Saudia Airline Case Study

Introduction

The airline business is considered one of the most robust and high risk business which is associated with thin profit margin, high fixed costs, high capital expenditure and government regulation which has been a significant hindrance to free airline pricing and policies (Ansari, 2015). Coupled with business instability and taxation the airline business requires a high level of management and technology investment to remain viable and profitable for organizations such as Saudi Airlines. The breathtaking technology today plays a significant role in the overall business competitiveness. The growth of trade and tourism globally has expanded the number of potential destinations for Saudi Airlines which has been instrumental in the organization growth and further investment (Harteveldt, 2016). Nations today to participate in the global economy requires a stable and dependable airline service which has been a critical motivation for Saudi Arabia to invest in the Saudi Airlines and also create a viable environment for international trade (Ansari, 2015). Through protective regulations, subsidies and infrastructure development Saudi Airlines has become one of the key carriers in the Middle East. Given the stiff competition that is present in the airline industry, customer service is considered to be the most significant part of the services offered by airlines. According to Izogo, & Ogba (2015), exemplary customer service can be achieved by enhancing the productivity of the employees including even the ones who do not directly interact with the customers. Saudi Airlines have gone through various transformations that have helped it evolve to become a global airline. This report will assess Saudi Arabia investment in technology in both the booking system and the checking system and the future recommendations which can be used to improve the overall Hajj experience and convenience (Ansari, 2015).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Saudia Business Units

Apart from operating the air carriage services and cargo transportation Saudia Airlines Catering plays a significant role in providing essential services for travelers. The catering business unit is well established, and the airline has gone significant reforms in the recent past which has been key to the overall business performance and competitiveness in the Middle East and the world at large (Ansari, 2015). The Saudi government has significantly invested in Saudia Airlines by developing infrastructure and market liberalization which has been vital towards overall service provision for the Hajj-related services. Saudia has been able to attain the status of a low-cost carrier after the market liberalization which significantly facilitated growth. In 2015, the organization expanded its fleet by acquiring Airbus and Boeing planes which played a significant role in making the airline a key player in Hajj traveling business (Saudia. n.d). Besides, the Saudi Arabian government has significantly invested in the construction and upgrade of airports, and there is a plan in place to expand the King Abdulaziz International Airport to expand its overall capacity by 2035 which will significantly improve Saudia operations (Saudia. n.d). The changing of the Saudi Arabia market from a monopoly to a competitive aviation market has been vital towards the modernization of Saudia processes and acquisition of new technology.

The launch of the inflight catering by Saudia in the 1980s played a significant role in the development of the overall service quality which led to expanded services. The ability to provide inflight meals improved efficiency for the Hajj pilgrimage travelers and the catering unit has since expanded to cover external airlines (Saudia. n.d). In 2006 Saudia divided its operations into strategic business units which have been vital in service automation and improvement (Saudia. n.d). The catering services were the first to be privatized, and in 2007 the strategic business units were turned into companies. In 2012, Saudia received 64 new jets which boosted the overall business especially after the organization entry into the Sky Team (Saudia. n.d). In 2015, Saudia added another eight aircrafts from Boeing and in 2016 the airline entered the low-cost business through the creation of a subsidiary (Flyadeal) (Saudia. n.d). In 2012, Saudia invested in the creation of Saudia Information Technology Unit which was the beginning of the organization automation, and in the same year, the airline implemented a Best Fixed Networking Implementation (Saudia. n.d). In 2013, Saudia initiated a pre-flight information bulletins program which improved the overall functionality of the stewardesses and the stewards. The Saudia system has been vital in providing information on the airline flights which has improved the global service delivery (Saudia. n.d). Another critical technological milestone for Saudia was the establishment of the Smart Technopark and in 2013 at the same time, Saudia was able to shift to the Amadeus revenue accounting and booking system and became the first airline to use the Amadeus system (Saudia. n.d). The airline operates a universal telephone number and an email account which it uses to receive complaints and proposals from customers and has been vital in the airline operations. Besides, the organization operates e-commerce systems in conjunction with Amadeus through the Smart Technopark which is operated by Saudia and helps the organization to device aviation systems (Saudia. n.d). The Alfursan Program introduced in 2013 offers the customers more benefits and has been instrumental in improving the overall services experience and loyalty for its Hajj pilgrimage customers (Ansari, 2015). The Saudia Information Technology department has been instrumental in major organization transformations in terms of offering automated services and has led to seamless services. As of 2016, Saudia performed extremely well in terms of air service automated systems in its airport which has been able to ease traffic and regulations which has improved the overall customer experience.

