Technological Innovations Technology is an ongoing process and BA’s competitors like Virgin Atlantic are also in for the challenge. Virgin Atlantic Airlines invested in innovative features that distinguish the company’s name. The IT company Conchango ensured an innovative solution for a smooth take-off for multi-channel booking system build on robust and scalable e-business architecture. This was a winning combination of technical and strategic expertise (Conchango, Undated). Implementation of technological innovations is also a strong hold for BA. The use of Information Technology and the Internet are key factors in BA’s strategy, success and efficiency of the organisation. British Airways recognised this opportunity and turned it into one of its strengths. Today, 76% of all its bookings are carried out via its e-ticket system giving customers the possibility of on-line/Kiosk check-in and seat bookings options. BA is always implementing effective IT solutions and is considered today a market leader as is the case for the fare-explorer booking engine (British Airways, Undated) and the in-flight entertainment system which was awarded the ‘Best in Europe’ (Skytrax Survey, 2007). On the other hand Technological advancements may also be a threat to the airline industry. As an example, video conferencing may reduce business travel. Another example is Internet bookings which are allowing greater price transparency thus leading to aggressive price battles between competitors, LCCs, Legacy Carriers etc... resulting in less profit making and leading to a less effective financial position. Social and Environmental Responsibility The addressing of the social and environmental responsibilities is considered one of BA’s strengths. British Airways is committed to improve its environmental performance by reducing the adverse impacts of its activities on the global and local environment. BA is addressing the issue of the local environmental impact of aircraft noise and emissions around the airports and the global climate change effect of carbon dioxide and other atmospheric effects (British Airways, Undated). Competitors like Virgin Atlantic seem to be offering a more effective solution. In 2005 Sir Richard Branson has announced plans to run Virgin Atlantic planes on plant waste rather than aircraft fuel. "We are going to start building cellulosic ethanol plants to make fuel that is derived from the waste product of the plant," he explained. "It is 100 per cent environmentally-friendly and I believe it's the future of fuel” (CheapFlights News, Undated). Management and Leadership “The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 left British Airways with a major task to restructure its organisation and cut costs” (Computing, 2004). Because of this, BA has undergone a full scale organisational restructuring bringing a cultural change to the organisation. Since 2001, British Airways laid off 15,000 jobs. For sure this decision had a negative impact on the moral and motivation of its employees. In order to reduce the negative impact on the efficiency of the organisation, BA invested in innovative IT solutions as mentioned earlier bringing even more cultural changes. Was this the right decision to be taken by BA management? Virgin Atlantic was also affected by “9/11” but did not lay off 15,000 employees. As from inception, Virgin Atlantic had a competitive advantage over BA in regards to management and organisational leadership. Virgin Atlantic has a strong and well designed organisational structure based on strong leadership and talented management team lead by Sir Richard Branson. Virgin Atlantic also introduced a leadership development programme that was led by business objectives rather than by HR which have proven to be more effective and contributed towards Virgin’s success (Virgin Atlantic, Undated). Virgin Atlantic throughout the years proved to be more efficient than BA in this regard. Marketing Strategy BA lacks of a marketing strategy to win customer loyalty; a weakness that has to be addressed by the organisation. It is argued that BA is growing thanks to the globalisation and traveller’s needs rather than to the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. “Despite the great infrastructure hosted by the company, BA needs to carry out better marketing schemes to attract prospective travellers. The company suffers from a deprivation of strategic management for investment in the future which is most important for growth of the airline. BA needs a strategic management strategy to keep its goals aligned with growing market trends to match needs of the future" (ACAdemon, Undated). In contrast, Virgin Atlantic universally appeals to a wide variety of customers and has a competitive edge over BA when it comes to customer loyalty. Virgin Atlantic is being proactive and is currently reviewing its global advertising strategy in a move to increase its advertising effectiveness that could lead to an overhaul of its worldwide agency arrangements (RedOrbit, Undated). British Airways needs to rethink its marketing strategy with the goal of changing this weakness into a future strength. A great opportunity for British Airways is in signing as the official airline for 2012 Olympic Games. BA's deal gives it marketing rights to the 2012 brand. BA fought off competition for the airline slot from Virgin. (Sport Guardian, 2008). This move is in line with BA’s strategy and should provide BA with a worldwide exposure bring new opportunities to the organisation. Bad Publicity Bad publicity is always a threat to the organisational brand image and reputation. Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic were charged with a fuel surcharge price-fixing scandal as a result of ineffective decision making by management. BA and Virgin also faced the embarrassment of running a national advertising campaign to about 8 million customers to inform them on how to claim the money back (Telegraph.co.uk, 2008). Other scandals involved both BA and Virgin pilots testing positive for alcohol (Bized, Undated) & (Personnel Today, 2007). Another concern for BA is that on the 6th November 2007 British Airways announced that it will no longer carry surfboards on any flights, while Virgin Atlantic decided otherwise. This decision had a negative impact on BA and the surf community across the world has been reacting to this decision. There is also a petition going on against BA (Surfing Waves News, Undated) & (Go Petition, 2007). Bad decisions may break BA’s credibility and reputation, without which the organisation cannot survive. Other Threats Other threats such as economic weaknesses, higher fuel expenses due to rise in fuel prices (where BA has insufficient hedging for future fuel needs), rise in aviation fuel taxes due to environmental concerns, terrorism threats, health issues like pandemic flu etc… are all concerns that BA should effectively address. | 
