PROJECT REPORT

ON

“BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ANALYSIS AND BRAND AWARENESS AT

UDCHALO”

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE

OF
“MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION”
FROM GGSIP UNIVERSITY
DELHI
BY
BHANU PRATAP SINGH RAUTELA
Roll No:-
BATCH: 2017-2019
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF

ARMY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY,

GREATER NOIDA (UP) – 201306
 SUPERVISOR CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Bhanu Pratap Singh Rautela student of Master of Business
Administration, Batch_MBA-14, Army Institute Management & Technology, Greater
Noida, has successfully completed his project under my supervision.

During this period, he worked on the project titled “BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

ANALYSIS AND BRAND AWARENESS AT UDCHALO.” in partial fulfillment for the
award of the degree of Master of Business Administration from GGSIP University, Delhi.

To the best of my knowledge the project work done by the student has not been submitted
to any university for award of any degree. His performance and conduct has been good.

Prof. Rahul Verma

AIMT- Gr. Noida

ii
 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, Bhanu Pratap Singh Rautela, Roll No of MBA17-19, a full time bonafide student of First
year of Master of Business Administration (MBA) Programme of Army Institute of Management
& Technology, Greater Noida. I hereby certify that this project work was carried out by me
under the supervision of Prof. Rahul Verma and the report submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements of the programme is an original work of mine. The work is “BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT ANALYSIS AND BRAND AWARENESS AT UDCHALO”not based or
reproduced from any existing work of any other person or on any earlier work undertaken at any
other time or for any other purpose, and has not been submitted anywhere else at any time.

Bhanu Pratap Singh Rautela

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to show my sincere gratitude to all those who made this study possible. First of all I am
thankful to the helpful staff and the faculty of Army Institute of Management and Technology.
One of the most important tasks in every good study is its critical evaluation and feedback which
was performed by my faculty guide Prof. Rahul Verma. I am very thankful to my Faculty as
well as Industry guide for investing his precious time to discuss and criticize this study in depth,
and explained the meaning of different concepts and how to think when it comes to problem
discussions and theoretical discussions. My sincere thanks goes to my Institute and family, who
supported and encouraged me.

Bhanu Pratap Singh Rautela

MBA: 2017-2019
Batch: 14

iv
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Working with UdChalo was a great opportunity to understand a company internally and
externally, understands its functionality thoroughly and being a part with playing a
contributing role.
The best part of working with a startup company is that you get the privilege to create
your own work environment, show your own creativity and enjoy full flexibility, my
core responsibility was business development in the Northern region for which I was
given the liberty to strategize, plan accordingly. UdChalo client base is restricted as the
prevailed services can only be enjoyed by Serving Army personnel, Ex-Servicemen,
Paramilitary and their dependents. Starting up a new company is not easy as
competitors in market are ready and efficient enough to swallow up small companies
even if they have to bare losses they won’t give a second thought if that cost can destroy
its competitor in long run, the finest example of such company is reliance Jio where in
because of its free services competitors like Vodafone, Airtel, Idea are facing huge
losses and losing customers on daily bases. Same is what could have happened with
udchalo as competitors were reducing prices leading to challenges for the company to
compete, now to overcome such situation a proper strategy was required considering the
fact that target segment is limited and one incomplete information or negative
perception could affect adversely to the company. My agenda was to clear doubts and
spread awareness about the company in such a way that they could easily access to the
site and book there tickets or visit the nearby counter for the same.
Challenges were to educate the troops as lot were not able to understand how to book,
for the same a presentation clearing all steps and procedure was made so that everyone
could understand, apart from that how to keep mobile phone safe and account details
delinked to fraud online portals was also briefed so that a misconception of insecurity
does not develop amongst them relating to online payment. Apart from that personal
travel recommendation assurance of customer care availability and reliability was also
given to build up long term relationship. The biggest role in this was of the officers as

v
they used to understand the importance of online ticketing, considering as welfare for
their troops. By giving us permission to give presentations. Regions of Northern
division in all commanding unites were covered in short span of time because of proper
planning and strategy, thanks to my reporting manager Mr Shahid Shaikh for his
support and guidance all across the tenure.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT
Certificate ……………………………………………………………………………….. (i)
Supervisor Certificate …………………………………………………………………… (ii)
Certificate of Originality ………………………………………………………………… (iii)
Acknowledgement ……………………………………………………………………….. (iv)
Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………… (v)

S NO. CONTENTS PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUCTION
2 COMPANY PROFILE
3 LITERATURE REVIEW/ RELATED STUDIES
4 RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
5 PROBLEM STATEMENT
6 SCOPE OF STUDY AND ITS OBJECTIVES
7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
8 RESEARCH DESIGN
9 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
10 DATA COLLECTION
11 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE / PROCEDURE

12 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

13 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

14 CONCLUSIONS

15 LIMITATIONS & SCOPE FOR FURTHER STUDIES

16 APPENDICES &ANNEXURES

vii
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THE COMPANY

UdChalo is a Pune-based concessional air ticketing platform exclusively for Indian Armed
Forces. It caters to Serving Army personnel, Ex- Servicemen, Paramilitary and their dependents.
It is an initiative by Up Curve Software Consulting Pvt. Ltd.udChalo.com is a start-up conceived
and run by the Alumni of AIT (Army Institute of Technology). It is the brainchild of graduates of
the Army Institute of Technology (AIT), Pune, Varun Jain and Ravi Kumar. The other team
members in udChalo also have an Armed Forces background. It got operational on July 2014 and
till date, continue to serve the Army personnel and their dependents.

Army personnel in India have to travel quite a bit and they are rarely tech savvy. Trains are
preferred more for travel and the biggest chunk still buys offline and often has to change or
cancel travel plans because their tickets are in waiting list and at the same time, many flights
(with almost the same rates) take off with empty seats between the same destinations. And this is
where udChalo comes in- it allows army personnel travelling via 1A or 2A to take up these
empty seats on the planes if their ticket is wait listed. The company has a tie up with six major
airlines in India and the system works only if the army personnel enter his details which prove
their identity and also their train reservation details so that no one can directly come on the
platform for the airline ticket.

People fly everywhere. All the time, and no one likes an expensive fare. Least of all, if they’re
paying from their own pocket. So now? What to do? Book 2 months in advance? Sure. And wish
you hadn’t when the fares fall. Or book last minute. And the fares are so high, you wish you’d
booked earlier. We’ve put you in a dilemma. When is the best time to book? Well in advance or
last minute? UdChalo aims to ‘make flights cost effective’ to the Indian middle class.”
This is the problem statement udChalo was founded originally founded with and over time, it has
found its niche by targeting army professionals to begin with.
Since re-establishment is an area of concern for other ranks since they retire by the age of 35, so
udChalo has come up with initiatives for re-employment opportunities for ex-servicemen,
martyrs’ widows. It provides them with basic computer training to book tickets online.
To expand its customer base, udChalo has opened its booking counters pan India in various
Army Cantonments so that personnel who shirk from online frauds can easily book through these
counters.

