Emirate Airlines Customer Service

What follows in this report is a review and summary of the customer services aspect of Emirates Airline. The firm in question has most certainly established a name for themselves and there is the common refrain about how adept they are. Even so, there are opportunities for them to get better and all firms should commit to a culture and mindset of continuous improvement, fettering out what problems what do exist and finding common sense solutions for dealing with the same. Regardless of what problems are found, there need to be evidence-based and realistic solutions put forth, and that shall be the goal of this report. While Emirates Airlines does a lot of things well when it comes to their customer services, they could do even better and strive to do so whenever possible.

Before getting into the minutia of what should change and why, there should first be a summary of the current state of affairs and level of performance that Emirates Airlines presently attains. Only with the definition of what is currently going on and what is currently deficient can there be clarity and specificity about what should change and why those things should change. There are a few details and facets of the airline that should be defined right up front. First, Emirates Airlines is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group. As many might extrapolate from that statement, the airline is based in Dubai in the country of the United Arab Emirates, or UAE. Rather than being a private firm, the Emirates Group Parent is actually owned by the Dubai Investment Corporation of Dubai, which is a governmental group. The airline is the largest airline in the Middle East. There are three to four thousand flights a week and the airline travels to nearly 150 different cities in roughly eighty different countries around the world. They have a concurrent cargo operation known as Emirates SkyCargo. In terms of the world as a whole, Emirates Airlines is the fourth-largest airline in terms of passenger volume and the second largest in terms of cargo traffic. The airline was created due to some discord an dproblems within the Middle East airline industry during the 1980's. Their planes come from the usual aircraft makers in the world, those being Boeing and Airbus. The airline's most direct competitors are Air Arabia, Qatar Airways, FlyDubai and Etihad Airways (Bloomberg).

Even with its fairly short life span as compared to other airlines, Emirates Airlines has actually done quite well for themselves in terms of performance and reputation regarding the same. For example, a 2010 survey of airlines companies found that Emirates Airlines was the best among them. The companies that were compared in this survey were some giants of the industry, including Swiss Air, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France and the aforementioned Qatar Airways. Overall, Emirates Airline was one of only two airlines in the survey to surpass the 90% mark, coming in at 92.3%. The other 90-plus airline was Etihad Airways, who had 91.5%. Swiss Air had 86.6%, British Airways had 84.3%, Virgin Atlantic had 79.8%, Air France had 72.3% and Qatar Airways brought up the rear for the group with 71.5%. A good swath of the customer services and options were looked at for the survey and they included the check-in process, baggage drop, boarding, the conditions of the plane, the food and beverage services, the other services provided during flights, the disembarking process and final baggage claiming after the planes are emptied. It is quite impressive for a firm like Emirates Airlines to score so well given the rather thin profit margins to be had in the airline industry and the stiff competition that exists within the same. Digging deeper into the results, there were a few interesting data points to mention. First, just over a third of all passengers were greeted by name upon boarding. Given that the name of the passenger is on the boarding pass, this is something that Emirates Airlines could absolutely do more of so that there is more of a "personal" and warm touch when interacting with the passenger. Even with that, all of the travelers generally felt that the crew had a "warm and genuine nature" when it comes to the way they interact with guests, whether names are used or not. Of the entire group, roughly 79% (close to four out of five) were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience. About a fifth (21%) experience departure delays but all of the survey-takers felt that they were "completely safe and in good hands". Nearly three fourths (71%) said that they would fly with the airline again based on the experiences that they had with it. Given the 90-percentile score and the 70-percentile for "would fly again", there has to be some reason for that gap. That would mean one in four would not fly again, for whatever reason. In addition to the greeting by name option given above, the airline clearly needs to reduce delays when possible (although some delays are unavoidable) and there should be further drilling down on why those 25% of people would not fly again, whatever that may be (Sambridge).

