PREFACE As a part of MBA curriculum we have to prepare a research project that is called as MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROJECT-I. During the third and fourth semester we have to prepare this project in each of the semester. The main objective of the project is to have the good analytical skills get developed and to have contemplation of the various subjects towards the whole industry selected. We have to prepare and submit a report on a specific industry in the third semester. We have selected “INDIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY” with the special focus on Civil Aviation Sector. The Indian Aviation Industry is one of the most important and basic industry for a countries infrastructure and growth. This report attempts to find out the possible reasons for growth, the futuristic position of the industry and the set of variables making the industry lucrative in the whole economy. We have also covered Low Cost Air line Model, Merger and Acquisitions and Current scenario of Indian Civil Aviation.
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PREFACE
As a part of MBA curriculum we have to prepare a research project that is called as
MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROJECT-I. During the third and fourth semester we
have to prepare this project in each of the semester. The main objective of the project is
to have the good analytical skills get developed and to have contemplation of the various
subjects towards the whole industry selected. We have to prepare and submit a report on
a specific industry in the third semester.
We have selected “INDIAN AVIATION INDUSTRY” with the special focus on Civil
Aviation Sector. The Indian Aviation Industry is one of the most important and basic
industry for a countries infrastructure and growth.
This report attempts to find out the possible reasons for growth, the futuristic position of
the industry and the set of variables making the industry lucrative in the whole economy.
We have also covered Low Cost Air line Model, Merger and Acquisitions and Current
scenario of Indian Civil Aviation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We take this opportunity to genially express our thankfulness to all those concerned with
this project entitled: A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF INDIAN AVIATION
INDUSTRY with the special focus on Civil Aviation Sector.
We express our sincere thanks to Dr. Mahendra Sharma, Director of V. M. Patel
Institute Of Management for providing us an opportunity to do analysis on the topic of
our interest. We have learnt about the various variables affecting and designing the
industry and also the analytical view point development styles.
We would like to thank our project coordinator Dr. Rohit Trivedi, Assistant Professor,
V. M. Patel Institute of Management for providing his valuable guidance in fulfillment of
our project.
Lastly we would like to thank all those who were concerned and helped us out to
complete our project.
Airlines
PEST Analysis: The Indian Airline Industry
A PEST analysis is an analysis of the external macro-environment that affects all
firms. P.E.S.T. is an acronym for the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological
factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors usually are beyond
the firm's control and sometimes present themselves as threats. For this reason,
some say that "pest" is an appropriate term for these factors. Let us look at the
PEST analysis of the Indian aviation sector:
Political Factors
In India, one can never over-look the political factors which influence each
and every industry existing in the country. Like it or not, the political interference
has to be present everywhere. Given below are a few of the political factors with
respect to the airline industry:
o The airline industry is very susceptible to changes in the political
environment as it has a great bearing on the travel habits of its customers. An
unstable political environment causes uncertainty in the minds of the air travellers,
regarding travelling to a particular country.
o Overall India’s recent political environment has been largely unstable due to
international events & continued tension with Pakistan.
o The recent Gujarat riots & the government’s inability to control the situation
have also led to an increase in the instability of the political arena.
o The most significant political event however has been September 11. The
events occurring on September had special significance for the airline industry since
airplanes were involved. The immediate results were a huge drop in air traffic due
to safety & security concerns of the people.
o International airlines are greatly affected by trade relations that their
country has with others. Unless governments of the two countries trade with each
other, there could be restrictions of flying into particular area leading to a loss of
potential air traffic (e.g. Pakistan & India)
o Another aspect is that in countries with high corruption levels like India,
bribes have to be paid for every permit & license required. Therefore constant
liasoning with the minister & other government official is necessary.
The state owned airlines suffer the maximum from this problem. These airlines have
to make several special considerations with respect to selection of routes, free seats
to ministers, etc which a privately owned airline need not do. The state owned
airlines also suffers from archaic laws applying only to them such as the retirement
age of the pursers & hostesses, the labour regulations which make the management
less flexible in taking decision due to the presence of a strong union, & the heavy
control &interference of the government. This affects the quality of the service
delivery & therefore these airlines shave to think of innovative service marketing
ideas to circumvent their problems & compete with the private operators.
Economic Factors
Business cycles have a wide reaching impact on the airline industry. During
recession, airline is considered a luxury & therefore spending on air travel is cut
which leads to reduce prices. During prosperity phase people indulge themselves in
travel & prices increase.
After the September 11 incidents, the world economy plunged into global recession
due to the depressed sentiment of consumers. In India, even a company like
Citibank was forced to cut costs to increase profits for which even the top level
managers were given first class railway tickets instead of plane tickets.
The loss of income for airlines led to higher operational costs not only due to low
demand but also due to higher insurance costs, which increased after the WTC
bombing. This prompted the industry to lay off employees, which further fuelled the
recession as spending decreased due to the rise in unemployment.
