Quality of Service Within Emirates Airline - Research Proposal Example

Quality of Service of Emirates Airline A Research Proposal Prepared by Prepared for An exploratory study about the frameworks of quality of service within Emirates Airline 1. Introduction Emirates Airline is a United Arab Emirates airline which is based in Dubai. Without any doubt, Emirates Airline is the biggest commercial airline within the Middle East. It has under its umbrella more than 2,350 flights every week, covering more than 97 cities during this period and 61 countries to which these flights make their journeys. On a broader level, it touches six continents of the world over a 7-day period. The company slogan ‘Fly Emirates, Keep Discovering’ is in line with the immense opportunities that come along with having a flight on the Emirates Airline. It is much more than having a mere flight. It is a bundle of different packages and offerings which will be discussed at a later stage. The cargo activities come under the arm of the Emirates SkyCargo label while the competitive ‘Kangaroo Route’ runs between Europe and Oceania. However Emirates Airline is based on Dubai International Airport and operates from Dubai solely when it comes to having a single base connecting with the rest of the globe. Emirates Airline was founded in the year 1985 and is an accredited airline company, coming under the fold of IATA, ICAO and Callsign. Its fleet size at the present is 114 which also includes Emirates SkyCargo and can take up to 246 orders. The parent company of Emirates Airline is The Emirates Group. Its CEO and Chairman is Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum while Maurice Flanagan is the Vice-Chairman and Tim Clark is the President of the Emirates Airline. In the dissertation, I will make analysis on checking the frameworks of quality of service when it comes to Emirates Airline. 2. Aims and Objectives The aim of this dissertation is to find out the extents to which quality of service has improved within Emirates Airline with the passage of time and also what are the initiatives that have been undertaken by the top management hierarchies of Emirates Airline to make the journey on Emirates Airline a safe and enjoyable trip. (Cameron, 2000) The objectives of the paper are to understand what have been the service level improvements and the new incorporations that have been done in Emirates Airline. Also the objective is to find out the strengths of Emirates Airline as per the competitors and how Emirates Airline competes with the top airlines of the world ever since it was formed in the year 1985. 3. Literature Review 3.1. Emirates Airline making it big worldwide With the passage of time, Emirates Airline has built a credible name for itself in the related industry and Emirates Airline is a name to contemplate in a serious fashion when it comes to IATA-approved airlines operating in domestic and international zones. More than half of the planes coming in and going out of United Arab Emirates have an Emirates Airline plane that is carrying out the service. What Emirates Airline has done in this period, ever since its inception in 1985 is to build a reputation of having state of the art quality levels in terms of service, innovation and safety mechanisms are in place to tackle any problems which might happen within the future. (Doganis, 2002) There is a vision within Emirates Airline that helps it understands its philosophy at all times and thus makes the dream of facilitating the millions of customers each year in a satisfied manner – more than any other airline company in the world. Because of these undertakings, it is the 10th largest airline company which is operating within Asia and 9th largest in terms of operations when one talks about the global perspectives. However in the Middle East region, it is the biggest without any doubt whatsoever. The international handling of affairs on the part of the top management of Emirates Airline is something to write home about since a lot of advancements have happened within the related ranks ever since it all started. Emirates Airline is a name to reckon with in the industry and will continue to be the same in the years to come since its working methodologies are most adept at handling different pressures and activities which are happening on the global front. (Balmer, 2003) 3.2. Service levels at par with the best airlines in the business Service is one aspect that needs to be studied in detail as far as the length of this discussion is concerned. For that, there has been an earnest effort to comprehend how Emirates Airline makes the same a possibility on a consistent basis, day in day out. (Smith, 2000) Also efforts have been made by the top management within Emirates Airline to understand the customer psyche before making any decisions on changing or revamping service levels, making an obsolete entity into a brand new regime and so on and so forth. Thus Emirates Airline is undertaking measures to improve its service in an out and out fashion so that it could compete with the best airlines in business and not only that but also the different modes of transportation which could include railway networks, bus systems, private cars and others. Innovation is a significant topic that comes under the related undertakings which are happening within the service levels of Emirates Airline. The innovative features help Emirates Airline stand head to head with the best in the business as well as leave an indelible impression on its travelers who are indeed its customers at the end of the day. This innovation aspect is pretty useful to the sustenance of Emirates Airline’s business since it provides a point of parity with the top airline companies in the world and a point of superiority when the talk goes out loud concerning the competing airline organizations operating within the Middle East region. 