Chapter 210 Low-Cost Airline Strategy

In the past few years, Tonya has been in charge of the operation of Mediterranean Shipping by herself. From the beginning when her eyes were smeared to the present, she has learned a lot. The shipping industry, due to the economic take-off brought about by the reconstruction of Europe after the war, has created a large number of world-class rich men, the most famous of which is the Greek shipping tycoon Onassis who married Jacqueline Kennedy's widow. However, in the 1980s, as the global economic growth fell into a low ebb, the shipping industry was also facing serious excess capacity.

This is a disaster for all shipping companies who are used to the old days when they can make money casually. Freight revenue began to decline continuously. In order to attract business, shipping companies had to lower freight rates again and again, so the brutal price war turned the global shipping industry into a sea of ​​red. Batch after batch of shipping companies fell down, and the busy cargo ships in the past were abandoned in the docks, and finally sank to the bottom of the sea as artificial reefs. And those super freighters that were booked at the shipyard were abandoned one after another, and the ship owner would rather pay liquidated damages than continue to build. It was at this time that Tonya entered the shipping industry. Relying on the support of the Gorky Brotherhood and Dongia's keen business talent, MSC began to flourish in Dongia's hands, and grew into the world's second largest shipping company by stepping on the corpses of its peers.

In the final analysis, the secret of Dongia's business operation is only one word, that is, saving. In order to reduce the cost as much as possible, Dongia has used the word "saving" to the extreme. Relying on a short word, the business that was lost money will make money in Dongia, while the business that others can barely make money can make Mediterranean Shipping Company earn more. This business strategy was also transplanted to this company after Tonya took over Southwest Airlines.

Tonya had just acquired the company for a month, and soon released a series of reform measures. Southwest Airlines canceled business seats and first class on all flights. More normal seats were placed instead. The customary meal service on the plane was also canceled by Tonya, and only a few common drinks and peanut popcorn were served on the plane. Tonya even replaced Southwest Airlines boarding passes with plastic ones, so that passengers can recycle them after boarding the plane.

After this series of simplifications, the financial department under Tonya calculated the cost and found that their ticket prices can be achieved to a jaw-dropping level, which is basically comparable to the price of long-distance buses in the United States. Even Seryozha admired this result. Seryozha realized that he had been ignoring this quality of Tonya's character. Tonya was the first woman with whom Seryozha established an intimate relationship. His life is completely different from that of Karim, who is the daughter of the president, and Eva, who has studied in a top American university. Dongia has to worry about her family's financial situation very early. This is probably the real reason why she is so good at reducing costs.

After more than a month of reform, the brand-new Southwest Airlines began to greet customers with a brand-new corporate image and services. Seryozha designed a new concept for Southwest Airlines, which is low-cost airlines. Specialized in grabbing the market with long-distance buses in the United States. Airplanes have an absolutely incomparable advantage over long-distance buses in terms of speed. If the price is really reduced to the price of long-distance buses, then who will make bumpy and long-distance buses?

For the sake of precision, put the marketing concept in front of customers. Tonya deliberately spread advertisements along the interstate highways in the United States, and the tall billboards on both sides of the highway became the main marketing method of Southwest Airlines. Because the most readers of these billboards are the commuters on the bus, it is much more cost-effective than advertising on TV, and the price of TV advertising is simply different from the price of billboards on interstate highways. do not.

While Tonya blindly cut costs, she did not forget to win people's hearts, in order to make Southwest Airlines' staff layer more stable.

Dong Niya initiated an employee shareholding dividend plan within Southwest Airlines, allowing every employee to share the company's interests. Although it is too early to say success, at least it has not encountered too much resistance during the reform process.

Sergey now has to call and discuss Southwest Airlines with Tonya every day, because Sergey feels that Tonya's cost-cutting skills are really useful. Perhaps the high-tech company in Eva's hands is not so sensitive to cost issues because of profit margins. But for those manufacturing companies and already very mature industries, the lower cost than all competitors is simply an ability against the sky. And this is precisely the ability that most state-owned enterprises in the Soviet Union lack. Especially in oil, gas, electrolytic aluminum and other industries. The cost of state-owned enterprises in these industries is too high, and such cost control capabilities cannot survive in the environment of falling oil prices.

The new business strategy caused Southwest Airlines to lose a large number of old customers at the beginning, and they were basically high-end customers of Southwest Airlines. The profit contributed by a single trip by a single person is very high. But Tonya knew in her heart that these people were more suitable for Pan Am, Delta and United than Southwest Airlines.

This difficult time did not last too long, and Southwest Airlines' flight load soon began to recover rapidly, until it finally exceeded the original level. A large number of working-class people have replaced the main customer groups of Southwest Airlines and become the new service targets of Southwest Airlines. And Tonya's business strategy has finally won the unanimous approval of Southwest Airlines from employees to partners.

Schwarzman originally thought that Tonya would buy Pan Am, because MSC has always been rich in investment, and last year they also entered the board of directors of Volkswagen. But I didn't expect Tonya to play new tricks on Southwest Airlines, a little-known domestic airline in the United States. Low-cost airlines, how come no one has come up with such a peculiar concept.

Because the development of Southwest Airlines was so smooth, Tonya began to win over her good friend, Yuri's lover Jiejina, to partner with her. Terkina had nothing to do anyway, and was looking for something interesting to do. And Jelkina and Tonya were stewardesses who entered the Soviet civil aviation at the same time, and neither of them was completely a layman in the aviation industry.

Terkina did not come to Dunya empty-handed. She brought a bigger gift, that is, the cheap hotel chain company Ibis that Yuri bought in the early years. Low-cost airlines and low-cost hotels team up against the jumbo jets of the major airlines and the luxury intercontinental hotels. What is the right way to do business? This has yet to be tested by the market. ...