Literature Review

According to Kujanpaa (2015), booking systems development has rapidly increased due to the rapid development of technology which has made it possible to make reservations and booking over the internet. Different booking systems are already in place today, and they are used to improve the overall consumer experience in different sectors such as restaurants, hospitals, airlines and education institutions. Kujanpaa (2015) notes that developing a booking system is a complex activity because the system should be able to fit into the needs of every situation that the system is designed to operate in and every situation is different which means that booking systems are unique and dedicated systems. Flexible booking systems are more , and the design of the booking system should be simplified and logical to satisfy both the user and the organization employing the booking system. Kujanpaa (2015) assesses the key issues and elements that developers encounter when creating a booking system and notes that the booking systems can be very simple or very complicated and depends on the user characteristics and the organization needs.

The type of booking system according to Kujanpaa (2015) depends on the situation where the system will be used, and any mistake in choosing a booking system can be catastrophic to a business by chasing away customers and also causes undue difficulty to the employees who operate the system. In this case, Kujanpaa (2015) confirms that an excellent booking system should be able to complement the needs and resources of the customers who will use them to acquire services. In this case, an ideal booking system is accessible usi9ng multiple devices and not limited to a single device which could be a limitation to many potential consumers. When developing a booking system today or choosing a booking system for an airline, it is crucial for an organization to consider the security of the system due to the growth of cyber insecurity as well as the design aesthetics expectations of both the consumers and the operators (Kujanpaa, 2015). According to Li, Cao, & Meng (2017), booking systems should be electronically integrated to improve the overall convenience and management of the respective organizations. Li et al., (2017) agrees with Kujanpaa (2015) that a booking system should be aimed at improving an overall organization potential efficiency in service delivery. The airline reservation systems have been instrumental in the global aviation business by enhancing the total convenience, reducing the cost of transactions and improving customer accessibility to airline services. The airline reservation systems were introduced decades ago and have been instrumental in flight inventory control, maintenance of the flight schedules, aircraft loading and even assigning seats to customers. Therefore, the automatic reservation systems have increased the access to comprehensive suite products to the airlines. There are different reservation systems in place and airlines are at the liberty of choosing any system that best meets their needs. The reservation systems are highly flexible and can be adopted by all types of airlines regardless of the size of their operations. Today, reservation systems are highly advanced with improved functionality and security.

The online booking system as one of the processes of Saudi Airlines is an essential process because it helps the organization to maintain the passengers' information for business purposes (Saudia. n.d). The management of the organization can manage the knowledge of the clients for any emergency for cases such as flight cancellation or delay due to various challenges such as weather problems. The organization can also use customer information to track the inclination and the travel sequence to keep the passengers updated (Alghamdi, 2017). Consequently, the online ticketing system also enables the customers to have better planning of their journey because the system provides a more agile access mode because they can make flight bookings by phone calls and even over the internet. Passengers can make reservations in a more natural and faster means in the light that they can book air tickets from anywhere as long as they are accessed to the internet even if they are overseas (Alghamdi, 2017). The online booking system utilized by Saudi Airlines does equally reduce the customer effort in rescheduling their trip as it could diminish the searching effort and it can also reveal all the probable itineraries available for the pair of origin.

Th...