Airline Business Management Report

Introduction

Aviation provides a major network of transportation across the world and it is significant for the development of global business and enrichment of tourism. It offers a major service that has significant economic and social benefits, thus contributing to economic growth (Doganis, 2017). Air transportation is responsible for the fast movement of individuals and cargo across the globe. Management of airline business refers to the administration of airlines and airports. It covers the activities of coming up with strategies or airports to collect and provide information on the airline operational and commercial priorities. It also takes more than moving travelers between airports to include scheduling, aircraft maintenance, customer service, staffing, as well as security among others (Doganis, 2017). This report is going to focus on a mid-air bomb hoax of a Singapore Airlines (SIA) Mumbai-Singapore flight and analyze the security protocols relating to this incident.

• Company Background of SIA

A1. Describe the Subsidiaries

Scoot is the subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. It offers cheap flights between Australia and Singapore, China – Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan – China, Thailand, Korea, Japan, and China. It is noticeable with its unique flying attitude, making the trip memorable among passengers. It operates a fleet of Boeing 787-9 and 787-8 aircraft (Singapore Airlines, 2021).

A2. Describe the Destinations

Singapore Airlines fly to more than 130 destinations across the globe. This helps it being passengers closer to the places and people they care about the most. Its destinations are divided into six regions namely; America, Europe, Southwest Pacific, West Asia, and Africa, North Asia, and Southeast Asia (Singapore Airlines, 2021).

A3. Describe the Fleet Size and Type

By February 2021, the airline operates a fleet size of 134 Boeing and Airbus passenger aircraft from six families. These types include Boeing 737-800 NG, Boeing 777-300ER, Airbus A380-800, Boeing 787-10, Airbus A350-900, and SilkAir fleet. It also has seven Boeing 747-400 cargo aircraft (Singapore Airlines, 20121).

A4. Describe the Service Range

The airline offers services in five classes including suites, premium economy class, first class, economy, and business class. Suites contain a seat revolving around the passenger, personal time at all times, a world of your own, personal screening, let the fingers do the talking, absolute luxury, refined fine dining, and touch up before touch down (Singapore Airlines, 2021). First class contains private space, extra-wide seats, temper lighting, Book the Cook, and KrisWorld inflight entertainment. The business class entails a Book the Cook and uninterrupted sleep. The premium economy class comprises room to stretch, all within reach, premium economy Book the Cook, KrisWorld inflight entertainment, and priority treatment. Finally, the economy class entails seats designed to give the passenger more personal space (Singapore Airlines, 2021).

A5. Describe Flight Schedules

SIA is currently flying in its six regions with specific countries. The airline flies to its South East Asia region in countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Brunei. The countries in the North Asia region the airline flies to are Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong SAR. West Asia and Africa countries include Bangladesh, South Africa, the Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. European countries the airline flies include the UK, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, Russia, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Denmark. The Americas region includes the United States (Singapore Airlines, 2021).

• Literature Review

In regards to bomb threats, Singapore Airlines Group and the Singapore Government responds through;

B1. Response 1

Pilot raising the bomb threat alert. In this case, the pilot notifies the passengers and air control about the threat and waits for further direction.

B2. Response 2

Reporting the threat to law enforcement officials

The air control reports the incident to law enforcement who will then advise the crew n what to do to manage the situation.

B3. Response 3

Searching the aircraft. The airline crew will search the aircraft to look for the threat.

B4. Response 4

Obtaining clearance to a new destination. Air control will advise the pilot on the nearest airport to land the aircraft.

B5. Response 5

Disembarking passengers and taking them through security screening. Passengers disembark safely from the plane and they are screening takes place to check for any possible threat among the passengers (Wallis, 2013).

• Stakeholder Relationships

C1. Describe the Role of the Following Stakeholders in Relation to the Incident

• SIA’s Management/Executives

Communicating about the threat and assisting authorities with their investigation as well as provide adequate details.

• Members of Public

Raising alarm in case they believe there is a threat on the aircraft.

• SIA’s passengers

Disembarking safely from the plane and undergoing security screening before leaving.

• Changi Airport Group

Raising the bomb threat alert to law enforcement officials and safely landing the aircraft at the airport.

