International air transport is growing rapidly, with 2 million international passengers flying every day. Airlines must provide innovative and differentiated services, which are based on local culture and behaviours, and tailored to passengers’ needs and desires. However, behavioural studies in the airline industry are still absent from both academia and the field. Hence, this case study investigates the following research question: What are the opportunity areas to localise airline services in the Korean market, while maintaining the cultural identity of the airline as a crucial part of the travel experience?
The main focus of this master’s thesis is a case study of a Finnish airline company targeting the Korean market. The study derives insights through the application of service design methods and tools based on a passenger-centric approach. In total, 21 insights were obtained from Korean travellers and the diverse internal stakeholders of the company in South Korea and Finland. The research reveals that understanding local behaviours should play a role in the design of international airline services, since travellers experience contrasts between Finnish and Korean culture. While the airline exhibits Finnish cultural elements, the targeted passengers have different mindsets and behaviours. The research findings suggest three potential themes: Nordic experience, communication and learning, and accessibility and visibility. Under those themes, the study creates 16 job stories highlighting strategic areas for Korean passengers as customers and 15 job stories for the cabin crew as the ‘enablers’.
These strategic areas are prioritised and evaluated by managerial employees in the company through the jobs-to-be-done prioritisation matrix. As the outcome of the project, this study proposes strategic areas for localising passenger experiences in addition to business goals. The conclusion recommends that behavioural studies of various regional markets should be conducted individually because behaviours of passengers from different markets appear to be distinctive. However, the approach to crew training should be scaled and implemented nationally or regionally, depending on the market size. By further investigating the suggested strategic areas, the passenger experience of the target country could be improved, and consequently, more international customers onboarding could be acquired.Son, Jiyoun