Even the SARS outbreak in the Far East was a major cause for slump in the airline
industry. Even the Indian carriers like Air India was deeply affected as many flights
were cancelled due to internal (employee relations) as well as external problems,
which has been discussed later.
Social Factors
The changing travel habits of people have very wide implications for the airline
industry. In a country like India, there are people from varied income groups. The
airlines have to recognize these individuals and should serve them accordingly. Air
India needs to focus on their clientele which are mostly low income clients & their
habits in order to keep them satisfied. The destination, kind of food etc all has to be
chosen carefully in accordance with the tastes of their major clientele.
Especially, since India is a land of extremes there are people from various religions
and castes and every individual travelling by the airline would expect customization
to the greatest possible extent. For e.g. A Jain would be satisfied with the service
only if he is served jain food and it should be kept in mind that the customers next
to him are also jain or at least vegetarian.
Another good example would be the case of South West Airlines which occupies a
solid position in the minds of the US air travelers as a reliable and convenient, fun,
low fare, and no frills airline. The major element of its success was the augmented
marketing mix which it used very effectively. What South West did was it made the
environment inside the plane very consumer friendly. The crew neither has any
uniform nor does it serve any lavish foods, which indirectly reduces the costs and
makes the consumers feel comfortable.
Technological Factors
The increasing use of the Internet has provided many opportunities to airlines. For
e.g. Air Sahara has introduced a service through the internet, wherein the
unoccupied seats are auctioned one week prior to the departure.
Air India also provides many internet based services to its customer such as online
ticket booking, updated flight information & handling of customer complaints.
USTDA (US trade & development association) is funding a feasibility study and
workshops for the Airports Authority of India as part of a long-term effort to
promote Indian aviation infrastructure. The Authority is developing modern
communication, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management systems for
India's aviation sector that will help the country meet the expected growth and
demand for air passenger and cargo service over the next decade.
A proposal for restructuring the existing airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and
Kolkata through long-term lease to make them world class is under consideration.
This will help in attracting investments in improving the infrastructure and services
at these airports. Setting up of new international airports at Bangalore, Hyderabad
and Goa with private sector participation is also envisaged.
A good example of the impact of technology would be that of AAI, wherein with the
help of technology it has converted its obsolete and unused hangars into profit
centers. AAI is now leasing these hangars to international airlines and is earning
huge profits out of it. AAI has also tried to utilize space that was previously wasted
installing a lamination machine to laminate the luggage of travelers. This activity
earns AAI a lot of revenue.
These technological changes in the environment have an impact on Air India as
well. Better airport infrastructure, means better handling of airplanes, which can
help reduce maintenance cost. It also facilitates more flights to such destinations.
FIVE PRODUCT LEVELS
The Core Service
The core service of the airlines industry is to transport goods and services to various
destinations. As the needs of the people increased the entire system became more
organized and formal. After this stage comes the various supplementary services.
The Supplementary Services
The airline industry has many players they had a brand name like ‘Air India’,’ Jet
Airways’,’ British Airways’. All of them had some common services to offer like
connecting flights, through check-in, tele check in, food on board, and
complementary gifts etc.
Different classes like economy class, business class were introduced. Air concessions
are given to school students, old people etc. Singapore airlines was the first to
introduce small 8”television screen for every passenger. The freebies are actually
win-win deals between airlines and other services.
Sahara, for example, offers its passengers a ‘business-plan’ on two-way economy
class ticket, which includes a night’s stay with breakfast, STD facility for 3 minutes
and boardroom facility at the Park Hotel, New Delhi. To Delhi based fliers to
Mumbai, it offers a night’s stay with breakfast, airport transfers and VIP amenities
at The Orchid, Mumbai. For business class, the plan includes a stay at The Leela,
with buffet breakfast and late checkout.
All these added service helps the customer to decide upon which airlines he wants to
travel. As competition increased and the customers wanted more the next phase
evolved and that is the augmented service.
The Augmented Service
This phase is where the customer’s expectations are met; the service providers kept
working on new methods to meet the ever-changing customers’ demands. The
players introduced online booking, which was very convenient for the service users.
British Airways business class has showers; it’s more spacious and comfortable.
Sahara airlines offer its passengers six different types of cuisine like vegetarian, fat
free, diabetic etc. They also have auction going on board. Virgin airlines have
gambling on board, they also have body massage to offer to their passengers. Air
Emirates has something called cab service, they have customized pick up and drop
cab service.
This phase is the most crucial one; with increased competition service will become
the final differentiation.
Future Service
As mentioned above the customer needs keep changing, the future is unknown. The
customers may be looking in for more frequent inexpensive air travel, something
like air taxis, super sonic speed. This decreases the time thus reducing the cost.
