnaire SPSS is used for evaluation and further recommendations.

COMPANY PROFILE OF JET AIRWAYS

Jet Airways (India) Ltd. is an airline based in Mumbai, India, operating domestic and international services. It operates over 355 daily flights to 43 destinations across the country and 15 overseas. Its main base is Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. Jet Airways other major hubs are located at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, Anna International Airport, Chennai, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, Bangalore International Airport, Bangalore, and Brussels Airport, Brussels.

According to March 2007 available figures, its share of India's domestic aviation market increased to over 43% (up from less than 27% a few months prior to March 2007), and, as of 2007, is greater than any other Indian domestic operator's market share. Jet Airways was voted as the best airline in South Asia and Central Asia region by Skytrax in 2007.

HISTORY

Jet Airways was incorporated as an "air taxi" operator on 1 April 1992. It started commercial airline operations on 5 May 1993 with a fleet of 4 Boeing 737-300 aircraft. In January 1994 a change in the law enabled Jet Airways to apply for scheduled airline status, which was granted on 4 January 1995. It began international operations to Sri Lanka in March 2004. Plans to acquire rival Air Sahara, announced in January 2006, after some rough patches deal got through. The airline is owned by Tailwinds (owned by Naresh Goyal) (80%) and public shares (20%) and has 10,017 employees (at March 2007).

Naresh Goyal, who already owned Jetair (Private) Limited (which provided sales and marketing for foreign airlines in India) set up Jet Airways as a full-service scheduled airline that would give competition to state-owned Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines had enjoyed a monopoly in the domestic market between 1953, when all major Indian air transport providers were nationalised under the Air Corporations Act (1953), and January 1994, when

the Air Corporations Act was repealed, following which Jet Airways received scheduled airline status

Jet Airways and Air Sahara were the only private airlines to survive the Indian business downturn of the early 1990s. In January 2006, Jet Airways announced that it would buy Air Sahara making it the biggest takeover in Indian aviation history. The resulting airline would have been the country's largest but the deal fell through in June 2006. However, a modified deal went through in January 2007.

Lower wages in India compared with the West are not the only explanation for Jet Airways' relatively low cost base by international standards. The company has also been able to lower its costs by "sweating its assets", i.e. getting the maximum utilisation out of its aircraft fleet by minimising turnaround times between flights, similar to the leading European/North American low-cost, "no frills" carriers. This has partly helped it to offset the high costs of the airport infrastructure as well as jet fuel in India, which are higher in India than the international average.

Brand ownership

Jet Airways does not own its brand. The brand is owned by Jetair Enterprises Ltd., a separate company substantially owned by Naresh Goyal, which licenses the brand to the airline in return for an annual payment. This arrangement is very similar to the terms governing the use of the "easy" brand by the easyJet Airline Company Limited (the name under which easyJet has been incorporated). Under the aforesaid arrangement, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder and largest individual shareholder of easyJet Airline Co. Ltd. has sole ownership of the "easy" brand and licenses it to that airline for a specified payment. This kind of arrangement is of vital importance should the concerned airlines become the subject of a hostile takeover bid because the bidders will not automatically acquire ownership of their takeover target's brand and without access to the brand the takeover target will be less valuable.

The Air Sahara takeover

Failed Takeover

On January 2006 Jet Airways announced that it was to buy Air Sahara for $500 million in an all-cash deal. Everything, including Sahara's assets and infrastructure, would belong to Jet Airways. This deal would have been the biggest in India's aviation history and the resulting airline the country's largest, had it gone through.

Market reaction to the deal was mixed, with analysts suggesting that Jet Airways was paying too much for Sahara. The deadline for the deal to be completed was June 21, 2006. Jet Airways claimed that a final sticking point was the government's delay in approving Jet chairman Naresh Goyal's appointment to the Sahara board. Sahara countered that Jet Airways had engineered this impasse by delaying the request for such approval, as a way of extricating themselves from a deal they now regretted. Jet was said to be willing to go ahead with the deal only if the originally agreed price was lowered by 20-25% on the basis of Sahara's mounting debts, an option which was firmly rejected by Sahara. Finally both sides confirmed that the deal was off.

