Question $5$: Mini$-$Case Study: Air Arabia $(8$ marks$)$

Air Arabia names itself $$Middle East and North Africa$$s leading low$-$cost carrier $($LCC$).$ It prides itself on being a company that offers comfort, reliability, and value for money. In March $2022,$ the carrier won the $$Four$-$Star Low$-$Cost Carrier $2022$ rating by APEX$-$The airline passenger experience association. The company started operations in $2003,$ and it currently operates a total fleet of $52$ new airbus A$320$ aircraft and $4$ Airbus A$321$ Neo LR$.,$ serving more than $170$ destinations spread across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe. Since its inception, the company has been pursuing an aggressive low$-$cost strategy that aims at controlling costs, enhancing profitability, and improving quality and reliability of operations.

The simple business scheme of the company is based on the following:

$$ Single passenger class$/$single aircraft type to save on training, maintenance, and multi$-$cabins costs

$$ Fast turnaround times and high aircraft utilization to save on airport expenses

$$ Flying to secondary$,$ less congested airports to save on major airport costs and rush hours

$$ Simple fare scheme and simplified routes to save on long haul cost involvement

$$ Optional$-$paid for$-$in$-$flight food and beverage to save on catering costs

$$ Direct sales channels via internet to save on distribution costs

The company is spreading its wings to cover many areas of the world including the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, South and Central Asia, Africa, and Europe. it wants to increase its fleet and establish more hubs. Is this strategy working? In March $2022,$ the net profit has been increased compared to the same period last year, although the industry$$s troubled global performance impacted the airline negatively, largely due to increased fuel costs, continuous competitive pressures and the impact of COVID $19.$ Company officials, however, have expressed their satisfaction with, $$Air Arabia$$s solid performance despite overall challenging market conditions.$$ The company indicated that Air Arabia and its subsidiaries have continued to develop over the years and are following a path of profitability.

Based on the above case study, answer the following questions $(8$ marks$)$

$1-$ Critically analyze the reasons behind Air Arabia$$s success? $(4$ marks$)$

$2-$ How might a SWOT analysis be useful to Air Arabia? $$to explain your answer, you can conduct the SWOT analysis of Air Arabia based on the information provided in the case study$.(4$ marks$)$