Pricing Strategies
Premium Pricing:
The airlines may set prices above the market price either to reflect the image of
quality or the unique status of the product. The product features are not shared by
its competitors or the company itself may enjoy a strong reputation that the 'brand
image' alone is sufficient to merit a premium price.¬
Value for Money Pricing:
The intention here is to charge the average price for the product and emphasize
that it represents excellent value for money at this price. This enables the airline to
achieve good levels of profit on the basis of established reputation.
Cheap Value Pricing:
The objective here is to undercut the competition and price is used to trigger the
purchase immediately. Unit profits are low, but overall profits are achieved. Air
India and Indian Airlines have slashed their prices to meet the competition of
private airlines so that they can consolidate their position in the market.
Airlines usually practice differential pricing. There are three classes: The First
Class, The Executive or Business Class and The Economy Class. Fares for each class
are different since the facilities provided and the comfort and luxury level is
different in each class. Seasonal fares are also fixed, fares rise during the peak
holiday times.
Low-cost Pricing:
With the advent of the low-cost airlines in the Indian aviation industry, a
different low-cost flying concept has come up. Since these low-cost airlines are
trying to woo the customers by providing air travel in exceptionally low prices, a
price-band kind of pricing has to be designed.
In low-pricing strategies, the airlines provide very low prices for the flight
tickets. Also, they prices are made cheaper by booking the tickets long before the
flight date.
APEX Fares:
In this scheme, people are given very cheap rates only if tickets are booked
atleast before the specified time period. But the draw-back here is that if the
booking is cancelled, a substantial amount of money is not returned.
Aviation Industry
Overview
The history of civil aviation in India began in December 1912. At the time of
independence, the number of air transport companies, which were operating within
and beyond the frontiers of the company, carrying both air cargo and passengers,
was nine.
In early 1948, a joint sector company, Air India International Ltd., was established
by the Government of India and Air India (earlier Tata Airline) with a capital of Rs
2 crore and a fleet of three Lockheed constellation aircraft. Its first flight took off on
June 8, 1948 on the Mumbai (Bombay)-London air route. At the time of its
nationalization in 1953, it was operating four weekly services between Mumbai-
London and two weekly services between Mumbai and Nairobi. The joint venture
was headed by J.R.D. Tata, a visionary who had founded the first India airline in
1932 and had himself piloted its inaugural flight.
Current Trend in Civil Aviation Industry in India
It is a phase of rapid growth in the industry due to huge build-up of capacity in the
LCC space, with capacity growing at approximately 45% annually. This has
induced a phase of intense price competition with the incumbent full service carriers
(Jet, Indian, Air Sahara) dis-counting to 60-70% for certain routes to match the new
entrants ticket prices. This, coupled with costs pressures (a key cost element, ATF
price, went up approximately 35% in recent months, while staff costs are also rising
on the back of shortage of trained personnel), is exerting bottom-line pressure.
The growth in supply is overshadowed by the extremely strong demand growth, led
primarily by the conversion of train/bus passengers to air travel, as well as by the
fact that low fares have allowed passengers to fly more frequently. There has,
therefore, been an increase in both the width and depth of consumption. However,
the regulatory environment, infrastructure and tax policy have not kept pace with
the industry's growth.
Enactment of the open sky policy between India and Saarc countries, increase in
bilateral entitlements with the EU and the US, and aggressive promotion of India as
an attractive tourism spot helped India attract 3.2 million tourists in 2004-05. This
market is growing at 15% per annum and India is expected to attract 6 million
tourists by 2010. Also, increasing per capita income has led to an increase in
disposable incomes, leading to greater spend on leisure and holidays and business
travel has risen sharply with increasing MNC presence. Smaller cities are also well
connected now. Passenger traffic has increased and over 21 million seats have been
sold, resulting in a growth of over 50%. The Indian travel market is expected to
triple to $51 billion by 2011 from $16.3 billion in 2005-06. India's aviation sector is
in for a further shake – up as its dozen-odd airlines move towards consolidation.
The coming together of the kingfisher and air deccan is only the latest confirmation
of the trend.
Role of Technology in Aviation Industry
Intense competition in Indian Aviation Industry has made the role of technology
very important for domestic airline companies. Technology can help in making
travel comfortable, allow easy access to tickets and reduce time to check-in. A
considerable amount of money is also saved by automation. Following points
highlight the increasing use of Technology by different Airlines:
• Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines is planning to install a landscape
camera at the bottom of the aircraft that will enable passengers get a view of the
take-off and landing of their airplane when flying on domestic routes. They are also
going to allow GSM phones to be used on board for the first time. They are already
providing live TV as part of our high-end In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) initiatives.
• Public sector airline Air-India is exploring the possibility of launching an
information technology (IT) subsidiary to handle its automation activities.
