ServiceInnovationbyaWorldClassAirport: TheCaseofSingaporesChangiAirport

ExecutiveSummary
September2008

ByPriscillaWongandVirginiaCha InstituteofSystemsScience,NationalUniversityofSingapore BasedonthesametitledresearchpaperbyNgChowFoon, DepartmentofIndustrialandSystemEngineering,NationalUniversityofSingapore

2008NationalUniversityofSingapore

Innovationsbyworldclassairport
In the 2008 release of survey results for the World's Best Airport by Skytrax, Singapores Changi Airport retained a firm position at the top end of the rankings. 1 Since the airport begun operations in 1981, it has experienced growth as a major global air hub, winning over 280awardsfrom1987to2007. Changi Airport is also widely regarded as a top 20 busiest airport in the world, in terms of passenger and cargo traffic. Passenger volume in 2007 shot past the 36million mark; and 1.89 million tonnes of cargo went through the baggage handlers at Changi. As the home base of Singapore Airlines (SIA), Changi Airport also serves more than 80 other airlines, and is a hub for airlines Garuda Indonesia and Qantas. As of April 2008, Changi handled an estimated 4,340 weeklyflightstoover116citiesin59countries.

Changi Airport has been managed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) since its inception in 1981. CAAS works with three ground handlers: Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS), Changi International Airport Services (CIAS) and the Swissport Operations. CAASisSingapore'scivilaviationauthorityanda statutory board under the Singapore governments Ministry of Transport, and regulates civilian air traffic within the airspace jurisdiction of the nation. It also maintains the efficiencyofSingaporesairports.With constant innovation over three decades, Changi Airport has proven its strength in service innovation, with emphasis in quality customer service, diversefacilitiesandoperationalefficiency.

InnovativeCultureatChangiAirport
To ensure continuous service innovation and retain its worldclass ranking, CAAS defined CORE elements for innovationa move which garnered CAAS the Singapore Quality Award (SQA)in2003forbusinessexcellence: i) Customerfocused: To provide worldclass servicestocustomers. ii) OperationallyEffective: Through continual improvements e.g. improvement in air traffic control and management systems; and e schedulessystemforfilingandflightschedules. iii) ResultsOriented: To increase in aircraft, passengerandcargovolume. iv) Employeefocused: To promote a nurturing culture to encourage improvement in skill sets, and employ professionals from diverse backgrounds. Other airport operators have been known to poach CAAS and SATS staff; and exCAAS staff played key roles in the operations launch at the Beijing airport in February2008.2
2

Needforserviceinnovation
In resourcescarce Singapore, Changi Airport as a major contributor to the nations economy is an observable fact, with employing more than 13,000 workers and accounting for more than S$4.5 billion in revenue. It is therefore critical forChangiAirporttoretainitscompetitiveedge, anditstopworldranking. In view of growing competition from other airportsinregions(e.g.HongKong,Seoul,Dubai and Bangkok), and the increase in trafficdue partly to the increasing number of lowcost carriersChangi Airport has been constantly upgrading its facilities and introducing innovative products and services to meet new requirements with the aim to remain as the top regional aviation hub. This includes launching historys first A380 flight experience: from checkin to boarding; and JetQuay, Asias first luxuryterminal.
1

SkytraxisaUKbasedconsultancy,whichconductsresearchfor commercialairlines.IthoststheannualWorldsBestAirport survey,whichconsidersfactorsofcabinstaff,airport,airline, airlinelounge,inflightentertainment,onboardcatering,and severalotherelementsofairtravel.

RivalssnapupChangiAirportstaffTheStraitsTimes,10August 2008

2008NationalUniversityofSingapore

ChangisPeopleFriendlyExperience
Executing its customerfocused CORE values, CAASworkedonpromotingChangiasapeople friendly international airport; and introduced a seriesofworldsfirstandtopclassservices. Changi Airport is the first airport to introduce thematiclounges.Forexample,Terminal2hasa thematic lounge featuring Singapores national flower the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid. Seats at the sportsthemed lounge are made of basketball and soccer ball leather. The SpecialCare Checkin Loungea worldsfirst launched in 2005 by SATSoffers checkin services for handicapped passengers or those withspecialneeds. CAAS stationed regional language speakers including natives from China, India, Korea and Japanat counters to bring greater convenience to its international crowd. Changi Express is Changi Englishlanguage tabloid is available free to visitors. Travelers from all over the world may sign up as Friends of Changi and receive regular updates on the airport's facilities,servicesandexclusivepromotions. CAAS offers passengers in transit with at least five hours to sparea free twohour city tour. The EastWest line of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system was extended to the airport, situated underground between Terminals 2 and 3, providing visitors quick and easyaccesstothecity.

TechnologycriticaltoCOREelements
Being operationallyeffective and results oriented are two other CORE elements of Changi Airports success. To keep with the increasing demands of the aviation industry, an uptodate operational structurebacked by sound technological systemsis critical to smooth processes. To achieve this, CAAS works with external parties to promote cooperative platformsandbestinclasspractices.

