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Thinking through the meteoric rise of Middle-East carriers from Singapore Airlines' vantage point

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  • Fan, Terence Ping Ching
  • Lingblad, Mats

Abstract

The rise of Middle East carriers in the past decade has been nothing less than meteoric. Based on the notion of generic strategy, we analysed the potential for competitors of the leading Middle East carriers to respond in terms of market scope and product characteristics, using Singapore Airlines as a reference. We found that it was generally difficult for Singapore Airlines to compete in terms of market scope, and thus it should concentrate on offering different degrees of differentiation in its products. While the latest small, long-haul aircraft could help increase Singapore Airlines' market scope, this impact would be marginal at best. We compared the product offerings and prices for the Business and Economy cabins, and noted the intensive competitive pressures the leading Middle East carriers exerted on Singapore Airlines. Improving specific product qualities such as guaranteeing a horizontally flat bed in Business and the overall quality in Economy helps competitors command higher prices, while other niches are still possible.

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  • Fan, Terence Ping Ching & Lingblad, Mats, 2016. "Thinking through the meteoric rise of Middle-East carriers from Singapore Airlines' vantage point," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 111-122.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:54:y:2016:i:c:p:111-122
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2016.04.003
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    2. O’Connell, John F. & Bueno, Oriol Escofet, 2018. "A study into the hub performance Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways and their competitive position against the major European hubbing airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 257-268.
    3. Grosche, Tobias & Klophaus, Richard & Seredyński, Adam, 2017. "Competition for long-haul connecting traffic among airports in Europe and the Middle East," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(PA), pages 3-14.

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