Multi branding selling in the airline industry the organization of a sales department in a multi-branding environment applied to IAG group

• Autor(a) principal: Silva, Melanie Saramago Oliveira da
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/11536
• topic: Multi branding selling; Mergers; Brands and cultures; European aviation industry; Vendas multimarcas; Fusões; Marcas e culturas; Industria europeia de aviação

In a globalized world, the aviation industry has taken the ultimate importance for the movement and the progress in the planet. People, business, families depend on their capability to move from one place to another in the shortest time frame possible. The aviation management had to move forward as airlines passed from governmental owned companies to private shareholders hands. Costs structures had to change, while competition increased as Low Cost Carriers (LCC) appeared in the market. Airlines had to adapt to lower prices and flying became more affordable for people in all corners of the world. Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures became the ultimate form of survival. Though, many of these carriers are still the cultural image of their home based countries and also many times the largest exporter companies of these markets. As mergers happened among airlines in Europe, commercial teams had to adapt, and sales teams became multi-brand teams, they had to stop being only one brand sellers despite the heavy cultural value each brand has. In an industry that for decades did not have significant changes, having very conservative sales teams, recently a strong transformation happened, in a very short time period, and adaptation became a key factor for the survival of the new sales people. In IAG (International Airlines Group) this adaptation happened as the group was formed by two of the most important carriers in Europe, British Airways and Iberia, while at the same time Low Cost Carrier, Vueling, also became part of the holding. Therefore, sales teams all around the world needed to be reorganized and prepared for a multi-branding environment.