AIRSTRIPJointgovernmentinitiative CAASwith the Economic Development Board of Singaporeinitiated the AIRport Systems Technology, Research, and Innovation Platform (AIRSTRIP) in 2002 to encourage aviation related innovative ideas from Singaporebased companies. This allows simulations of innovative technologies, under real operational conditions,inoneoftheworld'sbusiestairports. These technologies could be commercialised at regional and global airports. Areas of interest under AIRSTRIP include passenger tracking, baggage handling and screening, aircraft tracking, airport security, airport wireless communicationsandvehiclemanagement. In 2003, the Boeing Company was the first to roll out its Gatelink project under AIRSTRIP. Over a period of five months, Boeing co operated with Singapore companies such as StratechSystemsandCOBTechnologytodesign, install and test a wireless gatelink system coveringthetarmacareasofTerminal2. The Boeing Wireless Gatelink system utilizes Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology within an airport environment, allowing realtime data sharing between aircrafts, passenger terminals, maintenance operations, baggage handling, and ground support equipment and staff. Realtime data sharingimprovesoperationalefficiency.SIAalso cooperated with Boeing engineers to install test equipment onboard one of its airplanes as partofthesimulation. Cooperationwithtechnologyleaders CAAS appointed Danish aviation systems leader Crisplant a/s to install a S$121million baggage handling system for Terminal 3. This system based on a tilttray solutionprovides a high speed transport system for baggage between the three terminals at Changimovement of baggage at 7m/secand as an early baggage storage system. An industryfirst was also sealed when CAAS signed with U.Sbased L3

2008NationalUniversityofSingapore

Communications as the provider for all its certified systems, such as a fullyintegrated and networked baggage screening system. Singaporebased NCS Communications Engineering was also appointed as the project consultant for its total airport management system as well as airport information and telecommunicationsystemsforTerminal3. Importoftechnologyfromothersectors To provide bestinclass systems, CAAS also looks to crossover suitable innovations from othersectorstoimproveoperations. BiometricsforAutomatedImmigration Biometrics was mostly used in the banking industry, until Changi Airport decided to install the technology for automated passenger immigration. Followingasuccessfultrialin2004, when Changi Airport saw 9,000 SIA frequent fliersSingapore citizens and longterm immigration pass holders with special access cardssail though the airports immigration system with smartcards and fingerprint encoding. By installing the biometricsbased automated immigration system, time needed for immigration clearance went from a eight minuteprocesstotwominutes. There are also plans to widen the use of biometrics at Changi Airport. In a recent August 2008 report by the Straits Times, 440,000 Singaporepermanentresidentswillalsobeable to use the fast immigration clearance channel from as early as September 2008, saving more timeatcheckpointqueues. Checkinandboardingfacilities For selfservice checkin, SATS has put in place CommonUser SelfService Checkin kiosks and Mobi Check counters. The S$2.0 million kiosk platformwhich functions like bank ATM machinesenabledmany airlinespassengersto perform selfservice checkin, cutting down the need for checkin queues. To facilitate more of such checkins, airport staff may help

passengers checkin at any location within the airportusingthewirelessMobiCheckcounters. Tabletcomputersatcheckincountershelpwith quick retrieval of flight information. At gate holdrooms, CAAS employs the wireless Mobi Gate systema portable boarding gate readerto reduce passenger processing time. At Terminals 2 and 3, the 24 checkin kiosks are available to SIA and Northwest Airline passengers. At the time of this report, it is said that British Airways, United Airlines, KLM, Air France and Cathay Pacific are other airlines keen on providing customers with the self service checkin option. Transporttechnologywithintheairport A S$135m Automated People Mover System (APMS) was installed to aid transfers between the three terminals. The APMS is a tentrain system running between seven stationstwo stations each in Terminals 1 and 2, and three in Terminal 3along 6.5km of elevated train tracks. It features areas for baggage trolleysand LCD screens in the train cabins display flight timesandotherairportinformation. ITservicesforpassengers In 2002, CAAS, Singaporebased Sunderland Technologies and StarHub Internetinco operationwithPalmInc.launchedtheworlds first Infrared (IR) Internet access kiosk. Passengers with mobile devices could access the Internet without modems or Internet servicesubscriptions. At Terminal 1, Internet connection points were installed at lounges for convenient access. Passengers with AvantGo accounts may also download flight schedules. At Terminal 2, CAAS designated iConnect areas with webcameras and audio systems. Passengers could also play the computer games or watch TV programs. Visitors to Changi Airport could also utilize a host of other IT services for easy information access. (See Table 1)

2008NationalUniversityofSingapore

Table1:ITservicesforpassengersatChangiAirport
Year NewITServices Description
AjointcollaborationbetweenCAAS,LucentTechnologiesandSingTel. PassengerswithlaptopscouldbeconnectedtotheWWWthroughSingNetatthelounges.