A more authoritative review and source on the matter of improvements that Emirates Airlines could use comes from Harvard University. Their analysis, done in 2016, centers on one of the major catalysts of public opinion. Of course, that catalyst would be the internet. In fact, the authors of the Harvard study assert that the internet is one of the major factors that is to blame for the poor service quality that exists in the airline industry as a whole. However, they also say that Emirates is one of the airlines that resists that overall trend that causes the service at other airlines to suffer. Indeed, they point out a few things that Emirates Airlines has done in the last ten years to remain or become modernized as compared to the rest of the industry. For example, they started offering inflight connectivity via GSM band internet access in 2008. They later improved that by offering a full-on Wi-Fi option. They were also among the first airlines to use Customer Relations Management, or CRM for short. The way in which Emirates Airlines implemented the technology allowed the crew and administrative staff to update and use customer information on a real-time basis. This information includes customer preferences, any history of complaints from said customer and even seat upgrades at the last minute once all of the other passengers are otherwise accounted for and settled. One of those items, that being the complaints, is a great way to address the issue with one in four people not wishing to fly again, as mentioned with the last source. In addition to taking in complaints that are willingly offered by customers, the airline can also induce and ask for surveys to be taken via email, smartphone apps or some other medium so as to get a larger and more complete picture of how customers feel about the airline and performance. Regardless of what is done with that, the real-time nature and the ability to be more spontaneous and on-the-spot rather than slow and lagging is a huge advantage to have over airlines that cannot or will not leverage such technology (HBS).

Another technological marvel that Emirates Airlines has made heavy use of would be what is known as IOT Baggage Management. This technology makes of use of beacons that are then used to locate bags and cargo. Further, the beacons can or will be used to verify the presence of life jackets and other emergency or otherwise necessary equipment without the need to physically inspect and verify their presence. Of course, this makes the airline more efficient and speedy when it comes to overall service. Even with that being the case, a definite visual inspection of such things, at least once a day or once a week, is probably a good idea. There is the worry that the equipment itself may be defective and/or that the beacons might give a false sense of completeness and security when it is not fully warranted. Even so, anything that makes the airline more efficient without sacrificing customer service or quality would tend to be a good thing. Something that Emirates Airlines does a very good job with is known as its Flexible Cloud Infrastructure. This infrastructure is designed with the fact that the airline industry is very seasonal in nature. Meaning, there are a lot of ebbs and flows in the consumer demand. The customer service frameworks and personnel, as such, must scale up and down to match this so that there is no situation where the staff is short in supply while at the same time ensuring that there is not a glut of personnel and resources on hand. In other words, there should be the proper personnel and resources to handle the demand that is present . . . no more and no less. When done properly, there is a consistent and adept customer service style at all times irrespective of the demand levels and other factors present at the time. If done right, this should be seamless and transparent to the consumer, other than the enjoyment of the good service. The author of this report would offer that such consistency is important. Whether the airport is swarming with people or whether someone is on a red-eye in the middle of the night, everyone should experience a high level of service. As noted before, surveys and complaint logs can be used to detect inconsistencies and any issues with scalability and service structures (HBS).

The final overall dimension that Harvard uses when it comes to Emirates Airlines and what they do is the use of data, analytics and information services in general. Just a few of the dimensions that big data would touch is loyalty programs, more adept use and structure of mobile platforms and better price discrimination. As mentioned before, the margins in the airline industry are quite narrow. The just-mentioned loyalty programs are one major way to pad those usually slim margins (HBS) (Timm). However, those big data programs take the right management and massaging, to so speak, and that means that the analytics involved must be on point. Further, the data structures in place must be tailored in a way that emphasizes self-service when they are desired by the customer and direct support from a live voice or agent on a chat line when that is wanted. Emirates Airlines is wise to emphasize the online and mobile experience, which would include ticket purchasing, online check-in and information checking that comes to flights. Emirates Airlines is actually using these features and the mobile revolution in a way that helps things become and remain efficient. For example, if check-in time is about to close for a given flight and a passenger has not yet checked in, they can track where a passenger is if they have logged in to the applications mentioned above. They can judge whether or not the person will make it to the flight on time. If not, that passenger can be rebooked on a later flight and the seat that will not be filled on the current flight can be filled by a standby passenger in a more efficient and quick fashion. Another sly way that Emirates Airlines can use their big data features is to look at when there are repeat flights by the same passenger to the same airline. Indeed, such a pattern would typically mean that it is a work-related/corporate flight and thus sensitivity to prices being higher will tend to be lower. If Emirates Airlines can raise the price of a given flight by $50 to $100 and still make a sale, this can help pad their profits. Even with that, Emirates Airlines should be careful because even corporate passengers can be discriminating in nature and there are other options for the clients involved. As such, playing games with fares just because they can is something that Emirates Airlines should not abuse because it can rub some passengers the wrong way. At the same time, it is surely something that all airlines do to some degree and Emirates Airlines should pad their margins in safe ways when they can. If demand for a given route or flight is high, the price should go up because that is the way that supply and demand works. On the other hand, jacking up flights when people are getting out of town due to a typhoon/hurricane or something like that would be less than ethical (HBS).

