ASKARI AVIATION

Askari Aviation, a subsidiary of Pakistan's Army Welfare Trust, was

established to provide quality services in the field of aviation to

private and public sector. It is manned and

operated by retired Aviators from Pakistan

Army Aviation, who have operated in

Northern Areas of Pakistan throughout their careers and provided

evacuation services to mountaineers.

This Rawalpindi-based operation, established in 1995, is dedicated to

maintaining and operating aircraft/helicopter consistent with

international standards. Askari Aviation offers to co-ordinate and

generates necessary financial resources or enters into joint venture

satisfying specific requirements of its

client. It is backed by Pakistan Army

Aviation, which has over thirty years of

operational experience in the northern areas with routine landings.

The bases are situated in Lahore, Peshawar, Chaklala and Chitral. Its

Head Office is located in Chaklala, Rawalpindi.

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OBJECTIVES

Askari Aviation has three main objectives:

Providing Job Placements to Retired Aviation Officers

The prime reason of the Aviation’s existence is to provide job

opportunities to those particular retired army aviators who are

jobless after they leave the army. As the area of expertise of the

retired army officers’ was flying helicopters and planes, it

became nearly impossible for them to find jobs after they had

been relieved of their military duties. Therefore, Askari Aviation

employs these retired aviators as they finish their tenure.

Earn Revenue for the Army Welfare Trust

Askari Aviation operates with a motive of earning as much

revenue as possible and handing it over to the Army Welfare

Trust after deducting 5% service charges.

Promotion of Adventure Tourism in Pakistan

Askari Aviation is engaged in boosting helicopter-based

adventure tourism in Pakistan. The

Army has given the Aviation the right

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to use its helicopters and aircrafts for transportation of

tourists.

TYPE OF SERVICE OFFER

The service can only be evaluated through experience as the

production and consumption cannot be separated. The description of

the service is as follows:

Askari Travel and Tours

Helicopter Safaris

At present, Askari Aviation is

primarily engaged in providing

quality aviation services of

helicopter for adventure, safaris,

rescue, crop dusting and cargo

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transportation. Askari Aviation provides Helicopter Safaris

to the most magnificent ranges in the world: the Karakorams,

the Himalayans, the Hindukush and the Pamirs for vacation and

adventure. The Safaris include the following:

o Fly

o Fly and Hike

o Fly, Drive and Trek

In addition to this, the safaris can be customized to suit the

needs of the customers. For instance,

on a safari from Skardu to K-2, the

customer may choose if he wishes to

undertake part of the journey by foot or travel in a car or fly the

whole way.

Rescue Services

Askari Aviation provides rescue

facilities, especially to mountaineers

and trekkors in the northern areas

while ensuring minimum response time

with optimum effectiveness. Since the

pilots (retired aviators) have flown in

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these areas, they know the place and have had adequate

training to render these services.

To provide the rescue operations, Askari aviation is backed by a

fleet of Pakistan Army Aircraft. Helicopters required for rescue

are positioned by Army/Aviation in general area of

mountaineering expedition area of activity, to achieve desired

response time. Their core elements include as follows:

The knowledge of all pertinent information of

mountaineering expedition of Pakistan along with the

activities going on in the respective areas.

The strength of the rescue teams, experience and the

physical conditions the teams are actually carrying with.

Whether the rescue teams are carrying with them the

relevant equipment that is, markers. Windsocks, smoke

grenades, communication sets, and information for the

rescue operation.

There are some rescue conditions that have to be met. Firstly, the

teams visiting Pakistan as per government policy will be required to

deposit of US$6000/= or provide guarantee of respective embassies to

Askari Aviation to clear the dues within 7 days. This is regard to the

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presence of foreign teams in Pakistan if they want to avail

Askari Aviation helicopters for rescue purposes.

Askari Aviation will give detailed

briefing to all the teams on arrival on

rescue services and issue a kit, holding

minimum essential equipment for

guidance and reception of helicopter in emergency. Intimation on all

the teams covered for the rescue services with their areas of

operation and peak days of activity, will be intimated to rescue

centers in Gilgat and Skardu by Askari Aviation.

Say in the case of any emergency, teams must quickly intimate

through quickest means to any of the person with much detail:

Deputy commission Skardu

Deputy Commission Gilgat

Deputy Commission Chitral

Army aviation Squadron, Skardu.

In addition to that, the teams must clear their bills before leaving

Pakistan and return the security kits back to the Askari aviation. In

addition to this there are certain constraints that if the rescue heights

are above 4000m, and then they are mandatory to carry helicopters in

pairs due to the lack of communication facilities in the Areas.

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Askari Charter Services

Askari Aviation have also started flying international charter both

passengers and cargo, particularly to Afghanistan. For security

operations, their teams keep hovering to different regions of North

Pakistan to get familiarized with all regions so that in the case of

emergency, it would take less time to locate the place for the security

operations.

Askari Airport Services

Ground-handling services are also being provided by Askari Aviation.

Such services include the coordination and organization of various

Commercial Airlines like Shaheen Airways, and PIA. Ground-handling

includes the maintenance of aircrafts, repairs and cleaning etc.

Although it is being provided on a limited scale and only in Chaklala

base but there is a potential for Askari Aviation to cash on the niche in

the market with this regard and to expand its services to major

international airports like Lahore(AIIP) and Karachi (Jinnah terminal).

TARGET MARKET

Askari Aviation’s target market comprises of the adventurous:

foreigners of various countries and Pakistani nationals living abroad.

