Dissertation Proposal: Impact of Middle East Emerging Carriers on US and EU: Emirates Airlines and Lufthansa Airlines

Proposal Summary

The recent growth and expansion of Arabian Airlines, most notably Emirates Airlines, and their ambitious plans for the future have brought forth considerable unrest feeling among the major aviation stakeholders in the EU and USA. One of the most affected major worldwide airlines in Germany is Lufthansa Airlines. Because of the strategy adopted by Emirates Airlines to fly secondary airlines, and this is in a bid to attract passengers who do not have a choice for non-stop intercontinental flights, the market for Emirates has really expanded and provided so much competition for Lufthansa Airlines. Lufthansa has been under tremendous pressure becomes of the rapid rise of the Emirates. To counter the effect of the growth, Lufthansa has been developing low-cost subsidiary Euro wings. In addition to that, Lufthansa has continued to put capacity as it endears itself to the market to sustain its profits. The two major airlines in Germany are Lufthansa and air Belin, and they have both felt the effect of the Emirate's Growth. Why has Emirates Airlines been very successful in such a short time (it has only been in existence for twenty-five years)? What implications on Lufthansa does the growth have? What can Lufthansa do to deal with the competition? These are some of the issues that will be analyzed and looked into in this dissertation.

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Topic Literature Review

There has been a steady growth and rise of Emirates Airlines for the past ten years and many other major rival competitor Airlines such as Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Air France-KLM, British Airways, etc., have all been affected in one way or the other. The biggest challenge for Lufthansa is to compete against the growing Gulf airlines. The German flag carrier is facing for the first time in its history a big competitor. Not only does it have to cope with the low-cost airlines but with the Middle East companies too. Therefore, Lufthansa needs to change its strategy in the market in order to compete with its competition in the long term. This dissertation will look into the reasons for the success of Emirates Airlines, factors that have influenced consumers' preference towards it, and the impact of its growth on Deutsche Lufthansa Airlines.

Objectives

1. Conduct an in-depth look into the airline industry, what influences passenger decision-making behavior, and its implications for Airline marketing.
2. Analyze the Emirates airline business model and reasons for its success.
3. Analyze Lufthansa Airlines, its airline services, and how the growth and expansion of Lufthansa have affected it in terms of passengers and revenues.
4. Compare the number of identical destinations of Lufthansa and Emirates.
5. Analyze the bilateral agreements(between emirates and Lufthansa) for Emirates to operate in additional cities in Germany
6. Understand the meaning of quality and marketing of both Emirates and Lufthansa.
7. Conclude with a result whether Lufthansa is able to cope with its combat.
8. Bring up concerns and possible topics of further research that could arise from this study.

Project Outcomes

It is expected that The Emirates Airline model. Government support reduces prices, and good customer service has played a huge role in its success. As such, Lufthansa Airlines, and most of the EU airlines, will have a hard time catching up with most Arabian Emirates

Why are you interested in the project?

The main aim of this research study is to assess and analyze the reasons behind the success of Emirates Airlines and how this has been implicated in Lufthansa Airlines. The two companies will be analyzed and used as case studies, as they are both global Airlines and companies and two of the biggest in the world. Lufthansa Airlines trace their origin to the year 1926. Since then, it grew and became the biggest airline in Germany. It has so many subsidiaries and when all these are joined together, it becomes the largest and biggest airline in Europe, that is, in regards to the number of passengers it carries and the size of its fleet.

Emirates Airlines on the other hand is an airline that is based in Dubai. It traces its history origin back to 1985 and despite it being one of the youngest airlines in the industry; it has grown to become the biggest airline in the Middle East. It operates more than three thousand six hundred (3600) flights weekly and it is currently the fourth biggest airline in regards to the total number of international customers it carries and the second biggest airline in regards to freight ton-kilometers that it flies. Therefore the research will cover two main questions; whether the Emirates has become a lifestyle brand & the reason for its preference over other airlines and secondly, how Lufthansa Airlines has been affected by Emirates Airlines' growth.

What are the key questions the project attempts to answer?

Why has Emirates Airlines been very successful in such a short time (it has only been in existence for twenty-five years)? What implications on Lufthansa does the growth have? What can Lufthansa do to deal with the competition?

What Research Methods do you intend to use?

The main research method used in gathering information for this research study will be the qualitative research method. A qualitative approach is incorporated into the research process because it provides answers to questions and in gathering evidence. Additionally, the approach will also help in collecting data that concerns the opinions of people concerning the questions asked. It is also important in comprehending and understanding intangible features that are not easily available. The qualitative research technique has several advantages. First, it is flexible and thus enables the researcher to group the responses as stated by the calculations. Secondly, the qualitative research method is simple and friendly. It is easy to supervise surveys and handle the feedback from the chosen population. Thirdly, the approach is formal and helps in the accessibility of primary stakeholders. Other than analyzing the existing literature, getting first-hand information from the customers increases the validity of the information.

Data collection will be done using online surveys to evaluate the preferences of customers when it comes to airline services offered then benchmark these with the service quality attributes of Emirates and Lufthansa. Microsoft Excel will be used in the analysis and evaluation of the survey data. The statistical analysis tool chosen will be Webropol Insight. The analysis process will be conducted through Spearman correlation and this is because of its appropriateness when it comes to measures that are taken from ordinal scales, for example, the Likert scale.

What primary and/or secondary data sources do you intend to use?

Primary data will be from online surveys while secondary data will be mostly from other conducted research on airlines and the internet.

Draft Chapter Heading for Report

Chapter 1 - Introduction: This chapter is going to look into the reason, aim, and objectives of the research. It will provide the research questions, the hypotheses, and outline a short summary of the dissertation brief.

Chapter 2 - Theoretical Background and Literature Review: The literature review of this study, just like in all other theses, will provide a foundational base for the current research study. It will look into the Airline industry, the two aforementioned airlines, and some past studies conducted on the same research topic, what their findings have been, and their opinions and view on the topic. A look into past works will enable the researcher to know gaps that exist in past literature.

Chapter 3 - Analysis of the Emirates and Lufthansa Airlines: This chapter is going to look into the two main case studies in this research, Emirates Airlines, and Lufthansa Airlines. Their history, models of business, passenger services, and other general information regarding the airlines will be provided. The visions and missions of both companies will be provided and then an analysis of the growth of Emirates Airlines will be presented and its implications for Lufthansa Airlines.

Chapter 4 - Methodology: This chapter is going to look into the methods and techniques that have been applied in the research process. It will also explain why the various techniques were selected, how the research process was conducted and the limitations encountered while carrying out the research.

Chapter 5 - Findings and Analysis: After the methodology, an analysis of the findings, derived from the questionnaires and other data collection methods, will follow. These findings will help the researcher accept or reject the hypotheses of the study.

Chapter 6 - Conclusion and Recommendations: In this chapter, the conclusion, derived from the findings and analysis will be provided. Recommendations will be provided as well.

List of References

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