The document discusses the characteristics of services marketing as they relate to the airline industry. It identifies the key characteristics of services as intangibility, inseparability, variability/heterogeneity, and perishability. It then provides examples of how each of these characteristics manifest in the airline industry, such as through food/beverages, logos/designs, staff uniforms, and flight bookings for intangibility. It also discusses strategies major airlines use to address these characteristics, such as Indigo focusing on on-time flights and Air India using traditional crew attire.
4. Characteristics Features in Airlines Examples from major players
Intangibility •Food / Beverages
•Newspapers
•Movies/Music
•Staff uniforms
•Logos; Colour and design
•Seats and cushions
•Audio / Video facilities for work
or pleasure
•Baggage retrieval
•Flight bookings
•Cabin environment
Indigo believes that on-time flights
means on-time meetings: Address
customer’s psychological needs
Air India cabin crew are dressed in
traditional outfits: gives a flavour of
Indian culture
Inseparability •Service can be consumed only
when flight is on-boarded
•Pre-service consumption however
includes airport lounge facilities,
web-checking
•Can book on-flight meals while
booking the tickets
•minimise waiting time & increase
customer satisfaction
5. Characteristics Features in Airlines Examples
Variability •Invest in good hiring & training
procedures
•On-flight services
•Standardize the service-
performance process through out
the organization
•Monitor Customer satisfaction by
filling forms while on flight
Indigo has a single fleet (Airbus 320) to
reduce, standardize training cost of
crew.
Air India offers on-flight meal : need
not book that separately
IndiGo, SpiceJet have started red-eye
flights (late night flights) within the
domestic network
Perishability •Differential Pricing
•Non peak Demand can be
generated
•Part-time Employees can be hired
to serve peak demand
Indigo employees work in multiple
roles can easily serve efficiently during
peak demand.
Air India and Jet Airways pay 1%
regular commission for domestic
ticketing to travel agents: differential
pricing.
Air India offering tickets with fares
starting Rs.1,557 for domestic flights
for the lean season: off-peak demand.
Notas do Editor
passengers buying tickets from agents will have to pay more than those buying through airline websites
80% of airline tickets currently sold in India are through travel agents and websites
The months of January to April are considered lean season for domestic flying before the peak of May-July, when summer vacations start for schools.
special New Year discounted fares starting Rs.1,557 for tickets booked till 18 January for travel between 16 January and 30 April.