2
POTENTIAL IN THE INDIAN ONLINE AIR TRAVEL MARKET
The civil aviation industry in India has emerged as one of the fastest growing industries in
the country during the last three years. India is currently considered the third largest
domestic civil aviation market in the world. India is expected to become the world’s largest
domestic civil aviation market in the next 10 to 15 years, as per Mr Jayant Sinha, Union
Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India.

According to International Air Transport Association IATA, India will displace the UK for
the third place in 2025.

The Civil Aviation industry has ushered in a new era of expansion, driven by factors such
as low-cost carriers (LCCs), modern airports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in domestic
airlines, advanced information technology (IT) interventions and growing emphasis on
regional connectivity.

India’s passenger* traffic grew at 16.52 per cent year on year to reach 308.75 million. It
grew at a CAGR of 12.72 per cent during FY06-FY18.

Domestic passenger traffic grew YoY by 18.28 per cent to reach 243 million in FY18 and
is expected to become 293 million in FY20E. International passenger grew YoY by 10.43
per cent to reach 65 million in FY18 and traffic is expected to become 76 million in
FY20E.

In FY18, domestic freight traffic stood at 1,213.06 million tonnes, while international
freight traffic was at 2,143.97 million tonnes.

India’s domestic and international aircraft movements grew 14.40 per cent YoY and 9.40
per cent YoY to 1,886.63 thousand and 437.93 thousand during 2017-18, respectively.
As of March 2018, there are nearly 550 commercial aircraft in operation in India.

According to data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP),
FDI inflows in air transport (including air freight) between April 2000 and December 2017
stood at US$ 1,608.51 million. The government has 100 per cent FDI under automatic
route in scheduled air transport service, regional air transport service and domestic
scheduled passenger airline. However, FDI over 49 per cent would require government
approval.
India’s aviation industry is expected to witness Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 15.52 billion) worth
of investments in the next five years.

The Indian government is planning to invest US$ 1.83 billion for development of airport
infrastructure along with aviation navigation services by 2026.
Key investments and developments in India’s aviation industry include:

3
  AAI is going to invest Rs 15,000 crore (US$ 2.32 billion) in 2018-19 for expanding
existing terminals and constructing 15 new ones.

 In June 2018, India has signed an open sky agreement with Australia allowing
airlines on either side to offer unlimited seats to six Indian metro cities and various
Australian cities.

 The AAI plans to develop Guwahati as an inter-regional hub and Agartala, Imphal
and Dibrugarh as intra-regional hubs.

 Indian aircraft Manufacture, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) service providers are
exempted completely from customs and countervailing duties

1. India’s Travel and Tourism Market is growing rapidly…

India’s aviation industry is largely untapped with huge growth opportunities, considering that air
transport is still expensive for majority of the country’s population, of which nearly 40 per cent
is the upwardly mobile middle class.
The industry stakeholders should engage and collaborate with policy makers to implement
efficient and rational decisions that would boost India’s civil aviation industry. With the right
policies and relentless focus on quality, cost and passenger interest, India would be well placed
to achieve its vision of becoming the third-largest aviation market by 2025.

Some major initiatives undertaken by the government are:

 Allocation to Civil Aviation Ministry has been tripled to Rs 6,602.86 crore (US$ 1,019.9
million) under Union Budget 2018-19.
 In February 2018, the Prime Minister of India launched the construction of Navi Mumbai
airport which is expected to be built at a cost of US$ 2.58 billion. The first phase of the
airport will be completed by end of 2019.
 The Government of Andhra Pradesh is to develop Greenfield airports in six cities-
Nizamabad, Nellore, Kurnool, Ramagundam, Tadepalligudem and Kothagudem under
the PPP model.
 AAI is going to invest Rs 15,000 crore (US$ 2.32 billion) in 2018-19 for expanding
existing terminals and constructing 15 new ones.
 Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) has been launched under the policy

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2. Will an Increase in Internet Penetration among India’s Large User Base Be a Catalyst
for Growth?

The number of internet users in India is expected to reach 500 million by June 2018, said a report
by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Kantar IMRB on Tuesday. The
number of Internet users stood at 481 million in December 2017, an increase of 11.34% over
December 2016 said the report titled, "Internet in India 2017."

Urban India with an estimated population of 455 million already has 295 million using the
internet. Rural India, with an estimated population of 918 million as per 2011 census, has only
186 million internet users leaving out potential 732 million users in rural India.

"Given that total Urban Population is much lower than total rural population, the Urban-Rural
Digital divide is actually more acute than what the penetration numbers portray.The future
growth policies therefore must focus on bridging the digital divide that exists between urban and
rural India today," the report added.

Internet penetration in Urban India was 64.84% in December 2017 as compared to 60.6% last
December. In comparison, rural Internet penetration has grown from 18% last December to
20.26% in December 2017.

The report also finds that an estimated 281 Million daily Internet users, out of which 182.9
million or 62% access internet daily in urban area, as compared to only 98 million users or 53%,
in rural India. There are estimated 143 million Female internet users overall, which is
approximately 30% of Total Internet users. "While Digital India is paving its way in rural India,
the underlining digital gender gap still persists. Digital literacy is therefore a key to ensure
everyone stays informed, engaged and safe online," it added.

3. Time for Some Time off for India’s Burgeoning Middle Class

Indian consumer durables market is broadly segregated into urban and rural markets, and is
attracting marketers from across the world. The sector comprises of a huge middle class,
relatively large affluent class and a small economically disadvantaged class, with spending
anticipated to more than double by 2025.
Global corporations view India as one of the key markets from where future growth is likely to
emerge. The growth in India’s consumer market would be primarily driven by a favourable
population composition and increasing disposable incomes.
Per capita GDP of India is expected to reach US$ 3,273.85 in 2023 from US$ 1,983 in 2012. The
maximum consumer spending is likely to occur in food, housing, consumer durables, and
transport and communication sectors.

