Computer Reservation System (crs) - Airasia

Computer Reservation System (CRS) - AirAsia

Abstract

With the proliferation of information and communication technologies in today's global economy, most organisations are adopting information technology (IT) to support their businesses. However, to remain competitive in this ever-evolving economy, it is insufficient to just adopt IT. Many organisations have recognised the need to employ information systems (IS), which incorporates the use of IT and strategic planning to facilitate their business processes. With IS, organisations will be able to gain competitive advantage over their rival firms and stand out in the industry.

Hence, this paper aims mainly at examining how organisations strategically evaluate IS to achieve competitive advantage, in this case, with respect to the target of research, AirAsia. It will first provide background information of AirAsia and the IS it employs. With AirAsia as an example, the paper will then use Porter's notion of the five primary competitive forces to analyse the competitive scene within the airline industry. It will also describe how IS helps to address AirAsia's value chain activities. Finally, the paper then goes on to evaluate AirAsia's position in the airline industry and reveal how AirAsia is able to stand out among the rest.

1. Introduction

1.1 The Airline Industry

Following the establishment of the world's first passenger airline, DELAG, in 1909 (Grossman, 2009), the airline industry has since progressed over the years. According to reports, global air travel has reached a new record high in 2011 (ITB Berlin Kongress – Startseite, n.d.) and the rate of air travel globally is expected to grow by about 5% annually until 2015 (Singh, 2008). With the ubiquitous nature of air travel, the airline industry has bloomed over the decades. Therefore, in this highly competitive industry, airline companies have to adopt various business models to attract more customers than their competitors to stay in the forefront.

One example is the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) business model, which has been employed by several airlines, including AirAsia. The LCC business model, which focuses on a low cost philosophy, has a low operating cost structure. With respect to AirAsia, the LCC business model requires AirAsia's operations to be "lean, simple and efficient" so as to attain low costs, thus making AirAsia one of the most popular airlines in Asia ("What is low," 2012).

1.2 AirAsia

AirAsia is a Malaysian-based low cost airline and the leading low fare airline in Asia (World Airline Awards, n.d.). From two aircrafts covering six routes in 2002, AirAsia now has scheduled flights to over 65 destinations in 18 countries (AirAsia, 2012). The reason for such success