Category: Airport

Introduction

Airport Vodochody is an international private airport in the Czech Republic. The airlines’ current major customers are private jets and air schools. A joint stock company Letiste Vodochody, established in 2007, operates the airport and the only shareholder in the airport is AERO Vodochody, which is the largest aircraft manufacturer in the Czech Republic with over 90 years-long history. Until the end of 2006, AERO Vodochody was a state-owned enterprise.

However, the beginning of 2007 witnessed a change of ownership when a private equity group Penta became a sole shareholder of AERO Vodochody. In 2009, the airport had 9 thousand aircraft movements, which was a 100% increase to the year 2008 (Vodochody Airport).

The airports development plan, first publicly communicated in the summer of 2007, is to enlarge the infrastructure of the existing airport so that it becomes a modern public civil international airport, second of its kind in the Prague’s metropolitan region only after Prague Airport, which is the major hub in the region.

The airport wants to reach low-cost airlines, charters and private jets. In 2008, Letiste Vodochody had received all necessary licenses to operate the Vodochody Airport, e.g. from the Czech Air Navigation Services, custom authorities etc.

In 2009, the company updated the documentation of the project following the commemorations received from the ministry of environment and this was approved in the first half of 2010.

After the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was approved, Airport Vodochody applied for cadastral change and construction permission, which is yet to be approved. Operations for low-cost carries should be launched at the end of next year by the earliest, more pragmatically in 2013 (Vodochody Airport).

Key facts about the project of expansion of the Vodochody Airport are summarized in the table below

Table 1.1 Project Facts Source: Vodochody Airport

After construction adjustments to the current runway system, the airport will have the capacity to accommodate up to 15 medium-haul aircrafts with wingspan of 36 meters. A new modern terminal with capacity of up to 3.5 million passengers per year should be erected in the place where the administrative buildings of Aero Vodochody currently stand.

The concept of the terminal is expected to correspond with the needs of low-cost and charter airlines. Once completed, the terminal will have two floors with the first floor being the departure hall while the second floor will be the arrival hall with a restaurant and security facilities, shopping mall and entrance into the two departure areas, one assigned for Schengen area travelers and the other for passengers destined for other regions outside Schengen.

There will be both classical check-in facilities as well as self-service check-in counters. After the airports expansion and once operating as a public international airport, the airport charges are expected to be half of what the Prague Airport’s charges are (Prague Airport).

Currently, the airport is negotiating with low-cost airlines with the most up to date information showing that Wizz Air, easyJet, Ryanair, Air Berlin and flyNiki will be flying to the Airport on regular basis. At the moment, the airport operates non-stop but for the future it is planned that the operating hours will be fixed and there will be no traffic between 10 pm and 6 am, which is a compromise as a rejoinder to the opposition of the areas in the airports proximity (Vodochody Airport).

Challenges

Apart from the official documentation that yet has to be approved, the biggest challenge the airport is facing is the disapproval that the project has elicited from neighboring villages. There has been a lot of negative response and rather a firm opposition towards the airport’s expansion project from neighboring villages, who have created an initiative dubbed Stop the Vodochody Airport to fight against the development project of the airport.

The neighboring communities fear especially increased noise exposure and emissions due to increased traffic both on air and on the roads leading to the airport. Additionally, the residents are worried that in case of aircraft crash, there would be an ecological catastrophe because of a refinery, which is located nearby (in Kralupy nad Vltavou). However, aircrafts fly over the refinery also when landing/taking-off at the Prague Airport, only 300 meters higher (Prague Airport).

In the middle of last year, a local referendum was held in the villages, in which the majority of the affected areas who participated in the referendum were against the project. Results are known for seven neighboring villages, where approximately 59% of the inhabitants participated in the referendum and 90% were against the expansion of the airport.

On the other hand, countrywide research from March 2010 regarding the Vodochody Airport has showed that 72% of citizens of Prague and other cities in the central Bohenia support the planned development of the airport as proposed by the investor (Vodochody Airport). However, these citizens will not be affected by the negative side effects of the airport operations. The citizens of Prague have also showed increased interest in development of air transport in the Czech Republic, thus are likely to become the airports’ customers.

However, when looking at the responses of the citizens of the villages neighboring to the airport, the agency’s research showed that the majority is against, but it was less (two thirds of the population) than what the referendums have revealed. On the other hand, the research has revealed that the inhabitants of the neighboring villages have lower factual knowledge of the airport’s development project as compared to the citizens of Prague and the Central Bohenia Region (Forsyth & Gillen 100).

So far, Airport Vodochody has agreed to reduce the noise exposure by adjusting the take-off/landing trajectories and there will be no night traffic. Furthermore, the investor expects that there will be numerous benefits that the airport will bring.

Overall, it is estimated that the airport will create 3000 new permanent jobs in the region, both direct and indirect, new traveling option for the Czech citizens, new destinations, lower price for air tickets, higher level of air transport services and further development of the capital city and its region. Furthermore, the infrastructure of the road transport has also been considered in the development plan, which will help the current situation. However, there are still a lot of negotiations ahead (Forsyth & Gillen 101).

SW (Strength and Weakness) Analysis

The analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the Vodochody Airport will allow answering the question, what is the airports strategic position of the Airport at the Czech market.

Strengths

The main strength of the Vodochody Airport is its location and the low-cost concept. From global experience, it shows that secondary low-cost airports increasingly emerge in metropolitan areas, following the emergence of Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) because the legacy airports do not meet the demands of LCCs and are too expensive for them.

The Prague Airport belongs to the most expensive in Europe, for example, the LCC Wizz Air is not capable of generating profit on routes to and from Prague due to the high airport charges (Forsyth & Gillen 102).

As indicated earlier in this paper, airport charges are a significant cost factor for LCCs, thus with the airport charges being half of what the Prague Airport’s charges are, Vodochody Airport has a clear advantage in attracting LCCs. Airport Vodochody will potentially also be able to offer better slot times. Hence, Vodochody Airport will offer facilities that the LCCs are seeking and which are not available in the Prague metropolitan area at the moment. Vodochody Airport is the answer to a global trend as well as to the regional demand.

Furthermore, the strength of the project of the Vodochody Airport is its timing. Prague Airport is reaching its capacity limits and is attempting to expand. The demand for air transport is growing and the LCCs do not have an equivalent to what Vodochody Airport will be at the moment. However, to retain this advantage, the Vodochody Airport needs to act fast (Gillen & Lall 41).

Weaknesses

The project of expansion of the Vodochody Airport was first introduced in the summer of 2007, a few months after the current investor took over the airport. The original plan was to start operations of the public international Vodochody Airport earlier than it is proposed now (2013).

Basically, the project is still on paper, even though negotiations with low-cost airlines, the future airport’s customers, are in full speed. The process is lengthy as it includes negotiations with several government institutions, approvals of the project documentation etc. Furthermore, the airport’s management has not been able to reach agreement with the representatives of the neighboring villages whose fight against the airport has rather been fierce and is widely promoted by the media.

The negative environmental side effects need to be balanced out by positive side effect. Even though the investor states what the benefits for the region will be, the neighboring villages do not support the airports development. Communication and relations with the neighboring villages need to be improved (Gillen & Lall 42).

Actor Characteristics

Considering the challenges and weaknesses discussed earlier, Vodochody Airport will have to take some actions in order to remain relevant in a fast changing global environment. In the Czech context, the Vodochody Airport wants to become a secondary airport in the Prague metropolitan area (strategy) and plans to accommodate 3.5 million passengers, which corresponds with the size of a small regional airport. Traditionally, a small airport is known to be at a worse negotiation position.

On the other hand, the Vodochody Airport’s strength is the powerful catchments area, which is sought after by the low-cost airlines but their needs are not accommodated at the hub airport (Prague Airport) at the moment. However, Vodochody Airport should not only rely on this fact since LCCs are known to be hard negotiators and the LCCs in question (Rynair, easyJet, Wizz Air) are large powerful companies.

Additionally, the nature of LCCs indicates that these airlines are flexible in switching destination airports, which has a direct impact on the level of interdependence between the airport and the airline. For these reasons, the investor should do everything to make Vodochody Airport a sought after, busy airport since its only then that the bargaining power of the company will increase (Gillen & Lall 43).

Atmosphere

Contrary to the proposal of Graham (100) to only use airport charges as an incentive mechanism in an airport (airline relationship characterized by a high level of interdependence), it is likely that the Vodochody Airport will use introductory incentives (similarly to other Czech Airports) to attract the airlines in the first place, before any interdependence comes to existence. There will also be no relationship history with the airlines.

The level of commitment and trust between the Vodochody Airport and the airline will depend on the long-term contracts between the parties. Even though the long-term contracts decrease the level of uncertainty, the environment uncertainty as indicated above hinders the willingness to engage into long-term relationships in the first place. Furthermore, the already mentioned nature of the LCCs is not exactly supportive of long-term contracts.

As the model indicates, the level of commitment is boosted also by joint actions. At this moment, it is not yet known if Vodochody Airport is planning to engage into joint actions with any of the LCCs and this is something that the airport will have to do in order to gain a competitive edge in the region (Graham 101).

Interaction Process

The level of interaction between the Vodochody Airport and the airlines will depend on the joint actions (cooperation) between the airport and the airlines. As already stated, no such planned cooperation is known at the moment. If the Vodochody Airport should plan any kind of joint action with the airline(s), the degree of interaction, institutionalization and communication would increase.

With joint actions, there would be a need for comprehensive mechanisms and it is likely that the project teams with members from both actors (the Vodochody Airport as well as the airline) would be established. This would increase the commitment and trust between the airport and the airline (Graham 103).

Strategic Outcome

As the airport-airline relationship model suggests, there can be profits resulting from the interdependence between the two parties. The strategic outcome from the relationship between the Vodochody Airport and the airline will be defined by the dependencies and interactions as described above.

While trying to achieve this, Vodochody airport must be prepared to employ more staff to deal with the expected air traffic flow and this will definitely plough into the company’s revenue. Additionally, the airport must be prepared to go through the process of change, which is described by experts as the hardest thing for a business to do (Barrett 33).

Conclusion

Having analyzed the current regional trends and the situation at the Czech air transport market, it can be concluded that the Vodochody Airport is an answer to a global trend as well as to the regional demand. From global experience, it shows that secondary low-cost airports increasingly emerge in metropolitan areas following the emergence of LCCs because the legacy airports do not meet the demands of LCCs and are too expensive for them.

