uShine Case Challenge 2015

Case Material

D-airline

Contents
The Case.p.1 - 2
Appendix p.3
Requirements & Guidelines for Executive Summaryp.4
Submission & Judging Criteria for Executive Summary..p.5
Rules and Regulations...p.6 - 8

D-airline

Company Background
D-airline is a Hong-Kong-based low cost carrier providing scheduled air service to 10
destinations in Asia, including Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Established in 2002, D-airline has been expanding its
business throughout the years due to surging demands from various fast-growing Asian
economies and its objective is to be the market leader of low-cost airlines in Asia.

Business model
Similar to other budget airlines, D-airline uses a single aircraft type which cuts maintenance and
pilot training costs. It also cuts out all extras such as food or drinks unless passengers pay for it
and it charges for check-in luggage. Basically clients have to pay only for the services they want
and this is how D-airline keeps its fare low.

The Scenario
D-airline has been facing several challenges both internally and externally. From the internal
perspective, there has been an increase in fixed costs and labour issues. From the external
perspective, D-airlines operation is imperiled by the slowdown in developing Asian economies
growth and the increasingly fierce competition from mid-to-high-range airlines through their
inclination towards online discount offers and package/bulk purchase discounts in recent years.

1.

Increase in fixed costs

Aviation is an industry with high fixed cost reaching approximately 60%. All airlines,
regardless of their positioning in the market, have to pay for same high fuel bills, airport
landing fees and wages. Therefore the food and entertainment part of the ticket that can
be discounted is becoming less significant for maintaining a low ticket price. South East
Asia, particularly Hong Kong, is a difficult market for low cost carrier because of the
increasing operational cost.

2.

Labour issues
D-airline has been hiring less people in average for its cabin crew in order to cut cost.
Budget carriers aim at quicker turnover and cabin crew has to clean the plane as soon as it
lands instead of waiting for a cleaning crew. This leads to a heavier workload for its
employees. Recently, other than the damage done to D-airlines reputation, D-airlines
labour union D-liners started an outcry for a higher pay for the cabin crew and
threatened to strike if D-airline could not fulfill the request.

1
D-airline

3.

Slowdown in developing Asian economies economic growth

While the growth of D-airline has long relied on the emergence of developing Asian
economies in the past decade, the economic outlook for Asian economies has been
deteriorating following several incidents such as the volatility in Asia currencies caused
by the revaluation of Renmenbi, the continuous appreciation of the US dollar, and the
weakening economic growth in China and India. D-airline is concerned with how such
macroeconomic factors would be transpired into pressure on the consumption ability of
its target customers in Asia, as well as how it can maintain its moderately high growth
rate in the midst of such economic woes.

4.

Intensifying marketing competition from mid-to-high-range airlines

The online sales channel, which has long been the part and parcel of D-airlines source of
income, is now facing head-to-head competitions from higher-range airlines, many of
which have made significant efforts in penetrating into the online market in recent years.
Their limited-time online discounted offerings, and package/bulk purchase discounts
offered either online or through their extensive networks with travel agencies and hotels,
have come together to pose a threat to D-airlines stronghold in online sales.

The above challenges are starting to adversely affect the overall competitiveness and
profitability of D-airline, and the management of D-airline is looking for advice as to how to
tackle each of the challenges under a forward-looking yet practical approach.
The management expects that all solutions should be proposed taking into consideration
not only the challenges encountered, but also the entirety of the company background and
the business model.

2
D-airline

Appendix

D-airline

Appendix

1.

Press Release Airline Profitability Strengthens Further (2015)

https://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2015-06-08-03.aspx
Source: Press Release No. 26, 8th June 2015, International Air Transport Association
(IATA)

2.

Bi-annual publication Airline Industry Economic Performance (June, 2015)

www.iata.org/publications/economics/Pages/industry-performance.aspx
Source: Airline Industry Economic Performance, International Air Transport Association
(IATA)

3.

Chart for Asian Economies' Past and Projected Real GDP Growth (2014)

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

(https://marketrealist.imgix.net/uploads/2014/05/Real-GDP-growth-in-SEAnations.jpg?w=660&fit=max&auto=format)
4.

News Report Airport IT investment set to reach $6 billion (2013)

http://www.traveldailynews.com/news/article/57650/airport-it-investment-set-to
Source: European Regional News Report, 13th November 2013, Travel Daily News

D-airline

Requirements
The management of D-airline is looking for advice as to how to tackle each of the challenges
under a forward-looking yet practical approach. The management expects that all solutions
should be proposed taking into consideration not only the challenges encountered, but also the
entirety of the company background and the business model.
All the necessary information is given in the above case and appendix. Your team, therefore, is
not required to conduct any further research. Appropriate assumptions can be made when
necessary.
Your team is required to submit a written proposal for scrutiny by D-airline management. In
particular, your proposal should:

Be able to pinpoint the crux of the problem D-airline is facing

Give consideration to the external environment
Suggest solutions with the qualities of creativeness, effectiveness and coherency
Explain the grounds on which solutions are based
Consider feasibility, timeliness and cost-effectiveness
Be concise and persuasive

Guidelines for Executive Summary

The proposal shall be written in accordance with the requirements as follows:
a. A maximum of five A4 pages of content, one-sided, including texts, graphs and tables,
excluding appendices, which should be no more than two A4 pages
b. Submitted in PDF Format
c. Written in English
d. Times New Roman in font size of 12
e. Double-line spacing with 1-inch margin on each of the four sides
f. Team number appearing at top of each page (NO personally identifiable information, e.g.,
names of members, shall appear in any part of the plan)

D-airline

Submission
Your executive summary must be submitted by e-mail as an attachment in PDF format to
deloitteclub@deloitte.com.hk on or before 23:59, 26 October 2015. Please name the
attachment as Team-XXX, where XXX is your team number, and the subject of the e-mail as
Deloitte Club uShine Case Challenge 2015 Executive Summary Submission. Each team is
allowed to submit only one executive summary.
The executive summary submitted must adhere to the requirements listed in "Guidelines for the
Executive Summary". Noncompliance may result in the submitted content not being reviewed
and the team unable to advance to the second round.