• Jet Airways has launched an Interactive Voice Response (IVR)-based
payment and ticketing services. The service will allow passengers to complete their
reservation with credit cards through a secure gateway and instantly receive their e-
tickets via email.
• Low-cost carriers such as Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo are
currently allowing a web-check apart from online booking.
Major Players in the Industry
• Air-India is the national flag carrier airline of India with a network of
passenger and cargo services worldwide. Air India has 44 world-wide destinations.
It has been growing at a consistent rate of 10 to 15% each year.
• Indian is India's state owned primarily domestic airline, under the federal
Union Ministry of Civil Aviation The Company was formerly known as Indian
Airlines.
This year, Air India and Indian merged into one giant airline consisting of 130-140
aircraft.
• Air Sahara is a private airline operating scheduled services connecting all
metropolitan centres in India. Sahara Airlines was rebranded as Air Sahara on 2
October 2000.
• Jet Airways is a "regular" airline which offers normal economy and business
class seats. The airline operates over 300 flights to 43 destinations across the
country.
Jet & Sahara has also merged recently to form a new entity which will consolidate
their market share.
There are some other players in the industry involved with providing no-frill
services. These include SpiceJet, Air Deccan, GoAir, Kingfisher, IndiGo Airlines etc.
Competiton to the Aviation Industry
Competiton to this industry includes Railways and Buses, Cabs (for shorter
distances). Railway is giving stiff competition to the aviation industry. Recently, it
has reduced its fare for AC I Class and AC II Class and has been introducing newer
provisions to attract new customer segments such as it has brought online ticket
booking recently which was till now only being provided by Airliners.
Tangibility Spectrum
Unique Challenges to the Industry
Though India Aviation Industry has been increasing at the fast pace, many airlines
industry incurred losses in last year. There are many reasons responsible for it:
• High aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices
• Rising labor costs and shortage of skilled labor
• Rapid fleet expansion and
• Intense price competition
• Inadequate airport infrastructure
• Lack of trained manpower pushing up personnel costs
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Break Even Analysis…................................................................04
Objectives …………………………………………………………….05
Assumptions………………………………………………………....05
Fixed, Variable and Semi Variable Costs…………………….…05
Methods used for calculating break-even costs………………07
Advantages and Limitations……………………………………...09
Contribution Margin………………………………………………..11
2. OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY……………………………....12
Low Cost Carriers…………………………………………………..12
History of Indian Aviation…………………………………………13
The Current Scenario……………………………………………...14
3. SPICEJET………………………………………………………………...18
4. CALCULATION AND ANALYSIS OF BREAKEVEN ………………26
5. CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS………………….31
6. REFERENCES…………………………………………………………..32
BREAK EVEN ANALYSIS – AN INTRODUCTION
One of the most common tools used in evaluating the economic feasibility of a new
enterprise or product is the break-even analysis. The break-even point is the point
at which revenue is exactly equal to costs. At this point, no profit is made and no
losses are incurred. The break-even point can be expressed in terms of unit sales or
dollar sales. That is, the break-even units indicate the level of sales that are required
to cover costs. Sales above that number result in profit and sales below that number
result in a loss. The break-even sales indicates the dollars of gross sales required to
break-even.
It is important to realize that a company will not necessarily produce a product just
because it is expected to breakeven. Many times, a certain level of profitability or
return on investment is desired. If this objective cannot be reached, which may
mean selling a substantial number of units above break-even, the product may not
be produced. However, the break-even is an excellent tool to help quantify the level
of production needed for a new business or a new product.
The basic equation for determining the break-even units is:
Average Annual Fixed Cost
(Average Per Unit Sales Price - Average Per Unit Variable Cost)
The basic equation for determining the break-even sales:
Annual Fixed Cost
1 - (Average Per Unit Variable Cost ÷ Average Per Unit Sales Price)
OBJECTIVES:
• Break-even analysis can be very helpful in the evaluation of a new venture.
In most instances, success takes time. Many new enterprises and products actually
operate at a loss (at a point below break-even) in the early stages of development.
• Knowing the price or volume necessary to break-even is critical to
evaluating the time-frame in which losses are permissible.
• The break-even is also an excellent benchmark by which a company's short-
term goals can be measured/tracked.
• Break-even analysis mandates that costs be analyzed. It also keeps a focus on
the connection between production and marketing.
• Should one make , buy or lease capital investment
• What happens to revenues and costs if the price of one of a company's
product is hanged.
ASSUMPTIONS:
• All costs are either perfectly variable or absolutely fixed over the entire
period of Production but this assumption does not hold good in practice.
• The volume of production and the volume of sales are equal but in reality
they differ.
• The revenue is perfectly variable with the physical volume of production and
this assumption is not valid.
• The assumption of stable product mix is realistic.
Break-even analysis is based on two types of costs: fixed costs and variable costs.
