APA (edition "APA 6") Business and Management

Airline Strategy and Supply Chains

Instructions for individual assignment
The individual report is designed to introduce students to writing to the standard required both for professional reports and for assignments at Masters level. The report (8 pages max including everything) will require students to analyse and benchmark the following airlines:
Emirates, Southwest Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa
based on their economic and financial performance (within the context of the relevant geographic region).

For the above airlines you (as an individual) should calculate the following for the two most recent financial years (at least 2017/18 and 2018/19):

a) unit cost (per aircraft capacity) b) yield (per RPK and/or RTK) c) load factor
d) break-even load factor
e) employee productivity f) aircraft utilisation
g) EBIT margin
h) Debt/equity ratio
i) Currentratio j) P/Eratio

Having made these calculations, you should then compare these airlines with each other and discuss why the first airline (EK) might or might not perform well (overall and per indicator a-f) in comparison to the other three airlines and to the region it mainly operates in. Please highlight if the first airline or even all three of them are in any way special when compared to the average international (IATA) passenger airline. Please also discuss (briefly) the limitations of your benchmarking approach and explain all steps that you have undertaken (formulas, basis for calculations) during the benchmarking exercise.