5
  The growing purchasing power and rising influence of the social media have enabled
Indian consumers to splurge on good things.
 Indian appliance and consumer electronics (ACE) market reached Rs 2.05 trillion (US$
31.48 billion) in 2017. India is one of the largest growing electronics market in the world.
Indian electronics market is expected to grow at 41 per cent CAGR between 2017-20 to
reach US$ 400 billion.
 India was the world’s third largest smartphone market in 2017 with smartphone
shipments growing 14 per cent year-on-year to 124 million units.
According to the data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the
electronics sector attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$ 1.836 billion between
April 2000 and December 2017. The S&P BSE Consumer Durables Index has grown at 20 per
cent CAGR between 2010-17.
Following are some recent investments and developments in the Indian consumer market sector.
 Chinese phone manufacturer, Xiaomi Corporation, is planning to invest about US$ 1
billion in 100 Indian start-ups over the coming five years, with an aim to make an
ecosystem of apps surrounding its smartphone brand.
 Japan-based imaging major, Nikon, expects India to be one of its top five markets in the
world over the coming 3-4 years as it retains its lead in the DSLR segment and expands
its retail presence in India by adding 10-15 Nikon Experience Zone stores.
A new Consumer Protection Bill has been approved by the Union Cabinet, Government of India
that will make the existing laws more effective with a broader scope.
The mobile phone industry in India expects that the Government of India's boost to production of
battery chargers will result in setting up of 365 factories, thereby generating 800,000 jobs by
2025.
The Union Cabinet has approved incentives up to Rs. 10,000 crore (US$ 1.47 billion) for
investors by amending the M-SIPS scheme, in order to further incentivize investments in
electronics sector, create employment opportunities and reduce dependence on imports by 2020.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has revised National Policy on
Electronics 2012 (NPE) to focus on increasing competitiveness, innovation, R&D,
promoting/incentivizing exports in ESDM.
The Government of India has allowed 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) under the
automatic route in Electronics Systems Design & Manufacturing sector. FDI into single brand
retail has been increased from 51 per cent to 100 per cent; the government is planning to hike
FDI limit in multi-brand retail to 51 per cent.

Indian appliance and consumer electronics (ACE) market is expected to increase at a 9 per cent
CAGR to reach Rs 3.15 trillion (US$ 48.37 billion) in 2022. Demand growth is likely to
accelerate with rising disposable incomes and easy access to credit. Increasing electrification of
rural areas and wide usability of online sales would also aid growth in demand.
Exchange Rate Used: INR 1 = US$ 0.015 as of March 1, 2018

6
4. Growing Credit/Debit Card Penetration Boosts the Adoption of Online Platforms

On September 18, the world’s largest internet company, Google, launched digital payments app
Tez in India. Tez is yet another payments platform that joins a long list of cashless payment
platforms — from BHIM to AadhaarPay — offered since demonetisation 11 months ago. The
launch came at a time when digital transactions are showing mixed trends — up some weeks and
flat on others. Overall, though, cashless payments are much higher than in the pre-
demonetisation months.

Low penetration of point of sales (PoS) terminals or card swipe machines and concerns over
security make debit cards less attractive. So, if there are 700 million debit cards, there are only
2.5 million PoS machines for these cards, which are concentrated in large metros.

Parag Rao, head, cards payment products and merchant acquiring services, HDFC BankNSE -
0.14 %, says, “Pre-demonetisation, if debit cards in use were X, they rose to 3X afterwards but
have now come down to 2X. Debit

Despite mixed growth of digital payments the future is less cash, at least far less than the current
95%-plus transactions via cash and cheque books. According to a report on digital payments in
India, total payments via digital instruments are expected to touch $500 billion by 2020. By then
the fintech companies will be worth about $2.4 billion.

Diana Layfield, vice president, product management, Google, says, “Digital payments are
structurally down but still at least 50% higher than.

The card that most people have — a debit card — is hardly used to pay. Says Amrish Rau, CEO,
PayU, a payment gateway, “The problem is money is not moving fast enough. I can’t transfer
money while I chat. Besides, most campaigns encourage users to pay digitally but are not
educating small merchants to accept digitally.”

Rau, who co-founded Citrus Pay which was acquired by PayU in 2016, has been in digital
payments for almost 20 years. He adds, “Government is actually doing a disservice.

5. The Government’s Conscious Efforts to Boost Tourism

Tourism and travel will get a boost in the coming years as the government has provided an
impetus in the Union Budget. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government would set up up
five Special Tourism Zones in partnership with States. These will be anchored as Special
Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).

7
Mr. Jaitley did not provide any further details or the States where these tourism zones would
come up.
“Tourism is a big employment generator and has a multiplier impact on the economy. Five
Special Tourism Zones, anchored on SPVs, will be set up in partnership with the States,” the
Finance Minister said in his Budget speech.He said to boost the image of India in the
international travel market the Incredible India 2.0 Campaign will be unveiled across the world
in the coming financial year.

Besides, the government has asked the Railways to start dedicated trains for tourism and
pilgrimage purposes. The government allocated ₹1,840.77 crore to the Tourism Ministry in the
Budget, including ₹959.91 crore for the Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around
specific themes (Swadesh Darshan scheme).The Ministry will be receiving a little over ₹250
crore more in the 2017-18 fiscal compared to the ongoing financial year, according to the budget
document. Another ₹100 crore has been allocated for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual
Augmentation Drive (PRASAD). Significantly, as much as ₹412 crore has been provided for
promotion and publicity of the Tourism Ministry’s various programmes and schemes.

Under Swadesh Darshan, 13 thematic circuits have been identified for development, namely
North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit,
Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit,
Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.On the other hand, 13 cities — Ajmer, Amritsar,
Amravati, Dwarka, Gaya, Kamakhaya, Kancheepuram, Kedarnath, Mathura, Patna, Puri,
Varanasi and Velankanni — have been identified for development under PRASAD by the
Tourism Ministry.The government today allocated Rs 1,840.77 crore to the tourism ministry in
the budget for the next fiscal, including Rs 959.91 crore for the Integrated Development of
Tourist Circuits around specific themes (Swadesh Darshan scheme). The ministry would be
receiving a little over Rs 250 crore more in the 2017-18 fiscal as compared to the ongoing
financial year for which it was allocated Rs 1,590.32 crore, according to the budget document.
Besides, another Rs 100 crore have been allocated for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual
Augmentation Drive (PRASAD). Significantly, as much as Rs 412 crore have been provided for
promotion and publicity of tourism ministry's various programmes and scemes in the Union
Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today. Under Swadesh Darshan, 13 thematic
circuits have been identified for development, namely North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit,
Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit,
Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit. On the
other hand, as many as 13 cities-- namely Ajmer, Amritsar, Amravati, Dwarka, Gaya,
Kamakhaya, Kanchipuram, Kedarnath, Mathura, Patna, Puri, Varanasi and Velankanni -- have
been identified for development under Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation
Drive (PRASAD) by the Ministry of Tourism.

