Kiwi Air(Kiwi Regional Airlines)

Who is Kiwi Air?● Established in October 2015 by Ewan Wilson - Trading as Kiwi

Regional Airlines.

● Current Destinations: Hamilton - Tauranga - Nelson - Dunedin

● Announced that they plan to purchase a second plane in late 2016. Currently looking at what regions to expand into.

Current Mission Statement‘Kiwi Regional Airline's mission is to bring affordable, reliable and regular services to

regional New Zealand. Services that have either never been in place or are not now

serviced by the national carrier.

For years, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis have been disadvantaged by the fact that

many parts of the country are poorly serviced by air, forcing many to drive to a

larger centre to catch flights and often to pay high fares for the privilege.’

Research Methods: Secondary Research

Assessing the airline industry, and Kiwi Air’s position within it:

● Airlines in New Zealand (Euromonitor Category Briefing, 21 Oct 2015)● News articles and press releases regarding the establishment and future plans of Kiwi Regional

Airlines● Information on prices and consumer relations taken from official websites and social media

Looking for inspiration for the action plan

● Focus on regions● Emphasis on consumer involvement● Evaluating similar case studies

Research Methods: Primary Research

3 Methods:

1. Surveying - Distributed to people from ages 18+ and a range of different regions in order to eliminate bias.

- Goal of the survey was to test for: Public awareness of the brand, age group of flyers, the regions they belong too, reasoning behind why the fly and lastly what factors influence their choice of airline.

2. In Depth / Open ended Interviews - Conducted with people that had liked the Kiwi Air's Facebook page and thus potentially had flown with them before as well.

- The goal of these were to help determine our final target market and why they chose to fly with Kiwi Air if they had, also what was their satisfaction towards their flight experience.

3. Personality Interviews - These were conducted with the purpose of identifying Kiwi Airs current brand image/personality. Users were asked a range of brand personality questions about Kiwi Air and then Air NZ to determine what the market thought.

Research Findings: Secondary

Secondary research was useful in confirming what we already thought, as well as helping to guide our primary research and eventual recommendations.

Research Findings: Primary

● It became clear that our recommendations and action plan would need to have an element of focus around generating brand awareness for Kiwi Air.

● It was also clear that there is a demand for more regional flights, with 70% agreeing that they were not satisfied with what the airline industry currently offered for this market.

Research Findings: Primary

● Interesting to see that from these regions seeing family and friends or going on holiday were rated much higher as reasons for flying, or wanting to fly than for business.

● It was also interesting to see that price, service and availability were the main 3 reasons people consider when selecting an airline.

Research Findings: PrimaryIn Depth Interviews Key Findings:

● Some people had only liked the page because of what Kiwi Air stood for. But had not actually flown with them due to flights not being offered in their region.

● The majority that had flown had used Kiwi Air as a means to get away on Holiday or to see family. ● People were really happy with current service

● Some people have concerns about the CEO and said he could not be trusted due to failed airlines prior to starting Kiwi Air and that Kiwi Air will continue to be the same. - This came up more than once and shows that building a new brand image away from Ewan, or showing him and his company in a new light could be beneficial in the long run.

“3. Why did you fly with Kiwi Air? Only direct flight for my daughter and I from Nelson, but also great to support Kiwi Air

getting restarted.4. Where from and too? One way Nelson to Dunedin.5. Would you fly with them again? Yes or no? If possible explain why? Yes definitely: I think if we can support those otherwise unserviced routes then that is a great place for Kiwi Air to be. Kiwis have a high rate of travel domestically. Would love to see Dunedin to Invercargill links explored too” - Sarah Lorraine Hertquist

Target MarketDemographics:

Our target market consists of:

● Males and females ● Aged between 36-75 years old (Median

46-55)● Based in regional or rural areas of New

Zealand● Educated to at least a high school

education or a diploma● Work in trade, farming, small business,

retail, hospitality or public sector. ● Household size of this target market

ranges from 2-5 ● Predominantly of 2 adults and 1 to 3

children

Psychographics: The psychographic characteristics

● Predominately family orientated ● Interested in living a homely comfortable

life out● Living in main urbanised areas of New

Zealand. ● Interested in the outdoors, sports,

water/adventure based activities, current events domestically as well as travelling and exploring

Near Market Analysis: CompetitionDirect Competitors:

Air NZ: ➔ The national airline of NZ with a strong

reputation➔ Reliable and efficient, with a high level

of focus on customer service➔ Operates scheduled passenger flights

to 22 domestic and 29 international destinations in 16 countries around the Pacific and the United Kingdom

➔ A total of 105 aircrafts in their operating fleet

➔ Number one airline in the world

JetStar:

➔ Emphasis on price and offering affordable options to suit price conscious consumers

➔ Somewhat of a bad reputation (unreliable)➔ Emotions are either negative and uncertain yet

sometimes can be positive because of affordable prices

Origin Air:

➔ A small regional airline service➔ Focus on service and the customer experience by linking

small range centres with a customer-driven schedule➔ Operates between Nelson, Palmerston North and

Wellington with also charter services on demand

Near Market Analysis: CompetitionIndirect Competitors:

Bus Companies: ➔ Naked Bus - providing a low-cost

long distance services around New Zealand. Using concepts such as yield management and no-frills to provide low fares

➔ Intercity Bus - New Zealand’s premier bus service, operates in all islands with a variety of routes and options. Prices are fair across the market