Since the cost of maintaining and flying helicopters is very high, the

charges are passed onto the customers. Thus, a tourist is compelled to

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pay a lot of extra charges for availing this luxury transport.

These extra value charges can only be afforded by a limited number of

customers. This clearly indicates that the organization can only cater

to a niche market.

The market within Pakistan is extremely narrow due to psychographic

factors. Askari Aviation knows that helicopter services are mostly

availed by foreigners who are passionate about mountaineering, and

are willing to do so under any

circumstances. A similar passion

for this activity is very rare in

Pakistani citizens and hence they

feel it is futile to try to cater to a

local market where demand for it

does not exist.

Even if a demand of it did exist, the company prices are so high that

are unaffordable for a local. So affordability is another issue amongst

Pakistanis. This is because the prices charged for various safari

expeditions are so high (almost $10,000 per expedition) that

Pakistanis (even if belonging to the upper middle class) cannot afford

their services. The company is well aware of this fact, so they target

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only a foreign market or Pakistani nationals who live abroad as

only those individuals can afford their services.

BENEFITS TO TARGET MARKET

Time Effectiveness

One of the major benefits of their service is the efficiency they

provide with minimal time wastage for a tourist who has to

reach a certain destination. If a

similar mountaineering expedition

is to be carried out by road, it

would take many more days to

reach the destination. In addition to this, the discomfort of

carrying heavy luggage and the need for porters and guides to

lead the expedition only causes more frustration and exhaustion

of mountaineers who wear out even before they reach their

destination. A walk on the glaciers to Skardu will take 20 days

along with 100 porters to carry the necessities (tents, supplies

and belongings).

Quality and Comparative Cost Advantage over Road Travel

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Road transportation ends up being more expensive than

their service. The cost turns out to be greater as porters and

vehicles are needed for travel.

Tourists prefer to choose this service as a means for their expedition

transport as it is not only reliable but also greatly reduces their time

and physical effort wastage. The benefits provided by the service are

attractive as all other alternative modes of transportation lead to a lot

of time wastage and tourists who are normally short on time, prefer to

choose this service as they are aware of its efficiency and

effectiveness.

Although Askari Aviation offers no specific loyalty to programs to

repeat customers and charge fixed rates to everyone. Albeit this, the

organization get repeat customers who are always willing to avail this

organization’s services. This shows that the target customers do find

the benefits being provided to them as attractive and worthwhile.

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POSITIONING

Askari Aviation has been positioned as a premium and high quality

service. It provides a unique service in Pakistan through its helicopter

safaris. It faces no competition in the country so it enjoys a monopoly

position. There is flexibility in consumption but not in production.

LIFE CYCLE

The service offer is at the growth stage because the demand for the

service is still increasing. The company is recognized as a quality

provider of helicopter safaris. Though it faces no competition at the

moment, the company has a repeat purchase behavior from

customers.

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BASIS OF PRICING

The pricing has been done keeping in view the very high costs of

flying and maintaining helicopters and aircrafts. Therefore, Askari

Aviation adopts cost-based pricing. According to customer perception,

Askari Aviation offers high quality service. Customers are interested

in the prestigious services the company offers and price is not a

primary concern of customers. So the company adopts prestige

pricing.

PRICING STRATEGY

Type Engine

s

Seats Cargo(Kgs) Altitude US$ per

hour

at US$

per Hour

Limitation (Sling

Ops)

Mi-17 Two 22 3,000 5,000 M 3,036.00 3,174.00

Puma Two 18 1,500 4,000 M 3,036.00 -

Bell-412 Two 10 - 3,000 M 2,139.00 -

Ecureuil One 3 1,500 6,000 M 1,697.00 -

Alt-III One 4 - 4,500 M 1,697.00 -

Lama One 3 - 5,500 M 1,697.00 1,835.00

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UH1H/AB-

205

One 8 - 1,500 M 1,697.00 -

Jet

Ranger

One 3 - 2,500 M 1,697.00 -

Schweizer One 1 - 1,000 M 511 -

JPC Two 6 - Runway 2,498.00 -

G.E 421 Two 4 - Runway 1,160.00 -

Y-12 Two 14 1,000 Runway 1,794.00 -

MFI-17 One 1 - Runway 345 -

The above mentioned prices have been set in accordance with the

rules and regulations laid by the Ministry of Defence itself. Although,

the pricing is unsuitable for local or national customer; but with

regards to International adventurers and tourists, it is nominal and

compete able to international service providers.

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DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

Askari has its bases in Lahore,

Islamabad, Peshawar, Chitral

and Skardu. Its marketing and

sales office is located in

Rawalpindi and so is its

corporate office in AWT plaza

Rawalpindi. It monitors and

controls its business through

these offices respectively and

there are no regional

distribution channels as such,

which means that the prospective customer can only avail their

services through registration and booking in its Rawalpindi based

office only.

COMPONENTS OF SUPPLY CHAIN

In Askari Aviation, the major component of supply chain is the

availability of required helicopters and planes at its disposal. Since

these planes and helicopters are leased out by Ministry of Defence, so

pre requisites must be fulfilled in due course to obtain the required

planes and helicopters.

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Secondly is the availability of spare parts and necessary equipment

needed in case of emergency and general repairs is also involved in

the supply chain for Askari aviation. And last but not the least is the

Aviators themselves. Since no plane can fly without a pilot, and the

current turnover of pilots due to commercial planes has made this

availability considerably difficult job for Askari Aviation.