In looking at service quality at Emirate Airlines, it would be useful to compare and contrast their performance with that of other larger markets around the world that Emirates Airlines is partially or fully involved with. Indeed, one of those markets would be the United States and North America at large. The larger market, obviously, would include the United States, Canada and Mexico. There is also the nearby Caribbean that includes the Dominican Republic, Cuba and a number of other nations that are commonly escapes for vacations and resort life. Emirates Airlines compares favorably to that rather large market. Business Insider is bold to say that "Emirates has portrayed itself as a classy, modern embodiment of the golden age of flight" (Zhang). Not too long ago, Emirates Airlines made the bold step to make an appearance at the US Open, the nationally known professional tennis tournament that happens in the United States. It was revealed via that display, which involved Emirates Airlines crew showing off their tennis skills, that Emirates Airlines recruits its personnel from around the world. There was an accompanying advertisement that invoked the "golden age" of flight, which was marked by flight being a niche or luxury expense rather than being something that a great many people enjoy. Indeed, they made an attempt to instill glamour and luxury into the flight experience. The historical comparison that is used by many is when Pan Am Airlines had its "golden age" in the 1960's. This obviously stands in contrast to the rushed, hurried and service-poor image that the airlines commonly has today. Emirates Airlines is obviously trying to buck that trend and thus this puts them in good company. One thing that has to be taken into account is that a trio of Middle Eastern airlines, those being Emirates Airlines, Qatar Air and Etihad, are heavily subsidized by the government to the tune of $42 billion. This is not to say that the American airlines, which include Delta, United and American, have never received any bailouts or other cash infusions, because they have. Even with that being the case, the service quality of the Arab airlines, Emirates in particular, is seen as being much better than the American airlines (Zhang).

In between the stellar survey results of 20109 and the Harvard review of 2016 is a treatise from the Forbes websites about Arab airlines and how they compare to the American ones. The initial comparison is between an American airline and an Arab one, with the latter being Etihad. Both of the flights were international in nature. The American flight had no separation between passengers, seats did not recline and the dinner was average in nature, per the author. By contrast, a comparable flight to Abu Dhabi had seats that reclined flat, a leg rest and the dinner was from no less than Spago's. A survey done in 2014, which happened to be the same one done in 2010 and as was mentioned from the Sambridge source, only has two nations from the same country. Indeed, both Emirates Airlines and Etihad were on the list. There were absolutely no American airlines on the list and only one from North America, that being Air Canada. The success of the three Arab airlines on the list, those being Qatar Airlines, Etihad and Emirates Airlines, have airports and associated resources that American airports often fall very short of. Qatar Airlines' home city has a city of less than a million but they do half the traffic of JFK Airport in New York City, and New York City has over ten million people. The home base of Emirates Airlines is similarly small but also similarly powerful in terms of customer service levels, market presence and quality of materials and food all of the way around (Rapoza).

To take full advantage of the deficiencies that exist in the United States market in terms of service and equipment quality, Emirates Airlines would be wise to pounce while they have a chance. It is possible that the American airlines will get their senses together and improve their operations. However, that will take time and United Emirates airlines is already ready and willing to take full advantage. They have done precisely that by ordering a bevy of Airbus A380's and equipping them using their style, which includes roominess and comfort. They have enough of the planes that they can do the fourteen-hour flight from Dubai to the aforementioned JFK Airport in New York City every single day. This was part of Emirate Airlines' larger expansion plan that was launched in 2008 ("Emirates' New York").

