Picture
this… 12 hour drive to go visit Uncle Harry and his twin daughteres in Quebec City. 7 passengers; 3 adults and 4 screaming kids, all of which are
on totally different bathroom schedules, not a nice sight at all. Well
WestJet’s plan was to conquer this exact segment of customers. The people who
travel in a family vehicle to meet friends and family. WestJet identified that
if people were given an option to fly cheaper and in a fun environment for a shorter
amount of time verses travelling for 8 hours or more with screaming children at
the back just to meet friends and family, people would choose to fly instead of
drive.
At the time
of this assumption there weren’t many options to choose from, Air Canada and
Canada 3000 who were both charging premium prices for traveling. WestJet knew
they had to cash in on this segment of customers, and so they did. Offering
cheaper airfares for domestic travel. All their data displays their assumption
to be true. In 1999, they had 4.25% of domestic travelers. In 2000 they had
captured 6.61% domestic air travelers. In 2001 and 2002 they had captured 9.83%
and 14.16% respectively. By 2013, they are predicting this to capture 50% of domestic air travelers. WestJet
started by targeting small segments but knowing it will grow. Now they are
trying to capture business travelers, vacation goers and also small local
communities.
Reference
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