Competition Among European Airlines: Pricing Strategies, Yields and Profits

Rosário Macário, Hilde Meersman and Eddy Van de Voorde

A chapter in Airline Economics in Europe, 2019, vol. 8, pp 77-89 from Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Abstract: Choosing the right pricing strategy is a complex decision, even though it is fundamental for transport companies whose activities are very diverse and subject to strong stochastic fluctuations. However, in spite of its complexity, adequate pricing can be a very relevant instrument to ensure the competitive position of the company. European airlines are competing for the same passengers, often with different strategies and, as a consequence, with different financial results at the end of the fiscal year. The use of different pricing strategies is one of the potential explanations. This brings us to the research question of this chapter: How can air pricing strategies be used to support strategic aims, and what are the consequences? This chapter first deals with the state of the art in air pricing strategies, followed by an analysis of the relationship between airline pricing, yields and profit. The focus then moves to a case study at Brussels Airport over the period 2012–2017. Following the entry of Vueling and Ryanair at Brussels Airport, the incumbent Brussels Airlines launched a very aggressive pricing war against the two newcomers. The result was a partial withdrawal by Vueling and Easyjet and an end to Ryanair’s expansion at Brussels Airport. Even without access to confidential detailed data, one can learn a lot from the reconstruction of the consecutive management decisions by the airlines involved.

Keywords: Pricing strategies; yields; airlines; differential pricing; competition; management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... 2-160920190000008004
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:aiaezz:s2212-160920190000008004

DOI: 10.1108/S2212-160920190000008004

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Advances in Airline Economics from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().