Regular airlines prosper despite competition

Faisal Chaniago , Contributor , Jakarta Tue, 11/04/2008 10:38 AM Supplement
Competition in air transportation is becoming fiercer and fiercer. Various ways have been employed to gain a profit and one of these ways is the low-cost carrier (LCC) system.
Traveling by air is gaining greater popularity. The fact that there are many LCCs makes it easier to travel by air. Although LCCs are gaining greater popularity, there is still demand for flights on regular airlines.
One domestic airline that has quite high fares compared to LCCs is Garuda Indonesia. Despite the higher fares, this airline remains popular because it offers more services than LCCs.
Garuda offers various services to loyal customers. Take, for example, its city check-in facility. This facility enables a passenger to choose a plane seat 24 hours prior to departure. This is very helpful, particularly to those booked on a long-haul flight.
Another advantage of flying domestically with Garuda is the use of the international terminal, which is far more comfortable than the domestic terminal. A passenger feels so much more comfortable when checking in at the international terminal, which is more orderly than the domestic terminal. And the bathrooms at the international airport are better maintained.
The baggage allowance with Garuda is also higher than it is with an LCC, namely 20 kg compared to 15 kg with the latter.
When boarding, a passenger is welcomed with sincere smiles from the cabin staff. Although many people seem to think that the cabin staff are not that young, in reality this is an advantage in that they are calmer and have more experienced in serving passengers. When a passenger travels with a child, he or she will find that the cabin staff are adept at interacting with the child.
Another striking difference in service is the food served on flights. No food is served on board LCC flights, unless a passenger buys it. When traveling long distance with a regular airline, at mealtimes passengers are served complete meals with a choice of drinks. If the flight distance is short, for example between Jakarta and Yogyakarta, and the flight does not take place during a mealtime, passengers are served a snack and a choice of drinks.
A regular carrier is also more likely to have its own aircraft maintenance center.
Garuda Indonesia CEO Emirsyah Satar said, "We offer better services and comfort. Garuda never stops improving its performance from various organizational aspects, including the aspect of services to passengers."
In a similar vein, Garuda Indonesia commercial director Agus Priyanto said improvements in its human resources, particularly in terms of service, covers the services and quality of cabin staff because passengers have often complained that cabin staff do not move as quickly as expected because they are no longer young.
"We acknowledge that many of Garuda's promises in terms of service have yet to be met and we consider this 'criminal' and something that needs correcting. Garuda is optimistic it can improve the quality of its services starting this year. One of the reasons for this optimism is the fact that, while in previous years Garuda sustained losses, last year Garuda booked a profit of Rp 259 billion."
Agus stressed that in 2009, Garuda Indonesia would add 10 new Boeing-777 aircraft to its fleet. This illustrates that the presence of LCCs has not affected the business of the carrier.
A number of regular airlines from abroad have also opened routes between their home base and Jakarta. One of these is Saudi Arabian Airlines, which offers television and game facilities on its new aircraft flying the Jakarta-Jeddah route. Child passengers are given a bag containing toys and activities to keep them occupied during the nine-hour flight.
Passengers flying this route with the Saudi airline are served more than one meal. Passengers are first served juice or soda, and a few hours later a full meal. Toward the end of the flight, snacks and drinks are served.
Singapore Airlines, or SQ as it is widely known as, has similar services. SQ is one of the leading carriers in the world, and has become a leader in international flights because of its excellent service. Excellent service has led to SQ consistently booking considerable profit from year to year despite the fact that many other airlines have gone bankrupt.
SQ has earned citations in various respects, for example in the categories of Best Airline, Best Business Class, Best Cabin Crew Service, Best In Flight Food, Best for Punctuality and Safety, Best Air Cargo, Best for Business Traveler.
In its development, SQ carries out research to discover how it can improve its services to ensure customer satisfaction.
Customers are all important, Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choon Seng said, and as such the airline does all it can keep passengers happy during flights. At the same time, SQ constantly develops its employees so that they can support the creation of excellent services.
Excellent services also need employees that quite clearly understand what these services are. Therefore, on every occasion, training is provided to employees. In addition, the system is always developed and a good business process is carried out consistently.
In addition, SQ carries out benchmarking to compare services in the industry in order to be able to create services that customers will not only find satisfactory but that will exceed their expectations. In this way, SQ aims for customer loyalty, so that at the end of the day, SQ can be assured of reaping a profit.