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Ba Plc

According to this article companies in the maturity stage should focus on the ‘off-core’ benefits. It argues that the core benefits, in flight meals and movies, have been exhausted as a point of differentiation as evidenced by the degree to which competitors have replicated them. Therefore BA should look to maximise the ‘off-core’ benefits which competitors will find more difficult to replicate. In a sense making the unnecessary, necessary.  
How is BA seeking to differentiate themselves?
BA’s main point of differentiation can be taken from the first line of their annual report “flying to over 300 destinations at convenient times and (the)best located airports” to justify the premium price tag. I would suggest that this is perhaps the best differentiation BA can offer within their economy sector which is primarily competing with the no-frills airlines. Differentiation in this sector is limited by the fact that airlines in the lower end of the sector compete almost exclusively on price. BA would price themselves out of the market if they tried to integrate their business class services into the economy market. Again taken from the annual report, in the chief executives section he suggests that “To justify the premium we charge our customers we need to deliver the ‘BA Basics’ consistently and offer ‘Brilliance’ in areas where it really counts” – “British Airways' shorthaul flights from London continue to differentiate themselves from the no-frills airlines by providing a full spectrum of services, including free food and drink during flights, whilst also offering no-frills style one way flights from their regional airports”. However from reading online customer reviews, which are widely available, many of the reviews suggest that they did not notice a significantly improved service in line with the premium price they paid.
BA have to be careful to avoid strong price competition as it tends to bring down profitability in the whole industry without any significant...