According to the article “The regional airline sector is likely to emerge smaller but stronger,” opined Munetsi. “The next five years are critical for the SADC aviation sector in that policies have to be aligned with the reality of the airlines that serve the markets. Many studies have demonstrated the inarguable catalytic effect of aviation to the gross domestic product of any country. As the region’s economies strive to regain the momentum of the pre- pandemic era, the authorities must realise that the airlines are an integral part of the solution. Southern African airlines will find themselves at the forefront of ensuring the recovery of economies through their role of providing uplift for passengers and goods. This will enhance the intra-region and, by extension, continental trade which will result in the growth of economies.”
As an operations analyst in the office of the CEO of Airlink, you have been tasked to undertake a comprehensive analysis of Airlink’s operations strategy. The primary objective of the analysis is to establish how well current operational capabilities match the post-COVID-19 requirements of customers. Secondly, the analysis is expected to address the need for improved understanding and practice of operations strategy in order to position Airlink as an airline that provides superior value to customers at an affordable price in a manner that responds to the needs of customers. Please note: Your discussion should emphasise the following: (1) a meaningful definition of, and elaboration on, the concepts of ‘operations strategy’ and ‘operations strategy analysis’ as well as, (2) a detailed step-by-step evaluation of operational capabilities. It is important that your discussion is made relevant to Airlink rather than a generic discussion that has no bearing on the Southern African airline industry.
Transcribed Image Text:AASA has been lobbying SADC States to standardise regional travel requirements and protocols. But Covid-19 is still casting its shadow over the airlines, both regionally and globally. "If we talk about human resources, there should be no doubt that the pandemic-driven retrenchments and furloughs globally across the industry have created a negative perception of the airline industry as a secure career choice," points out Munetsi. "Even before 2019, the industry in Southern Africa was grappling with a looming skills shortage and a diminishing talent pool. It is going to be even tougher attracting bright young talent, especially in countries such as South Africa and Namibia, where those perceptions were reinforced by State-owned airlines laying off hundreds of staff. We bave to redouble our efforts to make the airline industry attractive again." For South Africa in particular, an issue is that, during the pandemic, government allowed the country's two air service councils (one for domestic operations, the other for international ones) to lapse. This prevented those South African airlines that were operating from opening new routes, or increasing the number of services they could offer on their existing routes. Although new councils have now been appointed, they face massive backlogs of applications to clear. Each application must be advertised in the Government Gazette, after which affected parties have 21 days to file objections, which means that clearing the backlogs will take some time. Further, many State-owned national carriers scaled down their route networks, particularly cutting international (beyond Southern Africa) and intercontinental (beyond Africa) flights. Currently, only four Southern African and Indian Ocean airlines fly intercontinental routes - Reunion-based Air Austral, Air Mauritius, Air Tanzania and TAAG Angolan Airlines. They operate these routes primarily to serve their home markets and do so with small fleets. In no way are they competitors to the global 'megacarriers "What is of more value and importance for the region's carriers is the ability to pick up and provide onward feed traffic from and to the foreign intercontinental carriers that serve the region," affirms Munetsi. "Over the past two years, we have seen a number of commercially cooperative agreements signed between some of the region's stronger carriers and their long-haul partners." Major Bottlenecks Globally, the sector's recovery is proving far from trouble-free. The loss of skilled staff afflicted the air traffic management, airport and ground handling sectors, as well as the airlines themselves. And, because of the perils of terrorism and organised crime, even unskilled staff working at airports need to be subjected to security vetting and clearance. This has put a major bottleneck on ramping up international air travel in a.purober.of countries, even resulting in the cancellation of flights. With Southern Africa lagging behind other regions, in terms of a full recovery in long-haul intercontinental flights, this means, Munetsi notes, that SADC countries have the opportunity to learn from these experiences and, by properly capacitating local police, security and intelligence agencies, ensure that the requisite vetting and clearance of airport and associated staff is done timeously, so that the kind of bottlenecks now being observed overseas do not happen here. Meanwhile, airline input costs have soared, particularly fuel prices, which are averaging $136.8/pbl for the year to date and which the International Air Transport Association (IATA) calculates will add $122 8-billion to the industry's total 2022 fuel bill, compared with last year. Rising inflation is an important issue. A major cause of these developments is the Russo-Ukrainian War, which is also driving international political shifts. Airlines are particularly vulnerable to major changes in international relations, although for Southern African carriers it is too early to tell if either inflation or the global
Transcribed Image Text:REBECCA CAMPBELL To all practical intents and purposes, the Covid-19 pandemic hit Southern Africa just over two years ago. The pandemic and the measures adopted by the region's governments to try and counter it have had a severe impact on the Southern African airline industry (and indeed on all sectors associated with it, including airports and tourism). Although Covid-19 did not, on its own, drive any of the region's airlines out of business, it proved the last straw for a number of carriers that were already in financial trouble before the disease struck. Since the end of 2019 (the last pre- pandemic year), two of the region's operators, Air Namibia and SA Express, have gone into liquidation. Four have undergone, or are still undergoing, business rescue (the local counterpart to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US): Air Mauritius, Comair, South African Airways (SAA) and Mango (the low-cost carrier subsidiary of SAA). Currently, State-owned Mango is not operating and the joint business rescue practitioner at Comair (operator of British Airways in South Africa and Kulula brands) has given notice to affected persons indicating that they "no longer believe that there is a reasonable prospect that the company can be rescued". "Financially, the pandemic-driven disruption to normal airline operations and business put carriers under immense pressure," highlights Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) CEO Aaron Munetsi. "All airlines, without exception, were adversely impacted by the pandemic. AASA, in conjunction with other airline representative associations, appealed to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) governments to provide financial relief to all airlines, regardless of ownership, by way of cash injection or through other instruments such as the waiver or reduction of statutory taxes, levies and charges. It is regrettable that most governments in the region have not seen their way to support an industry that is intrinsic to the economic health and sustainability of every modern and aspiring country." "Ours is a business that is classified by high costs and slim margins, and when revenue is not forthcoming, the costs associated with our asset base can be crippling," explains FlySafair chief marketing officer Kirby Gordon. "Operating costs can also be massive." Aftermath The recovery of the regional airline sector has, however, begun, as more and more people get vaccinated against the pandemic. This recovery is being led by domestic and regional traffic, although an issue is that each country within the SADC has gone its own way regarding Covid-19-related travel protocols, complicating matters for the airlines and travellers. AASA has been lobbying SADC States to standardise regional travel