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PROMOTIONAL BUDGET

There is no promotional strategy that is being followed by Askari

Aviation as they feel that since they target foreign customers they do

not need to advertise. Thus, no specific budget is allocated for

promotions. But the group has devised certain strategies that will help

Askari to promote its services. Such strategies are discussed in the

recommendation part of our report.

OBJECT OF PROMOTION

The objective of promotion is to stimulate demand and generate sales.

Sales are the lifeblood of a business, without sales there would be no

business in the first place; therefore it is very important that if a

business wants to succeed, it should have a sales promotion strategy

in mind. The primary objective of a sales promotion is to improve a

company's sales by predicting and modifying your target customer's

purchasing behavior and patterns. This should be realized by Askari

Aviation.

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TOOLS OF PROMOTION

As Askari Aviation has no clear promotional strategies, the tools that

they rely on are:

Word-of-Mouth

Askari Aviation believes that positive word of mouth advertises

their company. Satisfied customers spread the word around and

gain more customers.

Behaviour of Employees

The employees who interact with the customers advertise the

company’s culture and make it differentiated so that the

company retains customers. According to the company

management, Askari Aviation receives repeat customers.

Web Advertising

Askari Aviation has a website which not only advertises the

company’s name but also has options for making online

reservations.

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BLUEPRINT

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FLOWCHART

SERVICESCAPE

Since the service is largely intangible, physical evidence is often a

criterion to evaluate the service and predetermine satisfaction with

the service during and after consumption. As the service of Askari

Aviation operates in an interpersonal environment, a cleverly

designed servicescape can lead to the satisfaction of both customers

and employees. The servicescape of Askari Aviation largely plays the

role of a facilitator and socializer. Following are the elements

encompassing the servicescape of the organization:

Servicescape Other Tangibles

Askari Aviation

Marketing Office

Exterior and

Interior

Base Layout

Aircraft Exterior

Aircraft Interior

(Space, Seats, Air

Quality)

Tickets/Receipts

Meals

Uniforms

Website

Marketing Office Exterior and Interior

The Marketing Office of Askari Aviation is located in Chaklala,

Rawalpindi. The Office is near the airport and placed somewhat

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between the twin cities. So, the location is conveniently

accessible for tourists landing at the Islamabad Airport. The

appearance of the Office is not very professional as it is gives a casual

impression and can be easily mistaken for another residence in the

area. There is a small board at the entrance indicating that this place

is their Office. The exterior can be worked upon by making it more

visible and differentiated. As far as the interior is concerned, it has a

reception in the front where assistance can be easily obtained. There

are pictures and boards showing the quality of service and

instructions for the process. However, the arrangement is again

mediocre and should be revamped by keeping a specific colour

combination, uniform furniture and orderly arrangement of pictorial

display.

Base Layout

The bases are owned and operated by

the Civil Aviation Authority and

situated in various areas of Pakistan to

facilitate movement of customers. The

planes present are scheduled

beforehand as per the request of the customers.

Aircraft Exterior

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The Aircrafts/Helicopters are of top-quality and impressive

looking. The exterior differs from plane to plane but it gives the

customer a fair judgement

of the level of quality of

the airplanes. The

aircrafts are in fine

condition and models which are five or six years old are being used.

Aircraft Interior

The interior is not plush as airplanes are but is made to suit the rough

and tough. The seats are comfortable with exceptional air quality

maintained. The space differs from aircraft to aircraft.

Other Tangibles: Tickets/Receipts

The ticket/receipt is obtained from the Marketing Office on payment.

Meals

Askari Aviation provides on-board services which includes a tangible

component of meals. The meals are of adequate quality.

Uniform

The pilots are required to dress in a proper

uniform. This shows the level of indulgence

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the organization shows in making itself look like a uniform unit

and thus is taken seriously by the customers.

Website

Internet sites are a part of the servicescape as they give a virtual

experience to the service because it is actually consumed and thus

gives a platform to evaluate the service. The service description,

service offers and instructions for application and payments can be

explicitly displayed.

SERVICE GAP

Gaps tend to come about for a variety of reasons, including:

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Legal restrictions that may preclude a particular service--

e.g., in some countries, only certain stores are allowed to sell

specific kinds of merchandise, and, having a monopoly.

Existing firms have not provided as high level of service as

desired, and consumers either demand more service to buy the

product or would pay more to have the improved service or

would like the firm to reduce its current prices as per the

respective demographics.

Askari aviation faces a major service gap mainly because of its

monopoly with regards to its existence as the only service provider of

helicopter safaris and secondly due to its high fare rates that tend to

fend off local tourist or adventurers.

We found that company driven service gaps are more affecting the

overall service segment rather then the customer driven gaps.

Although there is a larger customer base in Pakistan that would like

to avail such service facilities but the potential bottle neck arises on

the very first step of service i.e. service charges. Keeping in mind the

service charges it is difficult for even the most influential Pakistanis to

avail such facility for leisure and adventure. Second bottle neck that

we found and tends to create a service gap in itself is the lack of

Askari Aviation to promote itself internationally as a major and only

service provider in Pakistan and various other international

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destinations for UN based purposes. Focus based marketing is

necessary to promote Askari abroad so that to attract foreign tourist

and adventurer to Pakistan. This will help to promote a softer image

of Pakistan and will help to boost the tourism industry of Pakistan as

well.

OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES

The operational procedures of Askari Aviation have been elaborated

earlier in the service blueprint. The service is characterized as a high

contact service where moments of truth evaluate the quality of

service.

