Recent customer-related events in the global airline industry have gone viral with videos of passengers being injured while dragged off a flight and an American Airlines employee challenging a male passenger to a fight. Emirates Airlines is well aware of the negative customer perceptions of air travel that have arisen as a result of events such as these. The company has adopted a strategy to leverage its internal capabilities to provide outstanding customer service along with associated amenities with the goal of creating a much higher quality travel experience than any offered by U.S.-based airlines.
In this case study, you will review these internal capabilities and assess how they might align with external conditions to create a competitive advantage.
After reviewing the case, respond to each of the following items:
Summarize what you consider to be Emirates’ strategic internal capabilities according to the text-reference chapters 5 & 6.
How has Emirates leveraged these capabilities to create core and distinctive competencies? Assess each competency according to the four criteria of the VRIO framework defined on page 135 of your text in your response to this question. Textbook uploaded in PDF
What is your assessment of the imitability of each of these competencies?
Will Emirates’ current strategy of high-quality customer service and focus on customer needs generate a lasting competitive advantage in the airline industry? Why or why not?