Following the failure of the deals, the companies have filed lawsuits seeking damages from each other.

On 22 September 2006, the Bombay High Court allowed Jet Airways to withdraw Rs. 1,500 crore deposited by it for acquiring rival Sahara. "Jet will have the right to withdraw Rs. 1,500 crore against bank guarantee of the same amount," Justice D K Deshmukh said in his order. Jet Airways was to receive the amount in the escrow account, while the interest would go to Sahara. However, the escrow account formalities will be decided by an arbitration tribunal. Arbitration was to begin on 9 October 2006.

Successful buyout

On April 12, 2007 Jet Airways agreed to buy out Sahara for 14.5 billion Rupees ($340 million). Sahara will be renamed Jet Lite, and will be marketed between low-cost carriers and full service airlines. With the

acquisition of Sahara, Jet Airways is set to refurbish the fleet and crew with new livery and uniform. The deal will give the airline a combined domestic market share of about 32%. Jet's attempt to buy Sahara in 2006 collapsed, but the company has said the new deal has been reached amicably. Both airlines also plan to merge and restructure their international operations as well.

Jet Airways, founded by London-based former travel agent Naresh Goyal, controls about 24.5% of the Indian domestic aviation market Sahara, owned by reclusive businessman Subroto Roy, controls about 7%.

Destinations

Jet Airways serves 59 destinations, including 14 cities outside India.[6]

Jet Airways' 58 destinations include most of the big cities in India. International destinations include Dhaka, Kathmandu, Colombo, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, London Heathrow, Brussels, Newark, New York and Toronto, Kuwait and Bahrain Oman and Qatar. Jet Airways was the first private airline in India to fly to international destinations. It started international operations in March 2004 between Chennai and Colombo after it had been cleared by the Government of India to operate scheduled services to international destinations.

Subsequently, a second route linking Mumbai with Colombo and a new route between Delhi and Kathmandu were added. The latter commenced in May 2004. On December 29, 2004 the Government of India decided in principle to permit privately owned Indian carriers to operate scheduled air services to any international destination world-wide with the exception of the Gulf countries, i.e., Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as Pakistan. They will fly to the Middle East from Kochi, Thrivananthapuram, Kozhikode (Calicut), Mumbai and Delhi. Another effect of this stipulation was that, apart from Jet Airways itself, Kingfisher was the only other privately owned Indian carrier permitted to operate international scheduled services.

Jet Airways sought to take maximum advantage of this ruling by adding new international scheduled routes to destinations within the flying range of its

growing fleet of "Next Generation" Boeing 737-700/800 series narrowbodied jets, such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. This first led to a decision to lease three Airbus A340-300E widebodies from South African Airways to enable it to commence non-stop flights to London Heathrow in the UK and to subsequently place a large order for a fleet of brand-new Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777-300ER widebodied airliners to permit further expansion, especially to additional destinations in Europe and North America. In 2006 Jet Airways has international services to Kathmandu, Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, operating from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Amritsar.

Jet Airways has begun thrice-weekly operations from the north Indian city of Amritsar to London Heathrow to serve the UK's large ethnic Punjabi community. Jet Airways began serving Amritsar on August 4, 2006. This service, which was initially operated at a frequency of three flights a week, is now operated daily. Jet Airways has started flying daily flights to Bangkok from Delhi and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) effective January 23, 2007. Jet Airways has also started flights to Hyderabad, India from Mumbai more than two years back.

Jet Airways started three times-a-week service from Ahmedabad to London Heathrow on April 3, 2007 to cater to the travel requirements of the ethnic Gujarati community in the UK, now suspended w.e 14th January 2008. The airline is using its recently delivered Airbus A330-200s on the Amritsar service while "Next Generation" Boeing 737-800s equipped with winglets are used on all Bangkok sectors.