Question

According to the article “The regional airline sector is likely to emerge smaller but stronger,” opined Munetsi. “The next five years are critical for the SADC aviation sector in that policies have to be aligned with the reality of the airlines that serve the markets. Many studies have demonstrated the inarguable catalytic effect of aviation to the gross domestic product of any country. As the region’s economies strive to regain the momentum of the pre- pandemic era, the authorities must realise that the airlines are an integral part of the solution. Southern African airlines will find themselves at the forefront of ensuring the recovery of economies through their role of providing uplift for passengers and goods. This will enhance the intra-region and, by extension, continental trade which will result in the growth of economies.”
As an operations analyst in the office of the CEO of Airlink, you have been tasked to undertake a comprehensive analysis of Airlink’s operations strategy. The primary objective of the analysis is to establish how well current operational capabilities match the post-COVID-19 requirements of customers. Secondly, the analysis is expected to address the need for improved understanding and practice of operations strategy in order to position Airlink as an airline that provides superior value to customers at an affordable price in a manner that responds to the needs of customers. Please note: Your discussion should emphasise the following: (1) a meaningful definition of, and elaboration on, the concepts of ‘operations strategy’ and ‘operations strategy analysis’ as well as, (2) a detailed step-by-step evaluation of operational capabilities. It is important that your discussion is made relevant to Airlink rather than a generic discussion that has no bearing on the Southern African airline industry.

