Airport Operations Management: Enhancing Customer Experience at Changi

1 QB2505 Operations Management. Airport Operations Management; Changi Airport Group. Your name Institutional affiliation Course Date

2 Summary. Airport operations constitute all processes involved in an airport to ensure that customer experience runs as smoothly as possible. This includes customer service, gateway operations, transport security administration, and more. Airports are often busy, efficient operations are integral to ensure that thousands of travelers using the airports arrive at their destination in time and safely. Like other fields of operations, the operations in Changi Airport are diverse with a plethora of opportunities available for exploration. Each segment of operations plays a significant role in the fulfillment of the full functions of the airport. These segments enable the airport to achieve the important aspects of the 4Vs of operations management. The airport also has several processes that facilitate its operations. Changi Airport also has several terminals that are functionally designed to facilitate the convenient provision of services to customers. Each of its four terminals has departments that are related to minimizing movement. The 4Vs of Operations Management . Volume. The volume concerns the total number of passengers and luggage in and out of the airport. Changi airport is recognized as one of the busiest international airports. The airport has three terminals to handle more than 70 million passengers registered annually. The airport has a sophisticated architectural design that enhances the customer’s overall experience ("Changi Airport Group", n.d.). With the need to meet the expanding operations in the airport, the other terminals were developed. The terminals are designed to accommodate the needs of the seventy million users annually.

3 Variety. The airports operate in partnership with global aircraft service providers. The airliners have varieties of services proportional to what customers can afford. There are four cabin classes offered by the airliners within the airport; economy, premium economy, business, and first-class. The economy class is the most basic class with narrow seats; only sufficient for a customer. The premium economy is an improvement of economy class with wider seats and added space and sometimes a better location. The business class is the luxurious class with high-quality seats i.e. recliners, full-meal service, and in-flight entertainment. The first-class passengers get to enjoy lie-flat seats among other services of the business class. Variation. Passenger experience is the most essential factor of differentiation given that airports are in the service industry. Technology has played a key role in improving the airport’s services. Mobile application or the airport’s web provides everything that customers need to travel from the airport right from ticket booking to travel time; all in one place. This has helped in reducing queues for passengers arriving on foot, streamlining packing, and has helped reduce the stress of getting in and out of the airport. With the aid of these technologies, the airport can differentiate its service and improve the overall customer experience. Visibility. The airport is a service industry that guarantees it a high level of visibility. Its services are easy to locate. Physically, Changi airport is noticeable at the tip of Singapore which is a few kilometers from the city square. This strategic location plays a role in the airport's business

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4 growth, especially with the competition (Chutiphongdech, 2020). The land fits airlines' flight needs and the location is economically sustainable. Processes, Layout, and Use of Technology . Functional/Process Layout. Changi airport utilizes a functional layout to streamline the provision of services and make processes more convenient for customers. The first section in the entrance is the immigration checkpoint. In this section, goods and travelers are inspected and allowed passage into the airport or directed to their designations for clearance. After the entrance, travelers can then move to the check-in area of the departure hall. The departure galls have clearly marked check-in counters where staff facilitate passengers through the boarding procedures. The airport has four terminals to accommodate passengers for different purposes. Different modes have been used to connect the terminals that are facilitated by modern technology. The airport mainly uses Skytrain to drop passengers at different terminals. The floor also has a sustainable layout. Terminal has a sophisticated architectural design that is warm and brings accustomed experience for foreign travelers. The second terminal is not very specialized but is designed to gather travelers' food and beverages. The third terminal is designed with a concentration of appreciation of nature; based on the transparency, natural lighting, and external views (Schwitter, C., & Correa, 2019). The basement level is mainly used by the arriving passengers. The basement has the arrival hall, entrances of the departure hall, and the taxi stands. From this perspective, closely related functions are located at a proximal location to one another to ensure that customers receive services without having to move from one location to another. At Change Airport there are several processes that are followed before entering or leaving the airport. Airport mainly

5 offers services as a product to its customers, Changi mainly utilizes the professional type of process. Type of Process: Professional Services. Changi Airport has extensive international experience in the design of airport solutions and airport services as presented across its project life cycle. Changi Airport mainly utilizes professional services type of process since its customer services have a high degree of interaction and customization. Given the high degree of customization of its services and high degree of labor intensity, Changi Airport must utilize this type of process in line with the requirements of the service matrix. Professional services process has been utilized by the airport to improve the efficiency of the airport passenger operations. Most professional services such as accounting/billing and customer services are labor intensive. The need to achieve agility and provide highly customized services to customers demands the airport such as Changi to fully adopt the professional services type of process. The airport utilizes a simulation program to estimate and analyze how much queueing and processing time have been reduced with the implementation of various service strategies. Changi Airport Group is also implementing various techniques to enhance self-services check-in booths in its operations to make services more accessible and provide a highly customized service to its customers (Lee, C. K. M., 2014). Achieving Performance Objectives. Changi Airport provides is customers with excellent services to achieve competitive prices. Its main focus is on quality of services at lower prices. The quality of services and the layout of the airport has played a significant role in enhancing customer experience. The four

6 terminals are designed with focus on architecture, and a skytrain is used to move from one terminal to the other. About the cost, Changi Airport has a rewarding transit program. Changi has partnered with various airlines like Singapore Airlines and Silk Airlines in its transit program. Passengers who transfer at the airport are eligible for up to a $40 redeemable voucher (Henderson, J., 2017). The transit program cuts the cost of flight making it cheaper and more competitive for other airlines. Booking and cancellation of a flight has also been simplified and made more flexible, customers do not have to worry about missing a flight. Why is Changi Successful ? Changi Airport is one of the most successful airports across the world. The design of Changi Airport is impressive, especially in the management, planning, control, and organization of operations. The terminals are remarkably innovative and have enhanced the flow of operations and improved the quality of customer experience. Changi Airport values its customers and it deserves its global recognition. All these services are most appropriate for its sustainability plan.

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7 References Changi Airport Group . Changi. Retrieved 19 February 2022, from https://www.changiairport.com/ . Chutiphongdech, T. (2020). The Success Behind the World’s Best Airport: The Rise of Changi. Available at SSRN 3715232 . Henderson, J. C. (2017). Airport roles: Pushing the boundaries at Singapore's Changi Airport. Asian Journal of Tourism Research , 2 (3), 1-24. Lee, C. K. M., Ng, Y., Lv, Y., & Taezoon, P. (2014). Empirical analysis of a self-service check-in implementation in Singapore Changi Airport. International Journal of Engineering Business Management , 6 (Godište 2014), 6-6. Schwitter, C., & Correa, C. (2019, October). Changi Jewel: Pushing the limits on shell design. In Proceedings of IASS Annual Symposia (Vol. 2019, No. 22, pp. 1-8). International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS).

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