
Emirates Airlines in The UAE And GCC Economy
Introduction
The UAE among other GCC nations have over the past few years been experiencing steady growth in their economy due to a number of positive factors that make the region not only a lucrative business environment but also a great tourist destination owing to its exotic nature and rich culture. Companies in this region are expected to play some role in the good growth trends and this can be seen in the relevance within their business plans. Merging a company’s goals and objectives with that of the region within which they are operating is a great way to ensure growth for the economy as well as the company. This is a report on the relevance of Emirates Airlines’ business plan with the economic growth of the UAE and the GCC region.
Products
Emirates Airlines is a company aimed at making air transportation convenient and affordable to customers across the world. To do this, the company has capitalized on offering luxurious air transport that does not compromise on the basis of affordability and quality. The services offered on board and on the ground for both the passenger and cargo divisions are considerably high quality. The company has plane passengers serving each and every major city on the globe implying that they connect the world’s major cities. They also have cargo flights that transport luggage from one part of the world to another, safely and with utmost consideration for the security of the parcels. Among other things, the company also offers travel packages in conjunction with travel agents, hotels and tourism boards in the GCC region. These products are all often tailored to suit the specific needs and expectations of the clients. It can thus be stated that the company seeks to promote the GCC region as a tourist destination. They also have business class packages aimed for the working tourists who need frequent services and comfortable accommodation for their numerous trips. The company thus generally makes the lives of the travelers much easier and more convenient without costing them too much. They also have the executive division for corporate and private charters meant for those who can afford it. Today, they can be stated to pay more attention to the business and tourism sectors given their large connections with corporate organizations and the hospitality industry.
Market Segments
According to Heard-Bey (2005), Emirates Airlines mainly caters to a number of distinct clientele who include the domestic business individuals and the foreign tourists who travel for leisure or business. They thus have four market segments for which their products are made namely the executive, first class, business class and economy class. The executive market segments consists of companies and private entities that require special means of transport to specific destinations without having to adhere to the airlines’ flight schedules. These clients are thus accorded the luxury of chartering the planes under the executive division of the organization. They are considered as executive because the service is rather expensive and mostly a reserve of the high end market. The first class is also relatively expensive and usually associated with the high end market but not as expensive as the executive option. This segment is comprises of wealthy individuals who require utmost comfort in their transportation and are thus willing and able to pay for it comfortably. The business class at Emirates Airlines is of a higher quality than most business class segments in the airline industry. This implies that the segment is made up of relatively wealthy individuals with the means to spend on a good and comfortable air transportation opportunity that does not cost nearly as much as it should. It thus includes all individuals who have the means to travel comfortably, while the economy class segment considers the needs of those who can barely afford to travel by air. This is for those members of the society who need to get somewhere but cannot spend as much as their high end counterparts, thus covering the low end market in the airline industry.
With respect to the economy in the GCC region, it can be noted that this company is simply seeking to make travel affordable to the general public. They have created packages that suit all their respective segments in a way that is affordable and effective thus becoming a business enabler within the region. People are not only able to travel across the world affordably but also to travel fast during emergency cases and impromptu business meetings as is with the executive division.
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Target Market
The company has set itself apart by targeting corporate and tourists in their business strategy (Shearman, 2011). Tourists are targeted in order to open the region up to foreign recognition with respect to the glamour and splendor in their rich culture. The corporate organizations on the other hand are pivotal in that they require transport means that would connect them to all their contacts, business partners, clients, suppliers, distributors and subsidiaries across the globe. It should be noted that regardless of one’s reason for needing the passenger or cargo services of this company, they are treated as important customers and thus encouraged to use air transport. This not only builds the UAE economy by encouraging the tourists to visit but also by enabling the businesses to grow, while also allowing the foreign investors to come in and further boost the region’s business environment.
Expansion Possibilities
Insel and Tekce (2011) note that Emirates Airlines has been levering to on the GCC economic agreement in numerous ways. The company continues to introduce new routes to connect more and more cities in the world to the UAE and the GCC region as a whole. By ensuring that each route is covered, they ensure that the GCC is the most well connected part of the world thus attracting foreign investors to do business with the one place in the world that can be reached easily. What this means to the GCC economy is that the future would have a lot of traffic with respect to business travelers and tourists as well. by expanding their networks, Emirates will also be expanding the region’s connectivity to the rest of the world thus improving their business opportunities with respect to the rest of the planet. It can thus be noted that as the company expands, the economy of the region also grows exponentially. Air traffic is often an indicator of economic prosperity seeing as more people coming in is like more money eventually finding its way into the economy.
The GCC Economy
The GCC region has had a good run with respect to their economic growth over the past few years and it can be remembered that they have some of the wealthiest oil wells in the world. With such a wealth of natural resources, connectivity is a factor that can help a lot in capitalizing on the existent resources and the Emirates Airlines have so far been excellent development partners in this case (Alderighi, 2010). As the company continues to expand in order to cater to the growing market, they also enable the regional economy to grow given the pivotal position of good quality air transport in economic growth.
Conclusion
Emirates Airlines is a useful company within the UAE and the GCC seeing as they have been working exceptionally hard to provide the region with the right kind and quality of transportation services. The company’s business plan is aimed at growing the region’s connections to all parts of the world thus serving the business environment positively now and in the future. As such, it can be noted that the Emirates Airlines is an enabler of economic growth both in the UAE and the GCC as a whole.