Emirates Airline Customer Service Analysis and Recommendations

Introduction

What follows in this report is a review and summary of the customer service operations of Emirates Airline. The firm has certainly established a strong name for itself, and there is a common refrain about how adept it is. Even so, there are opportunities for improvement, and all firms should commit to a culture and mindset of continuous improvement — identifying existing problems and finding practical solutions for them. Regardless of what problems are found, evidence-based and realistic solutions must be put forward, and that is the goal of this report. While Emirates Airline does many things well when it comes to customer service, it could do even better and should strive to do so whenever possible.

Company Overview

Before examining what should change and why, there should first be a summary of the current state of affairs and the level of performance that Emirates Airline presently attains. Only with a clear definition of what is currently happening and what is currently deficient can there be clarity and specificity about what should change. There are several details about the airline worth establishing up front. First, Emirates Airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group. As many might infer, the airline is based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Rather than being a private firm, The Emirates Group is owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, which is a governmental entity. The airline is the largest in the Middle East, operating three to four thousand flights per week and traveling to nearly 150 different cities in roughly eighty countries around the world. It also runs a concurrent cargo operation known as Emirates SkyCargo. Globally, Emirates Airline ranks as the fourth-largest airline by passenger volume and the second-largest by cargo traffic. The airline was created in response to discord and disruption within the Middle East airline industry during the 1980s. Its aircraft come from Boeing and Airbus, and its most direct competitors include Air Arabia, Qatar Airways, FlyDubai, and Etihad Airways (Bloomberg).

Survey Performance and Service Quality

Despite its relatively short lifespan compared to other major airlines, Emirates Airline has performed quite well in terms of reputation and measurable outcomes. For example, a 2010 survey of airline companies found Emirates Airline to be the best among those reviewed. The companies compared in that survey were major industry players, including Swiss Air, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, and 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 airline above 90% was Etihad Airways at 91.5%. Swiss Air scored 86.6%, British Airways 84.3%, Virgin Atlantic 79.8%, Air France 72.3%, and Qatar Airways came in last at 71.5%.

A broad range of customer service dimensions was evaluated in the survey, including the check-in process, baggage drop, boarding, cabin conditions, food and beverage services, other in-flight services, the disembarking process, and final baggage claim. It is quite impressive for Emirates Airline to score so well given the narrow profit margins typical of the airline industry and the stiff competition that exists within it.

Digging deeper into the results reveals several interesting data points. Just over a third of all passengers were greeted by name upon boarding. Since the passenger's name appears on the boarding pass, this is something Emirates Airline could do more consistently to add a personal and welcoming touch to the boarding experience. Despite that, all travelers generally felt that crew members had a "warm and genuine nature" in their interactions with guests, regardless of whether names were used. Of the entire group surveyed, roughly 79% — close to four out of five — were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience. Approximately one in five passengers (21%) experienced departure delays, though all survey respondents felt that they were "completely safe and in good hands." Nearly three-quarters (71%) said they would fly with the airline again based on their experience.

Given the 90-percentile satisfaction score alongside only a 71% "would fly again" rate, there is clearly some gap to explain. That gap means approximately one in four passengers would not choose Emirates Airline again for some reason. In addition to increasing personalized greetings, the airline needs to reduce delays where possible — recognizing that some delays are unavoidable — and should investigate further why 25% of passengers would not return (Sambridge).

Technology and Innovation in Customer Service

A more detailed academic analysis of potential improvements at Emirates Airline centers on one of the major drivers of public opinion: the internet. Researchers assert that the internet is one of the key factors contributing to declining service quality across the airline industry as a whole. However, they also note that Emirates is one of the airlines that resists this overall trend. Indeed, Emirates Airline has taken several steps over the past decade to modernize relative to the rest of the industry. For example, it began offering in-flight connectivity via GSM band internet access in 2008 and later improved that service by offering full Wi-Fi access. Emirates was also among the first airlines to implement Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology in a meaningful way. The implementation allowed crew and administrative staff to update and use customer information in real time, including customer preferences, complaint histories, and last-minute seat upgrades once other passengers were settled. The complaint-tracking component of CRM is a particularly useful tool for addressing the issue of one in four passengers choosing not to fly again. In addition to recording willingly offered complaints, the airline can solicit feedback through email surveys, smartphone apps, or other mediums to build a larger and more complete picture of customer sentiment. The real-time and responsive nature of this technology offers a significant advantage over airlines that cannot or will not leverage it (HBS).

Another technological capability Emirates Airline has made heavy use of is IoT Baggage Management. This technology uses beacons to locate bags and cargo, and can also verify the presence of life jackets and other emergency equipment without requiring physical inspection. This makes the airline more efficient and speeds up overall service. Even so, some form of regular visual inspection — daily or weekly — is probably prudent, since equipment itself may be defective and beacons could provide a false sense of security. Nonetheless, any tool that makes the airline more efficient without sacrificing service quality is generally a positive development.

Emirates Airline also performs very well in what is known as Flexible Cloud Infrastructure. This infrastructure is designed around the seasonal nature of the airline industry, where consumer demand ebbs and flows considerably. Customer service frameworks and personnel must scale up and down accordingly so that there is neither a shortage of staff during peak periods nor an excess during slow ones. When done properly, service quality remains consistent at all times regardless of demand levels — a seamless experience that customers enjoy without necessarily noticing. Surveys and complaint logs can also be used to detect inconsistencies in service as demand fluctuates (HBS).

The final major dimension worth examining is Emirates Airline's use of data, analytics, and information services. Big data touches several areas, including loyalty programs, mobile platform development, and more sophisticated price discrimination. As noted, profit margins in the airline industry are quite narrow, and loyalty programs represent one meaningful way to improve those margins (HBS; Timm). However, big data programs require careful management and precise analytics. The data structures in place must also be tailored to emphasize self-service when customers prefer it and live or chat support when they want direct assistance. Emirates Airline is wisely emphasizing the online and mobile experience — including ticket purchasing, online check-in, and real-time flight information. For example, if check-in is about to close and a passenger has not yet completed the process, Emirates can track the passenger's location through its app and determine whether they will make the flight on time. If not, the passenger can be rebooked on a later flight and the vacant seat filled by a standby passenger quickly and efficiently.

Another application of big data is identifying repeat passengers on the same routes, which typically signals corporate travel and implies lower price sensitivity. Emirates Airline could incrementally raise fares by $50 to $100 in such cases and still retain the sale, thereby padding its margins. Even so, the airline should exercise caution — corporate travelers are not insensitive to excessive fare manipulation, and competitors exist. Pricing decisions should reflect genuine supply and demand dynamics. When demand for a route or flight is high, prices should rise accordingly — that is simply how markets work. However, raising fares opportunistically during emergencies, such as when passengers are evacuating due to a natural disaster, would be ethically questionable (HBS).

Works Cited

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"Emirates SkyCargo's Major Campaign on Supply Chain Services." CILT World, no. 8, Feb. 2003, p. 07. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=13011066&site=ehost-live.

HBS. "Emirates Airlines: A Quest For Service Quality — Technology And Operations Management." rctom.hbs.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 June 2017.

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Sambridge, Andy. "Emirates Tops Airline Service Quality Survey." Arabian Business. N.p., 2017. Web. 21 June 2017.

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Zhang, Benjamin. "Emirates Is Beating Delta, United, And American By Evoking The Golden Age Of Air Travel." Business Insider. N.p., 2017. Web. 21 June 2017.