time table

The airline industry was established many decades ago with the arrival and departure of many airline companies. Although there were not a lot of them, some early entrants still do exist today and are holding a stable position in the market despite the volatility of the airline industry. According to Porter (Thornton, 2011), the airline industry is known to be one of the least profitable industry by companies due to its “high level of rivalry, high bargaining power of the buyer, high level of substitutes, high bargaining power of suppliers and the high treats for new entrants” (UNCChapelHill, 2013). Hence, it is difficult for an airline to succeed in the marketplace. Porter also stated that by doing something different through a competitive advantage, the company would then be able to provide a unique factor to the customer (UNCChapelHill, 2013). This is because, through this competitive advantage, companies would then craft out a strategy, which they will hold dear and execute. The ultimate purpose for a strategy is to ensure that the competitive advantage is sustainable (Flouris & Oswald, 2006) so that the airline company may succeed. Hence, through this statement, we can agree that a sustainable competitive advantage is a crucial factor for an airline to succeed in the marketplace.

Having a competitive advantage allows the organization to be ahead of its rivals. Flouris & Oswald (2006) stated that having a core competency is important to competitive advantage and there is also a need for companies to make full use of these competencies and derive benefits from it in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Although core competencies are important towards achieving a competitive advantage, trade-offs are as important in order to keep the competitive advantage sustainable (Flouris & Oswald, 2006 & Porter, 1996) and gives the company a “unique position” in the marketplace, allowing them to be more advantages than their fellow competitor as they

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