The Prague Airport belongs to the most expensive in Europe. On the other hand, Vodochody Airport offers facilities that the LCCs are seeking and which are not available in the Prague metropolitan area at the moment. Moreover, there are valid expectations that the demand for air transport will increase in the future as well as it is expected that the LCCs share at the Czech market will grow and so reflect the development

The strengths and weaknesses (SW) analysis has allowed identification of the main strengths and weaknesses of the Vodochody Airport. The main strength is the airport’s low cost concept and location in the metropolitan area by which it responds to a market niche at the Czech market as well as mirrors a global trend of emergence of secondary airports in metropolitan areas.

Furthermore, the major hub in the Prague metropolitan area is reaching its capacity, while the perspective is that the demand for air transport will increase in the Czech Republic, hence the timing of launching Vodochody is an advantage too. Since the Vodochody Airport will be targeting LCCs, it is likely to benefit from these proposed trends.

Vodochody airport could attract new/more passengers by more affordable airfares offered by the carriers operating at the airport. The main weakness of the project is closely connected to the external threats. Currently, the airport is facing fierce opposition from the neighboring villages that will be directly affected by the airport’s operations and the project of the airport’s development is still undergoing the approval process. Hence, there is a threat that the project might be delayed.

Works Cited

Barrett, Sean. How do the Demands for Airport Services Differ between Full-Service Carriers and Low-cost Carriers? Journal of Air Transport Management 10.2 (2004): 33-39. Print.

Forsyth, Peter & Gillen, David. Airport Competition: The European Experience. Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2010. 100-112. Print.

Gillen, David, & Lall, Albert. Competitive Advantage of Low-cost Carriers: Some Implications for Airports. Journal of Air Transport Management 10.1 (2004): 41-50. Print.

Graham, Anne. Managing Airports: An International Perspective. Burlington: Butterwoth-Heinemann, 2008. 100-105. Print.

Prague Airport. Company Profile 2008. Web.

Vodochody Airport. Company Profile 2011. Web.

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is three-fold. First, the paper seeks to establish when the Dubai Airport Free Zones was established, and the main objective behind the establishment of the Free Zones. Secondly, the paper will highlight the contribution of Dubai Airport Free Zone to UAE’s economy, and then outline some of the advantages of Dubai Airport Free Zones. Finally, it will provide a comprehensive discussion on how this project promotes business in the UAE.

Discussion

According to World Trade Organization, the emergence of foreign investment, as well as globalization of trade in the last few decades has considerably exposed nations to competitive pressures present in the global economy. The worldwide trading rules that are stipulated by WTO provide economies with new opportunities, and precipitous challenges, as well.

For national economies to succeed in such a competitive environment they need to pursue trade integration. One of the foremost instruments used in trade integration is the establishment of Free Trade Zones. When peace prevails among nations development will be registered in terms of smooth trade among nations and the citizens of different countries are free to exercise their knowledge and skills towards nation building.

In the year 1966, the government of Dubai adopted a strategic plan to aid in advancing economic growth. The government objective was to create an economy that is investment driven. In the plan, the government established Dubai Airport Free zone. In UAE, Dubai Airport Free Zone is the greatest free zone since it harbours more than 1500 companies from various sectors.

The industries that have established subsidiaries in the zone include aviation, manufacturing, ornaments and cosmetics, information technology, logistics and freights. In order to attract new and potential investors in the zone, the government provided an attractive package for international investors.

The incentives include tax havens, quick approval procedures, extended leases, abundant and inexpensive energy, full repatriation of profits and capital, no currency restrictions, and 100 percent foreign ownership. The zone is situated in a strategic area with state of the art facilities such as infrastructure. The Dubai Airport Free Zone borders Dubai International Airport making export of the products and import of raw materials to be utilized in the zone cost effective.

Dubai Airport Free Zone was ranked the best in Middle East and second best in the world by FDI magazine. The modern facilities that are provided in the zone include office units, light industrial units, land sites, and other services.

Contribution to the UAE’s economy

In the year 2010, Dubai Airport Free zone contributed significantly in the trade volume. The zone generated approximately AED52 billion to the total trade revenue of the government. In addition, the zone contributes 6 percent of total exports amounting to AED21.652 billion. In reference to imports, Dubai Airport Free Zone demanded 5.6 percent of the total imports representing AED30.64 billion.

This indicates the commitment of the zone towards boosting local economy, and attracting foreign direct investment through creation of a business-enabling environment. The attraction of giant multinational companies in the country is a source of revenue to the government, and at the same time household income for Dubai residents.

The strategy adopted by the government of Dubai act as a stimulus package that triggers growth momentum in different sectors of the economy. The momentum is evident both locally and regionally.

Dubai Airport Free Zones (DAFZ) is an economic pillar that enhances economic performance through creation of employment, attraction of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), and transfer of new technologies into the country. The different free zones in UAE contribute significantly to the nation’s non-oil exports and as such rank UAE as the third most significant re-export destination in the globe.

The UAE Free Zones facilitates economic diversification through attraction of foreign investors that engage in different activities, and reduce the country’s dependence on oil, while employing nationals of the country. Furthermore, not only will Free Zones prove to be a momentum of diversification, but it will also change the face of economic doings in UAE.

The creation of employment among nationals will lead to an increase in disposal income; hence facilitating effective aggregate demand. The purchasing power of the locals will be improved, and as such, the region will witness economic growth and prosperity.

Moreover, Dubai Airport Free Zones (DAFZ) promotes innovation and entrepreneurship through DEC that facilitates business incubation. Dubai Enterprise Centre facilitates initiation, development, and management of business; hence, the business ventures grow into strong and successful enterprises that significantly contribute to the national development of the region.

The initiative seeks to retain talent and expertise in UAE, and continue to accelerate a robust economy through innovation and entrepreneurship. Business incubation provided by DEC enhances business survival in the critical business lifecycle stage. Therefore, the growth of new and competitive businesses in UAE strengthens economic growth and development.

Advantages of the Dubai Airport Free Zone (ADFZ)

The proximity to the Airport has provided a pivotal role for handling cargo and transit of goods making it the most efficient and effective free zones. This facilitates cost effective business operations and execution. As a result, companies can export their products, and import raw materials with minimal cost; hence attaining economies of scale.

The other advantage of DAFZ is that it is a tax-free zone. The companies established in the zones enjoy tax havens in relation to their imports and exports. The government also exempt taxes on personal income, and again, there is free transfer of profits and capital to home country. This is also coupled with an option to use any currency without legal restrictions.

The other benefits accrued include; subsidized annual trade license fees, registration are at less competitive charges to investors in FZE. It gives foreign investors a reason to make it a business hub worth investing in, and making it a business destination.

Furthermore, it minimizes the start-up cost for new investors; lowering the cost of doing business and attracting potential foreign investors in the region. The zone is creating specifically for establishment of companies that will facilitate diversification in the economy. The companies will also employ the nationals of UAE; hence absorbing graduates and professionals of UAE.

This will limit brain drain to other developed nations, and as such beneficial in terms of expertise and skills development. Companies established in Free Zones enjoy a competent customer service, as well as employing labour that they find suitable. Investors get assist from DAFZ in relation to visa processing for foreign employees and their families. There is also a wide range of services such as banking that are available to foreign investors.

DAFZ promotes business in the UAE

Businesses in Dubai have access to technology parks that facilitate transfer of new technologies and information handling. Information technology is the lifeblood for a competitive business entity. Technology, especially improvement in technology helps the organization through ensuring the effective management processes and strategies. In addition, information technology helps in facilitating quick decision making in the organization.

The technological aspect in business is indispensable and necessary for the accomplishment of the specified objectives. The modern business environment necessitates that organization structures should respond to the ever-changing needs of the business environment. As a result, organization structures are classified as team-based, network, and specialized. These structures ensured that organizations respond to the customer demands of flexibility, speed, quality, and efficiency.

With growing desire of businesses to undertake massive investment, in future the knowledge of the ingredients of a business environment that is conducive such as globalization can be learned and enhanced through information technology.

The concept has not only benefited countries but also individual firms through quality service, a wide range of products and expertise brought about by competition. Each country will be fighting out for a share in the world market. The quality and uniqueness of its products matters for it to withstand in the market.

With the changing customer and organizational needs, training of the workforce has become necessary in any organizational setting. Dubai knowledge village facilitate training which entails an increase in the wealth of knowledge and skills. Training will help the foreign companies to bridge the gap between job requirements and the present competence of the employee.

In addition, it will augment the behaviour and performance of an employee. Training in organization aims at growing competence and skills within an organization in order that as far as possible its prospect needs for the labour force can be met internally.

Dubai outsourcing zone ensures that businesses gain a chunk of benefits and performance from outsourcing, but as it is evident outsourcing has both positive and negative impacts. The business objective of improving efficiency in production as well as attaining competitiveness in the global market has been attained through outsourcing.

The mechanism for monitoring the strategy ensured that progress is geared towards the attainment of organizational goals and establishing whether the changes in the external environment will necessitate any change of strategy. Plans and actions should be modified to facilitate accommodation of the changes in the operating environment.

Conclusion

Dubai Airport Free Zones plays a pivotal role as a pillar for economic growth and development. The Free Zones contribute significantly in the regional development of UAE. The zone strives to accommodate the needs of both the investors and employees. The incorporation of information technology in the management of the activities of the business operations is crucial in ensuring effective management in the organization.

The current business world lays the ground for the establishment of an organization that is dynamic and accommodative. The organizational structures adapted should be information technology responsive and applicable in a well-managed environment. In addition, other strategic policies include development planning and protection of rights of property.

The government should be in the front line in championing planning and equitable distribution of its resources. Through planning, the government will be in a position of realizing economic growth and development. The presence of a straightforward policy regarding property rights will boost foreign investment in the country that adds to the capital accumulation of the nation. Capital accumulation is important to economic development.

Introduction

The enhancement of globalization and growth of technology has opened new opportunities to the business sector. This is so because; businesses are able to open new operations in foreign markets. However, the growth of globalization has not come singly whereby it has been associated with growth of international tensions and more specifically the issue of terrorism. With this in mind, business organizations operating across the global scene are obligated to ensure high levels of security.

In this case, Los Angeles International Airport has not been exempted from this security threats. This has forced the airport to establish higher security operations to curb any threat. It has been worrying to note that Los Angeles Airport is viewed by terrorist as an attractive target.

With regards to the high levels of terrorism to the US and its allies, LA airport has made efforts in several progressive program to beep up its security. This is aimed at protecting the passengers as well as the airport premises from terrorist attacks. The security program is to be implemented in accordance with the 2004 recommendations and is aimed at ensuring optimum security to all persons using the facility.

