Porter's Five Forces - Qatar Airways

Extract

[...] The airline industry is a very expensive sector, with very large initial investments and massive operating costs. Thus, the appearance of new entrants in the market seems unlikely, and can be seen to be a low threat. Added to this is the fact that Qatar Airways is a flag carrier of the State of Qatar, and indeed enjoys significant moral, financial, strategic and political support from the State of Qatar. Makes the threat of a new entrant in this particular market, especially in the context of a very gradual exit from the crisis linked to the COVID19 pandemic, therefore, seems low. [...]

[...] If the end of the crisis looms, the group could achieve its objectives of achieving the year 2022 much better than the years 2020 and 2021 and hope to reach pre-pandemic levels by 2025. Bibliography and References Qatar Airways: return to Phuket, a threat to Airbus Air Journal (air- journal.fr) Airbus: deep-frying on the line with Qatar Airways (stock market.com) Sky News: Volotea, Russia, Qatar Airways, Air Astana, French Bee, etc. (laquotidienne.fr) Briefs from above: Air France, Corsair, ASL Airlines, Qatar Airways, Transavia, Air Caraïbes, etc. [...]

[...] Three of the four forces studied appear to be weak, the fourth is considered as moderate. It, therefore, appears that the intensity of competition in this market and these market segments is rather limited, with power clearly in favour of the Qatar Group. The support it obtains from the Qatari State, its international scope, its financial power, the needs of airlines to conclude important deals in this context of the global crisis in tourism, leisure and transport further strengthen the attractiveness of the brand and its independent side. [...]

[...] In fact, considered individually, the client does not have enormous bargaining power over the company. It is the airline itself that sets the destinations served, flight schedules, authorized or unauthorized baggage, baggage limit and ticket prices. All the major elements of a plane ticket are developed by the airline without direct consultation with its customers. This shows that the bargaining power is clearly in favour of the company more than in favour of the customer. This represents an undoubted advantage for the company, which must, therefore, define its strategy, its choices and the budgets committed. [...]

[...] The purpose of this is to reduce costs, allow economies of scale, help reduce maintenance costs (in particular, because of the need to keep a reasonable stock of required spare parts and the cost of training engineers dedicated to maintenance). This is part of a vast operation to rationalize costs and optimize fleet management. We will first see what Porter's main strengths are in absolute terms, in general. In the second part, we will see how these Porter's forces apply to Qatar Airways and how they can be qualified when considered individually. [...]