Analysis of The Roles and Interrelation of British Airways and The Hilton

In this assignment I will be explaining the roles of two organisations. I will be looking at the airline British Airways (BA), and the hotel chain The Hilton. I will also be explaining how they interrelate.

British Airways have a role to meet key organisational aims. Because British Airways is part of the private sector they aim to make a profit. British Airways annual report and accounts for the year 2014 said that that ‘’BA has made an operating profit of £975 million in 2014. ’’ In 2013 they made a profit of £708 million. The difference between 2013-2014 is £272 million. By having a huge increase in profit like this means that the company can carry on being successful. Hilton Hotels are part of the private sector and aim to make a profit. I couldn’t find the exact figure of profit however I found out that Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be between $2, 840 million and $2, 870 million, an increase of $10 million at the midpoint. British Airways will also aim to maximise sales revenue. According to BA’s annual report 2014 they now offer a new premium luggage concierge service. Somebody who works for BA will collect a customer’s luggage from baggage reclaim and will deliver it to the customers chosen destination in London. They also maximise sales revenue by producing in-flight meals. On the annual report it said that they offer an a la carte menu for customers who are travelling BA’s first, club world (business class) and world traveller plus cabins.

Hilton Hotels also aims to maximise sales revue. They might do this by putting mini bars in rooms and the customer will be charged for what they drink. Hilton Alexandria Kings Ranch also has a spa on sight. Guests will pay extra for this. Finally they must also aim to ensure compliance with regulations. British Airways will work with regulatory bodies such as the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). The CAA is an independent statutory body. Under the UK Civil Aviation Act 1982, the CAA is responsible for supervising many aspects of an airline’s financial condition, management and operations. European airlines are also subject to EU regulations. Hilton must also do the same. They must ensure that all of their electrical equipment in the rooms has been tested so that it is safe to use. If a customer was to get injured by faulty electricals the company would be in trouble.

British Airways have a role of providing products and services to customers. BA sell scheduled flights to their customers in order to make a profit. British Airways offer economy flights, premium economy flights, business class flights and first class flights which is the highest class of travel. They have created a new aircraft called the Dreamliner 787. This air craft offers customers a more pleasant flying experience. It has larger windows, more moisture in the air and a lower cabin altitude which will help to reduce jet lag. British Airways also provide accommodation on their website. They promote hotels such as Hilton Hotels, Hard Rock Hotels, Four Seasons Resorts and K+K hotels. They offer deals if you book a flight an accommodation. They also offer a range of airport parking. You can purchase airport parking near the airport or you can drive straight to the airport terminal and somebody will park your car for you.

Hilton also provide products and services. They provide accommodation for the guests. As well as accommodation they also have spas and gyms for customers. When staying in a Hilton Hotel the guests can require room service and also members of staff will carry the bags to the room. On their website it said ‘’ Our Team Members are always ready to provide friendly, individualized service to our guests. We’re also happy to offer a range of services to meet your needs. ’’ British Airways have a role of being responsible to stakeholders. They have to be responsible to the shareholders of British Airways. Because they own part of the organisation they have the right to know how the company is performing. British Airways create annual reports which lets shareholders see a finical report, see what has went well during the year and also what changes they wish to make.

They also host annual meetings where the shareholders can get together and discuss the organisations performance. This applies to Hilton as well. The current price for a share in Hilton Worldwide is $23. 64. They will also have to be responsible to local communities. BA have what’s called a volunteering program. On their website it states their vision. ‘’ Our volunteering programme will have a positive and sustained impact on the local community by investing our colleague's time, skills, knowledge and expertise to help develop strong partnerships within the community. Our colleagues will develop new skills, share expertise and help to support the local community through individual and team volunteering. At British Airways you can become a volunteer or a volunteer champion. Champions represent the volunteer program in their business area and are the main point of reference for any volunteer queries and opportunity’s. On their website it also says ‘’we have 30 community and conservation partners all of which are UK registered charities, based in communities across our worldwide network’’. Finally another way how they are responsible to local communities is in 1999 they opened a community learning centre which has welcomed 100, 000 young people into the centre. At the centre they offer airline related education programs to schools across the Heathrow community. It is important for BA to work with local communities because it builds a good relationship. It also shows that they aren’t just interested in making money, but they are interested in the people of the community.