The security program is aimed at installation of security film across the airport. This is particularly on the windows facing the airport. The program is also designed to reduce the density or congestion of people in all unsecured areas (Stevens et al, 2011).With implementation of the security program, permanent vehicle security checkpoints will be added which will involve use of devices and equipments with bomb-detection capabilities.

The unsecured areas comprises of areas near uninspected vehicles as well as areas where baggage is not inspected (Weikel and Simon, 2011). By adopting these security apparatus, the airport will be able to attain high levels of security which will help to counter any external threat from terrorists and other individuals with illicit thoughts.

The new security project is aimed to ensure adequate improvement of baggage security and system. The design of the project is done in accordance with the projected growth of passengers as well as the requirements of the transport security administration plan formulated after the 9/11 attack.

The security program entails the modernizing of TBIT’s public systems and areas. This will help in boosting efficiency and security in all terminals points within the airport. By undertaking the renovations, the levels of convenience and comfort offered by the airport to its customers will also be multiplied (Seidenstat and Splane, 2009).

The key aspects of the security program include construction of a 5-level north screening facility. This is aimed to integrate 9 large explosive detection systems, which will help in countering any terrorist attacks. There will also be the construction of 2-level south screening facilities, which will incorporate 4 large explosive detection systems.

In addition, the project by Los Angeles international airport will see the construction of 2 new large aircraft gates. This is specifically designated for the A380 airbus operations. By installing new PBBs in all passenger gates, the airport will be able to accommodate more aircraft and passenger requirements (Parsons, 2011).

Conclusion

In consideration to the analysis of the security project of Los Angeles Airport, it is notable that the airport will be able to counter all security threats. By completion of the program, the airport will be able to guarantee maximum safety to its passengers and facilities. The high levels of inefficiencies faced by the organization will be countered, thus making it the airport of choice. It is worth noting that the airport has been viewed a potential target by terrorists, but this will cease to be after completion of the project.

References

Parsons (2011). Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Retrieved from: https://www.parsons.com/projects/

Seidenstat, P. and Splane, F. (2009). Protecting Airline Passengers in the Age of Terrorism. New York: McGraw Hill.

Stevens, D. (2011). Implementing Security Improvement Options at Los Angeles International Airport. Retrieved from: https://www.rand.org/

Weikel, D. and Simon, R. (2011). Speedier Security Checks Headed for Los Angeles International. Retrieved from: https://www.latimes.com/

Introduction

Lydd Airport (London Ashford Airport) is located in the United Kingdom, (LYDD, 2010, pp.1), and in 2003, the government proposed its expansion to ease congestion in the South East. The airport currently offers services to the regional market and its expansion is seen as a sure way of increasing air transport demand in the UK.

Since it serves locally, the Lydd Airport has the potential of meeting the needs of the local market through the provision of domestic and business flights. In addition, the expansion of this airport will contribute towards the creation of employment as the airline will need more staff to cater for its growing market.

It is also seen as a way to promote tourism in the East Sussex and Kent due to the stimulation of Romney Marsh. Other than this, the expansion of the Lydd Airport is seen as the perfect way to rid the Southeast of airspace and runway congestion which has for the longest time plagued the industry (LYDD, 2010, pp.1). The aim of this assessment is to evaluate the role of different stakeholders and the policy and planning issues associated with the development of Lydd airport.

Stakeholders views on the potential development of the Lydd Airport

The potential development of the Lydd Airport has attracted many stakeholders from various organisations according to a report done by London Ashford Airport (2010, pp. 13-15). These organisations include the county councils, the district councils, the parish councils, and a number of members of parliament, non governmental organisations, business partners and statutory bodies. The Lydd Airport’s expansion proposal has brought about many issues which are tabled by most of the stakeholders.

To begin with, the Shepway Councillors who are key stakeholders in the project have endorsed it citing the many benefits that this expansion will offer to the people of Shepway according to the report presented by LAA News (2010).

The chief councillor, Mr. Gordon feels that this will be a call for investors to Shepway and by doing so; there will be many employment opportunities for the residents. He also sees it as a developmental project that will take Shepway to a new level owing to the facilities that will be set up courtesy of the expansion. He cites that this will lead to the development of this area and others as well.

This will contribute to the well being of the local communities and the young people in this area will have the opportunity of benefiting from this expansion. This move is also seen as prime in the empowerment of the local people as it will seek to shift power from the government and put it directly into the people’s hands (LAA News, 2010). Environmentalists are also among the stakeholders and their major concern is that this area, which is a wildlife site will be destroyed and that is why the expansion must stop.

Known as the Dungeness, in England’s south east corner, this area plays habitat to water birds, invertebrates and unique plants which definitely act as a tourist attraction. The views that the stakeholders have on this proposed expansion is that the natural tranquillity of this site will be destroyed massively.

This is occasioned by the fact that the airport looks at increasing its market base from 4,000 passengers to 500,000 passengers a year according to Fact Files (2010, pp. 1-2). The stakeholders feel that this idea will be hazardous in the sense that the beautiful wildlife will disappear due to noise pollution as well as other pollutants that would come with an airport of such magnitude.

This area has not only been declared a National Nature Reserve (NNR) but also a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and thus allowing the mentioned expansion activities would cause humongous harm to the tranquillity of this haven. Some of the stakeholders feel that such intended destruction is uncalled for as this site holds a lot of meaning to the wildlife. This move will also reflect negatively on the tourism industry since there will be nothing to view in a few years to come.

The rich wildlife will have succumbed to the pollution and other disturbances and will be forced to migrate to more habitable areas. In addition, this move will harm the environment in the sense that there will be huge gas emissions which will contribute highly to global warming.

If anything, the government should be working harder to avert the destructive climate changes. The Queen is not party to this and has even contributed to the Airport Economic Regulation Bill which rules out expansion to create new runways (Fact File, 2010, pp. 1-2).

Another concern that has been brought about by stakeholders about the expansion of this airport is that other than it being next to a bird sanctuary, it has close proximity to the Dungeness Nuclear Power Station according to the study done by Richard (2010, pp.3). This is a potential danger as the safety of the people has been overlooked. The questions being asked include what would happen if the planes hit a reactor. This would cause deaths and destruction and that is why many stakeholders argue that this expansion is doomed.

On the other hand, some stakeholders feel that the expansion of the Lydd Airport will be a blessing in disguise. First of all, this expansion will create employment opportunities as a result of the numerous posts it will come with according to a study done by Sshafi (2009, pp. 1-4).

This is seen as a prime project that will bring investors to London and this will translate to a rich economy. It is seen as potential to opening up new businesses since the interactions by travellers will lead to partnerships. The town of Shepway is seen as a major beneficially of the expansion program due to its proximity to the airport.

Other concerns that have come up as a result of this expansion are that Romney Marsh is the only countryside that the people of UK can boast of according to (Aslet, 2010, pp. 1-20). Allowing the expansion is synonymous to destroying this beautiful land due to the air and noise pollution bound to come with this venture.

This move is therefore seen as selfish and hypocritical for people only interested in fattening their bank accounts. They may see this as the only option to ease air and runway congestion but on the other hand, they must never overlook the environmental dangers this expansion will pose to the people of Romney Marsh.

The choice of the name, ‘London Ashford Airport’ is also disturbing in the sense that the airport is neither in Ashford or London, (pp. 9-10), and the Saudi Arabian businessman behind this project is just after killing many birds with ones tone. Romney Marsh has rich soils that supply most of the UK with apples and this will soon be a thing of the past since they will be cut down. The rewarding qualities of this therapeutic land will be lost if this expansion sees the light of day.

The famous breed of sheep, Romney Marsh, originated form this beautiful countryside and the expansion will definitely make them extinct due to pollution. The prospects on employment could be there if the expansion was successful but these are not seen to benefit the local people. If anything, the better paying jobs will go to the highly skilled people and the locals may end up getting low paying jobs like being baggage handlers (Aslet, 2010, pp. 1-20).

The Friends of the Earth environmental group challenges the expansion of the Lydd airport citing carbon emissions which will lead to environmental degradation. The Britain government is for this expansion and there are doubts if it will release the true figures on carbon dioxide emissions.

As a result, it is viewed by the Friends of the Earth group as insensitive about an issue that it is supposed to spearhead by limiting carbon emissions. This can only be achieved by limiting airport expansions and in fact discouraging the expansion of the Lydd Airport (KMSA, 2008, pp. 2).

It is a fact according to the Full News Archive (2010, pp.7) that most of the carbon emissions are attributed to aviation industries and it is disturbing that the Climate Change Bill has conveniently decided not to include aviation emissions. This group is therefore advocating for the inclusion of aviation emissions in the Climate Change Bill, a move that is being supported by key figures like the Environmental Audit Committee, scientist, campaigners and a section of members of parliament.

Natural England is another stakeholder that is voicing its concerns on the ills of developing the Lydd Airport according to Brede Community (2010, pp. 1-11). This body had advised against the expansion of this airport but the Shepway DC went ahead to endorse it. It is therefore challenging this decision with the intention of revoking it citing the various harms that will come with this project.

This body works closely with planning and developing authorities on where new developments would be best established. They ensure that these locations are not potentially harmful and that the project to be developed does not pose any direct or indirect threat to the inhabitants.

This body also ensures that the project is helpful to the people and that its benefits are sustainable. They also look into environmental issues whereby they advice against the initiating the project if it has the potential of polluting the environment.

In this case, the expansion of the Lydd Airport poses a great danger to nature in the sense that it will harm the site which is regarded highly due t o its many attractions. This site has been declared a conservation site and is applauded both nationally and internationally by the many visitors who frequent it.

The reasons why Natural England is against this expansion are that the developer has not satisfied the board that he will ensure that the project poses no danger to the environment. The developer has also not put down clear measures on the protection of birds in this area. He has also not met the required air quality requirements and it is a fact that the pollution brought about by the airplanes will affect the habitat as well as the ecosystem (Brede Community, 2010, pp. 1-11).

Conclusion

The role of different stakeholders and the policy and planning issues associated with the development of Lydd airport take prominence in this paper.

According to the research, there are various issues that have been brought about by the various stakeholders involved in the potential development of the Lydd Airport. There are both positive and negative benefits that are highlighted by the stakeholders and the negatives seem to take prominence. The various environmental bodies highlighted in this paper are discouraging the expansion of this airport.

They have presented strong cases which mostly lie in environment related issues. The aviation industry is among the highest carbon emitting industries and this expansion will lead to climate issues. The whole world is at the moment engaged in a fight against air pollution through carbon emissions which lead to global warming. The Lydd management is not seen to have the right measures in place on how to deal with this sensitive issue.

