Strategy and organization at Singapore Airlines: Achieving sustainable advantage through dual strategy

Singapore Airlines has consistently outperformed its competitors throughout its history, in the context of an unforgiving industry environment. We examine how Singapore Airlines has achieved its outstanding performance and sustained its competitive advantage, through effectively implementing a dual strategy: differentiation through service excellence and innovation, together with simultaneous cost leadership in its peer group. We examine the organizational elements that have allowed the company to do so, illustrate its strategic alignment using a vertical alignment framework, and conclude by highlighting the significant challenges ahead.