British Airways also have a role of being ethically and environmentally responsible. Because BA uses air craft which produces lots of carbon emissions they will have to look at ways which they can lower this. On their website they have stated that the new Boeing 787 Dreamline has a 60 percent smaller noise footprint compared with today’s similarly sized aircraft. On the 2009-2010 annual report it says that they recognise that by providing air transport services will have an impact on the environment. Another way how they are focusing on reducing carbon emissions is by a strategy which adopts alternative fuels. In February 2009 they established a partnership with Solena to build Europe’s first biomass to liquid plant to supply them with biofuel from 2014. They also work closely with IATA (International Air Transport Association) in promoting the target to reduce net Co2 emissions by 50% by 2050. Carbon efficiency is expressed in grammes of Co2 per passenger kilometre (gCO2/pkm).

British Airways have set themselves a target for 2025 and they want to improve their fuel efficiency to 83 gCO2/pkm. British Airways also focus on waste, because this again affects the environment. They want to keep waste to a minimisation, to increase the use of recycling and reduce disposal to landfill. According to the annual reports2009-2010 they are on track with their target of recycling. They set a target of 50% by the end of 2010 at bases Gatwick and Heathrow. They achieved 39% recycling throughout 2009. Hilton Hotels also have the same role.

Hilton Hotels aim to Reducing energy consumption from direct operations by 20%, reducing CO2 emissions by20%, reducing output of waste by 20% and finally reducing water consumption by 10%. I looked on an article and here’s what it said ‘’ Through the introduction of carbon-free electricity at its facilities in the U. K. and Ireland, Hilton says it reduced CO2 emissions in participating Hilton hotels by more than 64, 000 tons, or 56percent of its carbon footprint. The company says it has also reduced its energy and water consumption 10percent over the last two years. ’’

British Airways have a role of being ethically responsible. British Airways offer a range of different meals which suit peoples believes. They offer vegan meals for those who do not eat produce from an animal, these meals will not contain meat, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, dairy products or derivatives. They then do vegetarian meals which hcontains no meat. They do kosher meals which are meals prepared to comply with Jewish dietary laws. They also do Muslim meals which do not contain pork and alcohol. All Muslim meals have meats which come from ritually slaughtered animals. It is important that British Airways and the passengers on board the aircraft respect the views of other people. British Airways have to consider people who live nearby the airport. Because there are planes flying 24/7 this could cause disturbance. People living in the area believe that they should be able to have a peaceful life without having to be disturbed at early hours of the morning. They provide noise insulation schemes to provide practical assistance to those local residents experiencing the highest levels of aircraft noise.

On the BA website it says one of our goals is to reduce our average noise per flight by 15%. This is possible though replacement of our older fleet by new aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A380. They hope to achieve this target by 2018. British Airways also have a role to contribute to international and UK economies. They contribute to the UK’s GDP as well as international GDP. When a customer books a flight via BA they have to pay taxes to the government. You get taxed on your airport ticket, and you also pay tax for the airport which your plane lands in. This is good to help support international poorer countries who depend on tourism for the success of their country.

Aviation contributes10 billion a year to the UK’s GDP and more than £600 million to the Scottish economy, representing 1. 2% of this nation's GDP. British Airways also contribute to the UK and international by employing people into their country. They have around 40, 000 employees. Including 15, 000 cabin crew and 3, 600 flight crew. This is good for our country because it enables people to have a living wage. Also it helps people in international countries as BA will employ them. Hilton Hotels also have the same role as BA. Hilton Worldwide help creates jobs both national and international, they have 152, 000 employees. Again they contribute to the UK’s GDP. Their total GDP for the UK was 101 billion in 2011 and was 6. 7% of the UK’s GDP. Because they have tourists staying at the hotels they also help local businesses in the area such as taxi firms and restaurants. It also generates the place they are visiting money. This is crucial for countries who purely depend on tourism e. g. Egypt.

I have finally come to the conclusion that both British Airways and Hilton Hotels interrelate. By interrelating I mean they both work together. It is important for both companies to work together. Instead of them both struggling to find customers, they are simply joining forces because they think they can help each other gain customers. British Airways promote Hilton Hotels on their website. On the website you have the option to book a flight with accommodation. It also says when you book a flight and accommodation together you get the bestprices and you also save money. They also do this other deal. When you stay at Hilton Hotels you earn Hilton HHonours points. Hilton will let you trade 10, 000 HHonours points into 1, 000 Avios points. Avios points are reward points that British Airways do which let you have free flights or upgrades depending on how many points you have. This is a good way of promoting each other. I will not only benefit the customer but the organisations themselves. No component in the travel and tourism industry can survive on their own.