Judging Criteria for Executive Summary

Content

Understanding of the case

Practicability

Effectiveness

Creativity

Structure
Writing Proficiency

D-airline

Rules and Regulations

1. Eligibility for the competition

a. Year-1 and Year-2 full-time undergraduate students (4-year curriculum) pursuing major
programmes offered by the Faculty of Business in the local universities, e.g., BBA, IBBA,
Accounting, BBA (Law), BBA (IS), Management.
b. Each team must consist of 4 members.
c. Members may be from the same university or from different universities.
d. A student cannot be a member of more than one team.
2. Registration for the competition (15 September 7 October 2015)
a. Interested teams should submit completed electronic application forms during the above
stated period.
b. Each group should submit only one application form.
c. Teams are required to follow the Application Form Submission Guidelines.
d. Any incomplete registration and any registration not complying with the eligibility
criteria will not be processed.
e. Successful registration for the competition will be confirmed by e-mail to the team leader.
If a team does not receive any e-mail confirmation, it is presumed that their registration is
unsuccessful.
3. Release of Case Materials (9 October 2015)
A business case will be issued to all teams that have successfully registered for the
competition through e-mail on 9 October 2015.
4. First Round Executive Summary Submission (26 October 2015)
a. The executive summary submitted must adhere to the requirements listed in Guidelines
for the Executive Summary. Noncompliance may result in the executive summary not
being reviewed and the team may not advance to the second round.
b. In case of late submission, the executive summary may not be reviewed and the team
may not advance to the second stage.
c. Each team is allowed to submit one executive summary only.
d. No changes will be accepted after the executive summary is submitted.
5. Announcement of first round results (9 November 2015)
a. The executive summaries will be reviewed and the top 20 teams will advance to the
second round of the competition.
b. Announcement will be made on 9 November 2015 by e-mail.

D-airline

6. Second and Final Round Presentations (14 November 2015)

a. The presentation must be made in English.
b. In the second round, the duration allowed for each team is 15 minutes, including
10-minute presentation
5-minute Q&A
Q&A may include contents that are not included in your submitted executive
summary.
c. The top 5 teams will advance to the final round of the competition.
d. In the final round, the duration allowed for each team is 25 minutes, including
10-minute presentation
15-minute Q&A
Judges of the final round will include Partners and Human Resources
representatives of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
e. One laptop computer for presentation (Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010) and one LCD
projector will be provided by the event organizer.
f. The presentation must be in form of a PowerPoint (in .ppt or .pptx format) slideshow
presentation.
g. The PowerPoint files must be stored in a USB stick, which should be arranged by the
participants and will not be provided by the event organizer.
h. Each team member has to participate in the presentation. We may deduct marks or
disqualify a team if any member of the team remains silent throughout the whole
presentation.
7. Registration on the day of Second & Final Round Presentations (14 November 2015)
a. You must be punctual for both of the registration periods. If any team is late, it may be
disqualified from the competition immediately.
b. All 4 members of the team must be present for all registration periods. If any member
arrives late, the whole team may be considered as late and disqualified.
c. The result of the second round will be announced in the afternoon session. If a team fails
to show up for the registration period for the afternoon session, it may be disqualified and
its result for the second round may be voided.
8. Prizes
a. As an encouragement for outstanding participants, prizes will be given to the top 3 teams:
Champion team: HK$10,000 + Trophy + Deloitte job-shadowing
1st Runner-Up team: HK$6,000 + Trophy
2nd Runner-Up team: HK$4,000 + Trophy
b. The prizes are shared among the team members.
c. Availability of job-shadowing is at the final discretion of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

D-airline

9. Absence for presentation

a. All 4 members of the team must be present for the second and final round presentations.
b. Absence of any member may result in disqualification of the team, unless due to medical
or other approved reasons.
c. In case of absence due to non-medical reasons, the team must inform the event organizer
of the member's absence at least 72 hours before the end of the registration period. If any
member of the team is absent for the registration period without prior notice, the team
may be disqualified from the competition.
d. In case of absence due to medical reasons, the team must present a doctors certificate
proving the illness of the absent team member to the event organizer by e-mail to
deloitteclub@deloitte.com.hk or hardcopy before their registration period ends. For
example, if one member will be absent for the second round, his/her team must send or
present the doctors certificate to the event organizer before the registration period for the
second round ends. If the team fails to do so, it may be disqualified and its result in the
competition may be voided.
e. Changing of team members is prohibited in all circumstances. In case of absence of any
member due to medical or other approved reasons, the remaining team members may
carry out the presentation. The absent member may lose the job-shadowing opportunity.
10. General
a. Participants must adhere to the rules and regulations set by the event organizer.
Participants failing to comply with the rules and regulations will be subject to
disqualification or other penalties.
b. The event organizer will not be responsible for any accidents, injuries or damages which
might occur to any participant during this competition or any other related activities.
c. The event organizer reserves the right to make final amendments to this list of rules and
regulations without prior notice to the participants.
Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at deloitteclub@deloitte.com.hk.

D-airline