BACKGROUND
When the first scheduled flight of Malaysian Airlines from Singapore landed in Penang, on May 1947, the legend of Singapore Airlines officially started. When both Malaysia and Singapore became independent in the mid 1960s, the asset of the airlines was divided and two separate airlines were created. Singapore Airlines first flew under its own colors in October 1972. SIA was state-owned with 54% of Government stock. In 1973 a subsidiary company, Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) was formed to perform ground handling, catering and related tasks. SIA being one of the world’s 10 biggest airlines, it worried weather it could continue to attract increasing numbers of international customers. It was worried weather it could hold into their customer oriented image and what technological innovations it could implement to achieve that goal.
CASE SYNOPSIS
The case describes how Singapore Airlines (SIA) evolved from a fledging player in the 1960s into an industry leader in the airline industry. It focuses on the branding strategy followed by Singapore Airlines (SIA). It also explains the role of the company's marketing icon - 'Singapore Girl' in its branding strategy and the various strategies undertaken by the airline company to maintain the brand's consistency throughout the years passed and to come.
KEY ISSUES
• What technology based services should be developed to improve the customers’ experience in the air?
• To what extent could more comfort and entertainment be provided, and how could the first and business class facilities be differentiated from the ones in economy?
• Could an “office in the air” actually work?
• How could all these ideas be consolidated and affected so that Singapore airlines would be the tech ...