Unit of Study Outline

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Version: 2014 Business School 1

Unit of Study Outline

Unit Code

ITLS6400

Unit Title

Airline Strategy and Supply Chains

Semester 2, 2014

Pre-requisite Units: Co-requisite Units:

Prohibited Units: TPTM6160 Assumed Knowledge and/or Skills: Unit Coordinator: Dr Rico Merkert

Address: Room 1121, St James Campus(C13), The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Email: [email protected] Phone:

Consultation Hours: Please go to Blackboard for details of all staff consultation times. Class Day(s): Please go to Blackboard for class times and locations

Required Text / Resources:

The required textbook for this unit is: Doganis, R. (2010): Flying Off Course, 4th ed., Routledge, London and New York.

Additional reading:

Wensveen, J.G. (2011): Air transportation - A management perspective, Ashgate, Aldershot.

Morrell, P.S. (2011): Moving Boxes By Air: The Economics of International Air Cargo, Ashgate, Aldershot. An ebook is available under http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au/record=b3915820~S4

Morrell, P.S. (2013): Airline finance,2nd ed., Ashgate, Aldershot.

This unit of study outline MUST be read in conjunction with

The Business School Unit of Study Common Policy and implementation information that applies to every unit of study offered by the Business School (http://sydney.edu.au/business/currentstudents/policy). All assessment rules, such as standards used, penalties etc, are covered.

The Business School Student Administration Manual - for information about all processes such as illness, appeals etc (

http://sydney.edu.au/business/currentstudents/student_information/student_administration_manual) When deciding applications and appeals relating to these matters it will be assumed that every student has taken the time to familiarise themselves with these key policies and procedures.

The Business School seeks feedback from students and staff in order to continually improve all units offered. For information on previously collected feedback and innovations made in response to this feedback, please see

http://sydney.edu.au/business/learning/planning_and_quality/feedback/student

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Aviation is an international growth industry offering extensive commercial and employment opportunities in airlines, airports, banks, consultancies and other players along the aviation supply chain. This unit covers all aspects of international business and management along the aviation value chain from consumer, producer and investor perspectives. Students develop an understanding of the economics of operating airlines and other aviation entities, including implications of competitive strategies for the development of hubs and networks. The growth in air traffic particularly in the Asia/Pacific region is placing strains on aviation capacity and the unit thus covers forecasting and the role of the private sector in airline/airport development. The unit also examines the management and logistics of air services in remote regions. As a result of our strategic partnership with CAPA, students will have access to industry data bases, company information and aviation contacts/networks.

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Version: 2014 Business School 3

2. Program Learning Outcomes and Unit Learning Outcomes

The Program Learning Outcomes for this Program are located at

http://sydney.edu.au/business/learning/staff/leadership/program_directors/outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes Program Learning Outcomes

On the successful completion of the Unit you should be able to:

Develop a clear understanding of the economics, buisness models and managerial characteristics of

the aviation markets. Identify key stakeholders and value/supply chains and their interrelationships to each other.

1. Business Knowledge

Critically analyse strategic, tactical and operational issues of aviation management and logistics

2. Critical Thinking

Demonstrate aquired skills that are necessary to pursue a successful international career in the

various sectors of the aviation industry. Evaluate and develop strategies for airlines/airports based on benchmarking and assessing key

performance and financial indicators

3. Business Analysis and Problem-Solving

Demonstrate acquired communication skills through class participation and also through presentations in regards to setting up an airline/airport in Asia/Pacific group exercise.

4. Communication

Demonstrate acquired team working skills through setting up an airline/airport in Asia/Pacific group exercise

5. Team Working

3. Assessment

Assessment Name Individual/ Group Assessment Conditions Program Learning Outcomes Assessed

Length Weight Due Date Closing Date

Economic and financial

benchmarking Individual Compulsory 1, 2, 3

15 pages

(max) 50% 24-Sep-2014 24-Oct-2014

Half way through quiz Individual Compulsory 1, 2, 3 30 min 10% 29-Aug-2014 29-Aug-2014

Strategy / business plan

presentaion Both Compulsory 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

5 slides

each 20% 17-Oct-2014 17-Oct-2014

Final exam / quiz Individual Compulsory 1, 2, 3 1 hour 20% 16-Oct-2014 16-Oct-2014

Academic Honesty Week 4

For the meaning and operation of this table, see policy information in the box on the front page or click here

Assessment details

Economic and financial benchmarking Task Description

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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 will require students to analyse/evaluate and benchmark three airlines/airports based on their economic, operational and financial performance. Students are also expected to develop strategy recommendations based on

their benchmarking findings. Our partnership with CAPA will benefit the students as all data will be available through the CAPA data bases as well as the airlines/airports' annual reports. Full details will

be provided on Day 1.