AASA has been lobbying SADC States to standardise regional travel requirements and
protocols.
But Covid-19 is still casting its shadow over the airlines, both regionally and globally. "If
we talk about human resources, there should be no doubt that the pandemic-driven
retrenchments and furloughs globally across the industry have created a negative
perception of the airline industry as a secure career choice," points out Munetsi. "Even
before 2019, the industry in Southern Africa was grappling with a looming skills shortage
and a diminishing talent pool. It is going to be even tougher attracting bright young
talent, especially in countries such as South Africa and Namibia, where those
perceptions were reinforced by State-owned airlines laying off hundreds of staff. We
bave to redouble our efforts to make the airline industry attractive again."
For South Africa in particular, an issue is that, during the pandemic, government allowed
the country's two air service councils (one for domestic operations, the other for
international ones) to lapse. This prevented those South African airlines that were
operating from opening new routes, or increasing the number of services they could
offer on their existing routes. Although new councils have now been appointed, they face
massive backlogs of applications to clear. Each application must be advertised in the
Government Gazette, after which affected parties have 21 days to file objections, which
means that clearing the backlogs will take some time.
Further, many State-owned national carriers scaled down their route networks,
particularly cutting international (beyond Southern Africa) and intercontinental (beyond
Africa) flights. Currently, only four Southern African and Indian Ocean airlines fly
intercontinental routes - Reunion-based Air Austral, Air Mauritius, Air Tanzania and
TAAG Angolan Airlines. They operate these routes primarily to serve their home markets
and do so with small fleets. In no way are they competitors to the global 'megacarriers
"What is of more value and importance for the region's carriers is the ability to pick up
and provide onward feed traffic from and to the foreign intercontinental carriers that
serve the region," affirms Munetsi. "Over the past two years, we have seen a number of
commercially cooperative agreements signed between some of the region's stronger
carriers and their long-haul partners."
Major Bottlenecks
Globally, the sector's recovery is proving far from trouble-free. The loss of skilled staff
afflicted the air traffic management, airport and ground handling sectors, as well as the
airlines themselves. And, because of the perils of terrorism and organised crime, even
unskilled staff working at airports need to be subjected to security vetting and clearance.
This has put a major bottleneck on ramping up international air travel in a.purober.of
countries, even resulting in the cancellation of flights. With Southern Africa lagging
behind other regions, in terms of a full recovery in long-haul intercontinental flights, this
means, Munetsi notes, that SADC countries have the opportunity to learn from these
experiences and, by properly capacitating local police, security and intelligence
agencies, ensure that the requisite vetting and clearance of airport and associated staff
is done timeously, so that the kind of bottlenecks now being observed overseas do not
happen here.
Meanwhile, airline input costs have soared, particularly fuel prices, which are averaging
$136.8/pbl for the year to date and which the International Air Transport Association
(IATA) calculates will add $122 8-billion to the industry's total 2022 fuel bill, compared
with last year. Rising inflation is an important issue. A major cause of these
developments is the Russo-Ukrainian War, which is also driving international political
shifts. Airlines are particularly vulnerable to major changes in international relations,
although for Southern African carriers it is too early to tell if either inflation or the global

REBECCA CAMPBELL
To all practical intents and purposes, the Covid-19 pandemic hit Southern Africa just over
two years ago. The pandemic and the measures adopted by the region's governments to try
and counter it have had a severe impact on the Southern African airline industry (and indeed
on all sectors associated with it, including airports and tourism). Although Covid-19 did not,
on its own, drive any of the region's airlines out of business, it proved the last straw for a
number of carriers that were already in financial trouble before the disease struck.
Since the end of 2019 (the last pre- pandemic year), two of the region's operators, Air
Namibia and SA Express, have gone into liquidation. Four have undergone, or are still
undergoing, business rescue (the local counterpart to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in
the US): Air Mauritius, Comair, South African Airways (SAA) and Mango (the low-cost carrier
subsidiary of SAA). Currently, State-owned Mango is not operating and the joint business
rescue practitioner at Comair (operator of British Airways in South Africa and Kulula brands)
has given notice to affected persons indicating that they "no longer believe that there is a
reasonable prospect that the company can be rescued".
"Financially, the pandemic-driven disruption to normal airline operations and business put
carriers under immense pressure," highlights Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA)
CEO Aaron Munetsi. "All airlines, without exception, were adversely impacted by the
pandemic. AASA, in conjunction with other airline representative associations, appealed to
the Southern African Development Community (SADC) governments to provide financial
relief to all airlines, regardless of ownership, by way of cash injection or through other
instruments such as the waiver or reduction of statutory taxes, levies and charges. It is
regrettable that most governments in the region have not seen their way to support an
industry that is intrinsic to the economic health and sustainability of every modern and
aspiring country."
"Ours is a business that is classified by high costs and slim margins, and when revenue is
not forthcoming, the costs associated with our asset base can be crippling," explains
FlySafair chief marketing officer Kirby Gordon. "Operating costs can also be massive."
Aftermath
The recovery of the regional airline sector has, however, begun, as more and more
people get vaccinated against the pandemic. This recovery is being led by domestic and
regional traffic, although an issue is that each country within the SADC has gone its own
way regarding Covid-19-related travel protocols, complicating matters for the airlines and
travellers. AASA has been lobbying SADC States to standardise regional travel

Accepted Answer

Tactics happen on a much smaller scale than strategy. An organization's or an individual's career…