8
6. Key Developments in Indian Aviation Industry:

There have been many positive developments in the India’s fast-moving civil aviation sector.
The National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) has finally been put into place and India has
emerged as the fastest growing aviation market in the world. Currently ranked ninth, India is
predicted to rise to third largest within two to three years.
Passenger traffic has increased by 17.6 percent in 2015-16 and growth is being maintained in
2016-17, with traffic growing at 19.1 percent during the period April to November. According to
AAI (Airports Authority of India), over the next two years, traffic is projected to grow at 14
percent per annum to reach 290 million by 2017-18.
This staggering growth has had a number impact on the numbers connected with the aviation
industry in India:
Domestic passengers have risen from 81 million to over 300 million
Number of aircraft has risen from 430 to over 1400
Airports with scheduled operations have gone from 75 to over 150
Over 2 million jobs have been created (direct and indirect)
Nearly 50% of the incremental jobs will be semi-skilled–loaders, cleaners, drivers, cooks,
packers, security etc.
During this period of unprecedented growth, regional airports and low-cost connectivity remain
key areas of focus. AAI run 120 airports in India, catering to the domestic market, however at
least 30 of these airports remain inactive. They need development to reach their potential. India
could also face a capacity crisis without this development, the proposed construction of 50 new
airports and an expansion of airport infrastructure over the next decade.
At the Airports in India Conference in New Delhi this month, our presentation, in partnership
with ADC , looked at Key issues at 2nd Tier Indian airports. Efficient, integrated low-cost
airports and simple, no frill terminals that would meet operational requirements of airports as
well as airlines could well provide capacity to meet both current and future demand. In
particular, approaching airport design and planning with a view to standardization through the
country and expansion on a modular basis could future-proof the Indian aviation industry
throughout its boom.
The presentation was very well received by delegates, which resulted in lots of interesting
questions. It seemed that all attendees were keen to develop a strong, future-proofed airport
infrastructure to benefit India’s population, aviation industry and economy

7. Improving Online Penetration and Better Supply Pipelines Make Room for Big
Opportunities

Hotel supply in India remains upbeat. While the rapid increase in supply has affected average
daily room rates and occupancy figures, India’s tourism department has referred to a shortage of
around 150,000 rooms in the budget, economy, and mid-market segments. However, according

9
to STR Global, there are 50,000 rooms in the pipeline. Moreover, a number of local and global
brands – including Accor, Berggruen Hotels, Carlson Rezi-dor, The Gateway, Ginger Hotels,
InterContinental Hotels Group, Lemon Tree, and Starwoods – are adding inventory in the
economy and mid-scale categories in an effort to attract a wider pool of domestic travelers.

However, the online hotel segment in India is rather under penetrated, with only 10% of hotels
accepting bookings online, while the overall user-base of people seeking information on hotels
online was very high. As per a TNS/Google survey, conversions still take place offline. We
believe, as more consumers become familiar with e-Commerce, the percentage of online hotel
bookings in India should increase.

While hotel data may not be as lofty as air data, the figures are soaring. Occupancy rates have
been improving, touching 59% in May 2015, up 8% YOY. While Average Daily Rates (ADRs)
continue to decline YOY, the magnitude of these declines has lessened, with several instances of
positive growth recorded in recent months.

10
LITERATURE REVIEW

11
2.1 Understanding Online Travel Agencies’ Cost Drivers and Ways to Optimize Business –
2010.

This White Paper reviews the results of an independent research study of Online Travel Agencies
(OTAs) conducted in Europe from November 2008 through to July 2009 by Hermes
Management Consulting (Hermes). The financial data used in the study is from 2008. The
research was commissioned by Amadeus in order to: • Better understand average revenue and
cost structure of the OTAs • Analyze OTAs business models, processes, cost drivers and
productivity levels • Understand OTAs needs, identifying opportunities to add value and
optimize business A similar Activity-Based Costing (ABC) study was carried out in Scandinavia
in 2006. This time the scope was widened to include five OTAs from France, Germany and the
Netherlands as well as Scandinavia. This innovative study will open windows of opportunity for
European Online Travel Agencies. The purpose of this paper is to communicate the results of the
research, and offer recommendations on how OTAs can improve their margins and better meet
the needs of their customers.

2.2 Business plan analysis of a new venture for an online travel accommodation reservation
service - Bernadette Maxwell, 2011 simony Fraser University.

This paper is business plan analysis for developing a niche online travel agency business. The
entity is in the very early stages of setup, and the initial service will provide online reservations
capabilities for accommodations and other services targeted to golf and ski activity based
travelers. The paper examines the online travel agency industry, and performs a competitive
analysis of the main competitors in the industry, as well as the niche players looking to capture a
similar market niche. The paper also reviews market segmentation, and analyzes the behavior
and needs of the target market to determine if the development of this service will be a viable
business. Lastly the paper examines the operational considerations of establishing the business to
provide the services, and to operate the business successfully.

2.3 The Impact of Brand Image on Consumer Behavior

The concept “brand image” has drawn significant attention from academics and practitioners
since it was put forward, because it played an important role in marketing activities. Although
brand image was recognized as the driving force of brand asset and brand performance, few
studies have elaborated on the relationship between brand image and brand equity. Based on the
brand image theories, this study reviewed extant studies about the impact of brand image on
consumer from perspective of customer equity. It also presented the shortcomings of current
research and pointed out the trends for future study.

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2.4 The study of brand credibility and brand awareness as positive predictors for brand
loyalty.

Dr. Aqeel Ahmad, 2 Naveed Ahmad, 3Muhammad Nadeem 1, 2 Department of Business

Administration Lahore Leads University, Pakistan 3 Mari Petroleum Company Limited, Karachi.

This research study investigates methods of brand loyalty through brand credibility and brand
awareness. Simple random sampling method and Structure questionnaire were used for data
collection. Data was analyzed through SPSS. The findings of this research study showed that
brand loyalty has been observed to have positive association with brand credibility and also with
brand awareness. This research study will help managers and policy makers in designing an
efficient branding strategy.

2.5 FUTURE OF AIR TRAVEL INDUSTRY: RELATION OF GROWTH AND

CONSUMER SATISFACTION Mansoor Nazir Bhatti, Muhammad Imran Qureshi and
Khalid Zaman Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information
Technology, Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The present research paper investigates the airline industry’s present and future states in relation
to growth and consumer satisfaction. The approach of investigation is secondary data analysis.
The sample of the data is collected from various sources from official websites to books and
scholarly journals. The U.S. and European airlines are included in the data for analysis because
of their history and expansion globally. It was found in the research that both the U.S. and
European major airlines have constantly reported either losses or marginal profits in recent
history. However, on the other hand, low-cost carriers have mushroomed in both the markets
because of their effective marketing strategies. However, it must be noted that major airlines’ as
well as low-cost carriers’ future is unpredictable and many see both of them in danger because of
increasing oil prices. Overall, the growth chances for low-cost carriers are much higher in both
U.S. and European air travel markets and beyond like Africa, Asia Pacific, and Middle East. It is
the major airlines from both the settings that are seen to be facing critical challenges in the recent
future. For which supply and demand is one single area that must be taken into serious
consideration by these airlines because it is this area that has been historically overlooked by
major airlines.

