Analysis of Competition Approach of Charter Airlines In Turkey According to The Miles and Snow’s Competitive Typology

The air transportation sector is one of the most strategic and vital sectors of the country in terms of economy (foreign trade, foreign-based income, etc.) and especially tourism; so it is critical that the industry be competitive and remain competitive both in the domestic and global markets. Nevertheless, the question of how Turkish airline companies deal with national and international competition and how they determine their competitive strategies is uncertain and has not been adequately addressed in the sectoral or academic context. There is also no clear and comprehensive literature in this regard. In this study, competitive approaches of the charter airlines making passenger transport were researched. By this means, charter airlines position in Turkish transportation present structure and competition of industry was also indirectly demonstrated. In the framework of this study, all charter airlines (Freebird, Corendon, and Tailwind) carrying passengers certified by Turkish General Directorate of Civil Aviation were included in the sample. In the survey, the data were gathered through qualitative research by interviewing senior executives of the airlines with structured questions. The secondary data used for the introduction of airlines were obtained from the internet sites of airlines. As a result of the interviews, it was concluded that an airline company appeared as Analyzer and the other two as Defenders in terms of competitive approaches according to the Miles and Snow Competitive Typolog