• Government Authorities

Searching the aircraft for any suspicious item, safely escorting the plane to the airport, carrying out security screening, and questioning the passengers before they could leave.

C2. Applying Stakeholder Theory

SIA’s management/executives play the role of organizing, planning, leading, and controlling all the business operations of the airline. As a result, they work to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their employees, projects, processes, and the organization at large (Freeman, 2015). The members of the public are impacted by the airline through economic development, job creation, and safety. The airline has helped the community regarding employment, spending in the area, and incomes (Freeman, 2015). Changi airport group provides air transportation services from the airport to other destinations across the globe (Freeman, 2015). Government authorities play a role in ensuring the safety of travelers.

• Analysis

D1. Leadership

Regarding the leadership qualities SIA’s leaders can use to reinforce security, communication skills can prove significant to ensure the staff can effectively communicate the security protocols to passengers (Warris et al., 2018). Decisiveness is another quality that SIA’s leaders can use to reinforce security protocols by encouraging staff to make tough choices relating to security regularly. Also, responsibility quality can be used to ensure that staff understands they are in charge of the security of the passengers. SIA’s leaders can use creativity quality to encourage the staff to come up with creative solutions when they are faced with security challenges. Commitment can be used by the leaders to encourage staff to be committed to ensuring security protocols are reinforced (Warris et al., 2018).

D2. Ethics

The pilot faced the dilemma of the right of information whereby he chose to raise the alarm about the bomb threat which would have scared the passengers. Also, the pilot and crew never permitted external pressure, in this case, bomb threat, or their influence their judgment or knowingly do anything which would have jeopardized flight safety and instead ensured the aircraft landed safely at Changi Airport (Patankar, 2020). Additionally, they faced the dilemma of either disembarking the passengers safely upon the aircraft landing instead of telling them to run for their which would have caused commotion or stampede. Moreover, when disaster struck (bomb threat) they took whatever action they deemed necessary to protect the lives of passengers instead and landed at Changi Airport the Tuesday at 8 am instead of asking the air control to land at the nearest airport despite the threat being reported on Monday 11:35 pm local time (Patankar, 2020). Furthermore, the pilot and crew ensured the safety of other people whereby after landing at Changi Airport, a search was conducted to search for any suspicious item by the police while they had the option of just not notifying the law enforcement officials.

• Recommendations

SIA should use technology to detect hidden bombs. The security of airlines are dependent on a significant mixture of technology, intelligence information, as well as security officials. Therefore, the latest bomb detections technology tends to be significant in enhancing security. The technology can indistinctively sound alarm incase bomb has been suspected (Price, 2012). The devices to detect bobs can significantly enhance SIA’s capacity in detecting hidden bombs prior to them being brought on the aircraft (Price, 2012).

In regards to passengers, SIA should also use devices to trace or detect vapor or residue from explosives on the hands of passengers. The devices can screen the tokens and documents handles by passengers. Additionally, Sia needs to utilize a walk-through checkpoint for screening the same as metal detectors. These devices will utilize this technology in detecting vapor and particles from bombs on the clothing and the air surrounding the passengers (Price, 2012).

Conclusion

The aviation sector plays an important role in economic growth through the movement of individuals and cargo across the globe. In regards to the company background of Singapore Airlines, its subsidiary is scoot, it operates in six regions (America, Europe, Southwest Pacific, West Asia, and Africa, North Asia, and Southeast Asia), it has a fleet size of 134 Boeing and Airbus passenger aircraft from six families, has five classes (economy, class, premium economy class, business class, first-class, and suites). The responses regarding bomb threats include raising bomb alert threats, reporting to law enforcement officials, searching for the threat, obtaining clearance to a new destination, and disembarking passengers. The different stakeholders SIA play a crucial role in the business operation of the airline. The leadership qualities that SIA’s leaders can reinforce to staff include communication skills, decisiveness, responsibility, creativity, and commitment. SIA’s pilots and crew are faced with several ethical dilemmas regarding the incident and it mainly concerns the safety of the passengers. The recommendations that SIA should implement are the use of technology to detect concealed explosives and using devices to detect vapor or residue from explosives on passengers.