The Strategy Director at Vueling Airlines, Franc Sanmartin, holder of a degree in telecommunications from the UPC and an MBA from IESE Business School visited students on 9 July. These students are taking the Foundations of Business Strategy course as part of a double degree in ADE and Engineering at the Summer Business Academy. 

As part of this subject, taught by lecturer Jos Collin, Sanmartin created a game especially for this session: he divided the students into three airlines, which he called “Glorious Skies”, “Koala Air” and “Wolf Airlines” to had to compete over a period of five years.  Each one started out based on a different situation as far as profitability, market share and occupation of the entire aeroplane was concerned. Therefore, the airlines had three opportunities to take strategic decisions about the renovation of the fleet, the price of flights and hedging in relation to the future costs of jet fuel, etc.  

Therefore, students had the opportunity to put their business strategies into practice.  Sanmartin also described the basic strategic elements of commercial aviation and told a few anecdotes. For example, he explained why Vueling’s Excellence fare was offered and then withdrawn and also the preparation he undertook over a two-year period to act quickly in the hypothetical case that Spanair collapsed, which is what did happen in the end.