Askari Aviation

provides a service

which is flexible in

consumption as

customized

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packages can be availed but there is no flexibility in production

as a customer has to visit their office and base to experience the

service.

The operational procedures are structured with respect to timing

schedules. These schedules are follows:

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TimeChart

Places Y-12 Lama Alt-III J/R & Mi-

17

UH-IH GE JPC

 Abbottabad - 0:30 0:30 0:28 0:34 - -

 Bannu 1:00 1:25 1:25 1:22 1:30 0:55 0:35

 Bahawalpur 2:15 2:50 2:50 2:40 3:00 1:50 1:10

 Cherat - 0:40 0:40 0:40 0:45 - -

 Chitral 1:15 2:15 2:15 1:50 - 1:10 1:00

 Changa

Manga

- 2:20 2:20 1:35 2:20 - -

 D.G. Khan 2:20 3:10 3:10 1:32 3:10 1:06 0:42

 Faisalabad 1:00 1:25 1:25 1:20 1:30 0:55 0:35

 Gilgit 1:45 3:00 3:00 2:30 - 1:30 1:00

 Hunza - 3:45 3:45 2:45 - - -

 Jhelum - 0:35 0:35 0:32 0:38 - -

 Kharian 0:25 0:40 0:40 0:38 0:43 - -

 Kamra 0:10 0:25 0:25 0:24 0:28 0:17 0:12

 Kohat 0:40 0:55 0:55 0:53 1:00 0:33 0:32

 Khairpur - 5:20 5:20 2:25 5:20 - -

 Karachi 15-May 7:15 7:15 6:45 7:15 3:30 2:45

 Khunjerab - 5:00 5:00 3:45 - - -

 Lahore 1:00 1:28 1:28 1:25 1:37 1:00 0:38

 Mangla 0:20 0:30 0:30 0:29 0:34 0:18 0:14

 Muzaffaraba

d

0:45 0:40 0:40 0:38 0:45 - -

 Miawali 0:45 1:00 1:00 0:56 1:05 0:40 0:26

 Multan 1:30 2:30 2:30 2:10 2:30 1:32 1:00

 Okara 1:15 1:45 1:45 1:42 1:58 1:12 0:48

 Pasrur - 1:15 1:15 1:10 1:20 - -

 Peshawar 0:45 1:00 1:00 0:58 1:05 0:37 0:25

 Parachinar 1:15 1:40 1:40 1:35 1:50 1:08 0:45

 Qetta 3:00 5:00 5:00 4:30 5:00 2:45 2:00

 R.Y. Khan 0:40 0:50 0:50 0:48 0:55 0:34 0:25

 Risalpur 2:57 3:00 3:00 3:20 4:00 - -

 Rahwali 0:45 1:00 1:00 1:00 5:00 0:42 0:28

 Sargodha - 1:10 - 0:56 1:05 0:04 0:26

 Shorkot 1:15 1:45 1:45 1:42 1:58 1:12 0:46

 Sialkot 1:15 1:05 1:05 1:03 1:10 - -

 Sakardu 2:10 3:30 3:30 3:00 - 2:00 1:10

 Sulimanki - 3:00 3:00 1:56 2:50 1:25 -

 Sakhar 3:35 5:00 5:00 4:15 5:00 2:30 1:45

 Swat 0:45 1:15 1:15 1:00 1:15 0:50 0:35

 Terbela - 0:25 0:25 0:23 0:26 - -

 Taxila - 0:15 0:15 0:14 0:15 - -

 Wah - 0:20 0:20 0:18 0:22 - -

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All these service deliveries are made with respect to the above

mentioned schedules and are complimented to weather conditions as

well as availability of aircrafts or helicopters.

SERVICE RECOVERY

The goal of service recovery1 is to identify customers with issues and

then to address those issues to the customer satisfaction to promote

customer retention.  However, service recovery doesn't just happen.

It is a systematic business process that must be designed properly and

implemented in an organization.  Perhaps more importantly, the

organizational culture must be supportive of idea that customers are

important and their voice has value.

Research has shown that customers who have had a service failure

resolved quickly and properly are more loyal to a company than are

customers who have never had a service failure -- significantly more

loyal.  Service Recovery practices are a critical element in a Customer

Loyalty Program.  

1 http://www.greatbrook.com/service_recovery.htm

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One way to think about service recovery is that it is a positive

approach to complaint handling.  Complaint handling has serious

negative connotations; whereas, service recovery has positive

connotations.  Complaint handling is placating people, minimizing a

negative.  Service recovery practices are a means to achieve the

potential, latent value a customer holds for a company by fostering an

ongoing positive relationship.  

Service recovery has a secondary value.  It creates positive word-of-

mouth about your company and minimizes the bad spin that lack of

service recovery practices can create.  

Askari Aviation provides a full recovery to its customers if they cancel

their reservation 48hours before scheduled service. They also provide

completely free rescue services to its clients in case of an emergency

as is covered under the respective insurance plan. This helps to

improve the customer relation of Askari and tends to improve its

international market image.

SERVICE DESIGN

The service has a high intangibility aspect in it; it is a high contact

service. The indirect interaction takes place between a customer and

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Askari Aviation through the internet, then direct interactions

with the employees at the Marketing Office and Bases and on

Aircrafts. The factors affecting the design are:

Performance of Employees

The helicopter service is heterogeneous since it involves

production and consumption simultaneously. No two

experiences by customers are alike as there is a substantial

input from the employees (pilots) and their levels of

performance can vary.

Weather Conditions

The weather can affect the helicopter’s movement and thus the

optimum service experience it can provide. Weather conditions

are an uncontrollable factor affecting the service design.