13
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY &
DESIGN

14
PROBLEM STATEMENT

Every company at its initial phase or the starting phase has to go through a rigorous
brainstorming to set itself up in the market. A well planned business strategy needs to be either
adapted or developed to first set up itself and then to sustain in the market. Thus Business
Development is the term used for this particular purpose. Company has come into existence to do
business, thus everything possible needs to be done to develop and expand its business. UdChalo
as a start-up is also focusing on its business development and for the same has hired the
employees as well as interns to do the work. The brand is new in market, thus an awareness
program so as to reach the target customers is going on.

This report presents the analysis of UdChalo’s Business Development Strategies and studies the
brand awareness of the company.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The scope of the present project ranges from creating awareness regarding the company and its
functioning to enlarging its customer base. The objectives of the project includes: evaluating the
market size by first understanding the low cost carriers there evolution in India with comparative
shares and business diversification. To understand the data on passenger forecast, PESTEL
model, Porter’s Five Forces of Competition, study the long term sustainability of the company
through SWOT Analysis. Further understanding the role of online portals and concessional ticket
providers to understand the estimated revenue generated and its usefulness in the airline industry
would be studied. Understanding the new startup company and its advantages and disadvantages
with checking its growth trend and evaluating logical flow model, verbal model, model of sales-
advertising relationship, and a brief descriptive comparison of services with competitors and
Survey report on web portal preference for airline concessional ticketing.

OBJECTIVES

To study the brand awareness of UdChalo. (Questionnaire)

To ascertain the Market Potential for the UdChalo.(Comparison with other airlines and platform)
To focus on the customer perception of Private Life Insurance.
To understand the market trend of the Online Travel Agencies.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study on the “Business Development Analysis and Brand Awareness”, focuses on the
strategy a startup adapts to boost its business. It involves the descriptive study of the step that the
company took to spread the awareness about the company and its services. The study also

15
analyzes the macro-environmental factors that have an impact on the organization through a
PESTEL Analysis.

SWOT analysis helped in identification of the potential of the start-up in the market. The study
has also used the PORTER’S FIVE FORCES Framework to analyze the competition of this
business.

RESEARCH DESIGN:-

The research design refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the different
components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you will effectively
address the research problem; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and
analysis of data.

This report adapts the naturalistic observational research design to study the online air travel
industry, and the potential of it in Indian market. Thus exploring the possible opportunities for
start-ups and thus commenting on the business development strategies they adapt to sustain in
the market.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of study. It
comprises the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with a branch
of knowledge. Typically, it encompasses concepts such as paradigm, theoretical model, phases
and quantitative or qualitative techniques.

Methods of Research

There are two approaches to conduct a research:

Qualitative Approach- in Qualitative approach, the researcher analyzes the objective and
studies it on the basis of a previous case study or a grounded theory. Usually, this approach is
used in routine business scenarios. Some of the most popular qualitative research methods are
ethnography, grounded theory, biology, case study and phenomenology.

Quantitative Approach- This approach adopts experimental and computational methods. The
conclusion is reached after following the rigorous process of observation made from
experimentation performed on the object. Some of the most important quantitative techniques are
inferential, simulation and experimental.

16
3.1. MARKETING THEORIES – PESTEL ANALYSIS

Here PESTEL Analysis has been discussed briefly. The discussion also includes the PESTEL
Analysis for the aviation industry and then for the UDCHALO as a company.

A PESTEL analysis is a framework or tool used by marketers to analyze and monitor the macro-
environmental (external marketing environment) factors that have an impact on an organization.
The result of which is used to identify threats and weaknesses which is used in a SWOT analysis.

PESTEL stands for:

P – Political
E – Economic
S – Social
T – Technological
E – Environmental
L – Legal
Let’s look at each of these macro-environmental factors in turn.

All the external environmental factors (PESTEL factors)

Political Factors

These are all about how and to what degree a government intervenes in the economy. This can
include – government policy, political stability or instability in overseas markets, foreign trade
policy, tax policy, labor law, environmental law, trade restrictions and so on.

It is clear from the list above that political factors often have an impact on organizations and how
they do business. Organizations need to be able to respond to the current and anticipated future
legislation, and adjust their marketing policy accordingly.

For Aviation Industry:

1) Open sky policy

2) FDI limits: 100% for Greenfield airports

74% for the existing airports

100% through special permission

49% for airlines

For Udchalo: Defense and paramilitary is the target market of udChalo. Army has a huge role to
play in the success of the company. Political factors thus affect directly the growth of the
company. Like if army headquarter for any reason orders its people to stop buying tickets from

17
online agencies and others, the market for the company will be lost and company may come to
the termination point. Thus political relations is the major concern for the company.

Economic Factors

Economic factors have a significant impact on how an organization does business and also how
profitable they are. Factors include – economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation,
disposable income of consumers and businesses and so on.

These factors can be further broken down into macro-economical and micro-economical factors.
Macro-economical factors deal with the management of demand in any given economy.
Governments use interest rate control, taxation policy and government expenditure as their main
mechanisms they use for this.

Micro-economic factors are all about the way people spend their incomes. This has a large
impact on B2C organizations in particular.

For Aviation Industry:`

1) Contribution to the Indian economy-since the industry is operating in Indian economy, the
revenue generated by the company adds to economy

2) Rising cost of fuel-the fuel price is rising because the subsidies government is providing are
being taken off.

3) Investment in the sector of aviation

4) The growth of the middle income group family affects the aviation

Sector-in today’s world with increasing income of middle class, people prefer to go by air
because it saves time at is all new a different experience.

For Udchalo: Army people have a decent pay package. Thus they can easily afford to travel by
air. Economy of the country may rise or fall but it doesn’t affect the salary of the army personals,
thus the market remains unaffected for this concern. But with thr fluctuations in economy the
prices of the flight tickets also rise and fall, the high rise in prices will affect the market of the
company as people are of middle class and thus won’t be able to afford the excess high prices for
travel.

Social Factors

Also known as socio-cultural factors are the areas that involve the shared belief and attitudes of
the population. These factors include – population growth, age distribution, health

18
consciousness, and career attitudes and so on. These factors are of particular interest as they have
a direct effect on how marketers understand customers and what drives them.