It also claimed that its international operations were profitable, with the sole exception of its long-haul flights between India and London-Heathrow.

On 5 September 2007 Jet Airways started to fly to Toronto via Brussels. On 28 October 2007 Jet Airways started flying to New York JFK via Brussels. Jet Airways is also considering starting flights to North America from Banglore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Kolkata apart from Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. Jet is now flying to Gulf regions i.e. Bahrain, Oman

Meanwhile, Jet Airways is planning to set up a hub at Shanghai Pudong International Airport to serve transpacific routes to San Francisco, Vancouver and Los Angeles. Upon that, it plans to fly to Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau. Similary it plans to start the service to Kuala Lumpur from Mumbai by second quarter of 2008.

Fleet

The Jet Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft as of February 2008.

Jet Airways Fleet

Aircraft TotalPassengers

(First Class/Club Première/Economy)

Routes Notes

ATR 72-500

9(12 orders)

62 (0/0/62)Short haulDomestic services

Airbus A330-200

8(7 orders)

226 (0/30/196)Long and medium haul Routes

Boeing 737-400

4 136 (0/24/112)Short and medium haul routes

Boeing 737-700

15 122 (0/20/102)Short and medium haul routes

Boeing 737-800

32(19 orders)

140 (0/16/124), 150 (0/24/126), 175 (0/0/175)

Short and medium haul routes

Boeing 737-900

2 170 (0/32/138)Short and medium haul routes

Boeing 777-300ER

8(5 orders)

312 (8/30/274)Long Haul routes

For delivery between 2007 and 2009

Boeing 787-8

0(10 orders)

For delivery in 2011

Total number of

aircraft

77(53 orders)

Updated: February 4, 2008

The average age of Jet Airways fleet is 4.5 years in March 2008. Jet Airways operates one of the youngest fleets in the world, with one

of the newest Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 fleets. Following approval to begin long-haul operations to London, Jet

Airways had sub-leased 3 Airbus A340-300Es from South African Airways. These aircraft have now been returned to South African Airways

Jet Airways has on order 8 Airbus A330-200 aircraft (with options on a further 10 aircraft) as well as an order for 13 Boeing 777-300ER. Deliveries are due in early 2007, although the airline became the first Indian A330 operator in May 2006, with the delivery of an aircraft on lease from International Lease Finance Corporation. It has also has put in an order for 10 Boeing 787s which will be delivered from 2010.

Jet Airways has had no accidents involving loss of life.

In Flight Services

With the arrival of its new Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A330-200 aircraft, Jet Airways has introduced a new cabin with upgraded seats in all classes. The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft feature three classes of service: First, Première (Business), and Economy. The Airbus A330-200 aircraft feature two classes: Première and Economy. Older Jet Airways aircraft feature prior seating configuration and classes; separate configurations are used for shorthaul/domestic services.

First Class

First class is available on all Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. All seats convert to a fully flat bed, similar to Singapore Airlines suites but smaller. All seats feature a 23-inch Widescreen LCD monitor with audio video on-demand (AVOD), in seat power supply, and USB ports etc. Jet Airways is the first airline in India and South-east Asia to have fully-enclosed first class suites on its aircraft; each suite has a closeable door, making for a private compartment.

Première Class

Première Class (Business Class) on the Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777-300ER international fleet features a fully-flat bed with AVOD entertainment. Seats are configured in a herringbone pattern (1-2-1 on the Boeing 777, and 1-1-1 on the Airbus A330), with each seat offering direct access to the aisle. USB ports and in-seat laptop power are provided. Mood lighting is installed on the A330-200 and B777-300ER, with different light schemes corresponding to the time of day and flight position.On the shorthaul/domestic Boeing 737, approximately half the fleet is equipped with AVOD. All seats are standard recliner Business Class seats. On some Boeing 737s, the business class seats feature greater recline, added footrest, and are operated electronically (aircraft with AVOD).

