Planning the SWOT Analysis of Silver Airways

Project 1: Planning the SWOT Analysis of Silver Airways Introduction In 2018, the Florida based Silver Airways purchased Seaborne Airlines, which is based in Puerto Rice, leading to more flight options and destinations for travelers. With this purchase, Silver Airways has been able to attract new customers and offer new travel routes. Below is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) table and analysis listed below to show the current company status with Silver Airways after the merger. Then some goals and their objectives will be discussed for Silver Airways to look ahead into merging with and airline that services the Northeast U.S. SWOT Table Strengths New Aircraft: Silver Airways announced they were purchasing 50 new ATR-600 series aircraft. (Silver Airways, Press Release, Aug 1, 2018). Codeshare between Silver/Seaborne the major airlines including American, Delta, United, and Jet Blue. (Silver Airways, Company Information, n.d.). An average of 125 flights a day scheduled between Florida and Bahamas. More Bahamian destinations than any other U.S. airline. (Silver Airways, History, n.d.). Opportunities New aircraft may attract new leisure and business customers wanting new features. (Silver Airways, Press Release, Aug 1, 2018). Seaborne adds potential for new territory and added routes within the Caribbean. (Silver Airways, Press Release, Aug 1, 2018). New leadership provides new ideas and a fresh approach to the company (Silver Airways, Press Release, Aug 1, 2018). Weaknesses Bad customer service reports. Average rating 1 star out of 5 on Better Business Bureau. (BBB, Silver Airlines, April 3, 2020) Small airline with smaller jets. Not well known outside of their region. (Summers, Skift, Mar 13, 2017) Silver Airlines only offers two seasonal destinations to the Northeast U.S. (Silver Airlines, Destinations, n.d.) Threats Threat of annual hurricane season which primarily affects the Caribbean Islands and East Coast U.S. (Weather.com, Hurricane Safety and Preparedness, Feb 25, 2020) Airline is replacing their fleet with a single series of aircraft potionially limiting future destinations. (Silver Airways, Company Information, n.d.). Other small airlines with dedicated yet limited flight paths have gone bankrupt. (Zhang, Business Insider, Mar 28, 2019). SWOT Analysis Strengths On August 1st, 2018 Silver Airways announced they were upgrading their fleet by purchasing 50 new ATR-600 series aircraft. By upgrading to newer aircraft they ensure customers have modernized services on much more comfortable and cheaper flights. By Silver Airways offering codeshare between the major airlines, they are able to seamlessly move luggage for connecting flights. This also mean they will share mileage programs so someone cashing in miles on United can book a flight through Silver. There are an average of 125 flights a day scheduled between Florida and Bahamas which offers more Bahamian destinations than any other U.S. airline. This is an advantage since that is an extremely popular tourist destination. Weaknesses Unfortunately Silver Airways has multiple reports of bad customer service which could potentially drive away prospective customers. Better Business Bureau lists Silver Airways with a 1 out of 5 star rating. Smaller airlines have a disadvantage of smaller jets, limited locations where they fly, and are not well known outside of their region. Not many customers outside of Florida and Caribbean know of Silver Airways. It offers only 2 flight options outside of that area, Boston, MA to Bar Harbor, ME and only during the summer. These limited territories could hurt future business. Opportunities Buying new aircraft to replace and update the fleet is a great opportunity to attract new customers that want to enjoy brand new aircraft. These could have new features and also just be more comfortable with leather seats and more legroom. Also internet connectivity and charging ports. Seaborne offers flights into smaller islands that are inaccessible any other way, and that larger aircraft cannot land at, so there is an opportunity to spread service to even more islands. Silver announced a new CEO which can provides new ideas and a fresh approach to the company. A fresh set of eyes with the new acquisition of Seaborne means a lot of potentials for growth. Threats The biggest threat is probably hurricane season. This happens every year and can be extremely destructive to both airports and the prime tourist areas that attract business. And the prime area that is affected is the main travel area is the entire service area for Silver Airways, so there is always a threat of hurricane’s driving away business. Even though it is an opportunity, having a single series of aircraft is also a threat because if new areas open that can’t accept that size aircraft, then Silver will not be able to offer service to those areas. WOW Airlines was a small airline that specialized in cheap flights to specific locations. Simliar to Silver Airways, WOW had a specific region they covered and rising prices, fuel costs and low passenger levels, led them to bankruptcy. So being a small airline with a limited service area is a threat if the same thing begins to happen. Goals and Objectives STRATEGIC GOAL 1 First goal should be improving customer service, so an initial short term SMART (Strategic, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Bound) Goal for that is: Reducing customer service complaints by 50% by the end of the third quarter. Saying 100% is unreasonable, but showing improvement in this category can then set up Silver Airways for a longer term goal of reducing them further. By improving customer service more people will want to fly Silver Airways. Strategic Objectives: 1. Mandate customer service training to all employees, concentrating on the counters in the airports and the call centers. Give them the tools and knowledge to better help people when they call. 2. Offer surveys to everyone who calls. Have the agents ask everyone to take either phone or email surveys. This will help identify problems areas or even specific agents that are causing low customer service. STRATEGIC GOAL 2 Add 1-2 more routes for customers beginning in CY 2021. Adding new flight routes and increasing traffic on current ones creates more selections and opportunities for customers, which can increase revenue. Also by branching into new areas, the airline can reach an expanded customer base and spread awareness of Silver Airways. Expansion can strengthen current interline agreements encourage future ones. Strategic Objectives: 1. Create a project working group to look into feasibility of direct flights to the Bahamas from non-Florida locations. Right now everything connects in Florida but the specifications of the current and future aircraft show the Bahamas and most Caribbean islands well in range of the aircrafts ability. 2. Reduce service delays and/or cancellations of flights (not counting weather events) by 30% by the end of CY 2020. Determine the common causes of why flights are cancelled and fix those areas. This will keep customer loyalty if they know there is a better chance of keeping their flight. STRATEGIC GOAL 3 Increase retention rates to 90% or more of all high performing and experienced employees within 2 years. In order to expand and improve customer service, businesses need to keep around the employees who can help with that. Keeping the best employees will make the company run smoother. Strategic Objectives: 1. Set up programs to award achievements and encourage higher performance from employees. Set internal goals for each areas to reach and reward employees who are going above and beyond. Employees who are happy in their job are more willing to stay. 2. Weed out underperforming employees. If someone is having to do the work of another person but getting the same pay, it is not fair to those doing the work. Giving the hard working person a pay raise does nothing if the person doing nothing is still around. Conclusion Silver Airways has many strengths and a lot of potential to expand service into the Northeast. The Caribbean is a huge service area and to be one of the primary providers for it is huge, but they need to make sure the bad customer service does not begin to hurt them. A merger with an airline to service the Northeast would be a benefit to all companies involved since a Northeastern Airline would gain the new service area of the popular Caribbean.