Assessment Criteria ●

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2. Evaluation of economic/operational performance of the allocated airlines/airports 3. Evaluation of financial performance of the allocated airlines/airports

4. Discussion of benchmarking results (content, clarity, relation to real world examples/issues) 5. Recommendations for airline/airport strategy

6. Discussion of limitation of analysis 7. Conclusions

Feedback - What, when and how feedback will be provided for this assessment ●

Individual written feedback (by 16 Oct) as well as general feedback to class (on 16 Oct). The feedback will help students in making final changes to their presentations on 17 Oct.

Half way through quiz Task Description ●

The half way through quiz will cover key concepts of the material presented in the first half of the course. In order to prepare for the test, students should review the assigned readings and the lecture notes for the unit which will be available on Blackboard.

1. Content and range

2. Use of literature/ Knowledge of theory 3. Conclusions

4. Analysis 5. Problem solving 6. Originality

7. Reflection/evaluation

9. Time management/self management

Individual written feedback (by 12 Sept) as well as general feedback to class (11 Sept). The feedback will inform and help students to assess understanding of the the taught material as weel as their performance relative to their peers. This will be beneficial for performing well in the other three assessment tasks.

Strategy / business plan presentaion Task Description

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This core assessment component is designed to combine the experiences/learning outcomes of tasks 1 and 2 to practice the application of strategy and finance concepts to the aviation industry. Students will need to demonstrate knowledge of fundamental strategy concepts as well as an understanding of the aviation industry. Student teams (4-5 students per team) will develop a business plan for setting up an airline (passenger/cargo) or airport in the Asia/Pacific region. The teams will be organised similar to the functional organisation of an airline/airport or management consultancy, with one CEO/project manager and several line mangers (marketing, forecasting/business development, finance, fleet management) and each team member is supposed to present the view/strategy of his/her department. The task of the CEO/ project manager is to bring the different views of the departments together and to present a coherent strategy/business plan.

In case disputes arise during your group work, you should first attempt to resolve them by consensus of all team members. This is part of the learning objectives of working in a group environment.

However, internal dispute resolution sometimes takes too long or is even not possible without external mediation or other kinds of external support. Therefore, please contact your course co-ordinator in case you feel that your initial attempts to solve disputes internally prove to be not successful. Please also see the guidelines for operating effectively as a group at:

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Version: 2014 Business School 5 Assessment Criteria

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1. Design and elements of the business plan (content of slides) 2. Coherent strategy (team work and leadership skills)

3. Presentation skills (slides and way of presenting; timing)

4. Justification of strategy/plan based on taught course content, data and literature 5. Evaluation of business case

6. Critical reflection of the business environment 7. Discussion of limitations of chosen approach 8. Conclusions

Individual written feedback (by 30 Oct) as well as general feedback to class (17 Oct).

Final exam / quiz Task Description ●

The final exam / quiz will cover key concepts of the material presented in the course. In order to prepare for the test, students should review the assigned readings and the lecture notes for the unit which will be available on Blackboard.

1. Clarity of expression (incl. accuracy, spelling, grammar, punctuation) 2. Content and range

3. Use of literature/ Knowledge of theory 4. Conclusions

5. Analysis 6. Problem solving 7. Originality

8. Reflection/evaluation

9. Time management/self management

Individual written feedback (by 30 Oct).

4. Other Resources for Students

All lectures and seminars are recorded and will be available within Blackboard for student use. Please note the Business School does not own the system and cannot guarantee that the system will operate or that every class will be recorded. Students should ensure they attend and participate in all classes.

Studying the lecture notes/slides will be crucial in the process of preparing for the assessment tasks in this unit. Students should ensure they attend and participate in all classes. Additional reading and industry reports will be provided on BB.

Additional/Optional Readings

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5. Unit Schedule Week Required

Reading(s) Lecture Assessments Due

1 31 Jul 2014 Doganis (2010, ch.1-7) Additional journal articles and case study papers will be available on BB.

Introduction to course and air transport Framework and structure of global aviation markets

Strategic analysis and the aviation value chain Senior management guest speaker (during the course there will be guest speakers from CAPA, Virgin Australia, QantasLink, Jetstar etc.)

-2 14 Aug 2014 Doganis (2010, ch. 8-11) See BB

Airline demand/pricing, revenue management and forecasting

Strategic airline management and business models

Cost control and success strategies Benchmarking in aviation 3 28 Aug 2014 Morrell (2013) See BB

M&A and alliances Financial analysis Financial ratios

Cost and benchmarking exercises

half way through quiz (29 Aug)

4

11 Sep 2014

See BB

Strategic airport management Models of Privatisation

Airline operation, scheduling and route management

Innovation and Sustainability Strategies in Aviation

Senior management guest speaker

5

25 Sep 2014

Morrell (2011)

Air cargo

Airline engineering supply chains Aircraft/fleet management and leasing Airline/airport relationship management in the regional context

Senior management guest speaker

Individual benchmarking reports (25 Sept) 6 16 Oct 2014 See BB

Airline/airport relationship management in the LCC context

Senior management guest speaker Strategy/business plan presentations

Final quiz (16 Oct) Strategy/business plan presentations (17 Oct)