Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited:
The airline started with the Aircraft Transport and Travel founded by George Holt Thomas in the year 1916.The development of the military airlines led to the growth in the use of airlines in America and Europe. The modification of the military planes led to the growth of the airline in various ways. The modification of the capacity of the planes also helped to improve the airline services as well as encouraging the people to use airlines in carrying out their business activities across the remote parts of the world. The airline industry expansion of the airline companies like gained reputation due to the growth and expansion of Aircraft Transport and Travel Company. The reliability of the company even during the times of bad weather made the company fail in various prospects (Grant, 2004, p.26). The effectiveness of the airline industry facilitated its growth and access to the customers in various parts of the world. The need for the freight and logistics facilitated the growth of the companies in the airline industry. The need for fast and effective delivery of parcels and freights services led to the growth and expansion of the airline industry in various parts of the world.
The air mail services played a crucial role in the acceptance and growth of the airline industry. The role of planes in military and wars also facilitated innovation and the expertise in relation to the development of aircrafts. The competition in the airline industry played a crucial role in the development of the transport sector in most parts of the world. The introduction of the small airlines led to the rationalization of the airline industry in 1920s.The small airlines enabled the airline companies to reduce the costs in acquisition of the airlines and planes. The global regulations influence the airline industry and transport facilities across various territories.
History of the Company within that industry-must be publicly traded company:
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is an airline company based in Britain. The company was founded in the year 1984, and it started its operations on 22nd of June 1984.The operating bases used by this airline company includes Gatwick Airport, London Heathrow Airport and Manchester Airport. London Heathrow Airport is the main base of operation for the Virgin Atlantic Airlines company. The frequent-flyer program for the Virgin Atlantic is the flying club. The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is the main Airport Lounge for this company. The fleet size of the company is 38, and it covers around 34 destinations all over the world. The headquarters for this company is Crawley in the United Kingdom. The main shareholder of the company is Sir Richard Branson with 51 percent shares of the whole company. The co-founders of the company are Alan Hellary and Randolph Fields. The collapse of Lakers Airways inspired the formation of this company. The initial area of coverage by the company was between London and Falkland Islands.
Virgin Atlantic uses a combination and a variety of fleets including Airbus, Boeing jets. The scope of flights covers the UK, the Caribbean, North America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The company also operates on the seasonal basis at Glasgow base. The administration of this company is separate from other airlines with the virgin –Atlantic brand. The company has an operation license from Civil Aviation Authority that allows it to carry the passengers, mail and cargo with 20 or more seats. Richard Branson strategy of the business aim succeeding in one year or exit out of the market. The company added Boeing 787 in the year 1986 in order to expand its operations. The company then introduced a route from Miami to Gatwick. The acquisition of additional aircrafts enabled the company to start routes from Gatwick to Tokyo, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Orlando.
Current status of the industry and the company:
Virgin Atlantic Company holds a significant position in the global airline industry. The company plays a crucial role in the economy of the US by connecting it to various parts of the world. It enables the US to transport most of the passengers to various destinations in the world. It serves many destinations all over the world. The company covers several destinations in North America, Asia, Africa, Middle East and the United Kingdom. The large market scope enabled the company to influence the provision of airline services all over the globe. The large customer base plays a significant role in facilitating the growth of the economy by increasing the levels of revenues and taxes.
The company offers a number of services to different classes of customers. The segregation of the markets enabled the company to scope a large number of customers. The price differentiation enabled the company to maximize its revenues and customer base in most parts of the world. The company competes heavily with the British Airways in the provision of airline services all over the globe. The long-haul nature of the operations of Virgin Atlantic airline enabled the company to increase its number of customers all over the globe. The company has a large customer base and this makes the revenues of the company very high leading to the high levels of output to the whole globe (Balmforth, 2009, p.18). The company takes advantage of the seasonal fluctuations. The strategies to take advantage of the summers enabled the company to make large volumes of revenues from the customers. The company, therefore, plays a significant role towards the contribution to the economic development in various parts of the world. The employees working for various destinations contributes to economic growth and development in various parts of the world.