3.3. Service Innovation and the Introduction of new in-flight features Service innovation tackles competitive in-flight entertainment system known as ICE which was introduced in the year 2002 and is now a commonality for all the passengers, regardless of the passenger classes within the airplane. Also there are more than 1200 entertainment options within ICE (information communication entertainment) system which is a remarkable feat so to speak and matches with the top airline companies which exist in the world. Similarly, in the year 2005, Emirates Airline became one of the pioneers to introduce the Internet service in-flight. This marked the basis of getting on to the Internet bandwagon which was high-speed as well as up to date with the competing airlines in the business as they had introduced it by that time as well. (James, 2002) In essence, the Emirates Airline was the second airline in the world to present live international television broadcasts, which much like the Internet was a success that was at par with none other. Moving further ahead on the road towards attaining high-speed and unmatchable technology, Emirates Airline launched a new deal in partnership with AeroMobile, a mobile communications firm which offered the option to talk on the mobile phones whilst sitting in the luxury of an airplane. This was indeed something really new because before this launch activity, mobile phones were completely banned as per their usage in the airplanes and hence an activity of such magnitude marked the basis of a U-turn on the part of Emirates Airline. This deal was signed in November 2006 and exists to this day. It will keep on introducing newer technologies as and when they are deemed in line with safety regimes of the airplane operations, coming both under the IATA mechanisms and Emirates Airline vision. (Dennis, 2002) However the usage of mobile phones is allowed in selected Boeing 777s and this endeavor started in January 2007. Because of these features, Emirates Airline won the award of best in-flight entertainment in the year 2006 courtesy Skytrax. This was made possible due to ICE system which was introduced in the realms of Emirates Airline. It showed more than 500 channels including hybrid channels that included movies, music and news from all over the globe. Emirates Airline has planned an integrated feature of docking capability with Apple Inc.’s iPod portable music and video player. What this feature provides is a charging the battery utility as well as integration with the in-flight entertainment system presented by Emirates Airline itself. This provides an option to the travelers to have the luxury of using their iPods for playing music, watching television shows or viewing movies which are stored on the iPod. Then there is also the added feature of a control system within this utility that Emirates Airline is offering. In terms of the service improvements and coming directly under the technological umbrella, Emirates Airline has started on its own five star hotel and towers in Dubai on the Sheikh Zayed Road. 3.4. Catering Services Now coming to the discussion of in-flight catering services within Emirates Airline, one can estimate that a lot of advancements have been made in the relevant quarters. The Emirates Flight Catering Company has to its credit more than 5000 employees and they strive to provide in-flight catering and support services for a number of different airline companies which are present at the Dubai International Airport. Airline Meals is a significant division which comes under the workings of the Emirates Flight Catering Company and the same was inaugurated in the year 2007. (Author Unknown, 2006) This provides the capacity of having more than 115000 meal tray set ups per day. The advancements include the automation within the electric monorail system for carts as well as a bin conveyor system for the said equipment. Emirates Airline accounted for 22.3 million airline meals in the year 2006 alone and it is estimated that the year 2007 would have more than 24 million of the same. When it comes to services provided within the cabin department, Emirates Airline have made interesting announcements in terms of upgrades to its cabin and in-flight service since the year 2003. These upgrades started from the Airbus A380-800s in the year 2006 but moved on towards the Boeing 777-300ER at a later stage and currently they have achieved their mission of having state of the art and up to date cabin and in-flight services. However the remaining plans to upgrade the Emirates Airline fleet are under consideration. It is also a case in point that 31 Boeing 777-300ERs are operational by Emirates Airline which make journey towards London, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong and New York. 3.5. The Skywards Program and its Success When it comes to the Frequent Flyer Program, Emirates Airline has played a pivotal role at making this program an instant success ever since it was launched. Emirates Airline has a dedicated Frequent Flyer Program which is known by the name of Skywards. Emirates Airline is running this program in close cooperation with Sri Lankan Airlines as well as a number of other Emirates travel partners. What this Frequent Flyer Program Skywards offers is a chance to earn through flights that are undertaken on Emirates and Sri Lankan Airlines. The cooperation is also functional for Continental Airlines, Korean Air, Japan Airlines, Virgin Blue, United Airlines and South African Airways. (Werner, 2003) Within the methodological framework of Skywards are the gold and silver status tiers which provide a number of significant benefits to the travelers based on the miles that they have flown on annual basis. The different services that Emirates Airline provides in-flight as well as on the airports comprise of seating facilities, restaurant and hotel services, availability of newspapers and magazines, provision of computer terminals and television monitors, etc. However the segregation of travelers is based on the basis of the First Class, the Business Class and the Economy Class. The in-flight email server, a seat to seat chat server, library of movies, audio CDs and video games are just some of the many features that come directly under the heading of service quality which Emirates Airline has been providing ever since its inception in the year 1985. The Skywards program takes its basis from the Trusted Traveler Program which came in to its own when it was proposed by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives which allowed the facility to frequent fliers as they could be bypassed from lengthy security lines and checks if they carried an l. D. card with them which would show that they have already undergone a federally approved background inquiry and inspection. The “Trusted Traveler" program in essence was made to facilitate the frequent flyers that could include all the business entrepreneurs, government officials and employees as well as other selected individuals who could get their easy way off as regards to airport security checks. (John, 1991) The Trusted Traveler program is undoubtedly a good idea when we literally think about it in the first go, but it is also a source of problems on the part of the security people who are present at the airports and are responsible for everything as they are at the helm of affairs when we talk about security and its long checks. This program can have its disadvantages if say for instance a terrorist gets hold of a Trusted Traveler card, would he still be unstoppable. The same goes true if he is carrying