In addition, the Lydd Airport is in a neighbourhood that acts as a habitat to unique flora and fauna that attracts both local and international tourists. The noise and air pollution that will emanate from this project will lead to their decline.

Some of the benefits associated with this expansion include creation of employment opportunities, opening up scopes for investors, as well as developing this part of the United Kingdom. With the bad outweighing the good, the mood is heavy with anticipation on whether the expansion will kick off. It is only time that will tell if the interested parties weigh the merits against the demerits and reach a sound decision.

References

Aslet, C., 2010. Romney Marsh and keeping the Lydd on aviation pressures. The Telegraph, 8 July. P. 4.

Brede Community. (2010). Lydd Airport Decision: Natural England writes to GOSE. Brede Parish Council. Web.

Fact File. (2010). Lydd Airport: What are we fighting for? The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Web.

Full News Archive. (2010). Keep the Marsh special Alliance. Carbon emissions higher than government admits. Web.

KMSA. (2008). A challenge to Gordon Brown on Airport Expansions. No expansion Group. Web.

LAA News. (2010). Stakeholders views on the development of the Lydd Airport. Web.

London Ashford Airport. (2010). Stakeholder consultation strategy. London Ashford Airport. Web.

LYDD. (2010). Expansion at Lydd Airport. London Ashford airport. Web.

Richard, A. (2010). Craven council approves expansion of Lydd Airport. Bringing the aviation industry back down to earth. Web.

Sshafi, B. (2009). Shepway’s top cop welcomes benefits of airport expansion plans. Lydd Airport Expansion. Web.

Introduction

The aim of this study is to develop and estimate a model of Dallas international airport size and changes in size so as to get the overview of how this airport has grown over time. Dallas international airport is in US and is located in the state of Texas. It’s served by many foreign and domestic airlines, that is direct and connecting flights all over the world.

Getting this information is essential as it compares the development of this international airport with other major airports in US, and to a larger extent with other major airports in other parts of the world (Boyle 77). This helps the management of the airport to implement any change to improve on their development and services offered. It’s also essential to the travelers as they get an overview of the airport. This report will hold the background, conceptual model, empirical model, data section, summary and conclusion.

Background

Dallas international airport DFW is a public airport which is operated by DFW Airport Board. Dallas city wanted it merged with Fort Worth city to form a joint Airport in 1227 but Fort Worth city declined Dallas’s proposal. Years later, they opened their own airport in the name of Love Field and Meacham Field.

In 1940, $ 1.9 million was offered by the Civil Aeronautics Administration to the two cities for the construction of a Dallas/ Fort Worth Regional Airport but the two cities declined the offer for which both Brahiff and American Airlines were already to construct the building. In around 1960s, Fort Worth was just contributing 1% of the traffic while on the on other hand, Dallas airport was flourishing with about 49% of the Texas air traffic.

However, since the FAA refused to spend any more cash, in 1961, the cities finally decided to form a joint airport. In the year 1964, they choose a site which was equally distance from both city centers and they bought a land in 1966 and started the building of the airport in 1969.

The airport started commercial services on January 13, 1974 and it was called Dallas/Fort worth Regional Airport. In 1985, its name was changed to Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport. In 1989, the airport authorities decided to reconstruct the already existing terminals and to construct two or more new runways (Boyle 32).

The seventh runway was constructed in 1969 dragging the airport into history of having the largest number of non-interconnecting runways in the world. The IATA airport code of this airport is “DFW”. Also, the airport is equipped with its own Zip code, post office and public services. It was given its own city designation by the United State Postal Services (Hargreaves 91).

Dallas International Airport is inside the city limits of four suburban cities which have resulted to legal battles over jurisdiction. In order to maintain peace and harmony with its neighbors in future, a non-voting member is included in the Board of Directors.

The member represents the community neighboring the airport. It covers an area of about 30 square miles and its located 18 miles from downtown Dallas, and Fort Worth is 24 miles away in the state of Texas. It covers 18,076 acres (7,315 ha) in terms of land area. In Texas, it’s the largest airport and the second largest in the United States, behind Denver International Airport.

Dallas international Airport is also the busiest international gateway in the United States and second in Texas after George Bush Intercontinental Airport. We cannot leave it unnamed that it was named the best cargo Airport in the world in 2006. The airport has seven run ways and an estimate of fifty seven million passengers a year. It is accessible from Hwys 183, 360, 114, 12 and 635. Dallas International Airport is also the primary hub for American eagle and serves 144 domestic and 47 international destinations.

The following are the 16 airlines that serve Dallas International Airport: Air Canada, AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, America Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Midwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, TACA, United Airlines and US Airways.

The airport has the following terminals: Terminal A, which was earlier known as Terminal 2E. The terminal mainly serves American Airlines and American eagle. It had operated most of the American Airlines international flights until the opening of terminal D. In 1990, some of the flights changed from terminal A to Terminal B and these were American eagle flights. Terminal A has 31 gates all together and its American Airlines largest hub.

Another terminal is terminal B, which was known as Terminal 2W. This terminal mainly served Braniff International Airways earlier and American eagle has taken over 32 gates of this terminal. Other airlines which used this terminal have shifted to terminal E. Terminal C is another one that bared the name Terminal 3E before. It works for American Airlines and serves only for domestic flights. All its 32 gates are occupied by American Airlines.

This terminal has 29 gates and 200 ticketing points and a federal inspection facility, which has the capability of processing 2800 travelers per hour. Another one is terminal D which is also known as International Terminal and was opened in July 2005. It covers 2,000,000 square feet and can hold 32000 passengers per day. This terminal has 29 gates, 200 ticketing points, and has the capability of processing 2800 travelers in one hour.

Conceptual model

Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport, the third busiest airport in the world with 638,782 aircrafts movements is flanked by the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth from both sides. It has the largest number of interconnecting runways in the world. It has flights which are both international and domestic and it works for the larger Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Dallas International Airport also serves AMR Corporation’s America/ America Eagle, which is the world’s largest airline in total passengers-miles transported and fleet size.

Time has seen Dallas International airport through a lot of changes that have taken place due to the impressing development of the Airport. First, the airport has expanded the construction of terminal D which opened in July 2005. The expansion was started in 2000, thus taking duration of five year and a total cost of $2.6 billion.

After this terminal development, all international operations were assigned to it while the rest of terminals were left to operate domestic airlines (Bunsell 12). Before this expansion, Dallas international Airport had four terminals; that is, terminal A, B, C and E. Now the airport covers approximately 18,076 acres of land and has developed seven non-intersecting runways and a helipad, all made of concrete. It has a total of 174 aircraft gates.

The airport has greatly improved on the ground transport over the years. The following are the ground transport services that the airport offers: transportation by car, taxi, bus, train and van/ shuttle. They also provide driving directions, parking at Dallas Fort Worth Airport and car rental. Dallas International Airport has also built hotels in the surrounding; this has proved to be very convenient for the passengers since they do not have to travel to further destinations looking for places to rest.

The following are the hotel listings at Dallas international airport: Holiday Inn Express DFW South, Holiday Inn DF South, Super 8 DFW Airport north/, Super 8 Grapevine /DFW Airport, Holiday Inn Express Airport North, HI Express DFW Grapevine, Grand Hyatt DFW and Hyatt Regency DFW.

There is an ongoing expansion of terminal E, which started in September 2011, and is part of $1.9 billion terminal renewal and improvement program (TRIP). It’s a seven year plan to develop terminals A, B, C and E by the year 2017. This is an important plan as it involves expansion of terminal space for passenger services as baggage claim, ticketing and security purposes. It also involves reactivating the satellite building.

Data section

Dallas International airport is the busiest airport in Texas. In the year 2007, nearly sixty million people were transported by the airport which makes it the seventh busiest airport in the world (Atkinson 33). The large amount of aircraft traffic that originates at Dallas international airport makes the airport a huge economic boost in North Texas. Every day, over 164,000 passengers pass through the terminals of the airport which is a clear reason why it ranks amongst the best airports in the world.

Empirical model

Dallas international Airport has grown rapidly in size, a factor that has been led by many reasons. First, Dallas international airport is located in two towns meaning that its easily accessible to human labor and many potential travelers. This has resulted to increase in income of the airport hence profit and improved infrastructure.

Dallas international airport also offers high quality services to their customer as it located in a large land hence reducing congestion. This has also been facilitated by the availability of five terminals in the airport that provides services to different airlines according to how they are assigned. These terminals include terminals A, B, C, D and E and mostly, the establishment of the Terminal D in year 2005 that serves international airlines.

The presence of high quality hotels in the area surrounding Dallas international airport is also a key factor that has contributed to the increase in size of the airport. This is because most travelers find it convenient to stay near the airport rather than to look for hotel in far destinations.

In short, these factors have attracted many potential travelers to use Dallas International Airport. These hotels include: Holiday Inn Express DFW South, Holiday Inn DF South, Super 8 DFW Airport north/, Super 8 Grapevine /DFW Airport, Holiday Inn Express Airport North, HI Express DFW Grapevine, Grand Hyatt DFW and Hyatt Regency DFW.

Dallas international airport has also increased in size due to the easy accessibility of the airport by travelers. This is due to the availability of many means of transport. These means of transport that are available include: car, taxi, bus, train and van/ shuttle (Haifaa 20). Therefore, most of potential travelers prefer to use Dallas International Airport hence it ends up getting many customers hence high profit and developments.

The use of advanced technologies is another policy that the airport has implemented. The use of technologies has helped to realize the vision of an intelligent airport through which operational stability and efficiency can be enhanced and increase passengers’ satisfaction. Use of information kiosks in the airport has reduced confusion and wastage of time at the airport.

Establishment of efficient computerized technology in the Airport has made service faster and efficient at the airport and this has been another factor that has attracted many travelers resulting to high income, profit and development increase.

Despite the enormous accolades that have befallen the Dallas international airport, there exist numerous violations in regard to the econometrics classical regression model. The airport, like other airports around the world, has constantly faced various omissions in its database. At times, passengers entering and leaving the airport have faced some challenges in terms of maintaining the needed accuracy which has affected the classical model of regression. This possibility of an error in its database is yet to face a complete extinction and the Dallas airport has a task in hand for the classical regression model to remain relevant.

On other occasions, the airport has been faced by some errors in terms of its numerical calculations where the number of people boarding the planes or the average passengers who throng the airport either daily or yearly has been miscalculated (Pfister 103).

At times, the data is stored in its respective databases when all the passengers are yet to book or board the planes and other times, the average number of passengers has been overestimated and this has created some sort of inconveniences among its passengers with some expressing utter dissatisfaction.