Macroeconomic Indicators:
Virgin Atlantic contributes about 3.5 percent to the world GDP. The company contributes to large amounts of revenue to the economy of the world. The large market scope contributes many employment opportunities all over the world. The employment opportunities offered by Virgin Atlantic Airlines Company helps in raising the standards of living of the people working for the company. The company also contributes to the revenues to many countries in the world in the form of taxes. The shareholders of the company also pay dividend taxes to the governments and territories in which they operate. The revenues from Virgin Atlantic help in boosting the growth of the world economy. The company offers fast delivery of services and goods to various destinations all over the world. The fast delivery of goods and services by Virgin Atlantic facilitates faster growth of the economy and the creation of employment in various parts of the world.
The trends of the performance of Virgin Atlantic reflects the variations in the macroeconomic factors. The fluctuations of the macroeconomic factors like the fluctuations in inflation rates of world unemployment is evident from the trends of this company. The inflation rates in most parts of the world affects the operations of Virgin Atlantic Company. The company follows close trend with the US Airways in the market. The competition with the US Airways shows the same types of fluctuations in relation to the adjustments to inflation and macroeconomic issues in the whole globe. The relationship between the trends of Virgin Atlantic and US Airways indicates the variations in the aspects of unemployment and seasonal fluctuations in various parts of the World. The stiff competition between the two companies reflects the variations in the macroeconomic factors as employment and inflation aspects.
Fiscal Policy:
The airline industry deregulation in the US influenced the operations of Virgin Atlantic in the US. The access to various sections of the market. The barriers in the US airline industry posed a challenge to the operations of this company in the US. The economic challenges relating to unemployment in the economy influenced the performance of the company. The aspects relating to economic depressions had a great influence on the performance and transactions of Virgin Atlantic in the US markets. The company faced challenges in managing its labor force due to an increase in the cost of operations. The high costs of operation led to an increase in the levels of unemployment relating to the company. The regulations relating to the minimum wages to the employees had a significant influence on the operations of Virgin Atlantic due to the cost of labor in the US markets.
The challenges relating to government spending and taxes also had a great challenge on the operations of Virgin Atlantic in the past three years. The tax regulations are significant in showing the challenges that the company faced in the US market. The high taxes on non-resident companies posed a great challenge to the operations of the company in the US.
Monetary Policy:
The aspects relating to the monetary policies as inflation and currency fluctuations affected the transactions of the virgin Atlantic company in the US. The aspects relating to currency depreciation in various countries affected the price for the tickets of this company. The fluctuations in the price of tickets also reflected the fluctuations in the revenues of the company in the last three years. The bank interest rates influenced the business activities and the travel activities relating to the performance of Virgin Atlantic in the economy. The fluctuations in the interest rates played a significant role in relation to the performance of the company in various ways. The bank interest rates influence the business transactions of the company leading to a decrease in the economic performance of the Virgin Atlantic company.
The company faced difficulties in relation to the exchange rates at the borders of the countries. The price fluctuations led to the fluctuations in the operations of the company in various ways. Prices of the virgin Atlantic company influenced the operations of the company due to the random changes in the currency exchange rates. Currency devaluation in various countries in the world affected the performance in revenues of the company in the last there years.
Based on the historical data and what you explained in sections IV -VI what do you see as the future opportunities and challenges for the industry and the company? Why? What upcoming issues do you foresee as having an impact on the success of this company?
In relation to the historical data, the company has opportunities for market expansion in various parts of the world. The technological advancements may help the company to increase its speed of transactions. The company can take advantage of the technological advancements to reduce the costs of operations in various parts of the world. The company will likely face the heavy competition pressure from US Airways. The competition pressure from US Airways is in the form of simplification of transactions. The simplification in the transactions and processes of US Airways will pose a competitive threat to the success of Virgin Atlantic Company in the market.
References
Atlantic, V. (2008). Sustaining creativity and innovation: the role of leadership.
Balmforth, J. (2009). Virgin Atlantic. Hersham: Midland.
Grant, R. M. (0). Richard Branson and the Virgin Group of Companies in 2004.