some explosives or weapons on board, would the person be allowed to board the flight? There are serious questions that can be posed with respect to the Trusted Traveler program. I will come back to the Skywards program, as I find out that the benefits are there for the traveler’s taking. This program could work both for the ease of the flyers and the security staff but in addition to that there are some concerns, one being that it could open new flight security handicaps and burdens as well as furnish airlines with passenger information for marketing and promotion activities. On the other hand, the Skywards program would definitely improve the level of security at the airports by training resources on passengers about which the authorities know only a little about or who might just be a security risk at any conceived moment of time in the coming future. The single most benefit is that this program should lessen the troublesomeness of lengthy security lines and checks and re-checks as well as encourage corporate travelers to return to the respective airlines again and again more often. This Skywards program would also boost the marketing of the Emirates Airline as more and more people would opt for the carrier that provides them benefits no other airline matches. On the same note, travelers privacy would not get affected as people regard the same quite high on their personal priorities when they travel, especially in airlines. 4. Research Methodology Research methods play a pivotal role in the successful completion of any dissertation and for the sake of this thesis I have combined both primary data as well as secondary research so that the whole is a combination of both and echoes the true sentiments of the whole industry and more than that the Emirates Airline in essence. I will discuss the pertinent methods which are significant to the basis of Emirates Airline and how they will check for the service quality levels, existent in different Emirates Airline aircrafts at different airports of the world. I have chosen sampling as my preferred area of tool which would give me a good idea of having a dipstick measurement of the quality of service at Emirates Airline. This will comprise of having one-on-one interviews with the management and the travelers as well as the ones who have availed the Skywards travelers’ facility. I will analyze the data from all angles and would then go ahead with the tabulation of this data so that the results are conclusive and give proper evidence in terms of the quality of service employed at Emirates Airline. I will give explanations as per the exact features and services which have been installed within Emirates Airline and how they are making their way into the lives and journeys of the passengers of Emirates Airline and more so the ones who have availed the Skywards travelers’ program. Finally, I will find out as to how Emirates Airline fares in the global airline industry and what levels it is expected to reach in the next 5 years. I will look at the insight of Emirates Airline and thus find out the loopholes which could be plugged in the times to come, however consistent efforts are needed by the top management hierarchies. (Moscardo, 1998) 5. Approach to Writing up the Study I will find the manner in which Emirates Airline has made giant leaps in the field of providing high class airline services to customers spread all over the world. If this was not the case, Emirates Airline would not have been the leader in the provision of similar services, coming under the airline service regimes. Thus Emirates Airline knows how to do business in the most righteous of manners and this it does whilst keeping abreast of the ethical and moral norms which are there for the taking of one and all, as far as airline industry is concerned. Thus I believe Emirates Airline is providing service which is unmatchable at the best of times and this it provides while keeping an eye on the competitors, which are innumerable in reality. (Doganis, 2001) Not only are the airlines competing with the service regimes of Emirates Airline but also are the different modes of transportation and the hotel industry is a direct beneficiary of the airlines nonetheless. I am of the belief that it is a fact that Emirates Airline’s planes are new and provide almost all the features which come under high class quality levels, it is something that raises the level of Emirates Airline in a very clear cut manner. Moreover, the in-flight entertainment systems and the added efficiency of the cabin crew is something that speaks volumes of the Emirates Airline’s success in the long run. Further since the growth levels have increased, there are certain problems when one studies the features of the business class service. But then again specific actions are being undertaken which could look at addressing the gaps which have arisen in the wake of this unprecedented growth. On the whole, the quality of service that Emirates Airline offers is something that is quality out and out and majority of the travelers or the customers are happy with the undertakings that have been made within the ranks of Emirates Airline on a consistent basis. I would add new debates and conclusions which have been made by critics the world over in the wake of the growing rise of Emirates Airline and how this is marred with controversies every now and then. In addition, I would outline the strengths, the grey areas as well as the ones which hold potential for Emirates Airline to grow as a booming airline in the next 5 years or so. 6. References Doganis, Rigas. (2001). The Airline Business in the Twenty-First Century. Routledge Doganis, Rigas. (2002). Flying off Course: The Economics of International Airlines. Routledge Werner, Cynthia. (2003). The New Silk Road: Mediators and Tourism Development in Central Asia. Ethnology, Vol. 42 James, Jeffrey. (2002). Information Technology, Transactions Costs and Patterns of Globalization in Developing Countries. Review of Social Economy, Vol. 60 Smith, Pamela Ann. (2000). Dubai Gears Up to Shop. The Middle East Cameron, Nadia. (2000). Exclusive: Asias Best Airlines. Business Asia, Vol. 8 Author Unknown. (2006). Service Is Key to Our Success, Says Emirates. The Birmingham Post (England), April 27 Moscardo, Gianna. (1998). Embracing and Managing Change in Tourism: International Case Studies. Routledge Dennis, Charles. (2002). Marketing the E-business. Routledge John, Peter St. (1991). Air Piracy, Airport Security, and International Terrorism: Winning the War against Hijackers. Quorum Books Balmer, John. (2003). Revealing the Corporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding, and Corporate-Level Marketing: an Anthology. Routledge Word Count: 3,182 Read More