Analysis of Innovative Company: Dubai International Airport - Essay Example

Case Study: Dubai International airport of the Company Dubai International Airport Website: http www.dubaiairport.com/en/Pages/home.aspx Type of Company: International Airport, airline hub, service provider Location: Dubai Dubai International Airport, which is currently the second busiest airport in terms of international passengers, was the result of a visionary decision of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the then ruler of Dubai. Adoption of the open skies policy and building a new airport laid the foundation for immense success of the Dubai International Airport that it had later achieved. The aviation sector has generated almost 19% of the total employment in Dubai both directly and indirectly. The number of employees in the Dubai International Airport is 3400, with the annual passenger count being an approximate 47.2 million. The staff turnover at this airport is around 4% with the average service length of an employee being 9.2 years and 32% rise is observed in revenue per employee (Dubai Airport Yearbook, 2012). Dubai International Airport, as part of an integrated and holistic approach towards improving their customers’ overall experience, attempts to cater to the vastly diverse and cosmopolitan tastes of their international customers. These services include a large number of client airlines, customs and immigration, duty free shops and other retailers; ground services provider data, efficient security scanning, smart gates and lost and found. A unique concept of “silent airport” has greatly reduced the number of announcements made in the airport, only to be replaced by screens displaying the flight details in order to alert customers (Dubai Airport Yearbook, 2012). Dubai International Airport is ranked at 25 in 2014 as against 33 in 2013. The key competitors of the Airport are Singapore Changi Airport, Incheon International, Munich Airport, London Heathrow Airport and Hong Kong International Airport. The strong performance of Dubai Airport’s commercial portfolio has boosted the total revenue by 17% in 2013. Aeronautical revenue and commercial revenue rose by 12% and 23% respectively, thereby portraying a strong growth of Dubai International Airport (Martin, 2014). The organisational structure is explained with the help of a diagram below: (Source: CAPA Centre for Aviation, 2011) Innovative Strategies and Policies Dubai International Airport is constantly trying to improve passenger experience by incorporating innovative strategies in its work policy. In November, Dubai Airport in a recent partnership with TWSteel Watches and Dubai Duty Free had hosted a live pop-up concert by a headline recording artist, Kelly Rowland. The performance took the passengers as well as the airport officials by surprise and attracted immense attention on the social media as several individuals captured the concert on videos that were uploaded on different sites such as, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. This event added to the airport’s promotional activities along with enhancing experience of the passengers. Dubai International Airport had also partnered with Emirates Leisure retail (ELR) and Costa Coffee in order to globally launch Costa’s first 5-sense self-serve coffee experience (Dubai Airport, 2013). In 2012, Dubai Airport introduced the new age Virtual Assistant, which is able to respond to often asked queries like, location of the washrooms, check-in areas and departure gates. This facility will be incorporated for the first time in the world in Dubai Airport, thereby providing it with the First Mover Advantage. This state-of-the-art technology will be an improvement over the manual labour performing the same task. The audio-visual technology will give the illusion of a real person, instead of projecting static messages. This is a classic example of Dubai International Airport implementing a product innovation” as it introduced a completely new product in the airport catering to the customer’ needs. Dubai International Airport has fumed the “Information Zones” in all three of its terminals. These zones will help passengers find their way to the boarding gate by way of scanning their boarding pass (Future Travel Experience, 2012). There would also be 40-inch LCD touch-screens, where a passenger can access to useful information regarding restaurants, shops and other services. Trained staff will also be present in order to deal with any customer query. Kiosks are being set up where printed cards will be available (Haq, 2012; Smith, 2010). Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3 has done a process improvement whereby a new technology will be added so as to monitor and accordingly manage queuing times across the airport. The service delivery management technology helps the officials in managing queues at all main touch-points such as, immigration, check-in and security screening (Dubai International Press Release, 2012). This data will help to solve bottlenecks appearing in the airport operations by analysing an average passenger’s journey time. Technologies such as, Bluetooth sensors, thermal imaging and CCTV, will help airport officials to keep tabs on the number of passengers passing through the airport and their location at any given point of time (Dubai Airport Connect, 2013). Thus the Dubai International Airport has incorporated In a classic example of the implementation of functional strategy, the Dubai International Airport has made a technological innovation. It had a successful trial run of the new automated tray return machines and thus, installed the same at the security points in Terminal 3. These machines are capable of automatically circulating and arranging the security trays, which facilitates quicker passage of the passengers through the security check points. This new facility has been found to increase the movement of passengers by 42%, increasing the number from 280 to 400. The trays are made available to passengers approaching the security point and in addition, the screening tables placed at both ends allow the customers more time to prepare for baggage screening. Consequently, a smooth flow of trays through the x-ray machine is ensured and the delays are eliminated (Stall, 2011). The Dubai International Airport, hence, excels in its innovative strategies and regularly formulates newer ways to maximise customer satisfaction. Among their other innovations are Silent airport, Al Majlis VIP Service and an all-time operational cargo service. They have proved to be dynamic by way of offering effective solutions to customers after brainstorming from a different and fresh perspective. They do not tend to be controlled by the “conventional wisdom”, implying a situation where a company is held back by traditional approaches and stays away from innovations. The Dubai International Airport has implemented new and improved strategies that help improve customer experience (McGraw-Hill Education, 2010). Recommended Strategies The Dubai International Airport has over the years incorporated several changes and implemented many innovative strategies. However, the airport authorities can further improve the customer experience by making additional improvements to their system. The customer relationship management system can be enhanced so as to facilitate better coordination and cooperation among the employees as well as the passengers. A common platform that will address all customer queries and also solve customer discontent is greatly needed. Post sales customer service is very important and an integrated process will effectively heighten customer satisfaction and consequently draw more passengers. The airport management can also consider developing on the connecting opportunities by increasing the number of destinations that their flights connect. This measure will increase revenue as the number of passengers availing the airline will be greater. The existing shops should be equipped with better facilities so that the customers have a good shopping and dining experience. The Dubai International Airport can develop on its carrier service so that the passengers can avoid waiting too long for the luggage to arrive. This measure will improve customer satisfaction to a great extent as it often becomes difficult after a tiresome flight to further wait for the luggage. The airport authorities can also consider improving customers’ experience by creating a recreational centre for children at the airport. A place where parents can safely keep their children and continue with their work or visit the shops will have a double effect on increasing the revenue as well as the satisfaction levels. Reference List CAPA Centre for Aviation, 2011. UAE adopts new organisational structure to reform air traffic management. [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 July 2014]. Dubai Airport Connect, 2013. Technology to help monitor queues. [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 July 2014]. Dubai Airport Yearbook, 2012. Dubai Airports: Connecting the World Yearbook, 2012. [pdf] Dubai Airport. Available at: [Accessed 17 July 2014]. Dubai Airport, 2013. Dubai Airports: Connecting the World Yearbook, 2012. [pdf] Dubai Airport. Available at: [Accessed 17 July 2014]. Dubai International Press Release, 2012. DXB Leaps Into Future With Technologically Advanced Info Zones. [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 July 2014]. Future Travel Experience, 2012. Dubai Airports launches next generation Information Zones. [online] Available at: < http://www.futuretravelexperience.com/2012/04/dubai-airports-launches-next-generation-information-zones/> [Accessed 17 July 2014] Haq, R., 2012. Info Zones to replace Dubai Airport information desks. [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 July 2014]. Martin, G., 2014. The Worlds Best Airports For 2014. [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 July 2014]. Smith, D., 2010. Exploring Innovation. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. Stall, L., 2011. Dubai - an ‘obvious choice’ for Forbes. [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 July 2014]. Read More