Intangibility

Since the helicopter is primarily an intangible experience, it can

not be guaranteed that the same level of service is provided

every time. Although the perceived service should meet the

expected service, however there can be variability in the service

provision due to the intangibility aspect.

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RECRUITMENT POLICY

Since Askari aviation is managed and operated by retired aviators

from Pakistan Army Aviation who have served all along the major

tenure of their careers working in the northern areas of Pakistan, so

the total working force of Askari aviation is just a meager

number i.e. 700 people approximately. The reason being the fact

that in case of the pilots, they mostly take people from Army Aviation

and segment further to those who have either spent most of their time

in northern areas owing to the special handling expertise of the

helicopters and planes that they owe for their services. Apart from

that they, also take people from commercial flying clubs but their

selection criteria are fixed i.e. they require a completion of specific

no. of hours and then they take test flight for certain hours and after

strong and rigorous process of inculcation, they are selected on the

efficiency and effectives of the pilot’s complete handling of the plane.

This is due to the nature of service that they provide, rescue and

recreational, they cannot afford to have inefficient people for their

plane operations.

HIERARCHY OF MANAGEMENT

In case of their lower level

management, that includes the

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ground staff handling people, the technicians required for the

planes, data analyst, they are kept on the contract and the permanent

basis. In regard to keep their performance level up to the standard,

they are given quarterly and annually training programs that ensure

co inculcate them with the latest information of plane handling

especially for the technicians and senior plane managers. For the

people who work in control room, they are given special training for

helicopter takeoff and landing positions, especially in the case of some

emergency. Apart from that, the total working population of Askari

Aviation including their all employees is reviewed by AWT annually to

ensure the numbers of people are proportionate with the number of

tasks in Askari Aviation.

The top management enjoys perks of house allowance, car, insurance,

medical and utility facilities given by the ministry of defense. Apart

from this, they also get 5% share from the total profit that they

generate from their services before giving the amount to the ministry

of defense. Manager takes 35000-40000/= salary and along with some

additional benefits. The

salary figures change with respect to the difference in the location of

their offices. In general, since it’s a subsidiary of AWT, the salary

structure of their employees is chalked out by them.

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However, they keep on revising their salary level owing to

different economic conditions say inflation etc.

AGES OF EMPLOYEES

With regard to the ages of employees, the top level management is

average aged between 45-60 years of age (the figure can vary owing

to the experience owned by the people), In regard to their lower level

management, they don’t have any fixed criteria as far as the ages are

concerned, its just that the people they take have to be competent

enough, come up to their selection criteria and other pre-requisites.

Age level varies with respect to the different in the tasks that they

owe.

CAREER PROGRESSION

In Askari Aviation, the major portion of employee is formed by retired

army personals. These personals are already trained and most of them

have significant job and technical experience attained from their

previous job in army already. This helps such employees to attain

higher and immediate progression in Askari Aviation and various

related branches of Askari Trust. Besides that, civilian employees are

provided the opportunity to progress themselves through various

training and skill development programs. Major one is the FOO and

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FCO tests for licensing of an Aviator and ATC for air traffic

controller exams.

Such career progression not only helps to motivate employees but

also helps them to further their career in commercial aviation as well.

EMPLOYEE RETENTION

In case of employee turnover and retention ratio, the employees of

AWT are employed on both contracts and permanent basis. The rules

and regulations governing the employee job concern are held by AWC

itself. The turnover of employees in the Askari aviation is low because

firstly, few numbers of people get themselves employed with Askari

aviation though the selection is still competitive; secondly, all

measures are taken to ensure the employee satisfaction. Many

incentives are given in this regard that includes Umrah, allowances of

education, medical insurance etc. The job contract signed by the

employees clearly demonstrates the rules and regulations of the

company. The company employees have to be well educated in field of

aviation and aeronautics. This whole process is carried out by the

selective recruitment by the selection committee of AWC.

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The flying and maintenance crew is based on highly qualified,

experienced professionals from the Armed Forces of Pakistan. This

offers highest quality of service and safety standards, ensuring

commitment to professional excellence. As a disciplined organization,

they perfectly understand essence of responsibility and importance of

time. Their personal experience, therefore, will be of immense value

to coordinate between mountaineering expeditions and Army Aviation,

to achieve the objective with desired results.

According to the service profit chain, satisfied employees are capable

of delivering top-quality service which leads to profitability for the

organization.

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S.W.O.T.

STRENGTHS

Monopoly Power

One of the major strengths that this organization is banking on is the

fact that currently it faces no competition and is one-of-the-kind in the

country. There is no other organization in Pakistan that provides

customers with a similar service so Askari Aviation enjoys a complete

monopoly.

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Financial Backing

Another factor that is strength for them is the fact that they are being

financially backed by the army and all their

day to day operational costs are being paid

for by the Pakistani army. This backing is a

reassurance for the organization as they

know that at the end of the day all they will be reimbursed for all their

expenses. The helicopters being used for the service also belong to

the army so their maintenance and running costs are a burden for the

army, instead of this organization.

No Training Costs

Askari Aviation enjoys the fact that they do not have to spend any

money to train pilots, which is a very expensive training, as their

employees consist of retired aviators that are already trained by the

army to fly helicopters

WEAKNESSES

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High Fare

The fact that Askari Aviation is forced to charge extremely high prices

from its customers is a weakness for the organization as it limits their

target market to only a few individuals in the country. This limits them

to target their services to only a niche segment in the country who

can afford to pay the high prices they charge. The niche that they do

target is through the means of internet or placement of brochures in

luxury hotels. The organization does not indulge in mass

advertisement as they know that the niche they target can be easily

catered through these means and till now a need has not arisen for

them to indulge in any sort of large scale promotional activities.

