Four Corners
We welcome three new contributors to our all-important Four Corners section of the magazine and send our sincere thanks to Tim, David and Pat for all their invaluable input over the last few years
MIDDLE EAST To reinvent, or to reinvest? Linda Celestino
General manager inflight services, Oman Air
“Successful change requires significant investment of
financial resources and/or inspiration”
INDIA India to enter top-five aviation nations Zafar Siamwala
Chief operating officer Oberoi Flight Services
Doha, India and Mauritius “India flies into 2012
- a challenging year - towards sustained growth and opportunities”
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www.onboardhospitality.com
India promises to be among the top-five aviation nations in the world in the next 10 years. It is exploring opportunities to improve connectivity and enhancing the number of flights by Indian carriers to various international destinations. Domestic air traffic has quadrupled from 13 million to 52 million passengers and international traffic tripled to 38 million in the last decade. The Indian aviation sector has become a major driver for prosperity, development and employment. Massive investments in airport infrastructure have led to world-class airports. The sector, with a growth of 18 per cent in the domestic market, is expected to generate around 2.6 million jobs.
Air transport in India has
attracted foreign direct investment worth US$423.31 million and the reduction of taxes on jet fuel and permission to divest 26% of the stake in Indian carriers to foreign airlines is expected to boost passenger traffic and growth. King Fisher Airlines and Air India Express have been facing difficulties in terms of sustenance and are looking to the government to pull through these tough times. Meanwhile, full-service carriers are reducing offerings and passenger benefits, (considered wasteful expenses and privileges), to increase their yields and reduce costs. International carriers see India as a booming economy and
would like to tap into this growth with an increased market share, despite operating in complex and convoluted regulatory systems. Due to growth and less extensive systems of water ways, air transport in India is here to stay and has become a challenger to the country’s extensive rail system. Traveller statistics have proven
that low cost , efficient and timely travel are the main reasons for choosing flight as a mode of travel, be it for business or pleasure trips within India. The year 2012 will be an eventful
one and will be watched by the world to determine how this sector sustains and creates further opportunities for all.
With many airlines in today’s turbulent markets competing for industry attention and customers’ cash, the question on the lips of those charged with leading airline innovation – in terms of the organisation itself or the product and service it delivers to the customer – is this: to carefully reinvest or to take a risk and reinvent entirely? Some airlines that were once dominant are now struggling to survive, and significant time and investment is being made to identify what makes the difference between a success story in the air and a failure on the ground. Of course there is a story behind each of these successes and failures.
Sometimes it is one of fantastic ideas, leading product and service innovations and inspirational management. Sometimes it is a story of ideas that flopped, stale products, tired service philosophy and disconnected management. However it’s always a story about change – in the airline industry, the economy or in an organisation itself – and successful change requires significant investment of financial resources and/or inspiration. With huge aircraft orders being placed by airlines in the Middle East and elsewhere, how much money is left to reinvest back into the customer experience? And how much inspiration is left within airlines’ think tanks to reinvent
the experience via organisational change or innovatory products? Customers are the ones who determine the real value of innovations because they pay for them, so smaller airlines, where management has a direct line of sight to their customers and employees, have the advantage. Larger airlines, with many layers
of decision makers, divisional complexities and a fast-increasing employee base, can become removed from their customers and employees and tend to fall back on past experience. In many ways, their task is far more challenging. So, who in 2012 will we see reinvest, and who will take the vital leap to reinvent?
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