The other type of violation that has faced the classical regression model is the fact that there are some unpredictable features that constantly affect the airport where at times, the airplanes entering the airport have faced an upsurge and the number of planes has exceeded the capacity that the airport is supposed to hold.

Unpredictable weather conditions have also caused the airport to face constant challenges in its operations with the data being sent to its respective website facing some sort of inconsistence. This has been a great violation to the model of the classical regression and to its existence at large.

Summary

Dallas/Fort worth International Airport is one of the largest employers the Dallas, Fort Worth metropolitan region. It is also a high and reliable source of important economic activities. Also, it is a significant source of resources and high consumer power within the surrounding hence advantageous as it plays a central role the area’s quality of life and economic viability.

The airport has been on the top line to control air emissions and improve energy efficiency. A recommendation is made for Dallas/ Fort Worth Airport to commit to be “Green Airport” and it’s getting a lot of financial support from the government and private sources to demonstrate the benefits of such a comprehensive program and to serve as an example to other airports.

Dallas International airport has also done a great thing in the employment sector since it has provided massive employment opportunities to the people living in the surrounding and those from far distances. This has helped to improve the living standards of people and also has led to economic growth of the two towns. Dallas international Airport offers the following job opportunities: Programmer/ System Analysts, IT Quality Assurance Analyst and Network specialist among others.

Conclusion

Dallas/Fort worth International Airport is a public airport and is the largest airport in Texas and the second largest in United States. It’s located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. It’s a very important airport since it serves international and domestic airlines. It’s located in 18,076 acres of land and it’s the tenth busiest international gateway the United States.

This airport was named the best cargo airport in the world in 2006 and it has five terminals known as terminal A, B, C, D, and E. The development of these terminals has been one of the greatest achievements of Dallas International Airport (Guldager 79). The forth terminal which is terminal D was established in 2005 and this terminal only serves international airlines while the others deal with domestic airlines.

This terminal helped to reduce congestion and time loss at the airport. The airport has served as an asset to the people living around the airport and to a greater extent the people living in other parts of the world who enjoy the services of this airport. It has helped the towns; that is, Dallas and Fort Worth to grow economically and also has facilitated establishment of other essential infrastructure. Dallas international airport has also proved as another great source of wealth to the state of Texas and United States in general.

Works Cited

Atkinson, Michael. Developing an airport performance. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing, 2008. Print.

Boyle, Ellexis. “Dallas/Fort worth international airport.” Journal of international airports 19. 2 (2010): 153-166. Print.

Bunsell, Tanya. Insider’s guide to Dalla & Fort worth 1. 2 (2009): 141-159. Print.

Guldager, Jørgensen. International Journal of airports Med 32. 1(2011): 60-65. Print.

Haifaa, Jawad. Airports in the Dallas- Fort worth Metroplex. London: Routledge, 2011. Print.

Hargreaves, Jennifer. North American airlines and airports. London: Routledge, 2000. Print.

Pfister, Gertrud. Airports in American states. London: Routledge, 2003. Print.

A SWOT Analysis of Orlando International Airport

SWOT analysis is a framework that is utilised by strategic management teams of business organisations to identify factors that could impact the performances of their organisations (Sevkli, Oztekin, Uysal, Torlak, Turkyilmaz & Delen 2012; van Wijngaarden, Scholten & van Wijk 2012).

Sevkli and colleagues (2012) argue that the factors could either be based on the external or internal business environments.

The SWOT analysis of Orlando International Airport (MCO) considers some of the factors that could impact its performance either negatively or positively from within the business establishment.

The firm could easily control the factors. On the other hand, the organisation does not have ability to control external factors that could affect its performance outcomes.

MCO is characterised by factors that could enable it to achieve significant growth trends in the future. The factors act as internal attributes of the business organisation.

First, the firm has a strong reputation in the field of tourism (Alon, Lohwasser & Dugosh 2013). Many tourists from all over the world associate MCO with tourism activities that are unique in Orlando. Thus, the firm could utilise the reputation to grow its revenues.

Second, the physical size of MCO is a strategic strength that could enable it to gain market share. The airport has many runways, which ensure that many planes can land and take off simultaneously (Alon et al 2013).

Third, the airport is characterised by the adoption of a strong foundation of technological applications that offer a solid platform on which the firm’s activities are conducted.

For example, there are CCTV cameras that help in the monitoring of activities within the organisation. In fact, the cameras have enabled the organisation to be secure from illegal activities like terrorism. MCO has a strong workforce that is dedicated to offering quality customer service (Alon et al 2013).

However, the organisation is also characterised by several factors that act as weaknesses. MCO should attempt to avoid the negative impact of the factors so that it could achieve its expansion goals.

First, the company is unable to utilise market data to project its growth and expansion in the future. Market data are essential because they help in projecting economic performances, which could help strategic managers to make important decisions (Mengel, Sis & Halloran 2007).

Second, MCO has not been able to attract direct flights due to the poor organisational structure. The structure needs to be changed so that it could allow efficient management, which could support expansion activities of the firm.

The external environment of MCO offers excellent opportunities that could be utilised to guide the performance of the organisation (Markovska, Taseska & Pop-Jordanov 2009).

First, loyal customers have enabled the organisation to conduct profitable business activities. This has been achieved through excellent customer service that has created lasting experiences with customers.

Second, similar services that are offered by the competitors of the international airport are quite expensive. It is notable that MCO offers relatively cheap services that are geared towards attracting more customers.

In fact, the firm should continue offering relatively cheap services so that it can attract more customers who will be important for expansion in the future (Alon et al 2013).

Third, the geographical location of the business establishment is a great opportunity, which could help the firm to expand. It is located in Orlando, a location that has diverse tourist attractions.

However, the external business also presents some threats that impact the performance outcomes of the firm negatively.

First, MCO has strong competitors across the world (Parton & Ryley 2012). In fact, most of its strongest competitors in the aviation industry are based in the US.

Thus, it needs to adopt strategic marketing and management approaches so that it can expand in the future. The approaches should be geared towards making the company offer unique services (Davison, Ryley & Snelgrove 2010).

Second, the airport was negatively impacted by the world recession in the late 2000s, which resulted in less spending. In fact, full recovery has not yet taken place. Less spending by customers implies that many customers have little money to spend on tourist activities, which form the backbone of the airport.

An Analysis Using the Hexagon Competitive Identity

Hexagon identity is based on the theory that asserts that governments have important roles to play with regard to determining the performances of business organisations (Anholt 2006).

Thus, the government should have a clear understanding about its long-term and short goals in terms of investments, policies and communications (Anholt 2006).

If the government could support the six components contained in the hexagon identity framework, then it could have increased chances of thriving economically.

The following components are contained in the hexagon: culture, tourism, investment, policy, people, and brands. Orlando could be impacted positively because the federal government focuses improving the economy (Anholt 2006).

First, the US government understands that tourism is essential for economic excellent economic performance outcomes. One of the things through which the leadership has helped to sustain growth of the tourism industry is reducing taxes that tourist operators are required to pay.

In addition, excellent communications networks have been established for efficient tourism in the country. Thus, MCO stands to benefit the government’s support with regard to tourism because it is located at the core of one of the best tourist attraction centres in the US, i.e. Orlando.

Second, the US government believes in empowering its people so that they could economic independence. In fact, the most hard working citizens in the country have the best chances of succeeding economically. Thus, this aspect will help MCO achieve expansion plans because of the government commitment and support.

Third, culture is used to identify people based on their unique attributes. The US government is committed to supporting cultural diversity in the country.

Cultural diversity in the US could be utilised Orlando to implement strategies that could focus on different cultures. For example, it could offer services on the premises of all world cultures to ensure that all people are satisfied.

I could also organise with the major tourist operators in Orlando so that it can advise people on the best attraction sites based on their culture. This will greatly increase its revenues and it to expand its operations to more countries across the world.

Fourth, investment is an integral component in the hexagon identity framework, which focuses the government’s commitment to supporting major investments that could result in improved economic performance.

It is clear that the US government aids several business activities in the country through providing conducive business environments. Also, the government regulates the taxation so that more aspiring business organisations could launch their activities in the US.

Fifth, brands are important in all companies. They are used to identify products of firms based on their uniqueness (Anholt 2006; Kavaratzis 2009).

Strategic managers of companies focus on the creation of the unique brands that could be easily identified by potential customers in the market (Ashworth & Kavaratzis 2009).

MCO would benefit from its endeavours to create excellent brand because the US government supports its companies to have brands that could compete both locally and internationally (Morgan, Pritchard & Pride 2012).

Sixth, policy is a component in the hexagon identity model, which implies the commitment of governments in supporting business activities through the implementation of policies that create conducive business environments.

The policies could have an impact on the operations and profitability of business establishments.

Gap Analysis of Orlando

Gap analysis is a strategic management model that is utilised by strategic managers to assess the performance of an organisation on the premises of the actual outcomes and projected outcomes (van Ittersum, Cassman, Grassini, Wolf, Tittonell & Hochman 2013).

It could provide the management of companies with crucial facts with regard to market dynamics. If a firm has a very wide gap, then it could imply that it has not achieved a significant portion of its target. Thus, the strategic management could work towards implementing strategies that could be used in narrowing the gap.

Some important gaps are evident in Orlando. Although Orlando has the potential to attract a significant number of foreign investors, it has not attracted investors from any countries that could greatly impact its performance. Thus, a wide gap is established in terms of foreign owned companies, which operate in Orlando.

This could be based on the perception gap analysis with regard to Orlando. For example, Chinese companies have not invested in Orlando, yet they are known their increased levels of innovation and competitiveness.

This is demonstrated in Figure 1. Although Orlando has the potential to attract a significant number of visitors from every country annually, the tourist attraction area has been recording major gaps with regard to the number of customers. In fact, some countries do not have customers who visit Orlando.

It is worrying that citizens from countries like Germany and Belgium have not visited Orlando since 2007. This could be caused by poor marketing approaches of major companies that operate in the region (Bunse, Vodicka, Schönsleben, Brülhart & Ernst 2011).

It is also worrying because there are gaps on the premises of the number of visitors who visited Orlando from the United Kingdom and Western Europe in 2010 and 2012. The analysis is based on the actual gap interpretation in the context of the greater Orlando region.

This is illustrated in Table 1. In order to avoid the gaps in the future, aggressive marketing of tourist attraction products in the greater Orlando would be adopted.

Table 1. Visitors to Orlando Based on Their Country of Origin

Variables to be Considered by the Management of MCO

In order for the management of MCO decide on the best approaches to adopt so that the company could expand its operations; it would be important to gather the right data (Graham 2013).