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Lack of Promotional Activities

As the organization does not promote itself on a large scale, not many

people are aware of is existence. Although the organization’s

employees assert that they do not promote themselves as the prices

they charge are too high for most of the people to pay, it is believed

that it is still a weakness that the organization is not promoting itself.

We feel that the organization should promote it self in any case as it

might attract some more potential customers who have enough

resources to avail this service but due

to lack of awareness are unable to do

so.

Expensive Spare Parts

Besides that the high maintenance and flying costs of the helicopter

are, although not being paid by the organization, are still a weakness

for the organization as these extremely high prices hinder the

availability of any spare parts and the continuity of various processes.

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OPPORTUNITIES

Increasing Expeditions

An opportunity for the company is to offer more safaris and travel

packages to unexplored parts of the country. It could offer these

travel packages to different areas in the country as well as to its

neighboring countries. These packages should be offered to visit the

exotic locations within the country which are still unexplored and

might interest the target customers.

Collaboration with Pakistan Tourism Board

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Askari aviation has a major opportunity to collaborate its

services with Pakistan Tourism Board. Such collaboration would be

based on mutual interests with respect to promotion of tourism in

Pakistan. Since Askari Aviation is focusing primarily on Hiking and

Safari trips and due to the financial aspect of the offering, its target

market is outside Pakistan. Hence collaboration with Pakistan

Tourism Board will help to promote its services abroad and into a

wider market segment.

In return their services will help to bring more tourists for PTDC and

hence improve our overall tourism industry.

Provision of Infrastructural Services to other Organizations

Besides that this service could be hired by large multi national

companies who indulge in various mining activities in the dry and

isolated areas of Balochistan or Sindh. As access to these areas is

almost non existent and the infrastructure is in a very deplorable

condition, the organization can use these factors to its advantage and

provide the engineers and employees of these firms, an easy and

efficient access to these sights.

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THREATS

New Competitors

Although the organization’s employees say that the chances of a

competitive firm emerging in the near future are minor, this

possibility should not be completely ignored. It should be kept in mind

that they might have to face competition from another firm in the near

future who has a cost or technological advantage over them.

Loss of Customers

Another threat to this origination’s services could be loss of customers

from its competitive firms in Nepal. Although the firm does not face

competition from any firm within the county, it is facing a competition

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from similar services being provided by Nepalese aviation. We

were told by Mr. Ilyas that Pakistan has 4 high peaks whereas Nepal

has 10, which mostly attract the tourists to these countries. If Nepal is

able to improve its services and provide better services and travel

packages to its customers, they might switch to those services and

Askari aviation might loose its appeal to the tourists.

Political Situation in the Country

Besides this the political situation within the country is very fragile

and there is a lot of unrest which is prevalent. This could also deter

the tourists from visiting Pakistan as they are concerned about their

safety.

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P.E.S.T.

The macro-environment includes all factors influencing a company

that are not within its control. These include political social, economic

and technological factors. These are known as PEST factors. A

technique of analysis of the macro environment is PEST analysis.

Since the tourism and aviation industry is very much influenced by

changes taking place in the environment and has undergone rapid and

dramatic changes during the last decade, this analysis is especially

important for Askari Aviation.

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POLITICAL FACTORS

Political factors always have a great influence on the way businesses

operate in the aviation industry and the spending power of customers.

Governments intervene in the tourism and aviation industry for

various reasons, including:

It is a major employer and provider of livelihoods.

Transport systems are subject to legislation and regulation.

Political

1. Increased Competition

(Deregulation of aviation

industry)

2. Political Stability

3. Increased Investment

opportunity

Economical

1. Improved Purchasing

Power

2. Demand Value-for-Money

3. Soaring Oil Prices

4. Reduced Ticket Prices

Social

1. Greater Customer

Awareness

2. Increased Entertainment

spending.

3. Technology averse

Customers

Technological

Flight Control System

Fuel efficient helicopters

and planes

Promotion through Internet

and digital media.

PEST ANALYSIS

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International tourism flows mean that governments

benefit directly from incoming tourists.

However, in recent years it has been observed that government

played an active role in increasing competition in the tourism and

aviation industry. A number of new airlines such as JS Air have been

awarded licenses to enter the domestic market. Despite increasing

competition, Askari Aviation has maintained a monopoly on national

tourism routes. Aviation industry is significantly affected by political

stability. Pakistan has achieved some political stability in recent years.

If the management of Askari Aviation believes that the present

government will perform well (consistently), then there will be more

investment in the form of purchase of new airplanes and latest

technology. The over all industry will grow resulting in more luxurious

and comfortable flights. With the military takeover government

policies have become more liberal. In the past, Pakistan’s Civil

Aviation Authority (CAA) played a major role in discouraging new

Aviation safari providers to enter the industry. CAA had a restriction

that companies could not operate as safari and charter providers

unless they own their aircrafts. This means that new firms will need

humongous investment even to enter the market.

ECONOMIC FACTORS

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Currently Aviation industry has one local player i.e. Askari

Avaiation. Their target market includes foreign travelers and

adventurers who tend to visit the extreme northern areas of Pakistan

e.g Japan, Germany, Sweden, Korea, USA, UK and lots more.