FIXED COSTS:
Fixed costs are those business costs that are not directly related to the level of
production or output. In other words, even if the business has a zero output or high
output, the level of fixed costs will remain broadly the same. In the long term fixed
costs can alter - perhaps as a result of investment in production capacity (e.g.
adding a new factory unit) or through the growth in overheads required to support
a larger, more complex business.
VARIABLE COSTS:
Variable costs are those costs which vary directly with the level of output. They
represent payment output-related inputs such as raw materials, direct labour, fuel
and revenue-related costs such as commission.
A distinction is often made between "Direct" variable costs and "Indirect" variable
costs.
Direct variable costs are those which can be directly attributable to the production
of a particular product or service and allocated to a particular cost centre. Raw
materials and the wages those working on the production line are good examples.
Indirect variable costs cannot be directly attributable to production but they do
vary with output. These include depreciation (where it is calculated related to
output - e.g. machine hours), maintenance and certain labour costs.
SEMI-VARIABLE COSTS:
Whilst the distinction between fixed and variable costs is a convenient way of
categorising business costs, in reality there are some costs which are fixed in nature
but which increase when output reaches certain levels. These are largely related to
the overall "scale" and/or complexity of the business. For example, when a business
has relatively low levels of output or sales, it may not require costs associated with
functions such as human resource management or a fully-resourced finance
department. However, as the scale of the business grows (e.g. output, number people
employed, number and complexity of transactions) then more resources are
required. If production rises suddenly then some short-term increase in
warehousing and/or transport may be required. In these circumstances, we say that
part of the cost is variable and part fixed
Total variable and fixed costs are compared with sales revenue in order to
determine the level of sales volume, sales value or production at which the business
makes neither a profit nor a loss (the "break-even point").
METHODS USED FOR CALCULATING BREAK EVEN POINT:
1. The Break Even Chart: It may be defined as an analysis in graphic form of
the relationship of production and sales to profit. It shows the extent of profit or loss
to the firm at different levels of production.
Π= TR-TC
Where π= profit, TR= Total Revenue , TC= Total cost
The difference between price and average variable cost (P-AVC) is defined as profit�
contribution'. Revenue on the sale of a unit of output after variable costs are
covered represents a contribution toward profit.
A manager may want to know the output rate necessary to cover all fixed costs and
to earn a "required" profit R. Profit is equal to total revenue (P.Q) less than the
sum of total variable costs (Q.QVC) and fixed costs.
Π = P.Q [(Q.AVC) + FC]�In its simplest form, the break-even chart is a graphical representation of costs at
various levels of activity shown on the same chart as the variation of income (or
sales, revenue) with the same variation in activity. The point at which neither profit
nor loss is made is known as the "break-even point" and is represented on the chart
below by the intersection of the two lines:
In the diagram above, the line OA represents the variation of income at varying
levels of production activity ("output"). OB represents the total fixed costs in the
business. As output increases, variable costs are incurred, meaning that total costs
(fixed + variable) also increase. At low levels of output, Costs are greater than
Income. At the point of intersection, P, costs are exactly equal to income, and hence
neither profit nor loss is made.
2. Algebraic Method : Here total revenue (TR= P.Q) is equated to total cost
(TC= TFC+TVC) where (TVC=AVC.Q)
TR = TC
P.Qb = TFC + AVC. Qb
TFC = P. Qb – AVC. Qb
Qb = (TFC) / (P-AVC)
The denominator of the above equation is called the contribution margin per unit
because it represents the portion of the selling price that can be applied to cover the
fixed costs of the firm and to provide for the profits.
And the break even point Q is arrived at TFC/(P-AVC)
Once the break-even point is met, assuming no change in selling price, fixed and
variable cost, a profit in the amount of the difference in the selling price and the
variable costs will be recognized. One important aspect of break-even analysis is
that it is normally not this simple. In many instances, the selling price, fixed costs or
variable costs will not remain constant resulting in a change in the break-even.. And
these changes will change the
break-even. So, a break-even cannot be calculated only once. It should be calculated
on a regular basis to reflect changes in costs and prices and in order to maintain
profitability or make adjustments in the product line.
ADVANTAGES:
The main advantages of using break even analysis in managerial decision making
can be the following:
• It helps in determining the optimum level of output below which it would not
be profitable for a firm to produce.
• It helps in determining the target capacity for a firm to get the benefit of
minimum unit cost of production.
• With the help of the break even analysis , the firm can determine minimum
cost for a given level of output
• It helps the firm in deciding which products are to be produced and which
are to be bought by the firm.
• Plant expansion or contraction decisions are often based on the break even
analysis of the perceived situation
• Impact of changes in prices and costs on profit of the firm can also be
analysed with the help of break even technique.
• Sometimes a management has to take decisions regarding dropping or
adding a product to the product line. The break even analysis comes very handy
under such situation.