Methods of data collection would also be important so that the management could analyse data that have a high level of authenticity. Data would be collected based on the following factors and/or attributes:

• Number of passengers at MCO
• Population diversity in the greater Orlando region
• Untapped markets
• Countries where major companies from Orlando operate
• Major foreign firms that conduct business in the greater Orlando with regard to the number of personnel, sales volume and number of industries

The management would analyse the number of customers who passengers who use the international airport so that it could determine their country of origin and frequency of travelling. Thus, the management could implement marketing approaches that would be geared towards increasing the number of passengers.

Population diversity data would be important for the management to understand the level of heterogeneity within the population (Pope 2008). Population diversity positively correlates with sales volume (Zhang & Zhang 2006).

Thus, the top management at MCO would execute marketing strategies that would attract the population on the premises of diversity. Untapped market data would be critical in understanding the potential markets that would need to be utilised.

The markets would be identified based on the number of potential customers and the level of spending. Also, it would be essential for the management to collect data with regard to the countries in which business organisations from the greater Orlando operate.

The data would help the management to focus on the countries because they already have good relationships. Better trade relations would be utilised to launch excellent marketing approaches that would attract visitors to the greater Orlando region.

In addition, MCO should focus on the analysis of data that would give crucial facts about the main foreign firms that are conducting business in Orlando. The data would reveal the number of staff, sales volume and type of industries (Fuellhart 2007).

After establishing the facts, the management should then pursue the countries with the best performing foreign firms based in Orlando. The focus would enable the firm to attract a significant number of passengers who would help the organisation to expand its operations (Zhang & Zhang 2006).

Market of Orlando and Targeted Segments

The market of Orlando is quite diverse and it could support a thriving economy. The area offers an excellent business environment that supports various businesses in the context of many industries. The following market segments characterise Orlando (Alon et al 2013):

• Technology market- this is supported by university research and development and a tech-savvy workforce.
• Health care market- the area has a medical school, many hospitals, and research laboratories.
• Modelling and training market- the area boasts of the most well established simulation and training centre in the US.
• Space market- major efforts of discovering the universe were conducted in Orlando. Although the space research activities ended in the early 2000s, the firms that were involved in the space programme have since started to offer commercial space flights

How the MCO Management Should Prioritise the Countries, Regions, and Airlines to Pursue

In order for MCO to expand its operations, it needs to prioritise the countries, regions and airlines to pursue. It should identify the countries to pursue based on their number of citizens who use the international market.

Based on the number of visitors presented in the exhibits, the management should focus on the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Canada. The locations would provide excellent platforms on which to base the ambitious expansion plan of the firm.

With regard to airlines, MCO should concentrate on understanding their customer flows and customer destinations. Thus, the organisation should pursue airlines that have significant customer flows before it would pursue those characterised by fewer customers (Alon et al 2013).

The management should prioritise to pursue the following airlines based on their number of customers: China Southern Airlines, China Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air China, Emirates Airline, Japan Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Air France KLM, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and US Airlines.

The airlines operate across major regions of the world and they would provide MCO with opportunities to expand their operations in the future.

References

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Zhang, A, & Zhang, Y, 2006, ‘Airport capacity and congestion when carriers have market power’, Journal of Urban Economics, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 229-247.

Quality Policy for an Airline company in accordance with the ISO9001:2008

The superiority of service and universal business of Zadar Airport Limited are the chief objective of the corporation, which depends on the evaluation of customers of the company’s services. In support of this course, the criterion for quality of service is the response the company gets from its customers.

By relating the technique of analysis to customer contentment, the company keeps an eye on the work quality management scheme, with the intention of attaining permanent developments based on procedure advance management.

The Company administration will endlessly improve the effectiveness and dependable management scheme in agreement with valid a policy. For this reason, the management will provide the essential resources which principally involve the necessary guidance of employees and technical equipment. In addition to this, the administration will set up annual quality goals and monitor their realisation and observance with strategies.

Quality goals are detailed by management levels, and in agreement with that the administration and workers analytically and completely put this policy into operation. Additionally, the policy was openly announced.

Stakeholders

For each stakeholder, at least one stakeholder need was identified and for each stakeholder’s need, at least five processes were identified (New South Wales Government, 2012). This has been presented in the table below.

The process picked is that of the employee stakeholder. Below is a table representing the inputs and outputs representing this process.

For the airline employee training process used in section 1.3, five performance parameters and five methods that can be applied to measure those performance parameters are as identified below (Kulzick 1999).

The elements (components) that are needed to implement a continuous improvement program for the organisation are as below.

Establishing a vision for continual improvement

The main role of the administration is to offer an organisational vision that holds continual development. The top manager ought to use the vision, as an important tool in the communication of the overall goals for continual development, thereby inspiring the personnel and aligning continual development actions with the goal of the organisation.

Including a cross-section of workers in the course of developing a vision has been established to increase a feeling of possession and commitment all through the organisation (Hull, 2011).

Creating the incentive for a change

The senior administration needs to raise awareness of everyone in the organisation, concerning the need for considerable change as an ingredient of achieving extensive commitment to constant development. Individuals find change extremely uncomfortable and choose to maintain things the way they are, even after they recognise that being rigid will ultimately lead to failure.

Consequently, the senior administration must inspire staff members by communicating bluntly the benefits that lively contribution in the persistent improvement programme would fetch for each department, or purpose within the organisation (International Atomic Energy Agency, 2006).

Benchmarking, Auditing, Monitoring and Reviving

It is really vital to make sure that the company is heading in the right direction, and continually improving. Without the above mentioned four measures, this would be impossible to gauge. Results from bench marking, auditing, monitoring and reviewing, will help in identifying the strengths, weaknesses and gaps in the company’s undertaking, and can be used to improve procedures, processes, systems and future training.

Procedures and processes should be continually reviewed to ensure their suitability. Procedures could be updated to reflect recent changes in legislation or suggestions by external consultants.

Processes on the other hand, could be updated to take advantage of recent technological advances. These regular reviews and updates are likely to contribute to continuous improvement (Australian Procurement and Construction Council Inc & Department of Labour Advisory Committee, 1997).

Systems should be regularly reviewed to determine if they can be improved. Systems could be updated based on staff members’ feedback and suggestions by external consultants. Upgrading of computer systems and infrastructure could also contribute to continuous improvement by taking advantage of the latest technology (Construction Industry Forum et al., 2003).

Staff training could also be essential in ensuring that all procedures and practices are accomplished with efficiency, and that all staff members understand their job function.

All the members should have a professional development program that clearly identifies their training shortcomings, and maps out their training requirements. They should learn new skills likely to directly contribute to continuous improvement (International Atomic Energy Agency, 2006).

Creating a continual development culture could also be important. This is likely to be even more successful if it is initiated into a company that has an educational culture. In this, it is vital to realise and comprehend the background of an organisation. This will assist in identifying what requirements are to be changed to encourage continual development (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2010).

References

Haddow, J, Bullock, J & Coppola, P 2010, Introduction to Emergency Management, Prentice Hall, London.

Hull, J 2011, Fundamentals of Futures and Options Markets, Pearson, New Jersey.

Hylmö, K 2005, The Acceptance Process in Road Planning, Two Swedish Case Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Stockholm.

International Atomic Energy Agency 2006, ‘Application of the Management System for Facilities and Activities’, IAEA Safety Standards Series, no. GS-G-3.1, pp. 27-28.

Kulzick, R 1999, Stakeholder analysis for business. Web.

New South Wales Government 2012, Work Cover Authority of NSW. Web.

Enterprise management System

This system internally and externally integrates management information in organizations. In takes place in an entire organization touching on various departments such as finance and accounting, customer service, sales and marketing.

According to Sheldon, the main aim of installing ERP’s in organizations is to help the smooth flow of information within organizations and other external stakeholders so that business transactions and functions can take place smoothly (2005 p. 347). The system runs on special software designed with databases where the information is stored and accessed by authorized parties at various levels.

ERP use in Airports

According to Hamilton, airports such as Sharjah implement ERP systems as part of their business support programs to help in the reduction of their existing systems, elimination of business processing and data constraints as well as supporting business support functions crucial in the running of the airport (2003, p. 205).

Stolzer et al says that implementation of ERP in airports usually involves drastic changes to organizational processes, practices and staff. Full-fledged implementation is preceded by consulting, customization and support by the implementing companies that have been chose (2008, p. 167).

Implementation Team

The implementation of ERP at Sharjah Airport is expected to take approximately two years. The process will involve process preparation, configuration, customization, data implementation, data migration and extensions.

The implementation will be spearheaded by an external team from Oracle and an internal team working under the information technology department. The Oracle team will comprise t

Of a project manager, business consultants of not more than four people and program developers. Business consultants will help in the engineering aspect as well as configuration of the production and supply chains of Sharjah Airport.

The internal team from Sharjah airport on the other hand will have a project manager, business analysts, program developers, engineers form various departments data migration experts, representatives from planning and configuration, supply chain management and production departments.

Purpose of Implementation

Sharjah Airport is growing at an unprecedented rate. The expansion of its operation has necessitated the need for a better management of its finance, logistics and human resource systems for better delivery of services.

The legacy systems that are in use at the airport are overwhelmed by the airport’s handling capacity fueled by growth. Similarly, the information technology infrastructure that is in use at the airport is almost obsolete having been upgraded in late 90’s.

The implementation of ERP at the airport will therefore increase efficiency in management of its resources as well as its core business. The system will provide a single integrated system capable of digitizing of paper based processes besides helping in asset management and human resources functionalities.

Implementation of ERP at Sharjah Airport

According to Camp (2004, p. 248), implementation of ERP systems in organizations takes quite some time depending on the size o the organization and complexity of the project. The implementation of the ERP project at Sharjah Airport will be done in five phases.

The first phase will involve the implementation of financial and logistical system features of the Oracle software that the airport authorities would have chosen. The phase will also involve the installation of human capital management applications into the new system.

Configuration of the asset management systems to manage the vast asset network of the company will be done at this phase. This will prepare the system for better accounting management based on the national and international standards

The second phase will involve the installation of databases that will hold company information. Oracle and the internal team will build a data warehouse as well as reporting tools that will enable employees of the airport to access personal information, submit requests and any other information that will be relevant to them.

The second phase work will help in rolling back the use of paper besides easing the burden on human resources department.

Systems of ERP helping in the maintenance and property management of the airport’s investments and properties will be installed in the third phase of the project.

The fourth phase of the project will involve the installation of a customer relationship management system. It will also include the installation of a supplier management system for suppliers. The systems will ensure speedy and effective service of both customers and suppliers of the facility.