Economy Class

Economy class on the Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 737, and A330-200 feature 32-inch seat pitch. All 777/A330, as well as some Boeing 737 aircraft, feature a touch screen AVOD system. Seats on the 777/A330 feature a "hammock-style" net footrest. The cabin is configured in 3-3-3 abreast on the 777 and 2-4-2 on the A330.

Airline agreements

Jet Airways has commercial agreements with the following airlines:

Air Canada

Air France American Airlines Austrian Airlines Brussels Airlines Gulf Air Jet Lite KLM Lufthansa Northwest Airlines Qantas South African Airways Swiss International Airlines Thai Airways International Virgin Atlantic Airways British Airways

Awards

Jet Airways wins Double Honour at the 18th TTG (Travel Trade Gazette) Travel Awards 2007. While Jet Airways won the "Best Domestic Airline" award for the fourth consecutive year and the fifth time in the past six years, the evening also saw the "Travel Entrepreneur of the Year" award conferred on Mr. Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways.

Genius of the Web Awards 2007 for the Best Airlines website.

Jet Airways (INDIA) LTD. awarded TOP HONORS at World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) AVION AWARDS second year in a row.

Jet Airways' Chairman Mr. Naresh Goyal honoured with the TATA AIG - Lifetime Achievement Award in Sep. 2007.

Jet Airways won the SAP ACE 2007 – Awards for Customer Excellence, in the Best Travel & Transportation Sector Implementation Category.The Freddie Award - Highest Honour For Jet Airways in May 2007.

JET AIRWAYS…………SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

Market driver Experience exceeding 14 years Only private airline with international operations. Market leader Largest fleet size

WEAKNESS Loosing domestic market share Old fleet with average age around 4.79 years Scope of improvement in in-flight services. Weak brand promotion

OPPORTUNITIES

Untapped air cargo market Scope in international service and tourism

THREATS

Strong competitors Fuel price hike Overseas market competition

INDUSTRY PROFILE

MAJOR PLAYERS OF INDIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY

Air India Limited

National flagship airline Air India transports passengers throughout India and to more than 40 destinations throughout the world. Affiliate Air India Express operates as a low-fare carrier, mainly between India and destinations in the Middle East, and Air India Cargo provides freight transportation. The government of India has merged Air India with another state-controlled carrier, Indian Airlines, which has focused on domestic routes. The combined airline, part of a new holding company called National Aviation Company of India, uses the Air India brand. The new Air India and its affiliates have a fleet of more than 110 aircraft altogether.

Jet Airways

Jet Airways (India) has India covered, flying to about 45 destinations throughout the country from its primary hub in Mumbai and several secondary hubs. The airline operates a fleet of more than 75 aircraft, mostly Boeing 737s. Besides its domestic service, Jet Airways flies to about a dozen cities elsewhere in Asia and in Europe and North America. It extends its offerings via code-sharing relationships with carriers such as Qantas and Brussels Airlines. (Code-sharing enables airlines to sell tickets on one another's flights and thus offer potential passengers service to additional markets.) Subsidiary JetLite (formerly Kingfisher) serves about 30 destinations, mostly in India. Jet Airways was founded in 1993.

JetLite

JetLite (formerly Sahara Airlines or Kingfisher) serves about 30 destinations, primarily in India. It operates a fleet of some 25 aircraft, mostly Boeing 737s, from hubs such as Delhi and Mumbai. In addition to scheduled passenger service, it transports cargo and offers charter services. The company is a subsidiary of Jet Airways, which acquired Sahara Airlines in mid-2007 and rebranded it as JetLite a few months later. JetLite was initially established in 1993, when the Indian government began to allow companies not owned by the state to provide airline service.

