EVALUVATION OF SINGAPORE AIRLINES USE OF NICHE MARKETING TO GROW IN THE AMERICAN MARKET

Abstract

Singapore Airlines is a globally established airline operating out of Singapore. They have a fleet of 129 aircraft flying on 62 routes around the world. In 2018, they were ranked as the world’s best airline by Skytrax. In the early 2010s, in accordance with the ambition to grow, Singapore Airlines expanded the American market with flights to the USA. This posed a challenge for the airline because of the geographical distance between Singapore and North America With the A350-900 ULR, Singapore Airlines restarted its route to New York with the same ambition of expanding into the American market. However, this time the route only offered business class and premium economy to target, using segmentation as a means to grow in the American market. Thus through secondary research, I aim to find out: How effective has been Singapore Airlines’ decision to reopen the New York route to expand in the American Market through segmentation? This research paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Singapore Airlines’ strategy to expand into the American Market by targeting a new market segment. The success of failure of this strategy implemented by Singapore Airlines would determine whether or not the strategy of segmentation on ultra-long-haul flights can be replicated by other airlines. Hence, this research is significant as the findings may predict the future of ultra-long-haul flights such. The research found that the nature of the cities of New York and Singapore, innovation leading to the birth of the A350-900ULR, and an effective marketing mix employed created the perfect storm for Singapore Airlines to use segmentation to grow in the American market successfully.