Chapter Three

External Analysis

Chapter three will discuss the Emirates Group’s competitive situation by providing an external analysis using Porter’s five forces.

With regards to the intensity of the competition, there are many factors that influence this. Within the airline industry/market, there are several organisations competing for the same purpose, hence there is increased rivalry within this sector. Furthermore, customers look for flexible prices, mostly looking for cheap and affordable ones, therefore there is competition between ticket prices for different organisations. As well as this, different companies work to provide unique services that differentiate them from other companies, hence there is more competition. Additionally, what makes the competition more intense is how much influence airline companies have on a global scale (Shaw 2024). The Emirates Group has a range of competitors within the airline industry, all competing to provide world-class service, but Emirates Group is still in the lead. Some of the competitors include Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines and British Airways (Bhasin 2024).

Moreover, the Emirates Group have key suppliers that they rely on to provide for their company and maintain its growth. Boeing and Airbus are the aircraft manufacturers and play a crucial role in the running of the business. The Emirates Group is one of the largest airline companies, hence it comes with high fuel consumption that is needed for the operation of their products. Catering suppliers such as dnata provide meals within flights and other catering services that maintain the Emirates airline. Furthermore, technology suppliers ensure the effective functioning of the operations within the airline and the regular maintenance of the airline, to ensure the running of a safe and efficient airline company. Additionally, Emirates Holidays work with other organisations including hotels and restaurants to provide their customers with holiday and family packages with a range of different activities. These external suppliers ensure that the company provides and maintains a high standard of service for their customers and safe and efficient operations, improving quality of services. (Shaw 2024 and The Emirates Group n.d.).

As well as this, there are numerous types of buyers of the Emirates Group and their bargaining power is very low due to their trust in the company. For example, the Emirates Group has individual travellers, who buy tickets from this company for their own personal travelling. They also have business travellers for business purposes. Moreover, they have tour operators who sell travel services from this company, and they have government related travellers, who buy from Emirates Group for official purposes. The Emirates Group provide high quality service and loyalty to their customers, hence their buyers never feel the need to buy from other airline companies, because the Emirates Group’s reputation is difficult to compete with (Kasi, 2018 and the Emirates Group, 2018).

Furthermore, there are many barriers to entry for the Emirates Group. For example, capital requirements are needed to maintain the operations of the airline company and it can be quite costly. The Emirates Group must also follow government guidelines and regulations to ensure safety and efficiency of flights. Getting approvals can be a lengthy process and cost a lot of money (Kasi, 2018 and Shaw 2024).

Customers may also be attracted to different modes of transport or different airlines compared to the Emirates Group. Other airlines that may compare to the Emirates Group due to cheaper costs or better services include Etihad Airways or FlyDubai. Customers may use other forms of transport such as bus, boat, car or train due to shorter distance travelling or travelling for leisure (Kasi 2018 and Saadat et al, 2018).