{"id":4869,"date":"2015-12-09T16:37:15","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T21:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/singapore-airlines-service-excellence-at-low-cost\/"},"modified":"2015-12-09T16:37:15","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T21:37:15","slug":"singapore-airlines-service-excellence-at-low-cost","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/singapore-airlines-service-excellence-at-low-cost\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore Airlines: Service Excellence at Low Cost"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When Singapore Airlines (\u2018SIA\u2019) took delivery of the world\u2019s first Airbus A380 in Toulouse (Oct 07), it cemented its status as one of the world\u2019s leading airlines for innovation and customer service. Singapore Airlines has won Conde Nast\u2019s Readers\u2019 Choice Award a remarkable 27 out of 28 times, yet it also operates with some of the lowest costs in the full service airline industry &#8211; an industry notoriously difficult to succeed in, characterized by fierce competition, high fixed costs, cyclical demand and vulnerability to external shocks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SIA Business Model:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Singapore Airlines is the national air carrier of the small island-state of Singapore (population 5.4M) carrying 18.7M passengers annually. It is positioned as a premium carrier dedicated to providing air transportation services of the highest quality whilst giving priority to profitability over size. Singapore Airlines currently operates passenger services to over 30 countries in the world with 105 aircraft.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best-in-Class Operations in a Tough Competitive Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to the International Air Transport Association (&#8216;IATA&#8217;), the global aviation industry suffered $31.7B cumulative losses during the period 2001-10. A separate study (also by IATA) found that on average full service carriers had cost per available seat kilometer of 8 to 16 cents in Europe, 7 to 8 cents in the US and 5 to 7 cents in Asia. By comparison, SIA\u2019s average cost during the period 2001 and 2009 was 4.57 cents.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i4tsk12in2b2y7uts14c528g-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/table.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4861 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i4tsk12in2b2y7uts14c528g-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/table-300x211.png\" alt=\"table\" width=\"462\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/table-300x211.png 300w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/table-600x422.png 600w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/table.png 771w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a>A few specific elements of SIA\u2019s operations and organization have enabled SIA to achieve this paradoxical achievement of service excellence at low cost:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Heavy and continuous investment in human capital<\/li>\n<li>Rigorous approach to customer service design and innovation<\/li>\n<li>Investment strategy, particularly in relation to fleet<\/li>\n<li>Culture of relentless cost focus<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Investment in Human Capital<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>SIA invests heavily in human resource management processes \u2013 with training lasting an average 4.5 months, more than twice as long as the industry average. The higher investment in training covers wine appreciation, interaction style and poise, with equal weighting placed on understanding the airline industry and the need to be cost competitive. The higher quality of service provided to customers creates a virtuous cycle, as service excellence promotes customer loyalty, lower turnover and therefore reduced customer acquisition costs. Furthermore, with profit-consciousness engrained in all members of its staff, SIA empowers frontline employees to come forward with ideas for improvement (known as the Staff Ideas in Action programme). It is not uncommon for cabin crew to come forward with more cost-effective ways of serving champagne in first class.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rigorous Approach to Customer Service Design and Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>SIA\u2019s service development department undertakes research, trials, studies and mock ups to assess customer reaction in order to ensure that a service innovation can be effectively operationalized and is supported by the appropriate procedures. The Company also recognizes that competition that does merely come from the airline industry but from all service industries, thus it employs broad benchmarking against the best in class service companies. Examples of SIA\u2019s service innovation include SIA\u2019s legendary first class suites, the first all business class flight and pre-flight individual meal selection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fleet Investment Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i4tsk12in2b2y7uts14c528g-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/A380.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4859 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i4tsk12in2b2y7uts14c528g-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/A380-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"A380\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/A380-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/A380-600x336.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/A380.jpg 736w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Investment in aircraft one of the biggest investments for a full service airline. With an average age of 85 months, SIA\u2019s fleet is one of the youngest in the world, compared with an industry average of 148 months (Singapore Airlines, 2013). \u00a0The newer aircraft supports SIA\u2019s strategy of premium service, whilst benefiting from lower repair and maintenance costs as well as lower fuel consumption. A younger fleet also supports higher utilization, allowing longer flight time per day and hence lower cost.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Relentless Focus on Cost<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A relentless focus on cost and profitability permeates throughout SIA. Whilst anything that touches the customer has to exude quality and be consistent with premium positioning, anything below the line of visibility is subject to rigorous cost management. For example, SIA\u2019s headquarters are simple and functional, epitomizing the drive for internal efficiency. SIA also outsources where possible to lower-cost countries \u2013 ticketing and payroll processing, for example, is outsourced to an Indian provider.<\/p>\n<p>In an industry where bankruptcies are commonplace and competition is rife (including from low cost carriers), Singapore Airlines\u2019 business model has proven highly successful and is supported by strategic and operational alignment throughout the organization.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cntraveler.com\/galleries\/2015-10-07\/top-international-airlines-readers-choice-awards\/20\">http:\/\/www.cntraveler.com\/galleries\/2015-10-07\/top-international-airlines-readers-choice-awards\/20<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2010\/07\/the-globe-singapore-airlines-balancing-act\">https:\/\/hbr.org\/2010\/07\/the-globe-singapore-airlines-balancing-act<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Singapore_Airlines\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Singapore_Airlines<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.singaporeair.com\/\">http:\/\/www.singaporeair.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>LEK Aviation Insights Review Executive Insights, Volume XIII, Issue 23<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Singapore Airlines: Achieving Sustainable Advantage Through Mastering Paradox&#8217; Loizos Heracleous and Jochen Wirtz, The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 2014<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Business Strategies in Asia: A Casebook&#8217; Singh, K., Pangarkar, N. and Heracleous, L. 2013.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an industry where bankruptcies are commonplace, Singapore Airlines soars above the rest by achieving the paradox of premium service at low cost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":880,"featured_media":4870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-4869","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/the-tom-challenge-tom-winners-and-losers-assignment\/","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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