When it comes to customer relations and customer service, there are some aspects and opportunities that are not commonly discussed and assessed by many researchers and experts. One aspect that should not be skipped over when it comes to Emirates Airlines is their SkyCargo operations, as touched upon briefly at the onset of this report. The companies and people involved with the SkyCargo customer chain are just as much customers as the people that fly using regular commercial planes. As such, the SkyCargo systems and frameworks need to have the proper supply chain aspects and facets in place so as to provide the high level of service. This high level of service has and will continue to require partnership with forwarders and agents at every stop in the chain, whether they be internal Emirates Airline employees or people that work for other firms such as vendors, other airlines or the different airports in the chain ("Emirates SkyCargo")

Another recommendation that should be kept in mind by Emirates Airlines is to never forsake or release the grip they have on the market. There are many that say that Dubai is the "hub of the world". That is a lofty reputation to live up to. Even with that warning and caution, Emirates Airlines has done a good job to live up to it thus far. This was even true when the airline was new and nascent in nature. As noted before, Emirates Airlines was created in 1985. In its first twenty years, the airline grew at a very fast clip. Over that generation of time, they grew at twenty-five percent overall and they did not post a loss after the second year. Even if things have changed since then, they did not need any direct government funding to pull that off. Even with their obvious and protracted success up until 2005, it was not widely known outside of the Arab world how they were able to pull off such a performance coup. That being said, they surely came across problems and issues. However, they found a way to weather any storms they came across and they came out of the same looking somewhat to very good in the eyes of customers and industry advocates or other professionals. When pulling back the veil, there are a few traits and patterns that are quite obvious. The most important one when looking at the above is that the strategy and management process is quite "fluid" at Emirates Airlines. They are much more like a startup than an established company in this regard. The author of this report would caution against being too fluid and malleable. There needs to be the proper due diligence and assessment before shifting strategies. However, not being too bureaucratic and lumbering is a problem as well but it is obvious that this is not the problem that Emirates Airlines has. So long as they are not too wishy-washy or willing to change for change's sake, they should continue to thrive and succeed (Sull, Ghoshal & Monteiro).

As was mentioned before, the airline recruits on a global basis and they only want the best. The airline is not remotely homogenous in terms of race or culture. One might expect and Arab-based airline to be at least somewhat dominated by Arab employees. However, that is simply not the case. This is an example of Emirates Airlines trying to have a worldwide appeal in terms of culture, language and so forth. Beyond that, the people that they do hire are quite literally treated like family. The airline ostensibly makes it a point to value them, help develop them and otherwise make sure that they are not left wondering whether their contribution and efforts matter. This is so important because so many employers, both inside the Arab world as well as in other markets such as the American one, treat their employees like commodities and things that can be replaced if they cannot or will not tow the company line. By contrast, Emirates Airlines has a strong structure where employees are encouraged and allowed to thrive and all tends to lead to great results. The success noted above is to the extent that Emirates Airlines is buying more Airbus A380's than everyone else combined, and that would include Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Air France. To drive that home, the A380's are the double-decker Airbus planes that hold 555 passengers per trip. Even with all that spending, Emirates Airlines, as noted before, needs to be careful to not let the service quality slip. If they do, they will end up over-spending and all of the lavish service they offer right now will not be as sustainable and possible as it is now. Emirates Airlines has the luxury of not having to copy and mimic what other firms are doing. However, they would be wise to pick up the habits and best practices that do make sense if and when they become prominent. For example, Emirates Airlines picked up on the idea that in-flight cell phone/Wi-Fi access would be in demand so they made it a point to include that in their service. Other airlines, including many of the shoddier ones from a service standpoint, do the same thing but this is because it is what the customer wants. There will be some situations and dynamics where just matching the competition is enough. However, Emirates Airlines needs to exceed (if not far exceed) the norms and patterns of airlines. The Spago meals and faster internet speeds on in-flight wi-fi, just to name two examples, would be ways to differentiate themselves. At the same time, there are situations and norms that Emirates Airlines should never mimic or copy including cramming people into airplanes, shoddy standby passenger management and so forth (Sull, Ghoshal & Monteiro). As explained by Ingram et al., Emirates Airlines should get a firm fix on what passengers want and expect and then find a way to meet (or preferably exceed) those expectations. Empathy and assurance should be part and parcel of that entire process (Ingram et al.).