For Aviation Industry:

1) Development of cities leads to better services and airports-metro cities first had airports but
with development of the country new airports are being built up.

2) Employment opportunities-the aviation sector provided a lot of employment opportunities

because the industry is so vast that a lot of people can be employed

3) Safety regulations.

4) The status symbol attached to a plane travel.

For Udchalo: Army people are generally not so concerned about the luxury but safety for their
family. And also lot of cultural factors affects their decision to plan for a travel.

Technological Factors

We all know how fast the technological landscape changes and how this impacts the way we
market our products. Technological factors affect marketing and the management thereof in three
distinct ways:

New ways of producing goods and services

19
New ways of distributing goods and services

New ways of communicating with target markets

For Aviation Industry:

1) The growth of e-commerce and e-ticketing is now adopting the airline companies for the
facilities and services to the customers.

2) Satellite based navigation system is the most advanced technological factor.

3) Modernization and privatization of the airports.

4) Developing green field airports with private sector for example in Bangalore the airport
corporation limited.

For Udchalo: With the change in technology the customer needs to educated about the changes.
Army people are generally not so aware of the technological happenings in the society as thy are
busy with their job. Thus company need to make sure that they make their customers up to date
about the services and the changes in the technology in the industry to make them comfortable.
In this way company gains their confidence too.

Environmental Factors

These factors have only really come to the forefront in the last fifteen years or so. They have
become important due to the increasing scarcity of raw materials, pollution targets, doing
business as an ethical and sustainable company, carbon footprint targets set by governments (this
is a good example were one factor could be classes as political and environmental at the same
time). These are just some of the issues marketers are facing within this factor. More and more
consumers are demanding that the products they buy are sourced ethically and if possible from a
sustainable source.

For Aviation Industry:

The increase in the global warming due to increase in the number of aero planes flying in the air.
This makes bad effect on our atmosphere.

20
2) The sudden and unexpected behavior of the atmosphere and the dependency on whether.

3) Shortage of the infrastructural capacity

4) Tourism saturation.

For Udchalo: Not every area is facilitated with airport. Majority of army people come from
backward and rural areas. Thus this is one of the factor that make people go for trains and not for
planes, thus affecting the sales of the company.

Legal Factors

Legal factors include - health and safety, equal opportunities, advertising standards, consumer
rights and laws, product labeling and product safety. It is clear that companies need to know
what is and what is not legal in order to trade successfully. If an organization trades globally this
becomes a very tricky area to get right as each country has its own set of rules and regulations.

For Aviation Industry:

1) FDI limits

2) Bilateral treaties

3) Airlines acquisitions and the leasing cost.

For Udchalo: Company shouldn’t hide any information from the customer. Neither it should
misuse the information of the customer. Army is very critical matter thus needs to be handled
carefully.

3.2.2 PORTER'S FIVE FORCES MODEL

One important component of industry and competitive analysis involves delving into the
industry’s competitive process to discover what the main sources of competitive pressure are and
how strong each competitive force is. This analytical step is essential because managers cannot
devise a successful strategy without in-depth understanding of the industry’s competitive
character.

Even though competitive pressures in various industries are never precisely the same, the
competitive process works similarly enough to use a common analytical framework in gauging
the nature and intensity of competitive forces.

Two things determine your company’s profitability- the industry in which it competes and its
strategies position in the industry. Some industries have inherently low profit potential while

21
others are highly profitable. The most profitable companies have a strongest competitive position
in a profitable industry. The poorest companies have weak positions in weak industries.

The following write-up is a view of the Indian airline industry from these five angles leading to
the expected changes in the coming years in the underlying structure of the Indian airline
industry.
THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS

Threat of new entrants is another major aspect of the five forces. This aspect has a low threat for
the airline industry. There are two aspects that do however raise the threat level. First, there are
extremely low switching costs. Second, there are no proprietary products or services involved.

Even with these two aspects the industry still has a very low threat overall. Existing firms have a
large cost advantage. This industry requires a large amount of capital and without a strong
customer base there will be little to no profit in the first few years. Existing firms can and will
use their high capital to retaliate against newer firms with whatever means necessary such as
lowering prices and taking a loss.

THREAT FROM SUBSTITUTES

This industry has a medium substitute risk level. There are substitutes in the airline industry.
Consumers can choose other form of transportation such as a car, bus, train, or boat to get to
their destination. There is however a cost to switch. Some means of transportation can be more
costly than a plane ticket. The main cost is time. Planes are by far the fastest form of
transportation available. Airlines surpass all other forms of transportation when it comes to cost,
convenience, and sometimes service. Consumers do sometimes choose other methods for various
reasons such as cost if they are not traveling very far which raises the risk.

Government policies affecting the attractiveness of alternative modes of travel or communication

affect the impact of substitutes on airlines. Cumbersome security procedures on airports make air
travel less attractive.

RIVALRY AMONG COMPETITORS

The last area of the five forces is the rivalry among existing players. The rivalry in the airline
industry is very intense for many reasons. The industry is currently very stagnant. It seems to be
in the mature stage of the business cycle. The number of competitors stays the same in the long
run and it doesn’t seem to be under or over capacitated. The fixed costs are extremely high in
this industry. This makes it hard to leave the industry because they are probably in long term
loan agreements in order to stay in business. The products involved or the planes are highly
complex which also heightens the competition.

Competition among major players is extremely intense in many aspects. Switching costs are
generally low, even though companies have tried to increase switching costs with the use of

22
"frequent year" programs. Highly competitive industries generally earn low returns because the
cost of competition is high. This can spell disaster when times get tough in the economy.

Rivalry among existing firms in this industry has increased over the last 15 years as market
liberalization has led to increased competition. The low fare airlines have been able to lower the
prices of airfares through their business models focusing on price leadership forcing full service
airlines to also lower their prices to avoid losing more market share.

The issue of competition will not be explored more in-depth in this section as it will be analyzed
more comprehensively in the competition analysis later in this thesis.

BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIER

Next we look at the bargaining power of the suppliers. In this case the major suppliers are the
airplane manufacturers. The top two manufacturers in the world currently are Boeing and Airbus
(Odell, Mark). In this industry the inputs are extremely standardized. Airline companies only
seem to differentiate with amenities. The planes are very similar. Currently some manufacturers
are trying to make their plans more eco-friendly.

Airline companies cannot easily switch suppliers. Most firms have long term contracts with their
suppliers. Planes are such high capital products that firms probably make long term loan
agreements and have more favorable credit terms when they don’t switch companies. It is
difficult to enter into the plane manufacturing industry because of the capital needed to enter.
The amount of money and expertise needed to make even one plane is around 200 million
dollars. For this reason there are very few suppliers in the airline industry. Airline firms are the
only source of income for these manufacturers so their business is extremely important. Based on
these things the bargaining power of suppliers has a low threat as well.

BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS

The airline industry is made up of two groups of buyers. First, there are individual flyers. They
buy plane tickets for a number of reasons that can be personal or business related. This group is
extremely diverse; most people in developed countries have purchased a plane ticket. They can
do this through the specific airline or through the second group of buyers; travel agencies and
online portals. This buyer group works as a middle man between the airlines and the flyers. They
work with multiple airline firms in order to give customers the best flight possible. Between
these two groups there is definitely large amount of buyers compared to the number of firms.

There are low switching costs between firms because many people choose the flight based on
where they are going and the cost at the time. This is some loyalty to firms but not enough for
high switching costs. Each customer needs a lot of important information. They need to know the
details of what is provided during the flight. Buyers need to understand the timing of the flight
and the safety aspects of flying in general. The service provided is unique. Each airline has a
niche. Some airlines focus on cost, while others focus on having the best amenities, etc. Overall
the bargaining power of buyers has an extremely low threat in this industry.

23
3.2.3 SWOT Analysis of Airline Industry

STRENGTH
Fastest transportation service.

Highly trained staff.

Ticket pricing is on the hand of players.

No substitute for international travelers as efficient as airlines.

Concentration on customer satisfaction.

WEAKNESS

High maintenance cost.

Labor intensive industry.

Directly dependent on some other industries like tourism and corporate travelers.

High wages paid to the staff.

OPPORTUNITIES

Percentage of people travelling in airline is increasing gradually.

Increase in per capita income will generate more passengers to airlines.

Air line can be used for cargo.

Large Untapped Indian market.

FDI‟s in Indian airline industry.

THREATS

Raising fuel costs.

Exchange rate fluctuations.

24
Taxes imposed by the government.

High competitive industry because of large number of players.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

Key success factors describe main parts of performance that are important for the firm to achieve
its objectives and mission. Top level management absolutely considers these factors daring the
setting overall goals. These key success factors give a widespread knowledge for the entire
company. Therefore, any action that the firm commences must make sure constantly greater
performance in these key parts if not the firm may not be competent to accomplish its goals and
theses may full to achieve its mission. In the service/ airline industry, predominantly the capital-
intensive, the key success factors are described below.

Strong Management:-

There must be strong management of everything that is advantages for the organization. The
airline has at all the time evaded, disdained and vogue everything that may increase costs and
makes difficult the basis travels plan. Management ranks are inclined, healthy compensated and
significantly productive.

Thus to cope with the fluctuations in the prices of the tickets, the agency needs to be always
ready. A strong management is obviously is the matter of concern in that case.

Capable Workforce:-

Highly qualified and competence workforce is very essential in this industry or service oriented
industry. They must possess strong communication skills and soft spoken with customers. There
must be training programs focusing to enhance their abilities and skills and this campiness must
be customer focused and they cannot leave the organization and create difference.

Service Promotion:-

The promotion in this industry is mainly targeted to enhance the base of loyal customers and also
focused to the regular high-revenue customer. As for udChalo, Armed Forces Personals and their
dependents, Ex-servicemen are their customers, thus the service promotion has to be carried out
in the army cantonments.

Financial Management:-

Thriving management of this factor facilitates agencies to regulate investment for growth. There
is accountability of the unit revenue to compute the profitability. This is calculated by revenues
minus all the expenses divided by the total seats or tickets sold.

25
Efficient Management of Cost:-

Maximizing revenues by implying creative and competitive, pricing structure to attract all the
profitable segments and sustaining frequent and profitable customer base is most important key
success factor for this industry. Efficient management cost by focusing on the price hedging
during volatile periods and maintaining fuel procurement is an important factor.

FINDINGS
&RECOMMENDATIONS

HOW I DID THE STUDY/WORK?

THE APPROACH

26
I preferred a formal approach to reach the military bases. There were certain steps involved in
the way I used to go;

If you have contact number of any officer in charge of a unit then it becomes easy to approach
them. Like, I got the contact number of Deputy Commandant of The Pioneers so I called him
first, fixed a meeting with him and then met him.

Once I have set a meeting or asked for time, I visit him, brief him about the company first. I used
to start with the company’s introduction followed by the motives of the company and then
services provided by the company.
My main focus or task was to convince the officer to allow me to give the presentation to his
troop.

So I used to tell him the benefits we have for the soldiers, how the company is directly involved
in the welfare of the army people.

The company itself has been started by the army brats so it became easy to win the confidence of
the officer.

Once the officer is convinced, he will give a date and time for the presentation to the troop.

On the given day and time, I used to be there half an hour before to make all required
arrangements.

THE PRESENTATION

Presentation to the troop has to be in a language understandable to them. So I chose to deliver in

Hindi. For me an army men is always a respectable person, I greeted every man of any rank with
a ‘Sir’. Following are the points about my conducting of presentation:

Before starting my presentation I used to distribute the leaflets of UDCHALO first.

I used to start with my introduction followed by Company’s introduction.

In Company’s introduction: I used to start with the inception of Company, tell them about the
people who started it, why it was started? What is the motivation behind? Etc.

I told them about the problems that our soldiers used to face and still face today while travelling
by a train.

Cited the example of Srinagar Convoy attack and our Delhi Counter’s helpful deed, to make
them relate to the company and prove them the trustworthiness of our company.

I told them about all the points we have about our services.

27
In some presentations, I even demonstrated them the procedure of booking a ticket and also
showed them the comparison of prices in our website (after verifying it at my level off course
because in few cases our Indigo Fares are Rs. 50-100 more so need to make sure what you are
demonstrating is in your favour.)

Explained them the potential of the company’s objective and the future benefits company will
provide in a long run.

At the end of the presentation they used to ask questions and I would answer them.

MAJOR QUERIES BY THE CUSTOMER

The Q/A Sessions after the presentation were the most productive part as far as the customer
needs are concerned. I was asked lot of questions regarding the Company and its services. Their
queries made me deduce the status of image of our Brand in their minds. Following were the
major queries:

The first and foremost question was regarding the need of army number for login. People
initially felt insecure about sharing their army number. So they used to ask that why do we need
to share the number? It can be misused and all. I explained them why we ask for army number? I
told them that it is just to check the authenticity of the user, so that no civilian could login to our
website and check the prices. I explained them how this process goes in back end and how their
identity is totally safe. People at times found very less discount. I explained them the reason
behind that.

They also enquire about the mobile application for which I told them that we will come up with
it soon.