These countries have strong economies coupled with high purchasing

power. Customers’ purchase behavior depends very much on prices of

the competing airlines as well as services offered. As inflation rate is

stable in Pakistan, spending power of consumers is not effected in the

long term. In fact growth in Pakistani economy has resulted in an

increase in spending power and has positively impacted the aviation

industry.

Economically, the new millennium has been highly volatile; the

September 11 attacks revolutionized the whole world. Consequently,

there was a global depression in the North America, South America,

Australia and Europe. However, in Asia especially Pakistan the effect

in the short term was otherwise. The economy began to boom because

of greater remittances from abroad and whole-sum immigration by

expatriates. As a result, demand for air travel in South Asia rose.

Askari Aviation because of its monopoly in the market had been

dictating policies and prices which are set after consideration by the

Ministry of Defence. Economic conditions of Pakistan are however

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improving. An increase in interest rates has negatively impacted

the aviation industry. Due to the devaluation of rupee, attractiveness

of the Pakistani market has been reduced for foreign investors. Cost is

a barrier to entry for new firms since it would

take a huge investment on part of new entrant to establish its bases in

Pakistan and buy or lease planes and helicopters.

SOCIAL FACTORS

The social and cultural influences on business vary from country to

country. The social structure of Pakistan is closely tied. The trend is

now changing as the general public is educated and is pursuing

professional goals. Customers are more aware of market conditions

and available options and want to get best value for their money. They

spend considerable time and money on entertainment hence

increasing the need flexible rates for its helicopter based safaris.

The social environment of Pakistan is turning liberal with the new

regime. However, Askari Aviation has untapped market potential both

abroad as well as in Pakistan, as consumers are unaware of its

services because of ineffective and meager marketing efforts.

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TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS

Technology is vital for competitive advantage and is a major driver of

the airlines industry. Major technological changes are taking place in

the aviation industry with innovations in the helicopters flight control

system as well as newer and better planes which are more fuel

efficient. A key issue will be the extent, to which technological

advancements (such as Internet) impact distribution and cost

synergies from industry consolidation, can offset upward pressures on

costs. Askari Aviation has led the path of technological innovations by

introducing new technologies ahead of its international competitors

such as its newly leased helicopters and planes which have helped it

gain international market share.

MARKET NEED

There is a market need for the services offered by Askari Aviation

since rescue operations in far flung regions cannot be carried out by

regular means of transport due to the two main reasons: time and

route constraint. So, Askari Aviation provides the quick means of

security services say in the case of land slide that takes place or any

other casualty.

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It is worthy to mention that Askari Aviation rendered extremely

valuable services during the October 8th earthquake, to take the

affected people to safer areas.

COMPETITION

Currently the company faces no competition by any organization. The

reason why this organization remains a monopoly is because the cost

of maintenance and flying of the helicopters is a very expensive

activity. Even if a helicopter is not in the air and not being utilized for

any activity, it still costs money and is being depreciated. This implies

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that the assets upon which the company depends are so

expensive to buy and maintain that it becomes unfeasible for any

private organization to actually afford them. Furthermore, the

company has the backing of the Ministry of Defense which provides

helicopters and aircrafts. This shows that a similar service will require

a huge amount of investment, which is near to impossible for a private

organization in Pakistan. Due to all these circumstances, the

organization enjoys monopoly and faces no competition.

If a competitive organization does enter the market, besides buying

expensive helicopters, they would also need to train employees to fly a

helicopter, which has a very special and expensive training, currently

only being given to army aviators. Askari Aviation has a competitive

edge in this case as their employees are already trained in flying and

rescuing services while saving a considerable amount of training

costs.

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STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH AND EXPANSION

One of the common business strategy frameworks used in

understanding growth strategies is the Ansoff’s Growth Matrix,

developed by H. Igor Ansoff – a strategic management guru. The

matrix serves as a basic handy tool to set a firm thinking about the

direction it wants to take in its search for growth

Market Penetration

In this strategy, it would mean that the firm aims to sell more of its

existing products in the markets that they are already in. This would

translate into allocating more resources and efforts to build up sales

and marketing activities to attain revenue growth. Indirectly, the firm

is also trying to increase its market share. Generally, this may seem

less risky to a certain extent because the firm is already dealing in the

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same markets and products, however there may be limitations

as to how much growth one can derive in this strategy.

Market Development

For this strategy – existing products/new

markets, this happens when a firm decides to

sell its existing products into new

geographical markets or new market

segments (another defined target market).

For example, it could mean selling an

existing Safari package to a new market

overseas or alternatively, selling it to a new market segment (e.g.

second-hand

Market).The firm would also need to spend on sales and marketing to

persuade consumers in new markets to purchase the product/services.

Product Development

This strategy on the other hand, necessitates developing new

products to be sold in existing markets. This can be seen as a quite

common process because for a company to sustain its presence and

growth, it cannot rely on a single product range. For instance, Askari

Aviation can develop new and cheaper packages or it can collaborate

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with tourism development authority to formulate newer and

better projects that are more appealing to perspective customers.

Companies are competitively refreshing their product lines to keep in

touch with consumers as well as to keep up with certain trends,

market needs/tastes and etc. One would need some good grasp of

market knowledge and skills to come with new product introductions

that suits consumer’s needs.

Diversification

Often seen as a high risk strategy, diversification is where the firm

sells entirely new products to new customers in new markets. The

reasons for such a business strategy could be due to a rise in

opportunity that the firm has identified, or feel the need to tap and

rely on new sources of growth and so on.

There are two types of diversification: related and unrelated

diversification.