• It evaluates the percentage financial yield from a project and thereby helps
in choice between various alternative projects.
• The break even analysis can be used in finding the selling price which would
prove most profitable for the firm.
• By finding out the break even point , the break even analysis helps in
establishing the point wherefrom the firm can start payment of dividend to its
shareholders.
LIMITATIONS:
1. Break-even analysis is only a supply side (ie.: costs only) analysis, as it tells you
nothing about what sales are actually likely to be for the product at these various
prices.
2. It assumes that fixed costs (FC) are constant
3. It assumes average variable costs are constant per unit of output, at least in the
range of likely quantities of sales.
4. It assumes that the quantity of goods produced is equal to the quantity of goods
sold (i.e., there is no change in the quantity of goods held in inventory at the
beginning of the period and the quantity of goods held in inventory at the end of the
period.
5. In multi-product companies, it assumes that the relative proportions of each
product sold and produced are constant (i.e., the sales mix is constant).
CONTRIBUTION MARGIN:
In the short run where many of the firms's costs are fixed , business man are often
interested in determining the contribution additional sales make towards fixed costs
and profits. Total Contribution Profit is defined as the difference between total
revenues and total variable costs , which equals price less average variable cost on a
per unit basis. Total contribution profit is also equal to total net Profit plus total
fixed costs.
Contribution profit analysis provides a useful format for examining a variety of
price and output decisions.
TCP = Total revenue – Total variable cost
= Total net profit(TNP) + Total Fixed Costs(TFC)
Therefore if TNP=0 then , TCP=TFC . This occurs at break even point.
From the above equation it is clear that
TR= TCP + TVC
= (TNP + TFC) + TVC
Total Contribution Profit = Total Revenue – Total Variable Cost
= Net Profit + Fixed Costs
OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY
LOW COST CARRIERS
An airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for many traditional passenger
services is called a low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (also known as a no-frills or
discount carrier airline). It was in the US that the concept originated. From there it
spread to UK and subsequently to the rest of the world. Initially, in the airlines
industry, it was the lower operating cost structure that differentiated a low cost
airline from the others. However, nowadays, primarily because of the media, any
carrier with low ticket prices and limited services, regardless of its operating costs,
is classified as a low-cost carrier.
Typical low-cost carrier business model practices include:
• Only one passenger class
• A single type of aircraft (this helps in reducing maintenance costs)
• A fare scheme that is uncomplicated, and provides benefits to passengers
who book their tickets early
• Unreserved seating
• Flying to secondary airports which reduces costs; flying either late at night
or early in the morning which again helps in bringing down costs as these are non
peak hours
• Ensuring maximum utilization of the aircraft by bringing down turnaround
times
• Simplified routes
• Direct sales of tickets, including over the Internet
• Employees multi-tasking
• Eliminating the concept of free in-flight catering services.
HISTORY OF INDIAN AVIATION
Aviation is a critical part of the infrastructure of the country and has important
ramifications for the development of tourism and trade, the opening up of
inaccessible areas of the country and for providing stimulus to business activity and
economic growth. Until less than a decade ago, the Government firmly controlled all
aspects of aviation.
J.R.D. Tata set up Air India and ran it successfully until it was nationalized in 1953
All airlines operating in the country, in the early fifties were merged into either
Indian Airlines or Air India and, by virtue of the Air Corporations Act, 1953 this
monopoly continued for the next forty years. Aviation saw some important changes
with the opening up of the Indian economy in the early Nineties. Most importantly,
the repealed Air Corporation Act ended the monopoly of the public sector that had
continued so long, and private airlines were reintroduced. In 1986, domestic
liberalisation took off with the launch of scheduled services by new start-up
carriers. Foreign investors started taking an active interest. The open sky policy for
domestic players was introduced by the Indian government in 1991, and it was only
in November 2004 that the partial open sky policy for international players was
introduced.
It took some time for the budget airline industry to catch on in India, but eventually
it did happen. The credit for bringing the budget airline concept to the Indian skies
can be claimed by Air Deccan, the Bangalore-based subsidiary of Deccan Aviation.
Air Deccan let loose cut-throat competition in the aviation scene with fares as low as
train fares. Leading domestic airlines like Indian Airlines, Jet Air and Sahara
Airlines had no choice but to slash rates and unveil Advanced Purchase schemes
(Apex) to take on the competition. As always it was the customer who benefited
because of the competition.
But competition for Air Deccan was not far behind. News of Vijay Mallya's
Kingfisher Airline hit the industry barely a year after the launch of Air Deccan.
Kingfisher captured the Indian budget airline market with the twin engines of
‘special flying experience' and ‘value for money'. Kingfisher Airline charged higher
than Air Deccan's, but substantially less than of the big players. However, after a
year of operation, in 2006, Kingfisher Airlines changed its business model from low-
cost to value airlines. The success of Air Deccan in the budget airline segment
spurred the entry of more than a dozen low-cost airlines in India. Air Deccan now
faces stiff competition from other low-cost Indian carriers such as SpiceJet, GoAir
and Paramount Airways.