Kingfisher Airlines

In India's emerging airline industry, Kingfisher Airlines has emerged as one of the leaders, behind Air India and Jet Airways. The carrier serves about 35 domestic destinations with a fleet of more than 30 aircraft, including Airbus jets and ATR 72 turboprops. It maintains bases in major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. Kingfisher Airlines is a unit of UB Holdings, best known for its United Breweries unit, and the carrier shares the Kingfisher brand with a popular Indian beer. UB Holdings also owns a stake in another domestic carrier, Air Deccan, which it hopes to combine with Kingfisher Airlines. Kingfisher Airlines began operating in 2005. Kingfisher Airlines is India’s favorite airline and the only one to offer a premium first class service on domestic routes. Besides being the first and the only airline to offer in-flight entertainment on every seat in the domestic skies, Kingfisher Airlines is the only one to offer LIVE TV with 16 channels of live & exciting content. Kingfisher Airlines has received over 30 awards for innovation, customer responsiveness and was voted the “Best New Airline of the Year” within months of its launch. Kingfisher Airlines is part of The UB Group which is one of India’s largest conglomerates with diverse interests and a global presence. The UB Group is also the largest Indian manufacturer of beverage alcohol (beer & spirits) and the second largest drinks Group in the world. With its significant investment in Deccan, the Kingfisher-Deccan Group is India’s largest domestic airline group connecting 71 cities and offering over 540 flights daily with a fleet of 80 aircraft.

Spice Jet Airways

Royal Airways, which is being billed as the only listed airline company in India, is the reincarnation of Modiluft. Modiluft was among the first private airlines in the country before ceasing operations in 1996. Spice Jet focuses on driving a low cost structure, boosting productivity and delivering value. Spice Jet is using latest technology which is the only way to ensure attractive pricing without compromising on quality.

FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

SPSS ANALYSIS

Regression

Variables Entered/Removed(b)

ModelVariables Entered

Variables Removed Method

1 q11, q1, q3, q10, q4, q7,

q9, q8, q5, q6(a)

. Enter

a All requested variables entered.b Dependent Variable: q2

Model Summary

Model R R SquareAdjusted R

SquareStd. Error of the Estimate

1 .856(a) .733 .437 .78542

a Predictors: (Constant), q11, q1, q3, q10, q4, q7, q9, q8, q5, q6

Coefficients(a)

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.B Std. Error Beta1 (Constant

)-1.892 1.569 -1.206 .258

q1 .591 .507 .288 1.165 .274

q3 .254 .534 .125 .477 .645

q4 .387 .224 .377 1.726 .118

q5 .504 .298 .485 1.693 .125

q6 .761 .401 .637 1.897 .090

q7 -.528 .349 -.525 -1.512 .165

q8 -.193 .317 -.192 -.609 .558

q9 .268 .274 .242 .977 .354

q10 -.077 .258 -.068 -.297 .773

q11 .417 .322 .379 1.297 .227

a Dependent Variable: q2

QUESTIONNAIRE

CUSTOMER’S NAME :

1. Are you a frequent flyer?

YES NO

q1

yes

no

yes no

q1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Co

un

t

2. You prefer to travel by?

a. Air Indiab. Jet Airwaysc. Kingfisherd. Others, Please specify

q2

air india

jet airways

kingfisher

others

air india jet airways

kingfisher others

q2

0

2

4

6

8

Co

un

t

3. Have you ever traveled by Jet Airways ?

YES NO

q3

yes

no

yes no

q3

0

2

4

6

8

10

Co

un

t

4. Which Airlines consumes lesser time for reserving tickets?

JET AIRWAYS KINGFISHER

AIR INDIA can’t say

q4

jet airways

air india

kingfisher

can"t say

jet airways air india kingfisher can"t say

q4

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Co

un

t

5. Which airlines check in procedures are more convenient than other airlines?

JET AIRWAYS KINGFISHER

AIR INDIA can’t say

q5

jet airways

air india

kingfisher

can"t say

jet airways air india kingfisher can"t say

q5

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Co

un

t

6. Which Airlines provides you better information in case of delay of

flight?

