Indepedence Air Project

INDEPENDENCE AIR PROJECT

Running Head : Independence Air Project

INDEPENDENCE AIR PROJECT

In APA Style

Independence Air Project

Independence Air Business Plan

I .1 . Origins and the Decision to Operate an Independent Carrier

Independence air was not the original name of the airline . It was formerly known as the Atlantic Coast Airlines . The airline originally operated in collaboration with United Airlines and Delta Airlines Inc It was a contract carrier for the two older companies

However , Atlantic Coast decided to operate independently when United attempted to reduce Atlantic 's

fee under the new contract . After the first flight to Atlanta was fully booked , Independence Air expanded the business into most states of the East Coast . In the West Coast the company operated only in a few major cities

I .2 . Target Market , Strengths and Weaknesses

The company is a Low Cost Carrier , which means that the target market is from the segment with price oriented perspectives . The company started by expanding the service into the eastern cost of the continent because the managers believed that the locations possess more opportunities for Independence Air (Laura , 2005

However , the company also maintained existence in the west coast of the continent by providing routes for major airports in the region . The original business model of the company was based on two core qualities rock bottom fares and internet marketing services . It was originally a success because most of the 600 daily flights to 37 destinations were fully booked (Laura , 2005

Nevertheless , as the months go by , the number of flights was slashed down to only 200 a day (`Flyi , 2006 `Final Boarding Call , 2006 . The strengths of the model mentioned above were no match for the problems within the LCC industry at the time . Increasing fuel cost and continued competition from many airlines including the former partner , United Airlines , stripped the company from its profits (Downfall , 2006 I .3 . Marketing Mix

I .3 .1 . Product /service

The company is a Low Cost Carrier airline , which generally means that the company provided air travel services with the cheapest prices possible . In case of the Independence Air , managers and employees of the company are dedicated to creating a low-fare airline based on these six philosophies

I am about the customer first

I am genuine

I am about integrity

I am about operational excellence

I am innovative

I am enthusiastic . The six philosophies have a core purpose of creating the corporate image as `the official airline of fast , easy and less expensive (`Independence Air , 2005

I .3 .2 . Price

Articles from various who wrote about the company stated that it has `rock-bottom fares . The company offers one of the cheapest fares in the continent . In terms of price , the company has the philosophy of ensuring customers to feel that `I can fly on my budget . In to reach such goal , besides providing cheap flights , the airline also simplified their fare structure into four fare types . The purpose is to create an easy to understand fare...