Harvard Business School Professor Rohit Deshpande explains Singapore Airlines’ strategy in interview

Image by Richard H Martin via Flickr
Singapore Airlines has always been admired for its consistently high-quality products and innovation, especially in times of crises. From using the latest aircraft like the Airbus A380, to customer service that even other airlines talk about. Recently, Harvard Business School Professor Rohit Deshpande talked about Singapore Airlines’ strategy for success in an interview on the HBS Publishing website, conducted by Scott Berinato. His conclusion – competing on price alone never bears fruit.

Thinking beyond price competition
Professor Deshpande explains in the interview that too many airlines around the world, and especially in the US, compete on price alone and this forces them to commoditize their businesses. They remove any additional frills and the concept of in-flight service is diluted substantially. This is exactly what Singapore Airlines doesn’t do. It never compromises on the quality of service, and charges a premium for that. In a world many airlines are eliminating services on-board, Singapore Airlines pampers those who’d pay for it  – and there are plenty of disgruntled traveleres today who would!