JET AIRWAYS KINGFISHER

AIR INDIA can’t say

q6

jet airways

air india

kingfisher

can't say

jet airways air india kingfisher can't say

q6

0

2

4

6

8

Co

un

t

7. Which airlines provide you better baggage handling facilities, timely and with care?

JET AIRWAYS AIR INDIA

KINGFISHER Can’t say

q7

jet airways

air india

kingfisher

can't say

jet airways air india kingfisher can't say

q7

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Co

un

t

8. Which airlines seating arrangement is more systematic?

a. JET AIRWAYS b. AIR INDIA c. KINGFISHER d. can’t say

q8

jet airways

air india

kingfisher

can't say

jet airways air india kingfisher can't say

q8

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Co

un

t

9. Which airlines according to you provides good quality of meals?

JET AIRWAYS AIR INDIA

KINGFISHER Can’t say

q9

jet airways

air india

kingfisher

can't say

jet airways air india kingfisher can't say

q9

0

2

4

6

8

Co

un

t

10. Which airline provides you best in flight entertainment ?

JET AIRWAYS AIR INDIA

KINGFISHER Can’t say

q10

jet airways

air india

kingfisher

can't say

jet airways air india kingfisher can't say

q10

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Co

un

t

11.Which airlines provides all the services according to your

expectations ?

JET AIRWAYS AIR INDIA

KINGFISHER Can’t say

q11

jet airways

air india

kingfisher

can't say

jet airways air india kingfisher can't say

q11

0

2

4

6

8

Cou

nt

RECOMMENDATIONS

(1) Customer oriented approach should be used

Jet airways needs to be more customer oriented and it should try to satisfy their customer with better services. As according to the survey conducted by Skytrax, the world’s leading, independent travel forum and air travel information organization Kingfisher Airlines is India’s favorite airline, and has been conferred the ‘5 - Star Airline Status’, the most recognized and prestigious award that honors airline Product and Service Quality Excellence. So following things needs to be considered :

(a) For frequent fliers proper data should be made and priority should be given to them.

(b) Regular check-in should be done for seats, air conditions and lights.(c) Cabin crew staff should be cheerful, energetic, enthusiastic, polite and

helpful.(d) Entertainment and gifts should be provided to children.(e) Security needs to be alert but at the same time the convenience of

customer shoul be carefully look after.

(2) Reservation and Cancellation facility should be much easier

This is a common problem not only of Jet Airways but other Airlines too, that reservation and cancellation procedure is very hard and tedious and when it comes to cancellation even it is much harder. Though the ticket process has been computerized yet tele-communication and tele-booking services are slow. So for a better customer relationships these facilities need to be improved.

(3) Proper Information and Services need to be provided in case of delay of flight

In case of delay of flight customer not only faces frustration but it also annoys him when proper information and services are not provided. Jet

as being the largest private airlines in India has to face such problems more frequently, so it has to improve in this aspect too. Proper information and services need to be provided at that time.

(4) The importance of In-Flight Entertainment should be considered

As according to the research Kingfisher is better than Jet Airways for In-flight entertainment. Even according to a report Kingfisher is the only airline to offer a premium first class service on domestic routes. Besides being the first and only airline to offer in-flight entertainment on every seat in the domestic skies, Kingfisher Airlines is the only one to offer LIVE TV with 16 channels of live & exciting content. So Jet airways needs to provide better In-Flight entertainment.

(5) Besides quality, variety of meals should also be improved

Better food is of great importance for a better customer relationship and Jet Airways has worked hard over it according to a survey conducted by Skytrax it ranked 10th among other international airlines and is expected to rank 5th by 2008. So for a better image it needs to concentrate not only in quality but also the variety of food which can match the taste of international passengers who have diverse food habits and menu should be revised regularly.