The final phase will involve the installation of a new portal for the airport’s intranet as well as system for effective business intelligence gathering. After the above configurations are made, the system will go live, hopefully within the set timeline.

Conclusion

The system will is expected to boost management of the facility besides making it a premier choice in the region. It’s also important to note that implementation will involve training of the workers of the facility and reorganization of the workforce according to their capabilities and experience.

Oracle will provide a two-year maintenance service during which time they will provide support free of charge. Additionally, Oracle will provide training to IT debarment employees who will be charged with the responsibility of running the system after the two-year support program from Oracle runs out. The IT departments will be actively engaged in the management and running of the system from the time of going live.

References

Camp, O. (2004) Enterprise information systems. London: Springer.

Hamilton, S. (2003) Maximizing your ERP system: a practical guide for managers. New York: Mc Graw Hill.

Sheldon, D. (2005) Class A ERP implementation: integrating Lean and six sigma. New York: J. Ross Publishing Inc.

Stolzer et al. (2008) Safety management systems in aviation. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company.

Introduction

In pursuit of excellence, many organizations have turned to exploring the various ways and means of improving on their product quality (Berger, 1997). This has hitherto made quality management to become a critical area of concern among many organizations. Quality is defined as fitness for use, conformance to the specification or free from defect (Lillrank & Kano, 1989).

A management team that is keen to achieve competitive excellence will pay much attention to quality since it is the primary source of customer satisfaction and subsequent loyalty (Kirkpatrick, 2001). A common way of ensuring that the quality of products is enhanced is the use of Continuous Improvement.

Continuous improvement is defined as the deliberate culture in an organization that is focused on reducing wastages and defects while improving on the quality of products (Bessant, Caffyn, & Gilbert, 1994). It is a quality management philosophy that has been applied by various large, medium and small size organizations to increase their efficiency in operations. This often results in more quality products that match standards and provide the customers with services and goods that are above their expectations (Kenneth, 2002).

A study of Airports reveals how Continuous Improvement offers insightful information on how they can improve on their service delivery, thus attracting and retaining customers. This would ensure that they achieve competitive excellence and high service quality which is a key factor in building a good reputation and customer loyalty.

The Critical to Quality characteristics of airports from the passenger perspective

Critical to quality (CTQ) are the priorities of customers that attribute a product being provided by the supplier. Customers are always the final bearers of the final products (Ishikawa, 1985). Therefore any service provided to the customer should always be up to the specifications needed by the customer or even exceed them (George, 2002).

Airports are major transit point for movements of goods and people travelling by airplanes. Airports are therefore as important as all other service organizations because customers who experience excellent service at the airports will always want to use the same airports in their subsequent travels.

Travelers are concerned about the various attributes that define an airports service quality. In the wake of increased and advanced security concerns such as terrorism, a current day traveler top priority is the security status of the airport and the general travel experience. Many instances have been reported where individuals have managed to check-in into planes undetected and cause security problems.

Customers therefore regard security as a critical factor to assessing the quality of the services offered at the airports. An airport security screening process that guarantees a secure travel always results in a customer satisfaction and subsequent quality approval.

Passengers also assess airport’s quality in terms of courtesy and the general reception experience. Airports with friendly staff and courteous staff will always ensure that the passengers get the impression of an environment where the customers concerns are met. This translates to a good rapport and eventually acts as a factor to consider when ranking the quality of services being delivered by the airport.

Efficiency in operations has also been an important attribute in Critical to Quality analysis (Bessant, Caffyn, & Gilbert, 1994). This is because there has been a growing concern among many passengers on the time wasted during check point and between check-in and take-off.

Airports that have managed to address this issue of efficiency are classified in the category that offers high quality service. Efficiency in airports includes hastened baggage handling, fastened security check-ups and reduced waiting time. These are key areas where customers regard to classify an airport as providing quality services.

Analysis of Changi Airport Singapore

Changi Airport has grown for a small airport in the early eighties to a modern day five-star airport with over one hundred airlines operating in it and handling over forty million passengers in a year. It has won numerous international awards, consistently ranking as a five-star Airport by the Skytrax. These numerous accolades have come not without a price as it has invested highly in various processes that have ensured that it remains a top ranked airport in the world.

To achieve the above named Critical to Quality (CTQ) attributes the airport has been able to provide impeccable terminal arrival areas. These include courteous staff, background music that is always soothing and an ambience that is always appealing to all the arriving and departing passengers. This has meant that first time arrivers to the airport experience an exemplary environment that ensures that they always want to travel via the same terminus in their subsequent travels.

The airport has also improved it baggage handling processes. A recent opening of terminus 3 that has advanced infrastructure has ensured that the passengers always have their luggage delivered into the arrival hall in real time. This has reduced the time that is usually wasted by travelers while waiting for their luggage once they arrive at the check-out points.

To achieve this, the airport constructed underground tunnels to hasten the baggage handling processes. The airport is one of the few international airports that have invested in infrastructure to efficiently handle the Airbus A380.

The airport also has employed efficient security check systems that ensure extensive screening is carried out on all travelers. Security is a major area of concern among many travel stakeholders. Changi’s Security screening systems include state of the Art technological systems that employ the most advanced screening methods.

The airport has put top notch security alert systems that include real time response ability in case of emergency. It has also contacted top security companies for specialized security check mechanisms and alarm response systems. This has increased the travelers’ confidence and has consequently resulted in the airport being consistently ranked as a five-star airport.

Comparison of Changi’s Airport performance with other airports

Changi airport has airport has consistently remained ahead of the pack when it comes to quality. The airport has been ranked among the best airports in the world and has grown from a small airport in the early eighties to become a five star airport within two decades. This has been enabled by the top management dedication to quality and a culture of excellence that has ensured that the passengers always receive services that are beyond their expectations.

It has separated the airport from other major airports of the world. While the other airports concentrate on offering the just required services, Changi airport has gone the extra mile to provide its first time passenger with an environment that will create a wow effect. This has been enabled by its ability to have friendly staffs that are always ready to serve and offer attention to detail.

Its recent construction of an underground tunnel has seen efficient operations more so when dealing with the A380 airbus. This has generated a huge positive rapport with the traveler. This is because not many other airports have undertaken infrastructural improvements to this extent that are aimed at improving the efficient operations at the check-in and check-out points.

The airport also tops other airports in their customer care and service delivery. On arrival, the environment that is created always presents a soothing effect to the passengers. With music playing in the background and an appealing ambience, the airport fails to compare to the other airports as it is way ahead of them.

The first time passengers that pass via Changi airport always receive an above average service that is rarely found in many other airports. This will remain as a major key competence n the airport that by the time other airports manage to successfully emulate it, it will have enjoyed a run of excellence for quite a long time.

Customer Dissatisfaction

The above model of customer service delight is helpful in identifying the innovative features to be employed in the Changi’s Airport new Terminus 4. According to Kano, the designers ought to put into consideration the must-be attributes are considered when coming up with the new products (Lillrank & Kano, 1989). The management of the airport therefore ought to ensure that these attributes are carefully considered to ensure that the customer’s expectations are met.

In addition the management ought to innovate features which are not even in the minds of the passengers. This will mean that the passengers will experience a completely new environment and a new and extra ordinary experience while at the airport. This is a key area in developing distinctive capabilities that will cause many competitors not copy with great deal of difficult of actually be unable to copy them (Edvinsson & Malone, 1997).

To ensure that the one dimensional attributes are captured in the new terminus 4, the airport management needs to capture the voice of the passengers. This is an important source of valuable information since quality is defined by the customer. The travelers’ views therefore ought to be put into careful consideration so as to incorporate their view. This will ensure that the expectations that they have on a high quality airport are well met.

The management also needs to carefully re-invention of the already existing termini. This will ensure that there is continuous improvement of the already existing facility and that the continuous improvement is a holistic approach being employed in all the operational areas of the airport.

Six Sigma as a tool for Continuous Improvement

The Six Sigma is an organized and systematic method for continuous improvement that relies on statistical approaches which reduce the defect level while increasing the productivity (George, 2002). This tool was introduced in the eighties and has been a cause of many companies’ turn around and subsequent success story.

This too once used by the Changi airport will ensure that the major areas that are susceptible to quality failure are addressed in advance. This tool is used in all the functional areas of the organization to ensure that the processes and procedures are followed to the latter. This results in almost zero defects in the products. Change airport would employ the six sigma tool in all the areas to ensure a strict and holistic approach towards implementing of the new terminus 4.

There are five steps that are involved in implementing the six sigma improvement tool. These steps are employed by the organization to ensure a systematic, monitored, and coordinated set of activities that ensure that the areas which are susceptible to product defects are keenly monitored (George, 2002). These steps are classified into these five processes; Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and control. All these activities are undertaken controllably to ensure that the continuous improvement process happens systematically reducing any form of potential defects.

In the first stage, the customers’ priorities are established and defined. This is usually an important part of Continuous Improvement since quality is majorly defined by the customer. The second step involves measuring the processes and the defects that arise from these processes.

This step would ensure that the airport procedures are mapped and potential quality compromise areas are identified. The processes are therefore analyzed such that the defect areas are identified. The fourth step in the most important where performance is improved to ensure that the causes of defects are removed (George, 2002). The final step; control is aimed at taking monitoring and evaluating the results of the whole process and serves as a feedback mechanism to the management.

Conclusion

Continuous improvement has become a key aspect of total quality management. As such Changi Airport ought to continue enhancing continuous improvement using the various available models such as the six sigma tools. This will ensure that the airport continues being at the epitome of quality service among the top airport brands in the world. The airport expansion program will also ensure that it keeps the pace of the economic growth of Singapore.

In the wake of increased tourist arrivals, change airport will undoubtedly remain a busy transit point in Asia. The management should therefore strive to ensure that it takes advantage of this valuable opportunity. An integrated analysis of the airports internal strengths and available opportunities will ensure a successful strategy formulation that will continue to push it to greater heights of quality excellence.

References

Berger, A. (1997). Continuous Improvements and Kaizen: Standardization and Organizational Designs. Journal of Intergrated Manufacturing Systems , 8 (2), 110-117.

Bessant, J., Caffyn, S., & Gilbert, J. (1994). Rediscovering Continuous improvements. Technovation ,14, 17-29.

Edvinsson, L., & Malone, S. (1997). Intellectual Capital:Realizing Your Company’s True Value by Finding its Hidden Brainpower. New York: Harper Business.

George, M. (2002). Lean Six sigma: Combining six sigma Quality with Lean Production Speed. New York: McGraw Hill.

Ishikawa, K. (1985). What is Quality Control ? The Japanese Way. New York: Prentice Hall.