2000 Thesetupof

2001 EhubatTerminal2
PassengerswithPDAscouldbeconnectedtointernetviaInfrared(IR)ports. NetworkatEhubadjustautomaticallytotheindividualsettingsonlaptopsandPDAs,eliminatingthe

troublesofreconfiguringsettings EbusinessCenterat Terminal2 2002 LANGamingCentre, Terminal1 Infrared(IR)internet accesskiosk

ProvidestravelerswithoutlaptopsandPDAswithinternetaccess,printing,faxingandscanningservices.

Allowstransittravelerstoconnecttopopularnetworkgames
Thefirstintheworld. JointventurebyCAAS,SunderlandTechnologiesPteLtd,PalmInc.andStarHubInternet. EnablespassengerswithlaptopsorPDAstoaccessinternetwithouthavingtoplugintoanymodemsor

subscribetoanyInternetServiceProviders(ISPs). 2003 IP(InternetProtocol) Telephony AnIPphonewithanLCDscreen,acreditcardreaderandavideocameragrantspassengerstheconvenience ofseveralservicesatasinglepoint.Passengerscouldmakephonecalls,checkemails,surfinternetsand retrieveflightinformationfromonelocation. PassengerswithAvantGoaccountcandownloadflightschedulestotheirPDAs.

Allowstravelerstostayconnectedtotheirfamiliesandfriendsusingwebcameras/audiosystems. TravelerscouldplaylatestcomputergamesorwatchsomeTVprogramswhileintransit.

MobileFlight Information 2004 iConnectatTerminal2

2008NationalUniversityofSingapore

Puttingserviceinnovationinplace
Successful implementation of service innovation requires a wellscripted execution of various employeefocused factors, the final CORE element. Welltrained staff; operations expertise; a nurturing organizational culture, which translates into a forwardthinkingmanagement;andfinancialresource aresomeofsuchexamples. Organizational cultureplaysa critical role in nurturing innovative ideas. Knowledgesharing from all levels of management and employees involvement are especiallyexplicitinSATSsStaffIdeainAction(SIA). SATSs also believes that its policy of employing people from various background helps in cultivating knowledgesharing. There are various employees enhancement programmes like training workshops and engagement activities in both sectors to develop employees talents through teamwork and involvement. CAAS conducts regular market research to plan for successful innovation project implementation. CAAS and SATS have employed biometrics technology, previously used widely only in financial sectors. ChangisLCTisalsobuiltaccordingtothebestinclass standardsandrequirementsofbudgetairlines. A systematic structure of innovation implementation is put in place by SATS, followed by costbenefit analysis and forecasts. Pilot tests will then be carried out to identify potential obstacles. CISCOs review of SATSsgateboardingprocessesisanexample. Innovation would not be possible without adequate financial resources. CAAS allocated more than S$256 million in Terminal 3 to create a unique environment for passengers, in anticipation of a closetothreefold increase in passenger volume. Staff trips to other airportsareimportantingeneratinginnovativeideas.

Spotlight:ArrivaloftheSIAA380
Singapore Airlines (SIA) made aviation history with its first A380 flight from Singapore to Sydney on 25 October 2007, amidst much fanfare from the media and airport operators of both countries. With this, Changi Airport is expected to face greater demands, and took incremental steps in innovation to rollout a smooth landing the SIA A380 flight experience and its related services. As Terminal 3 (T3) is not as yet ready,CAASmadeanestimatedS$60millionworthof incremental renovations on T1 and T2 to adequately handleA380relatedservices. Modification to accommodate additional 30% passengercapacityatthegate; Changi is the first airport to have a third PassengerLoadingBridge Widened runwaytaxiway and taxiwaytaxiway intersectionsformanoeuvringoftheA380 The extension of baggage belt carousels to handletheadditionalthroughputofbaggage. Increaseinrescueandfirefightingresources. Aside from having a larger capacity for passenger traffic, the new T3 has eight specially designed gates to handle the traffic for the A380 super jumbos. Also installed is a S$121 million stateoftheart fully automated baggage handling system includes a high speed interterminal baggage transfer system, an automated early bag storage facility and an integrated multilevel baggage security screening system. These systems bring greater efficiency, security and heighten the level of service as comparedtomostcurrentbaggagehandlingsystems. Likewise for services at the LowCost Terminal (LCT), CAAS worked on specific considerations for lowcost carriers (LCC). For example, Internetaccess facilities at the terminal have been upgraded to satisfy the increasingneedofLCCpassengers. ThedevelopmentofT3isaradicalinnovationasitisa breakthroughwithnewconcepts,architecturaldesign and sophisticated systems. Besides billiondollar funding, strategic and systematic planning by CAAS is critical to Changis overall success. Networking and collaborations with other organizations also help achieve greater service innovation at Changi Airport. All these service factors will help Changi Airport cementitsrankasatopregionalairhub.

Spiritofinnovationtobelived
CAAS and SATS have introduced and refined several service innovations at Changi Airport, which have sealed Changi Airports reputation as a topclass global air hub. More commendable, however, is that the spirit of innovation is constantly encouraged, promoted and lived by the management and staff at ChangiAirport.

2008NationalUniversityofSingapore