THE CURRENT SCENARIO
Consolidation in the aviation industry has marked the first half of 2007 with three
M&A deals happening during the period. Air India - Indian merger (March 2007),
Jet airways buying out Air Sahara 100% stake for 14.5bn (April 2007) and the latest
being UB group picking up 26% stake in Air Deccan for Rs5.5bn (May 2007), all of
them bringing the much needed boost to this loss making industry. Prior to 2003,
there were only three players operating in the Indian aviation industry but after the
entry of Air Deccan into the scene there have been seen a host of new players
starting scheduled services along with many others like Magic Air, East West, Air
One Feeder etc. are waiting for approval from the aviation ministry. At the start of
2007, there were ten players operating scheduled services in the country with none
of them holding substantial market share. However, post consolidation, the number
of players has come down to seven with top three players holding more than 80%
market share.
Exhibit 1: Market Share
Due to continuous reduction in fares by the new entrants and booming economy, the
aviation industry saw an unprecedented growth rate of around 40% during 2006.
Due to fragmented market there was no price leader and therefore no price
discipline and as a result of this all the companies were running into losses.
Consolidation will ease competition and give pricing power to the dominant players
and as a result of higher fares even smaller players like SpiceJet stand to benefit.
The air fares for SpiceJet are expected to increase by 7.4% and 3.6% during FY08E
and FY09E respectively.
Due to booming economy, it is believed that the growth in the aviation industry will
continue in the scenario of increased airfares. Generally it is believed that the
aviation sector in any country grows at twice the growth rate of its GDP. In India,
the GDP is growing at more than 7-8% per annum, which makes the growth rate in
the aviation sector to be in excess of 15%. Aviation industry in India is expected to
grow at a much better rate than this because the industry is at a nascent stage with
lower base and low penetration.
Strong passenger growth to boost top-line and profit:
Strong passenger growth would lead to 86% CAGR growth in revenues for the next
two years. Increased passenger volume would also help in spreading fixed cost over
larger passenger base there by bringing down per unit cost.
Exhibit 3: Domestic Passengers
In the last three years, the number of passengers traveling by air has more than
doubled with industry carrying 34mn passenger during FY07. On back of
conversion of upper class rail passengers to air travel and the surging tourism
industry we expect the number of people traveling by air to increase at a CAGR of
25% to 67mn by FY10E. We expect the revenue passengers for SpiceJet to increase
from 2.8mn in FY07 (12 months) to 6.8mn in FY09E, a CAGR of 58%. The expected
growth in revenue passenger is on account of aggressive increase in fleet size from
11 aircrafts in FY07 to 23 aircrafts by FY09E.
SPICEJET
AN INTRODUCTION
SpiceJet is a low-cost airline based in New Delhi, India. SpiceJet airlines is
promoted by Ajay Singh, the Kansangra family and Sanjay Malhotra. Spice Jet
airways began its operations in May 2005 when Royal Airways Limited announced
the launch of its new low-fares, no-frills, brand - SpiceJet. Royal Airways is the
reincarnation of Modiluft, which was among the first private companies that
stepped into the Indian aviation sector. It was the market leader until 1996, when it
ceased its operations. Royal Airways Ltd announced that its name changed to
SpiceJet Ltd on 4 May, 2005..
SpiceJet's mission is to become India's preferred low-cost airline, delivering the
lowest air fares with the highest consumer value to price sensitive consumers. Day
by day, the number of Indians flying is increasing. This is aided all the more by the
booming Indian economy. SpiceJet's vision is to answer the need of the Indians
travelling for both business and pleasure, and who need to save both time and
money. SpiceJet's new generation fleet of aircraft is backed by cutting edge
technology and infrastructure to ensure the highest standards in operating
efficiency. Maintenance support is provided by KLM, and state of the art
technology has been obtained from world leaders like Star Navigation, Russell
Adams and Tech Log. The major forms of booking tickets are E-booking, e-
ticketing facilities and tele-booking. A lot of stress is put on safety, impeccable
maintenance and a high level of expertise.
SPICEJET TO BREAK EVEN IN FY09E
Due to superior operational efficiencies expected improvement in average fares and
strong passenger volume growth, we expect SpiceJet to turn profitable by FY09E.
Even in the scenario where majority of the cost are fixed in nature, SpiceJet has
been able to achieve lowest cost in the industry with CASKM of Rs2.62 as compared
to Rs2.96 for Air Deccan. SpiceJet has been able to achieve this feat on back of
judicious cost cutting in areas of employee costs, lower inventory, selling and
distribution cost and other operating cost. Due to intense competition the players in
the airline business do not have any control over revenues which makes cost control
even more important. Since SpiceJet has proved its mettle in reduction of costs, now
the focus would be more towards increasing the fares. With consolidation
happening in the industry, fares are expected to steadily move upwards across the
industry which along with further cost cuts would be sufficient enough for SpiceJet
to turn profitable.
