MERCULLO, ENDREI CLYNE, M.

| 11813431 | SERVMAN EB

Due to forced lockdowns resulting to less demand of most commodities and goods, some businesses are
forced to close that lead to an unprecedented disruption of commerce in most industry and service sectors
(Donthu & Gustafsson, 2020). As a result, more and more workers are laid off and remain unemployed
which weakens the manpower of most companies, especially in the manufacturing and service sector. In
the Philippines alone, unemployment rate is at 8.7% since April 2021, which translates to 4.14 million
Filipinos jobless. Despite of some companies closing for good or temporarily, some companies found
ways to thrive and survive and even compete for demands for medical supplies and personal protective
equipment and innovated and shifted to other business opportunities.

One service industry that intrigues me is the airline industry. According to Rooley (2020), the airline
industry suffered a loss of $84.3 billion in 2020 with Asia-Pacific having the largest loss amounting to
$29 billion with a decrease of 53.8% in passenger demand. Major airline companies such as Virgin
Atlantic, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific have cancelled almost 90% of their scheduled flights
internationally and domestically combined (Morgan, 2020). As a result, they are forced to innovate such
as transforming to a cargo airline company (Asquith, 2020) as airline companies saw the thriving
operations of supply chain globally as more customers order online and maximize the e-commerce
platform. To demonstrate how airline companies sought ways to cope up with the pandemic losses, below
is a table that represents the different companies under the airline industry including their adaptabilities
and innovations for pandemic mitigations, my personal view of customer needs based on their present
operations and innovations, and presumptions on what customers demand from the companies.

Company Business Customer/Consumer

Company Innovations/Changes
Perspective Perspective
o ceased its operations in o provide global o clean and safe
Gatwick Airport (Albers & transport for cabins
Rundshagen, 2020) passengers that is o attention to
o in-flight meals are pre- essential for personal needs by
packed/packaged (Chui, tourism and flight crew
2020) business travels o hassle free
o retirement of 4-engine planes o transport rebooking and
(Chui, 2020) goods/commodities cancellation system
British o partnership with Qatar globally o avail promos and
Airways Airways on routes between o facilitate affordable tickets
UK, Europe, and Australia for emergency for leisure travel
competitive travel options and transports for o fast and contactless
customer convenience (Flynn, humanitarian aids self-check-in
2020) o provide loyalty o delicious safe in-
o flight attendants sports PPEs programs flight meals
(Chui, 2020) o clean and safe o avail loyalty and
o rebooking is free of charge cabins rewards program
o book now pay later scheme o offer promos to o in-flight hygiene
Emirates o switched to cargo flights attract more and PPE kit
Airlines (Tan, 2020) customers o contactless service
o froze all non-essential o contactless check-
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recruitments (Tan, 2020)

o reduction among Emirates
Group employees by 25%-
50% (Tan, 2020)
o offering of travel hygiene kits
(Chui, 2020)
o partnered with Pfizer for
vaccine deliveries (Baldwin,
2021)
o in-flight meals are pre-packed
and covered (Chui, 2020)
o shifted to the cargo business
(JG Summit, 2021)
o partnered with government
agencies for repatriation of
in process of in-flight meals
OFWs (JG Summit, 2021)
o provide seamless o affordable and
o offered CEB TravelSure, a
check-in accessible cargo
health insurance program for
transactions services that caters
passengers (JG Summit,
o provide fast and international,
2021)
Cebu Pacific reliable customer national, and
o offered self-check-in services
service, especially regional transport
(Mariano, 2020)
to passengers with o impeccable airline
o frequent sanitation of toilets,
delayed and customer service
tables, and galleys for cancelled flights o security and safety
customer protection (Mariano,
on board
2020)
o unlimited rebooking with no
additional charges (Rokou,
2020)

The table above shows 3 companies of the many airline companies under the airline industry. All
companies differentiate themselves by offering varied customer offerings and additional customer
services in lieu of the pandemic situation. Personally, all three airlines’ innovations and implemented
changes in response to the pandemic situation are enough to maintain the health and safety of its
passengers and its profitability and business.

