Archive for January, 2009

The air travel industry in Pakistan hasn’t really thrived in Pakistan.  Many names have come and gone, only to reinforce the perception that the air travel industry doesn’t hold much potential in Pakistan.  Air Blue, however, is a worthy exception.  Since it started it’s operations, Air Blue hasn’t only grown but has maintained a strong brand presence in the country.  It hasn’t been easy for Air Blue by any stretch of imagination.  They have had to rethink and redesign their positioning.  Initially establishing itself as a premium brand, now Air Blue treads the waters of cost effectiveness and follows a value-for-price positioning strategy.  When they first started serving meals, they had five-star cuisine with fine cutlery. Now they have reduced their meals to a light sandwich or a chicken roll with a serving of drink.  Earlier they had large leather seats in their Business Class that were far more comfortable than what PIA was offering.  Today, Air Blue doesn’t even have Business Class and they have increased their seating capacity by changing their flights to all Economy-Class seating.

With these transformational changes, Air Blue has not only survived in Pakistan but has very aggressive plans to grow their international network.  Their business strategy is a case study in favor of the age-old phase, ‘the only thing certain in business is Change.’  While their counterpart, PIA, struggles to survive on the government subsidy and carries the burden of a large workforce of over 350 people per aircraft, a fundamental measure in the airline industry of how lean the organization is, Air Blue has proved that with professional management, flexible business strategy and able workforce, organizations can survive the toughest of challenges.

Some facts about to Air Blue:

1. Air Blue is in the process of enhancing their fleet size but purchasing new aircrafts from Airbus
2. Air Blue is planning to enhance their network in the Middle East by adding new destinations and increasing the frequency of their flights to existing destinations in the region
3. Air Blue is in the process of providing top-of-the-line in-flight entertainment and connectivity services to it’s passengers through its new aircrafts inductions
4. Air Blue’s top management remotely manages its operations through the use of high-tech MIS and reporting tools.
5. Air Blue has received the endorsement of the world’s top multilateral funding organization for its expansion plans
6. The reservation system that Air Blue uses is a proprietary system and has been designed under the close guidance of one of its founding members.