Virgin Atlantic is a British Airline company that was established in 1984. Its head office is in Crawley, UK. Founded by Alan Hillary and Randolph Fields, and currently owned by Richard branson, the airline has expanded from the intended flights between Falkland Island and London, to become a global airline.
Today, the airline brags of a fleet of at least forty aeroplanes. In its fleet are a number of Airbuses and Boeing wide-body aeroplane models that operate to 29 different destinations including the Caribbean Islands, North America, the Middle East, and Africa as well as to Asia. Today, it is one of the largest UK airlines as per passenger volumes and employs about 9,000 people.
Major competitors of Virgin atlantic
- The British Airways
- American Airways
- British Midland
- Jet Airways
- Emirates
Products in the Marketing Mix of Virgin Atlantic :
- The Virgin Atlantic Airline has three-class cabin configurations in its aircraft. These are:
- The Economy Class
- The Premium Economy Class
- The Upper (Business Class) products
The Premium Economy class riders have a separate check-in area and are given boarding priority. Their cabins are furnished with wider seats and the legroom is satisfactory. The Business Class cabin, on the other hand, features a seat that is convertible into a flat bed. Those in these cabins also have access to chauffeur drives. It is worth noting that Virgin Atlantic was the pioneer of the personal entertainment accorded all passengers aboard.
Flying Club Gold Tier members together with those travelling in the business class have access to some ten lounges that are maintained by Virgin Atlantic. These lounges are referred to as Clubhouses and are located in New York-JFK, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Washington D.C, Boston, San Francisco, Heathrow, Gatwick, and Newark.
Price in the Marketing Mix of Virgin Atlantic :
The Virgin Atlantic’s pricing strategy is clear and precise. The company runs numerous influential promotional adverts with one of their attractive message saying ‘price is no object as long as the customer service is of a high standard’. In other words, the businessmen and women demography that prefers luxury to anything else finds no problem paying something higher. You would expect that such a message would mean that the airline is very expensive. Nay! Virgin Atlantic’s comparative pricing strategy results in its products being priced less than other companies such as the British Airways among others.
Place in the Marketing Mix of Virgin Atlantic :
The Virgin Group is extremely a large distribution company hence an equally large distribution channel. The company is a global entity with a presence in almost all the continents of the world. The comfort that the company assures its users makes it a target airline of the businessmen & women as well as those on the higher-end of the corporate world. On the other hand, the comparatively lower price targets the middle-income earners. In other words, Virgin Atlantic serves everyone everywhere.
Promotion in the Marketing Mix of Virgin Atlantic :
It is very common for someone to buy something if at all it is being promoted by a female marketer, or the product is just inclined to women. Virgin Atlantic uses this phenomenon to tap customers by simply giving its aeroplanes female names. These include the Ladybird, the Island Lady, the Varga Girl and Ruby Tuesday among others.
As mentioned above, the company does a lot of promotions, most of which are very influential, resulting in positive impacts on potential customers. Richard Branson, who happens to be the founder of the organisation, has been spotted exploring different parts of the company to ensure quality service delivery. This can be proven from the YouTube videos as well as the many instances when the man has been spotted on numerous celebs. The company advertises its brands through the print and electronic media alike.