For Emirates, it is smart of them to utilize their cargo services since in this time were everything is online,
people would shop for items online and would avail cargo services for items to be delivered. As a result,
they have unlocked other opportunities for profit generation and at the same time, supports the
profitability of supply chain companies and logistics. On the passenger transport business side of the
company, it is enough that they thought of the health and safety of the passengers by offering hygiene kits
that contain face masks, alcohol, sanitary wipes, and a lot more to protect them from contracting the virus.
In addition, food is pre-packed that increases the safety standards of the in-flight service that minimizes
contact from the flight crews. Like British Airways, safety is upheld also where flight attendants and
 MERCULLO, ENDREI CLYNE, M. | 11813431 | SERVMAN EB

flight crew are required to sport PPEs to reduce the transmission of the virus and that all areas of the
plane that are highly contacted by passengers are sanitized frequently. In addition, to gain the trust of
customers, they have eased the rebooking and cancellation services without any charge and is unlimited,
thus increasing flight flexibility at the convenience of its customers. In addition, if offers a book now pay
later scheme for customers which is a win-win situation for the business and customers as a source of
income and the power to book flights flexibly. Lastly, Cebu Pacific, compared to the other airlines stated
above is at the brink of closure, where it laid off 25% of its workers. However, they have innovated ways
which personally stands out among the rest of the airline company stated due to its offering of travel
insurance that ensures at least Php 1 million of hospital services coverage whenever a customer contracts
the virus and its ties with the government to help transport medical supplies and the vaccine to the
Philippines.

In conclusion, all three airline companies’ innovations and changes were enough and timely given in
addressing the safety, concerns, and needs of the customers in this time of global crisis where travel is
temporarily considered a necessity. Thus, as a recommendation, I recommend them to invest more on
cargo and logistic services and services to customers that promote their health and safety such as
investing in self-check-in machines or pre-check-in systems such in its website and app and offering in-
flight hygiene kits such as the offering of British Airways and Emirates. But, above all these, airline
companies should invest also in offering travel insurance for its customers as a part of their part of giving
care and importance to their customers since now, travel restrictions are slowly going back to its
normalcy. With this, it gives the passengers a sense of security both financially and physically and thus,
retaining, and recapturing customer loyalty which will then yield to better profits until the normalcy of the
travel and airline industry.

REFERENCES
Albers, S., & Rundshagen, V. (2020). European airlines' strategic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (January-May, 2020).
Journal of air transport management, 87, 101863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2020.101863
Asquith, J. (2020). Commercial Airlines Are Now Operating Cargo-Only Flights. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesasquith/2020/03/28/commercial-airlines-are- now- operating-cargo- only-
flights/?sh=52390da6f0e0
Baldwin, S. (2021). Here’s how Emirates can bounce back from Covid-19. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/29/heres-
how-emirates-can-bounce-back-from-covid- 19.html
Chui, S. (2020). What's Changed on British Airways? A350-1000 Travel Corridor Flight [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ovt2Kv_tt8
Chui, S. (2020). The New Normal of Airline Travel - What’s Changed? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnxq0L8tckk
Flynn, D. (2020). BA, Qatar alliance for Australian flights gets the go-ahead. Retrieved from
https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/british-airways-qatar-joint-venture
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20210114
JG Summit. (2021). Cebu Pacific Lifts Passenger Confidence with COVID Insurance Add-on. Retrieved from
https://www.jgsummit.com.ph/news/cebu-pacific-lifts-passenger- confidence- with-covid-insurance-add-on- 20210127
PSA. (2021). Unemployment Rate in April 2021 is Estimated at 8.7 percent. Retrieved from https://psa.gov.ph/content/unemployment-
rate-april-2021-estimated-87-percent
Mariano, K. (2020). Cebu Pacific to introduce Contactless Flights as “new normal”. Retrieved from
https://www.traveldailymedia.com/cebu-pacific-to-introduce-contactless-flights-as- new- normal/
Morgan, B. (2020). 10 Examples Of How COVID-19 Forced Business Transformation. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2020/05/01/10-examples-of-how-covid- 19- forced-business-
transformation/?sh=631550cf1be3
Rokou, T. (2020). Cebu Pacific improves flexibility options for all passengers. Retrieved from https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/cebu-
pacific-improves-flexibility-options-for-all- passengers
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Rooley, J. (2020). How COVID-19 has affected the aviation industry and its approach to risk. Retrieved from
https://www.willistowerswatson.com/en-GB/Insights/2020/06/how-covid- 19-has-affected-the-aviation-industry
Tan, V. (2020). The Emirates Group’s business response to COVID-19. Retrieved from https://www.emirates.com/media- centre/the-
emirates-groups-business-response-to-covid- 19- updated/