Related diversification means that the firm remains in a particular

industry, but diversify into another type of product to be sold to new

markets. For example, Askari Aviation starts to provide tourism

related services like opening of hotel and initiation of bus services for

tourism related areas. This way, with some knowledge and skill in a

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particular area (tourism and hotel services), a firm is going into

a new product line to serve new markets.

Unrelated diversification refers to a situation where the firm

completely ventures into a new business area to serve new markets

with its new product development. New capital investments are also

needed. In this scenario, it would mean that the firm is entering into

an industry that it has little experience with limited or no knowledge

of the industry. For example if Askari Aviation moves into other

diverse areas such as in media and telecommunications, shopping and

etc.

Whichever growth options you decide, a few critical things to bear in

mind would be the suitability of your brand in other areas/sectors;

time, human and labor resources as well as market and consumer

expectations. At the end of the day, the reward or benefit of

embarking into a particular strategy should outweigh its costs.

INCREASE PROMOTIONS

In our analysis, it is recommended that Askari Aviation should

promote its services and collaborate with Pakistan Tourism Board to

broaden its market base. Keeping in mind the potential and upcoming

competitors, there won’t be any monopoly left for Askari Aviation.

Since the management is unwilling to implement a comprehensive

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marketing campaign, it is suggested that they follow consistent

and modest marketing activities. There is no need for mass

advertising because Askari Aviation does not target the masses.

According to the target market, the company should advertise in the

following ways:

Web Advertising

Askari Aviation should improve the layout of their website and

make it simpler for the customers. They should be present on

the site of PTDC so that the customers are aware that such a

service exists.

Brochures

The brochures of Askari Aviation should be placed at counters of

the airports in Pakistan and should be given out to the business

class customers and foreigners.

Festivals

Askari Aviation should promote its name in the festivals where

Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation participates like

Summer Festival in Dubai and Festivals in Malaysia.

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Maintaining Records of Customers

In this way Askari Aviation can contact their at the start of the

season for helicopter safaris and can send them any latest

packages so that they feel valued.

ENHANCE MOTIVATION OF EMPLOYEES

Askari Aviation needs to motivate their employees so that satisfied

employees can provide a better service as chances for service

recovery is less: they have to give a superior service the first time. Job

Rotation should be present which increases their motivation levels

and enhance the skills of employees. The employees should be sent for

foreign training so that they feel loyal to the company. Skill

Enhancement Programs should be given to employees.

FORECAST MARKET

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Askari Aviation needs to forecast the market to maintain its

dominance.

Forecasting involves methods that derive from judgmental sources

and from statistical sources. These methods and the relationships

between them are shown in the flowchart in Figure. Going down the

flowchart, there is an increasing amount of integration between

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judgmental and statistical data and procedures. This

integration, which has been studied by researchers2 in the last

decade, can improve forecast accuracy.

Judgmental forecasting is made based on factors such as intentions,

role-playing, expert opinion etc. In intentional based forecasting

people are asked how would they behave in various situations.

Intentions surveys are widely used when sales data are not available,

such as for new product forecasts. Similarly role playing forecasting

involves the domination of a person in some situations, such as in

predicting how some one in firm would behave in negotiations. Role-

playing is useful for making forecasts of the behavior of individuals

who are interacting with others and especially when the situation

involves conflict. The key principle is to provide a realistic simulation

of the interactions. It is method that has considerable potential for

forecasting. Where as, Expert opinion studies differ substantially from

intentions surveys. When an expert is asked to predict the behavior of

a market, there is no need to claim that this is a representative

expert. Quite the contrary, the expert may be exceptional. The

preferred procedure is to weight each expert's forecast equally.

FORECASTING MARKET SIZE

2 (Armstrong and Collopy, 1998).

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Market size is influenced by environmental factors such as

economic conditions, population, and ability to purchase, social

trends, technological change, or government legislation. For example,

demographic factors such as the size and age distribution of the

population, distribution of disposable income, culture, and religious

factors influence the market for Askari Aviation.

Askari Aviation believes that since they do not have any current

competitors in the market and their target market with respect to

demographics and income parity are foreign adventurers, so they

don’t face any immediate threats with respect to competition and

reaction. Hence forecasting a market strategy is currently not being

implemented by them.

However, Askari Aviation should consider potential competition. A

likely scenario can be the introduction of helicopter safaris by airlines

in Pakistan. Thus, the company has to realize that this is serious

business which must have a market forecast and growth strategies.

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REFERENCES

PRIMARY SOURCEInterview with Col(r) Ilyaas Mohammad(Sr. Manager Askari Aviation)

SECONDARY SOURCESBooksMarketing a Service for Profit: a Practical Guide to Key Service Marketing Concepts - Page 117by Greg Clarke

Guerrilla Marketing Excellence: The 50 Golden Rules for Small-Business Success - Page 114by Jay Conrad Levinson

Marketing Without Advertisingby Salli Rasberry, Michael Phillips

Successful Direct Marketing Methods - Page 17by Ron Jacobs, Bob Stone

Marketing a Service for Profit: : a Practical Guide to Key Service Marketing Concepts - Page 1by Greg Clarke

Websiteswww.askariavaition.com

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www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Positioning _( marketing )

www.morningstarmultimedia.com/html/blog.asp

www.itsolutions.forbes.com/.../Financial%20Service%20 Marketing %20Position

www.megapublic.com/branding/ positioning .html

www.ephiz.com/ services _ Blueprint s.php

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=services+marketing%2Bservice+design

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