CASE STUDY

Jet Airways (India) Ltd. is an airline based in Mumbai, India, operating domestic and international services. It operates over 355 daily flights to 43 destinations across the country and 15 overseas. Its main base is Chhatrapati

Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. Jet Airways other major hubs are located at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, Anna International Airport, Chennai, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, Bangalore International Airport, Bangalore, and Brussels Airport, Brussels.

Jet Airways was incorporated as an "air taxi" operator on 1 April 1992. It started commercial airline operations on 5 May 1993 with a fleet of 4 Boeing 737-300 aircraft. In January 1994 a change in the law enabled Jet Airways to apply for scheduled airline status, which was granted on 4 January 1995. It began international operations to Sri Lanka in March 2004. Plans to acquire rival Kingfisher, announced in January 2006, after some rough patches deal got through. The airline is owned by Tailwinds (owned by Naresh Goyal) (80%) and public shares (20%) and has 10,017 employees (at March 2007).[1]

Naresh Goyal, who already owned Jetair (Private) Limited (which provided sales and marketing for foreign airlines in India) set up Jet Airways as a full-service scheduled airline that would give competition to state-owned Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines had enjoyed a monopoly in the domestic market between 1953, when all major Indian air transport providers were nationalised under the Air Corporations Act (1953), and January 1994, when the Air Corporations Act was repealed, following which Jet Airways received scheduled airline status Jet Airways and Air Sahara were the only private airlines to survive the Indian business downturn of the early 1990s. In January 2006, Jet Airways announced that it would buy Kingfisher making it the biggest takeover in Indian aviation history. The resulting airline would have been the country's largest but the deal fell through in June 2006. However, a modified deal went through in January 2007.

Lower wages in India compared with the West are not the only explanation for Jet Airways' relatively low cost base by international standards. The company has also been able to lower its costs by "sweating its assets", i.e. getting the maximum utilisation out of its aircraft fleet by minimising turnaround times between flights, similar to the leading European/North American low-cost, "no frills" carriers. This has partly helped it to offset the

high costs of the airport infrastructure as well as jet fuel in India, which are higher in India than the international average.

According to March 2007 available figures, its share of India's domestic aviation market increased to over 43% (up from less than 27% a few months prior to March 2007), and, as of 2007, is greater than any other Indian domestic operator's market share. Jet Airways was voted as the best airline in South Asia and Central Asia region by Skytrax in 2007.

After the take over of Air Sahara, Jet Airways has become the largest private airline in India but at the same time it is facing a hard challenge from Kingfisher which has recently take over Air Deccan.

According to a survey conducted by skytrax Kingfisher Airlines is India’s favorite airline and the only one to offer a premium first class service on domestic routes. Besides being the first and the only airline to offer in-flight entertainment on every seat in the domestic skies, Kingfisher Airlines is the only one to offer LIVE TV with 16 channels of live & exciting content. Kingfisher Airlines has received over 30 awards for innovation, customer responsiveness and was voted the “Best New Airline of the Year” within months of its launch. Kingfisher Airlines is part of The UB Group which is one of India’s largest conglomerates with diverse interests and a global presence. The UB Group is also the largest Indian manufacturer of beverage alcohol (beer & spirits) and the second largest drinks Group in the world. With its significant investment in Deccan, the Kingfisher-Deccan Group is India’s largest domestic airline group connecting 71 cities and offering over 540 flights daily with a fleet of 80 aircraft.