LTC Claim was one such question which never went off the scene. There were lot of queries
regarding that. I explained them with the help of examples. They felt very good about it.

They also queried about the modes of booking. They liked the offline or counter booking option.
They wished to have one counter in their unit too.

Apart from these there were many other queries about which I have written in my Progress
Sheet.

THE COUNTER EXPERIENCE

For 30 days I operated at the Sainik Suvidha Parisar Booking Counter at Bareilly of
UDCHALO. This gave me an opportunity to directly have an interaction with the person coming
to book tickets. This allowed me to study his behaviour while buying a ticket. Following were
with the observations made by me while sitting at the counter:

28
Most of the bookings at Bareilly Counter were by the Indian Army. Army People are very
careful about spending money. When they used to come at the counter to enquire about the
prices, they used to ask lot of questions, they will check prices for many dates just to see when
they can get the ticket for lowest price. Thus to handle such customers, the operator has to be
patient and calm. He needs to understand the customer well. Enquiring is their job and answering
is yours.

Counter Person has to be smart enough to generate the sale. For example, when an Army men
used to come for ticket booking, they would ask for a particular date’s evening or night but if I’m
not getting the satisfactory price for him on that day evening I used to check for the next day
midnight after 12am. There is a chance that there might be a flight at 2 or 3pm and they are ready
to take it thus I converted them into sale. This is a simple and common tactics one should follow.
There were few customers who were not so conscious about the price but about the comfort and
safety. They will see the safety of the stations and time as well. Such customers are needed to be
handled with care.
Treat every customer in a way that he will return back to you next time without thinking of going
somewhere else.

A person coming for the first time at the counter will ask lot of questions but then if he is treated
well, from next time he would be more comfortable and thus ultimately become your loyal and
regular customer.

At the counter, we are lacking in attractive posters that would attract them to the services of the
company. There should also be some informative posters where there is information about the
company and its objectives.
Photo frames of Company’s establishment, or awards or recognitions on the wall of the counter
helps in building confidence of the customer.

CONCLUSIONS

This report has been extracted from the keen observations of the industry. To brief the report, we
conclude with the points that tell about the industry situation and its necessities. Some of the
observations are as follows:

There is a demand to increase the FDI flow into the country, to run the operations.

The readymade future for acquisitions and mergers.

Due to the reason increase in travel expenses the tourism and the hospitality sector is undergoing
huge pressure.

The business people and delegates opt for other source of communication like video conference
in order to escape the travel alliance burden.

In the domain of competition the air traffic is not at all considered by the airlines.

29
There is a huge rise in expectations due to the rapid growth.

The variation between profit and the revenue is large.

Thus this report has covered the study of the potential in the online travel market, the scope for
the start-ups and the trend in the industry. The company at present is working hard to establish
itself in market and thus the business development phase is moving at a good phase.

The brand awareness program that company took for the promotion of the services and the brand
had shown the impact on the sales of the company. The company would continue the same at
different locations and thus will get benefited from the same with the significant increase in the
sales of the flight tickets through the company web portal.

RECOMMENDATIONS

After completing my internship of 45 days, made few suggestions to the company as per
experience during this period.

Customer care services: Customer Care is the part of an organization that bridges the gap
between the customer and the company. Even when I was in Bareilly, people used to complain
that they could not reach customer care and thus used to call me. This is the serious issue, even I
experienced it when I was at the counter and needed to call customer care pune, it was very
difficult to connect to them.

We need to make this thing strong and have a good and quite large enough response team there
at the customer care centre. Even today after months, I get calls from them that they failed to
contact customer care or counter operator, I from side could only let the counter person Amit
know this and forward their queries to him. But the thing is because of this we are losing our
customers. They get frustrated at times. It’s hard to retain them once gone.

Awareness Program: Like what we did in our internship, it needs to be continued in other major
cantonments or military bases. It’s very important to reach our customers, tell them about the
brand and its services.
Follow Up: During summers, the interns did the job of spreading the awareness about the
company, they could win at most of the places, and they could win the confidence of the people,
now the company needs to ensure that they follow up it well. Constant contact with the army
units through banners, posters, emails or in person talk with the new Officers In-charge if they
get change, would help a lot.
Build a Brand Image: Our Brand Image should be of a company that works for the army welfare
and solely concerned and focused on generating the profit. We need to work towards this as our
customers are emotional and simple.
Mobile Application: There were many people who asked about the mobile application, so if
possible company should go ahead to develop one, because customer is directly asking for it so
it’s their need and if we give them they might not to go somewhere else.

30
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANAYLISIS.

UTTARPRADESH Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

5995 9632 12176 18017 18062 19505

Gorakhpur 17 21 43 29 49 53

GTC Varanasi 112 101 184 368 426 260

4 Inf Div Allahabad 112 95 138 205 198 152

Lucknow
AMC Records (Faizabad) 3220 5409 6915 10431 11047 10987

Kanpur 117 149 198 390 461 460

6 Mtn Div Bareilly 19 31 41 59 73 90

Meerut
9 Inf Div, 2 Inf Div, and
9 Corps Moradabad 241 305 528 1147 1110 892

Para Brigade Agra 2002 3428 4092 5969 4949 6769

Aligarh 0 13 32 51 32 63

1 Corps Mathura 0 14 26 34 19 42

31 Armd Div Jhansi 11 16 22 30 33 32

Lucknow and Agra have the major contribution for online hits.

31
BOOKING COUNTERS PAN INDIA.

32
After Sales Service: make people feel like a family. Wish them a happy journey on the day of
their journey. Bring them offers they would love to accept. Build a relation with them.

Feedback: A feedback form can be mailed them for getting their feedback about the services.
Also, we can call them after their journey to take their feedback as not all use mail service
frequently. But feedback process has to be there to check on the weak points.

Being a startup, company has a great potential to grow provided the strategies planned are well
executed. We need to think of long run. And for long run initial investments has to be made.

4.4 LIMITATIONS AND SCOPE FOR FURTHER STUDIES

This report has focused on studying the potential in the online air travel market in India.
However, the company studied under has the very limited market. Its market is limited to Armed
Forces of India. Thus, the study has basically explained the potential in this market followed by
the opportunities for such-startups. The Business Development Strategy of this start-up cannot be
concluded as for general start-ups because of the limitations in its market.

The study has a scope to explore the other opportunities in online Travel Agency Market in
India. Further study on the topic could help in coming up with the best other possibilities and
potential markets.

33
 References

1. www.wikipedia.com
2. www.brandstudy.com
3. www.businessforum.com
4. www.developmentanalysis.com/startup/strategy/anaylsis
5. www.marketing.com/tools/pestel
6. www.marketing.com/swot

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