Kenneth, S. S. (2002). International Academy for Quality: Best of Quality. USA: ASQ Quality Press.

Kirkpatrick, D. L. (2001). Developing Supervisors and Team Leaders. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Lillrank, P., & Kano, N. (1989). Continuous Improvement: Quality Control Circles in Japanese Industry. Michigan: University of Michigan: Center for Japanese Studies.

Contemporary business arenas call upon business leaders to adopt strategies and policies that can enhance their organization’s competitiveness. Competition in the airline industry calls upon players to adopt strategies that improve their service quality and create good relations with customers.

When opening an extra terminal, terminal 4(), Changi Airport Singapore should enact improvement initiatives that increases successes and reduces failures to attain competitive excellence in today’s market (Cicerone, Hekele & Morado, 2009). This report addresses crucial operational and service excellence strategies that Changi Airports Group (CAG) should adopt to make the new terminal 4 (T4).

Critical to quality (CTQs) from passengers’ perspective

When designing, placing, and making interior decorations for the new terminal, critical to quality (CTQs) management lead by Lee Seow Hiang should consider factors/policies likely to improve customer feeling/customer experience when using the terminal. With this in mind, the management should think of the factors that customers are likely to perceive pleasant.

When a passenger jets into the country, whether returning or visiting passenger, the first impression he gets from the terminal determines the perception and attitude that he creates about the airport and probably the country. The management should ensure that the terminal has impeccable terminal arrival areas with directional signs likely to offer quality guideline to the passage.

The music playing in the terminal area should not be destructive to the minds of the passengers; it is wanted to have soothing background music. Color themes and lighting choices comes into play in the terminal areas, the choice of colors should not be screaming however they should offer a sense of harmony, peace, and are comforting. Interior design of the terminal should be attracting and accommodating.

Other than the interior design of the terminal, the management should consider having helping, loyal, attractive, smart, dedicated, and courteous staffs in the terminal. The personnel should have a wide understanding of different international languages to accommodate people of different nationalities effectively. The terminal should have some additional delicacies to passengers in the efforts of ensuring they feel welcomed in the country, for instance the terminal may have modern/highly developed baggage handling and high speed transfer system.

The time that passengers spend in the terminal is another factor that is likely to rate the terminal highly or otherwise; the management should ensure it has state of the art technology to facilitate fast clearance of customers in the terminal. Some of the areas that should be looked into include baggage handling, customs clearances, and luggage delivery from planes.

How Changi Airport Singapore has hitherto been able to fulfil the CTQs identified above

To ensure that the above CTQs have been adhered to, the management has adopted various strategic management tools that ensure the entire airport operates effectively. Changi Airports Group (CAG) has been keen on technology; the management ensures that the airport has modern state of the art technology in areas like cargo handling, clearance, passengers checking, and freight schedule arrangements.

With the technology passengers even before reaching the airport can be able to check their status via the airports website and ensure that their freight has been scheduled and what time. Security has been enhanced using state of the art technology and using other security methods. The presence of police (both uniformed and plain cloth) is evident in the art port; they are assisted by other security devises like scanners, sniffer dogs, and weapon detectors. The above measures are aimed at ensuring that the airport is safe.

The second strength of the airport management is how it has been able to manage its human capital; the management ensures it has well trained personnel who are able t control traffic in the airport. To ease on personnel management, the airport leaders have ensured they have subcontracted for some services (those services that are not in the main line of business) like learning, trolley handling, and offering direction.

The management has ensured that the serving staffs have wide knowledge of different languages to communicate well with passengers. The general outlay and infrastructure development of the airport is appealing to customers. When using the airport, one can be able to maneuver even without asking for assistance. Directional posts are situated at strategic points. Road transport within the airport is managed effectively and traffic controlled by experts; there are areas of public transport parking while others are for taxis and private cars.

This is meant to facilitate transport and communication in the airport. As a competitive tool, the management has offered some extra services to its customers, to ensure it is a step ahead of competition; the services include free internet wifi services, installing leg massage chairs near its boarding gates, or well-organized and guided hotel booking points.

To ensure that the stay that customers have in the airport is excellent, the management has ensured that it has provided some additional services like website booking/freight management and ground transportation, security and immigration service, passenger arrivals, departures and transit, terminal comfort and terminal facilities, and shopping, food and beverage (Berger, 1997).

Comparison of how Changi Airport Singapore has fared on these CTQs vis-à-vis other comparable airports

Changi Airport is one of the companies that can be accredited for the improved tourism industry in Singapore; the airport offers pleasant arrival and departure point for domestic and international users. The airport is the main port in Singapore located on 13 square kilometers (5.0 sq mi) site; to manage the airport effectively, the management has ensured that all areas have been looked into.

When comparing the airport with others in the country and international ones, the airport has fulfilled it Critical to quality (CTQs) better. For instance the average checking time in the airport is relatively lower than other airports. For ground handling, the management has contacted the service of Singapore.

Airport Terminal Services (SATS) and Dnata Singapore (dnata sg), the above two companies ensures that passengers are not stranded when in the airport and assistance is offered as fast as possible. The airport’s terminals are well manned by customs officials and equipped with immigration-processing facilities for international travel; the clearing time for passengers is much lower than the time used by other airports.

Security of the airport is another strength that the company has over its competitors; the management has ensured that there are state of the art security devises and personnel to offer intelligence and physical crime handling services. The way the management has been able to handle security in the airport is commendable than the way the same has been maintained by other airports (Tennant, 2001).

Applying Kano’s Model of customer service delight to explore which innovative features in the proposed T4 should be incorporated in its blueprint

Kano’s model of customer management points out attributes on products or services that need to be incorporated when making a particular decision. When making the terminal, the management must ensure that the following features as outlined in Kano model of customer service delight have been incorporated:

Must be requirements: these are those attributes that customers will find as normal although when they are not available the customer is dissatisfied; for example a customer might expect to have some directional sign in the terminal, this might not be different from the norm, however if the customer lacks such signs he will be dissatisfied.

The terminal should thus have well made directional signs that can be relied upon. Must-be requirements are in any case a decisive competitive factor, thus if the terminal lacks the facilities, it will not be meeting the needs and expectation of customers (Wheelen & Hunger, 1998).

One-dimensional requirements: these are services/products that the customer is keen on and is probably on the lookout for them. The management should ensure that the terminal is well equipped with such requirements; for instance being an airport terminal, passengers will be expecting to have customs and immigration people in board.

Failure to have such services will lead to high dissatisfaction to customers. With the products, the management should ensure that the experience that customers get is beyond what they would have expected. For example the rate of baggage clearing should be minimal and the clearing of passengers should be fast and efficient.

Attractive requirements: this requirement differentiates services/products offered by competitors, the management should ensure that there are some innovative services/products with the terminal; this is what the customer might remember for a long time. For instance the management may decide to have an ice-cream during summer for arriving passengers or a cup of coffee in winter. Such an innovative mind is likely to influence customer decision on the net freight terminal.

Because of differences in ages and economical well being of the airport users, the management can have each package for a particular classification of passengers. Failure to offer attractive requirements might not lead to dissatisfaction but offering them is beneficial to the airport (Dabhilkar & Bengtsson, 2004).

The following chart summarizes Kano’s Model of customer service delight:

Continuous improvement (CI) tools that may be helpful in keeping Changi Airport Singapore ahead of competition

Changi Airport Singapore business leaders should appreciate that globalization has brought numerous business opportunities to different industries but at the same time it has exposed businesses to risks and operational threats. Management gurus/professionals have continually agreed that for effective competitiveness, organizations need to focus on improving the relationship they have with their customers.

On the other hand to improve customer relation, organizations need to improve their products, services, and production styles with time. Continuous improvement paradigm is a strategic management strategy that seeks to have an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes with the aim of improving relationship between customers and the organization as efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility in the organization is facilitated. One tool of continuous improvement that the management should adopt to keep it ahead of its competition is using six sigma.

Six sigma involves making quality decisions on manufacturing, marketing, selling, branding, and customer management function. The management approach involves focusing on quality of policies, responsibilities, objectives and their implementation through quality control, quality planning and quality improvement (Hyland, Mellor, O’Mara, 2006)

Being in the service industry, Changi Airport Singapore business leaders should appreciate the competitive tool brought about by efficiency in service delivery; efficiency is a strong competition tool in businesses; it reduces the cost of production and leads to a more satisfy customers.

On the other hand, satisfied customers are an increased business to an organization; Six-sigma is implemented in business to improve the efficiency and increase the productivity of the entire organization, an effective Six Sigma implementation at Changi Airport Singapore will ensure that the airport is managed as a system where failure of one section can be reflected and probably corrected in another. When the system is implemented it not only focus on ensuring low costs of production but also looks into customer relationship management, it focuses on all areas in an organization to have a totality of good results in the organization.

Though when implemented is a project that undertakes a number of procedures, it is a continuous process that requires constant improvements and upgrading. In other terms six sigma is an ongoing process of products, processes, relationship, and operations improvement where skills are used to add value to the worth of an organization. Continuous improvement paradigm rhymes with accounting policy of going on concern where both focus on ensuring that an organization has enacted effective operational and products improvement to gain an increasing business in its industry (Bhuiyan & Baghel, 2005).

Conclusion

In contemporary competitive business environments, business leaders are focusing on quality improvement processes using approaches that yield to positive results to their final consumers. When developing terminal 4, Changi Airport Singapore management should ensure an in-depth Critical to quality (CTQs) from passengers’ perspective has been sort as it will assist when designing, staffing, and managing the terminal.

References

Berger, A. (1997). Continuous improvement and kaizen: standardization and organizational designs. Integrated Manufacturing Systems, 8(2),110-17.

Bhuiyan, N., & Baghel, A. (2005). An Overview for continuous improvement from past to present. Management Decision, 43(6), 761-772.

Cicerone, B., Hekele, A., & Morado, J. (2009). Applying Continuous Process Improvement For Managing Customer Loyalty. Agency Sales, 39 (10), 26-32.

Dabhilkar, M., & Bengtsson, L. (2004). Balanced scorecards for strategic and sustainable continuous improvement capability. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 15 (4), 350-360.

Hyland, P. , Mellor, R., O’Mara, E. (2006). A Comparison of Australian firms and their use of continous improvement tools. Measuring Business Excellence, 6(1), 52-60.

Tennant, G. (2001). SIX SIGMA: SPC and TQM in Manufacturing and Services. Aldershot: Gower Publishing.

Wheelen, L., & Hunger, J. (1998). Strategic Management and Business Policy: Entering 21st Century Global Society. Massachusetts: Addison Wesley