The Internet and Business

Assignment

BRITISH AIRWAYS

Introduction

The websites that have been chosen for this assignment are the British Airways website (www.ba.com) and Amazon.co.uk (www.amazon.co.uk).

British Airways (BA) is the UK's largest international long haul airline and it flies to over 550 destinations around the world. It is also one of the largest airlines in the world, with more flights from Europe across the Atlantic than any other airline. Their website is owned, managed and operated by British Airways Plc. British Airways Airline website was chosen because of it popularity and because of the service they are delivering to consumers.

1.0 Competitor analysis

British Airways main competition in the UK is Virgin Atlantic Airways. Virgin Atlantic is the second largest international long haul airline in the UK. Virgin has always been a competitor and rival of British Airways. Richard Branson purchased Virgin Atlantic Airways after privatisation in 1984. Other competitors to British Airways on transatlantic routes are bmi, British Midland, American Airlines, Continental, Delta and United Airlines. All the other airlines cannot really compete with British Airways because BA flies to more destinations and has more planes in their fleet than all the other airlines.

2.0 Define the target audience for the websites

British Airways' website is targeted at and likely to be looked at by female and male individuals who are aged 18+ and want to book a ticket online rather than having to go into a travel agent because of time constraints or because it's easier to book an airline ticket online. Individuals that would visit the site would be people who would wan to book a flight for leisure or business purposes. Businesses' would also book flights online for their employees for business trips.

3.0 Suggest the business model adopted by the sites.

The business model adopted by British Airways is Business 2 Business (B2B). Business 2 Business (B2B) means one business selling to another business. BA is seen as Business 2 Business (B2B) because businesses buy plane tickets for their employees from the BA website. BA could also be seen as Business 2 Consumer (B2C) because it also sells flight to consumers via their website.

4.0 Website evaluation

- 13 criteria for web design (see below)

1. Company information

The company information on British Airways website is very vague. It only has information telling the reader it is the 'UK's largest international scheduled airline' (BA.COM), how many destinations the airline flies to and lastly it has is the names of the companies that make up The British Airways group. If an consumer wanted to know more about the company there is not the opportunity because there's hardly any information describing the company's operations or the company history, past to present.

The Amazon website has much more company information than British Airways. It details the company greatly in the Overview, and the Company Facts has the company information in an easy-to-read format with headings that detail facts about the company including the mission statement, selection of products available on the website, number of employees and also their affiliate companies. It also has information about the company's Timeline and History.

2. Product information

On the front page, there is an option box on the front page of the website allowing the visitor of the website to enter the dates, destination and number of persons wanting a ticket on the airline for a flight. Besides that there is virtually no information on the BA website about the products that the website offers besides flights.

3. Registration option

The BA website has a registration option for repeat customers and there is also a corporate travel section of the website. This area is especially for businesses that regularly purchases flights for their employees. This option is very good for businesses that send employees all over the world very often because they get 'rewarded' for continuing to use BA's website and also the airline itself.

4. Negotiation scope

There is not an option to negotiate because there is a set price for the flights.

5. Ordering process

To order a plane ticket is very simple. All the user of the website has to enter is the dates and destination airport, the number of people going and then the screen proceeds onto the purchasing details and once the user of the website has entered their financial details, then all they have to do is print off an e-ticket then their flight is booked.

6. Payment options

The website allows the user to purchase a ticket with a range of debit or credit cards so all the user of the website has to do is enter their code details and the ticket is bought. This section of the website is very simple to use and the instructions are very easy to follow. This site offers a secure payment procedure and this gives the consumer assurance that there will be no credit card fraud.

7. Delivery options

Customers usually print out a copy of their e-ticket and the receipt. The delivery of the product is when the e-ticket is printed immediately from the website or if it is more convenient, the e-ticket page can be saved to the computer, it could be printed off at a later date.

8. After sales support

British Airways website has a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) and also a list of phone numbers and addresses if a customer wanted to get in touch with the airline, but it could be found annoying that if a customer wanted to e-mail British Airways rather than call them, they would have to register with the website and that may put off customers if they ever needed help after purchasing a flight.

9. Community links

There isn't any links to any other websites from the British Airways website.

10. Performance