Due to its better route strategy, Spice Jet enjoys superior load factor in the industry.
Majority of its fleet fly on metro routes where passenger volumes are high but at the
same time the competition on these routes are also high. Despite flying on the
competitive routes Spice jet has been able to achieve respectable load factor on its
routes. High load factor helps spread the cost over a larger base and thereby help
bringing down the cost per passenger. SpiceJet registered load factor of 76.2% in
FY07 and moving forward due to aggressive capacity expansion we expect the load
factors to fall to 73.0% and 70.8% in FY08E and FY09E respectively. Any revenues
from increased load factor would add to the bottom line. SpiceJet's current fleet size
of 11 would almost double to 23 by FY09E. The company would be making net
additions of 6 aircrafts each year during FY08E and FY09E of which 4 will be B737-
900ER that can carry 215 passengers as compared to 189 passengers carried by the
existing B737-800 type aircraft. Due to lower fuel consumption and additional seats
B737-900ER offers around 7-9% savings in operating cost.
SpiceJet reported strong 53% growth in topline during FY07 (10 month period) and
is expected to grow its revenues at 86% CAGR over FY07-FY09E. During FY07 the
company reported negative EBITDAR, but on back of expected increase in yields
due to increase in fares and reduction in costs, we expect SpiceJet to report positive
EBITDAR of Rs1,270mn and 4,059mn for FY08E and FY09E respectively. However
the EBITDAR in FY08E would be insufficient to cover up the high lease rentals and
thereby end the year with losses. During FY09E we expect the company to
turnaround and post net profits of Rs759mn.
INCREASED FOCUS ON ANCILLARY REVENUE STREAM
In order to break even, Spice jet is focusing on income coming from ancillary
services like in-flight catering, selling insurance, excess baggage, promotional offers,
providing hotels and car on rent, etc. In a move to increase ancillary revenues, Spice
jet have started selling food on-board from May 2007 onwards. Spice jet has
recently tied-up with TATA AIG insurance to provide insurance to air travellers for
Rs129 which would cover accidental death, dismemberment, accidental medical
emergency, trip cancellation, baggage loss and flight delays during travel. The
company through its website provides online booking for budget hotels at various
destinations where it flies. The company is also focusing on revenues from couriers
and excess baggage.
During FY07, SpiceJet earned Rs348mn as ancillary revenues which were 5.4% of
the total operating revenues. We expect the share of ancillary revenues to increase
to 6.9% and 7.7% for FY08E and FY09E respectively. SpiceJet is also looking at
roping in players for advertising on hand baggage tags, boarding pass and head
rests.
RATIONAL FLEET UTILIZATION
With entry into the lean season many Indian carriers have sub-leased their aircraft
to foreign carriers as this is the peak season for other countries. In India July to
September quarter is a lean period for the airline industry whereas the same
quarter is good season for the European counterparts. Spice jet has sub-leased 2 of
its 12 aircraft to a European player for a 3 month period (July-September). By
leasing out its aircraft during lean season, Spice Jet would be able to reduce its fixed
cost such as lease rentals and would be able to utilize its current fleet size of 9
aircrafts in a more efficient manner by flying them on profitable routes.
SALE AND LEASE BACK AGREEMENT
SpiceJet has entered into sale and lease back agreement with Babcock & Brown
Aircraft Management (BBAM), along with its long-term strategic partner Nomura
Babcock & Brown (NBB), for sixteen brand-new Boeing 737-800/-900ER aircraft
valued at over $1.1 billion. SpiceJet has until now entered into sale and lease back
agreement for first 20 of its B737-800/900 which is expected to be delivered till
FY09E. Out of this the company has already received delivery of 12 B737-800. The
company's entry into sale and lease back agreement shows the company's intention
of running business on leased aircrafts rather then on owned aircrafts which makes
sense at least in the current scenario where all the airlines are running into losses.
We expect that SpiceJet will start buying aircraft once the industry stabilizes and
the company start making profits.
ADHERING TO THE CLASSICAL LCC MODEL
SpiceJet is one of the few LCC's in India who is strictly adhering to the proven LCC
model. SpiceJet flies a single aircraft type (B737-800) with single class configuration,
a must for any successful LCC in order to keep its inventory and maintenance cost
under control. SpiceJet enjoys one of the highest load factors in the industry- an
important factor for any LCC. SpiceJet achieved load factor of 76.2% during FY07
as compared to 74.8% for Air Deccan which is largest LCC in India. SpiceJet like
any other successful LCC player is focusing on income from ancillary services like