Skytrax , the world’s leading, independent travel forum and air travel information organization has recently conducted a survey and gave following rankins to Jet Airways :

RANKING:   =  Excellent          =  Good          = Fair          =  Poor          = Very poor

GENERAL RATINGS

Web Site : Ease of Use Age of Aircraft in Fleet

Web Site : Product information Cabin Safety Standards

Web Site : Online Check-In Cockpit Communications

Handling Delays/Cancellations Airline Onboard Magazine

Staff Grooming & Presentation Assisting Families & Children

BUSINESS CLASSAIRPORT  :  JMumbai    

Check-In Services Arrival Assistance

Transfer Services Arrival Lounges n/a

Priority Boarding Baggage Delivery

       

BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGE  :  Mumbai  

Lounge comfort, space Staff : Service Efficiency

Washroom, shower facilities Staff : Enthusiasm, Attitude

Dining options / Food Quality Staff : Problem Solving

Internet / WiFi options Staff : Language Skills

ONBOARD PRODUCT CABIN STAFF SERVICE

Seat Comfort Service Efficiency

Comfort : Blankets, Pillows Enthusiasm, Attitude

Inflight Entertainment Interaction with PAX

Washroom Cleanliness Cabin Presence thru Flight

Quality of Meals served Responding to Requests

Newspapers & Magazines Language Skills

Cabin Cleanliness Consistency amongst Staff

ECONOMY CLASS

AIRPORT  :  Mumbai    

Check-In Services Arrival Assistance

Transfer Services Baggage Delivery

       

ONBOARD PRODUCT CABIN STAFF SERVICE

Seat Comfort Service Efficiency

Comfort : Blankets, Pillows Enthusiasm, Attitude

Inflight Entertainment Interaction with PAX

Washroom Cleanliness Cabin Presence thru Flight

Cabin Cleanliness / Condition Responding to Requests

Quality of Meals served Language Skills

Quantity of Food served Consistency amongst Staff

Newspapers Personalisation of Service   n/a

Based on the following case study answer following questions :

Q.1 “Even though Jet being the largest private airlines in India but still Kingfisher is regarded as the most favourite airline of indian customer” Give suitable reasons to justify this statement ?

Q.2. According the survey data given in the case study how Jet Airways can improve its business class features ?

Q.3. What are the various things which are lacking in Jet Airways to satisfy its economy class customers ?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Kotler, Philip. Marketing Management, 2002 edition

Marketing Research – Text and Cases- Boyd, Westfall and Stasch, Reprint Edition 2001

Foundations of Advertising – Theory and Practice – S.A.Chunawalla & K.C.Sethia, McGraw-hill, 3rd edition 2003

International Marketing Management, Keegan

REFERENCES

http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=15259

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5202/is_1994/ai_n19122366

http://goindia.about.com/od/gettingaround/gr/jetairways.htm

www.nytimes.com/2006/01/20/business/worldbusiness/20air.html

www. jetairways .com

http://www.airlinequality.com/Airlines/9W.htm

ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE

CUSTOMER’S NAME :

1. Are you a frequent flyer?

YES NO

2. You prefer to travel by?a. Air Indiae. Jet Airwaysf. Kingfisherg. Others, Please specify

3. Have you ever traveled by Jet Airways ?

YES NO

4. Which Airlines consumes lesser time for reserving tickets?

JET AIRWAYS KINGFISHER

AIR INDIA can’t say

5.Which airlines check in procedures are more convenient than other airlines?

JET AIRWAYS KINGFISHER

AIR INDIA can’t say 6. Which Airlines provides you better information in case of delay

of flight?

JET AIRWAYS KINGFISHER

AIR INDIA can’t say

7. Which airlines provide you better baggage handling facilities, timely and with care?

JET AIRWAYS AIR INDIA

KINGFISHER Can’t say

8. Which airlines seating arrangement is more systematic?

a. JET AIRWAYS b. AIR INDIA c. KINGFISHER d. can’t say

9. Which airlines according to you provides good quality of meals?

JET AIRWAYS AIR INDIA

KINGFISHER Can’t say

10.Which airline provides you best in flight entertainment ?

JET AIRWAYS AIR INDIA

KINGFISHER Can’t say

11. Which airlines provides all the services according to your expectations ?

JET AIRWAYS AIR INDIA

KINGFISHER Can’t say