Singapore Airlines (Sia) Is the Flagship Airline

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is the flagship airline for Singapore, based out of Changi Airport. It has a strong presence in most of Asia, and the so-called "Kangaroo Routes" from the West to Australia and New Zealand. It is an innovative company, operating two of the world's longest non-stop commercial flights (Singapore to Los Angeles and Newark). It was the launch customer of the Airbus A380 Superjumbo, but also has diversified airline-related organizations; aircraft handling, Silk Air, and Singapore Airlines Cargo. SIA also has a 49% share in Virgin Atlantic. As of December 2010, it was the second largest airline in the world, with a net worth of $14 billion dollars. In 2009-2010, SIA posted almost $11 billion (U.S.) in revenues, with a net income of $227 million.

As one of the most admired airlines in the industry, SIA's strategy to deliver continuous quality includes six major points: democratic organization, small units to carry out tasks, delegation of authority, creating an environment where delegated responsibility can be used effectively, training and retraining objectives, and a more egalitarian approach to departments -- where no single department is more important than another. Comparatively speaking, the airline does have high standards of service and is able to professional deliver stakeholder equity with regular fiscal improvement. SIA does a better job than most carriers -- but do they follow their public published strategy? If we look at each of these key points, we see that SIA does not always its stated strategies in both the strategic and tactical venues of its operation:

Democratic Organization -- A public relations statement, but hardly the case when decisions are still made at the upper echelons and filter into the groups below, usually without dialog or even discourse.

Small Units -- Separates units as fully-owned subsidiaries; 25 subsidiaries, 32 associates, 2 joint ventures.

Delegation -- Delegation is more of responsibility, rather than authority. This is exemplified in the decision to eliminate giving passenger gifts over long flights; the decision was made in a high corporate office, but the responsibility given to the flight crew, who had no authority in the issue.

Units that Use Delegated Authority -- From 2003 to 2007, strained relations with employees over salaries and authority; current (2007 on) relations are cordial, but many time had to be mitigated by the government.

Training and Retraining- SAS does meet training and retraining goals, especially on its long-range flights. Some evidence of retraining within mechanical and maintenance departments; but cross-training and mobility into different departments is rare. Rarely are flight crews able to answer questions about countries they visit because there has been little training for flight staff.

Egalitarian Department Structures -- More of a public relations issue, departments still have a hierarchy based on revenue growth and public perception.