Trains:

➔ Kiwirail Scenic - New Zealand’s only rail operating service. Routes throughout both Islands to main cities with stops in small towns

Ferry:

➔ Bluebridge and Interislander ferry services carries passengers; vehicles and freight between Wellington and Picton daily

Near Market Analysis: CustomerWhat they want:➔ A small service airline that caters to their needs of being family orientated that puts safety and

the customer first and looks to deliver the best service possible

➔ Lower or reasonable fares with no lacking of service and reliability (an in-between of a Jetstar and Air New Zealand model)

Don’t want:➔ Do not want to face the monopoly fares of Air New Zealand regional flights and would rather have

options and variety available to them

➔ A service that is unreliable and who charges unfairly for the service of their flights as well. There needs to be a fairness in the market

Near Market Analysis: CompanyPrice: The price of Kiwi Air flights are very scattered and is not consistent across dates. Prices are ranging between

$99-$280 one way. Regional competitors pricing are higher with small town flight services for Air NZ at $148-$400 one way and Jetstar at $114-$168. Due to the supply and demand of flights prices are much higher if a booking is made close to the date when departing.

Product: Kiwi Air operates short haul domestic flights within New Zealand with a small crew. Kiwi Air operates flights from Nelson, Tauranga, Hamilton and Dunedin with its one aircraft the SAB 340A which seats 34 passengers, the main feature of Kiwi Air is their routes to smaller domestic cities within a trusted, friendly and family oriented service.

Place: Currently Kiwi Air distributes their fares through their online website site via a reservation e-mail address as well as through the airports they operate in. Limited means with a small budget.

Promotion: At this stage Kiwi Air has put a large emphasis into Facebook by keeping an active and relevant page as well as as multiple press releases via news based websites such as Stuff and New Zealand Herald.

TOWS Analysis

Threats: Large companies taking over and flying to these destinations, more affordable means of transportation.

Opportunities: Currently no airline flies to these destinations so there is clear gap in the market

Weaknesses: Only one plane currently, if there was a technical fault/cancellations there could be large repercussions

Strengths: Offers a service that no other airline provides, strong customer service, Niche market that focuses on the needs of small town local residents such as; convenience, price and service.

Strategic Goals

To move forward as an Airline it was crucial to get an understanding on where Kiwi Air wanted to be in the future. From studying and researching the market

it was evident that there were 3 main areas of focus.

The following SMART goals are relatable to the current Airline market in New Zealand and specifically to ensure Kiwi Airs continued growth and ongoing

business.

1. AWARENESS

‘To increase overall brand awareness for Kiwi Regional Airlines by 200%

over the period of 1 year following the launch of the proposed action plan.’

This can be measured through the use of Facebook and other social Media

Logistics such as Instagram and Twitter. Also surveys can be re-run to evaluate

the markets airline awareness and see whether Kiwi Air has placed higher on

the awareness scale than when previously conducted.

2. BRAND IMAGE‘To move Kiwi Regional Airlines brand image to that of a more appealing,

reliable and trustworthy airline than what the current market opinion suggests. This will be evaluated during and after the period of 1 year

following the launch of the proposed action plan.’

This can be measured through the use of re-running the brand personality

surveys to see if the general image has changed on top of monitoring social

media such as twitter and the Facebook page to collate data on what the

public has to say about Kiwi Air. Seeing if public opinion has changed in favour

of the ideal brand image wanted for Kiwi Air.

3. GROWTH‘To see Kiwi Regional Airlines overall market growth increase dramatically

over the period of 1 year following the launch of the proposed action plan.’

This can be measured by monitoring figures such as amount of seats filled compared to the previous year, alongside the amount of overall sales

compared to the previous year. Focusing not just on seats filled but if there was a noticeable increase in profits. Also Media tracking can be used tying in

with the first goal on awareness, as if the media is covering Kiwi Air more than previously this can show a sign of growth in the market (regardless if it is

negative or positive media portrayal).

Action Plan 1. Stage promotional videos in existing and emerging travel regions -

Existing:

� Nelson� Hamilton� Tauranga� Dunedin

Targeted:

� Invercargill� Hawkes Bay� Taupo�

2. A nationally recognised host to link up with local celebrities and do activities showing off these destinations.

Video Plan● Finding a presenter.

-funny, likeable and nationally recognised

● Finding local celebrities. -Sportsman, Radio and TV personalities

● Activities to do in these destinations. -Nelson, Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin, Invercargill, Palmerston North and Hawke’s bay

Impact on Goals1. Awareness - Social Media (Facebook usage increases → following increases)2. Brand Image - Airlines image, Kiwi Air values presented in a good light and CEO image improves3. Growth - Powerful campaign monitored by comparison of previous years

Distribution Channels1. Facebook - Kiwi Air page main form of communication and paid advertising2. YouTube - Kiwi Air channel and preview ads3. Website - Compliment social media and feature a new campaign tab

“We are passionate about 3 things; New Zealanders, their stories and bringing them

together. Along a journey with Kiwi Air you can expect a warm and friendly service

with market leading prices that do not sacrifice service for affordability. We are

about unlocking doors to new destinations that have been uncharted by airlines

previously.

In short - These are your regions, we are your airline. Fly the kiwi way - fly Kiwi Air.”

New Proposed Mission Statement

Any Questions?

Thank you for flying with Kiwi Air

The crew is now available to answer any questions